Philippians 1:27-30 | Part One - Living Worthy

This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Good morning.

Please take your Bible with me to the New Testament letter of Philippians.

We've been working our way through that New Testament book.

We pick up this morning in Philippians 1, verse 27.

Philippians 1:27

Philippians 1, 27.

Most English translations divide verses 27 through 30 into two sentences.

But they were originally only one sentence.

So we'll read the whole thing this morning and then look more closely at the first half of those verses.

So beginning in Philippians chapter 1 and verse 27, if you have your Bible or your device and can follow along as I read.

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

Again, beginning in Philippians 1, verse 27, the Apostle Paul says, anticipating his hopeful release that he might come to them again, he says, Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come to you or am absent, I may hear of you, that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents.

Philippians 1:27

This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

Amen.

You might have heard of the name Polycarp before.

Polycarp was an early pastor in the church in ancient Smyrna, one of the seven churches addressed in the book of Revelation.

Smyrna is part of modern Izmir, Turkey.

Polycarp was an apostle, not an apostle, a disciple of the apostle John.

And he was very connected to those early apostles and early witnesses of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

He had contact with many people who had seen the risen Christ.

Polycarp wrote a letter himself from Smyrna to the church at Philippi.

And he repeats some of what Paul wrote to the church, showing us that this letter not only stayed in the city of Philippi, but had circulated amongst several churches, at least regionally.

And this is across a sea, or where Polycarp is from Philippi.

One of the statements written by Polycarp is knowing then that God is not mocked, that's a reference to Galatians chapter 6, verse 7, knowing that we ought to walk worthy of his commandment and his glory.

Galatians 6:7

Which is a clear parallel to Philippians 1, 27.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Not only was Polycarp reminding the Philippians of Paul's instruction, he was implying that what Paul wrote to that church serves as guidance for the Lord's church everywhere and at all times.

So we should strive to live worthy lives.

But what does that actually mean?

What does that look like?

Thankfully, we're not left to wonder what the Apostle Paul meant in his charge to the church at Philippi.

While he doesn't answer all of our questions, these two verses outline that the command or the challenge of living a worthy life, and they also describe the kind of life that the apostle envisioned when he wrote it.

Very simply, the challenge or the command is that the Christian life must be consistent with the gospel of Christ.

That consistency is displayed through a particular kind of citizenship, through an unnatural kind of pursuit in this life, and through a distinct spiritual contrast.

Those are three characteristics that Christians are called to emulate as we live worthy lives of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Each of those characteristics is related to an image that aids us in understanding the author's intent.

So think with me about verse 27 as we get down into this.

And notice that he starts us out with an unmistakable connection.

An unmistakable connection.

Verse 27 introduces the very first command from the Apostle Paul in this whole letter.

We've gone almost all the way through the first chapter before we get to a command from him.

So his order or his instruction concerns how Christians should live their lives.

So it's highly relevant for us, isn't it?

Not just for those struggling to follow Christ in what was then considered little Rome, but for us in Grand Forks.

What we see here are not just guidelines that we can choose to follow or ignore, they are expectations.

They're commands from the apostle to all generations of believers.

And as we begin with that, let your life be worthy, that worthy indicates a connection, a linking to something else.

Our lives today in the 2020 going into 20, or 2025, not 2020, 2025 going into 2026.

It feels like 2020 sometimes.

That our lives today correspond to something.

And this is a common New Testament refrain.

For example, over in Colossians chapter 1, verse 10, the Apostle Paul writes to Colossae, saying, walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him.

Colossians 1:10

So the connection there is to Christ, to the Lord.

There, the Colossian believers were told to consider their lives and to live them out in light of being linked to Jesus.

They were to see Christ Jesus as the ultimate example and aim to live out their lives in ways that maintained Christ's honor and his glory.

We have that same calling.

But it's stated a little differently here in Philippians 1.

There are two items here to which our lives as Christians must correspond.

The apostle expects Christians to reflect these in daily life, and the first one is the gospel of Christ.

Let your life be worthy.

Let the manner of life, the way you live, be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

What does that mean?

Let's suggest to you that it means that we need to reflect the good news of Jesus Christ.

Okay.

How?

Reflect it how.

Well, here's some ideas from Scripture.

Let's start in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 13, where it's speaking of people who are submitting their lives because of their confession of the gospel of Christ.

2 Corinthians 9:13

So as we live out our lives for the gospel of Christ, we should reflect our confession.

That is, we have agreed that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

We have believed in him, that he is our Savior.

So we should live out that confession.

On the flip side of that, from Galatians chapter 1, verse 7, we see that there were some people in the early church struggling to maintain that confession, and so they distorted it.

Galatians 1:7

They twisted the gospel.

And so living in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ means don't live in such a way that you twist the gospel, that it becomes distorted or degraded.

Back in Philippians chapter 1, in verse 6, we see this trust, this surety of the apostle that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

So we are living projects, you might say, of Christ.

He is at work in us.

All of us are at different stages, different places of maturity in the Christian life, but the end goal for all of us is to be like Christ.

So we need to reflect that in our lives.

Verse 10 and verse 11 identify for us the ultimate aim: pure and blameless when we see Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.

That fruit that comes through him is identified for us in the next chapter, in chapter 2, in the character of Christ.

This is the follow-up section, especially as we see clearly in verses 12 and 13.

He says in chapter 2, I'm sorry, Philippians 2, 12, therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence, but much more in my absence, remember he's still in prison.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, to will and to work for his good pleasure.

And to kind of put a cap on all that, look at chapter 2, verse 21.

He says, There's a bunch of people who seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

So ultimately, then, living our lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ means establishing Christ and all that He is and all that He does and all that He's about as the ultimate pursuit of our lives.

Not our own interests, not our own desires, but those of Christ Jesus.

That's the first element that describes a worthy life.

The second element that our lives should reflect is our citizenship.

So we should reflect the gospel of Christ and our citizenship or our belonging.

The Apostle Paul here integrates this image of citizenship with the phrase, let your manner of life be worthy.

That phrase, let your manner of life be, is a single word in Paul's original letter.

And that one word highlighted a key point of pride in ancient Philippi.

You know, it's called Little Rome.

So they're strutting around because they are little Rome, set apart from Rome, distinct, but they have the privilege of being the emperor's little city.

They have special freedoms, special privileges.

It's made up primarily of retired Roman soldiers and other proud Roman people, proud of their citizenship, and that pride was shown in their community, in their respect, and their obedience and their worship of the emperor and their support of Rome.

Roman citizenship was prized.

According to various estimates, you could purchase your own citizenship in the Roman Empire.

It was valued at approximately a year's wages.

So whatever you earn in a year, just put that on your tab for Roman citizenship.

This phrase then means that our lives should be worthy of our citizenship.

Romans, Roman citizens led lives that reflected the honor and the pride of citizenship.

And the Lord's people are called to live similarly.

Only our citizenship is not to be directed towards our citizenship in the United States of America or any other earthly citizenship.

We know that first because of our first connection aimed primarily at the gospel of Christ, right?

Now we get a little bit of clarity.

This second element establishes our primary citizenship that is clearly stated a couple of chapters later in chapter 3 and verse 20, where he writes, But our citizenship is in heaven.

And from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pretty amazing that the Apostle Paul didn't lose his head for that statement.

Because what he's saying to the people in Philippi is that Caesar is not Lord, Caesar is not your savior, Rome is not your primary citizenship.

Christ is your Lord, Christ is your savior, and his location is your primary citizenship.

This isn't discouraging earthly citizenship.

Don't misunderstand that.

The Apostle Paul took advantage of his Roman citizenship.

And so our earthly citizenships have benefits and values to them.

But our association, our connection, the primary citizenship we possess is in heaven.

Our home is in heaven because our father's home is in heaven.

We are travelers here.

That primary citizenship has implications then for how we live.

The expectations of heaven have priority over the expectations of earth.

That's why Colossians 3 5 says, put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you.

Because if you're letting what is earthly in you thrive and grow, you're acting like an earth man or an earthwoman instead of a heaven man and heaven woman.

You see, we're to reflect the good news of Christ and display the attitudes and actions of citizens in heaven while we're traveling here.

We're to endeavor to let our allegiance to our true identity shine through us.

And so we aim to be consistent in living out who we are in Christ.

We reflect the good news of Jesus and we live here as citizens of heaven, not of earth.

And sometimes, by God's grace, because we pray for all of our rulers, all of our authorities, as Paul tells in the pastoral epistles, that enables us to live quiet lives.

Sometimes our citizenship in heaven allows us to live as honorable citizens of an earthly nation.

At other times, our heavenly citizenship may conflict with our earthly citizenship.

There may be occasions when living out the good news of earth, good news of Christ, clashes with the social expectations of earthly people or of earthly governments.

And then we must obey God rather than men.

Paul hopes to be released from prison so he can visit the Philippians.

He wants to go from prison in Rome to visit the believers in Little Rome, but that may or may not happen.

But he desires to see them and to hear that they are living out their identity in Christ if and when he comes.

What does that look like exactly, though?

Well, we can describe it as a unique contention.

A unique contention, or maybe you prefer the word striving.

There are two key terms that describe what living worthily of the gospel involves.

Back in Philippians chapter 1, verse 27, those two terms are standing firm and striving.

Philippians 1:27

And these terms evoke images of athletic teammates or a military platoon working in coordinated efforts.

Let's think about standing firm first.

The apostle wants to see believers standing firm in one spirit.

It's the opposite, really, of James 1, where James speaks of being driven and tossed by the wind.

Maybe some of you have been out on Devil's Lake in the middle of the wind and trying to row or canoe or paddle or move a boat against the wind, and the waves are going up and down, and you're just having a hard time.

He says, don't be like that, stand firm.

Here are some examples of how Scripture speaks of this.

1 Corinthians chapter 10, I'm sorry, chapter 16, verse 13.

1 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith.

Act like men, be strong.

So there's this sense of being kind of immovable.

Standing firm so that you can't be pushed over.

1 Thessalonians chapter 3, verse 8.

1 Thessalonians 3:8

For now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord.

The Apostle Paul's writing to a different church saying, if you're doing well, that enables us to stand firm.

He calls on them in this second letter of 2 Thessalonians.

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you are taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

Perhaps the closest link though is Philippians chapter 4, verse 1, where he says, Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord.

Philippians 4:1

Be immovable.

Stand firm.

Don't be driven and tossed by the wind.

Don't be easily pushed over.

Notice, though, that the standing firm in 127 is further described as standing firm in one spirit.

Now we don't know if that word spirit should be with a lowercase s or an uppercase S.

We don't know.

The Apostle Paul didn't make that clear for us.

So it either suggests the grounding of unity in the church in the Holy Spirit or an urgent call to stand firm in a united effort.

It all depends on how you see this all working together in the context.

And frankly, we don't know.

We cannot be absolutely sure.

But either option is biblical.

The emphasis that we are to be united in one Holy Spirit is called out in Ephesians chapter 4, verses 3 and 4, where he says, There is one Spirit.

Ephesians 4:3

The focus on local church unity is called out a little bit later here in Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

So both Both possibilities are true.

We are to stand firm together in one Holy Spirit.

And it is one spirit that unites us and brings firmness to our standing together in life.

And as we'll become in chapter 2, we are to stand firm in one united spirit together.

So on the one hand, on the one hand, the apostle Paul is like a captured general sitting in captivity, issuing orders to his army, to his soldiers, not to back down, not to give in, not to retreat from the conflict of gospel proclamation.

Because the Holy Spirit is in them, uniting them to God's people.

And so the Holy Spirit empowers the Lord's people to stand their ground in the face of earthly and spiritual opponents.

On the other hand, Paul may be like a coach who is urging his team to work together as they compete to win, knowing that a divided effort will not succeed.

That might be likely because of the differences in motives of proclaiming the gospel that we've already seen in chapter one that he's experiencing.

Saying, this is what's happening in Rome.

Don't be like that in your efforts to proclaim the gospel.

Charles Spurgeon once noted how we are to stand together in the bond of peace.

This is a long quote, so bear with me.

He says, Beloved, there should be much peace, perfect peace, unbounded peace between the people of God.

We are not aliens.

We are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God.

So realize your fellow citizenship.

Treat not Christian people as foreigners, and this bond of fellowship, fellow citizenship will be one of peace.

You're not enemies.

Men may be fellow citizens and yet hate one another, but you are friends to Christ.

And in him you are all friends to one another.

So let that be another bond.

But you go farther.

You are not mere friends, you are brothers and sisters, born of the same parent, filled with the same life.

And shall this not be a bond?

See that you fall not out by the way, strive not one with another, for you are brothers and sisters.

This is not all.

You are nearer than this, you are members of the same body.

Shall the mysterious union of believers with Christ fail to be a bond of peace to you?

Will you, being the foot, contend with the eye, or will you, being the eye, contend with the hand and say, I have no need of you?

Indeed, if it indeed be the truth and not a fiction, that we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Since the joints and bones in other people's bodies do not disagree with each other, let it never be said that the mystical body of our blessed Lord, that there was never that there was such a monstrous thing in it, that the various parts would not co-work, but fell to battling one with another.

End quote.

But it's not merely standing firm that Paul wants the Philippian believers to pursue.

He wants to hear that they're contending together.

He says, I want to hear that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving side by side for the gospel.

Contending or striving is another way that we live out who we are in Christ.

It can be a military image or an athletic image.

They both work.

This word is used in both contexts in ancient Greece.

It's the idea of struggling forward with energy, with endurance, with perseverance and hope, coupled with the notion that we are not alone, but together.

We must contend or strive for our Lord's goals and desires as we live and work as citizens of heaven in an earthly world.

So our allegiance is first and foremost to Jesus.

We serve at his command and we live and serve together under his direction.

The emphasis is that we do it together.

It's like a military platoon working together to accomplish the orders or goals that they're given.

Soldiers are under the command of a junior officer who reports to a senior officer, and they work and they strive and they compete as a unit.

It's like a sports team practicing and playing together to achieve the goal of winning.

They combine their skills and their abilities under a coach's guidance who helps them function as a cohesive team.

And with the larger unity elements in mind of chapters 1 and 2, we can see that this togetherness is hindered if one or more soldiers or teammates aren't working together.

It's like a body with arms and legs not working in unison or not functioning at all.

Paul wants to hear that the Philippian believers are contending together for the faith of the gospel.

It's a reality, though, that sometimes we fail to contend together.

Right?

We're sinful people?

We all sin, we all fail, we all drop the baton.

Maybe some of you were watching on August 9th, 2024, when the U.S.

Men's Olympic 4x100 relay team failed to pass the baton within the regulated area of transference, the exchange zone.

And they were disqualified.

That failed exchange between teammates impacted the entire relay team and even the entire U.S.

Olympic team.

I felt that very personally.

I ran in both the 4x1600 and 4x100 relays in high school, and we had one coach who made all four runners stand in line.

We faced each other's backs, and we we stood in line in order of our running, and we practiced handoffs over and over and over again.

I can't tell you how awkward it is to just stand there and go like this for like 10 minutes.

Take, take, take.

It's just awkward.

Really weird.

I'm not sure there was anything that irritated that coach more than dropping a baton or failing a handoff in a race.

And if we did, guess what happened in practice the next week?

You got it.

See, the local church is like a team.

We all have different places, we have different functions and roles in the body.

That means the whole is impacted if one member doesn't strive or contend together.

But it also means we support, we encourage, and we protect one another by standing with one another.

Notice the first line of verse 28.

And not frightened in anything by your opponents.

We're not told what the Philippian believers were facing.

We're not told what their community was like.

But the implication is that they're struggling.

They're facing opponents to their assembly.

They're facing opponents to the gospel.

Something is happening that's putting pressure on them.

And standing alone can be uncomfortable.

It can be intimidating.

It can be frightening.

But standing together brings support, confidence, and strength.

And Paul himself was strengthened by the support of the Philippians.

As we consider standing firm and contending together for the faith of the gospel, consider what Pastor Charles Simeon preached to his congregation at Cambridge sometime in the 1820s, a long time ago.

And it's a little bit of older language, so we'll have to think hard to follow along here.

He says in his sermon, we would impress this upon your minds as a matter of indispensable necessity.

There will, of course, amongst a number of persons whose former views, habits, and dispositions have been so different, arise many occasions of difference, perhaps also of dissatisfaction and disgust.

But Christians should regard the smallest symptom of disunion as they would the beginnings of a conflagration, a fire, starting in your own house.

Everyone should have his personal feelings swallowed up in attention to the common cause.

All should have one object and unite their efforts to accomplish it and banish in an instant whatever might obstruct their exertions for the general good.

That this will sometimes be attended with difficulty is implied in the very exhortation to stand fast in one spirit.

It will be hard.

That's why we have the exhortations to stand fast.

But it may be done.

And if our hearts are right with God, it will be done.

As we stand firm and fearlessly contend for the gospel and live that out together, we then display an uncomplicated contrast.

So our first image represented citizenship.

The second pictures a military or an athletic image.

Verse twenty eight illustrates the divinely designed two paths that the Lord Jesus described.

One path is broad and easy.

And it leads to destruction.

The other is a narrow path with a narrow gate.

Not as many walk on it, and it leads to life and salvation.

Living worthy lives motivates us to model our actions after gospel principles, specifically a steadfast commitment to the gospel, avoiding shifts or compromises that weaken the message of Christ.

We're motivated to work together as brothers and sisters in the Lord for the sake of the faith of the gospel.

And then an uncomplicated contrast will be evident when we pursue Christ together in that way.

That contrast displays the paths we are on.

The broad road to destruction or the narrow path of salvation by faith in Christ alone.

So this image shifts our view from the assembly of believers to the community in which we live.

It's not just our gathering, it's now our gathering dispersed into the community.

We live worthy lives in our community, which implies that there will be obstacles and opponents to our faith and our way of life.

There will be people who do not like it.

People will be made uncomfortable.

They will not like to hear us speak of Christ.

But what the apostle set before the Philippians and what is before all of us is that we face those obstacles and opponents together.

We stand firm in one spirit and we contend together, side by side for the faith of the gospel.

Because we're teammates, we're platoon members, and we encourage, we support, and we strengthen one another.

And when we do, we will be less frightened by those who oppose the gospel.

Furthermore, when opposition arises, it reveals the contrast between those who have chosen the broad road and those who have chosen the narrow road.

It makes that contrast pretty uncomplicated and unmistakable.

But friends, that means that living worthily means living openly.

Our faith should not remain a private matter, as our culture often prefers.

So this challenges us in a world that tries to push faith into a box of private life.

This is a call to follow Paul's example.

Paul, the the chained and imprisoned apostle.

He doesn't fear Caesar's shoulder.

He does not fear Caesar's soldiers.

There we go.

But he fears their walking on the wide road to destruction.

He doesn't fear what they can do to him, but he fears what will come to them.

So he lives his faith openly, singing hymns in jail at midnight, telling every soldier and prisoner about Christ, regardless of the backlash.

Paul, the criticized and perhaps hated prisoner whom other Christians dislike and want to suffer more, ignores that push against him and continues to take pride that Christ is proclaimed, regardless of what people are after.

This is a worthiness of life that pushes gospel boundaries further and further so that more and more people hear of Christ, the crucified man who is Lord over all.

And as we do that, it clarifies the broad path from the narrow path and demonstrates that God's children are on the right path.

So we pursue Christ and we walk worthy by looking ahead.

We look ahead to the coming of Jesus and the completion of our salvation with hope and endurance.

And we pursue Christ and we walk worthy by contending against opposition to the gospel, and we pursue Christ and walk worthy by standing firm together.

A letter called Second Clement that survives from shortly after the time of the Apostle Paul encourages those early Christians in a very similar way.

Here's what that letter says.

So then, my brethren, let us contend, knowing that the contest is close at hand.

And many people make long voyages for corruptible prizes, that is, prizes that don't last.

But not all of them are crowned.

Not all of them win, except those who have toiled much and contend well.

Let us then contend so that we may all be crowned.

Let us run the straight course, the immortal contest.

Let many of us sail to it.

It's worthy to pursue and contend so that we also may receive the crown.

This is the pursuit that the imprisoned Paul says he wants to see and hear in those believers.

May it also be true of us.

Let's pray together.

Lord Jesus, may your will be done in us.

May you fulfill your promise to make us like yourself, to mold us from the inside out, to be lights on a hill that cannot be hidden.

To be that that city that draws people to the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Lord, maybe there's even someone listening here this morning who is for the first time feeling that that conviction of sin and of needing to trust and of wanting to pursue you.

Oh Lord, motivate them.

Push them to pursue you and to believe in you.

Unite us, Lord, to stand firm.

In a world that frankly doesn't like our message.

In a culture that that wants to squeeze us out and to silence who we are.

Enable us to contend together for the faith of the gospel so that your name will be praised and glorified among all the nations.

Amen.

That concludes this sermon from Faith Evangelical Free Church.

Our mission is to declare the Word of God and disciple believers into mature, devoted followers of Jesus.

You can learn more by visiting our website at faithfree.com.