Philippians 1:27-28 - A Good Citizen of God’s Kingdom

Thought I put it on.

Better?

Thank you.

All right.

Philippians chapter one, verse twenty-seven and twenty-eight, page ten forty in your Pew Bibles.

Tonight is actually the a passage where it's the connection point to the rest of the book from the first 26 verses.

And we're going to expound these verses tonight.

It's Paul's exhortation.

It is what he wants the Philippi to do.

And the title for tonight's sermon is A Good Citizen of Christ's Kingdom.

Let's read God's word.

Just one thing.

As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Then, whether I come and see you or I'm absent, I will hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the faith of the gospel, not being frightened in any way by your opponents.

This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your salvation.

And this is from God.

Amen.

God's word.

Let's go to Him in prayer.

Father, we thank you for this wonderful passage.

We pray for illumination tonight, Father, that hearts will be opened to receive your word in Jesus' name.

Amen.

On March 15th, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of Roman senators.

The two most prominent conspirators were Brutus and Cassius.

They were associated with a political faction called the Optimates.

Caesar, by contrast, was associated with the populars.

The leaders of the populars were Mark Antony and Octavian.

Civil war took place over the next two years.

The decisive battle was fought near the city of Philippi, where Mark Antony and Octavian were victorious.

Philippi became a Roman colony.

Following that battle, many of the victorious Roman soldiers settled in that city.

The city had a distinctly Roman character.

One hundred years later, at the writing of this letter, that had not changed.

Why does this matter?

Why the history lesson?

This background is going to help us understand why Paul is referring to the believers as citizens of heaven.

Philippi was exceptionally conscious of its Roman citizenship.

It had become their ultimate identity.

Being a Roman citizen in first century A.D.

had honor and privilege, and they were quite proud of this.

As we learned from our previous sermons, the Philippian believers are truly Paul's beloved.

We have learned much about Paul in the first 26 verses.

Last Sunday, we read of Paul's stunning statement in verse 21.

For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

For the Apostle Paul, the Lord Jesus Christ is his life.

When we get to verse 27, we notice immediately something has changed.

Just one thing.

The language until this point had everything to do with Paul.

Now the letter shifts.

Paul needs his beloved Philippian believers to do something.

And in verse 27, he tells them what that is.

This evening we're going to look at our passage in a what, what, how, why format.

What Paul wants them to do, how he wants them to do it, and why he wants them to.

First things first.

What is the one thing?

Live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.

But before that instruction, he says, as citizens of heaven.

That's important.

We'll get back to that.

First, what does it mean to live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ?

Paul wants his beloved Philippians to reflect the gospel that they profess to believe.

That their conduct needs to show that.

The good news that they have been saved by grace through faith in Christ alone.

The gospel is not just professed by words.

The gospel is also professed on how you live your life.

The believer's life must show evidence that they are a new creation, that they belong to Christ, that they are set apart to God and from the world.

Paul writes this letter because the Philippian believers were not doing that.

They were not living their lives worthy of the gospel of Christ.

They were not being ambassadors for Christ.

They looked like everyone else.

The believers had three problems that needed to be dealt with.

One, an identity problem.

Two, a disunity problem, and three, a fear problem.

In our text, Paul provides solutions to all three of these problems.

Just as important as providing the solutions is the order in which he must do this.

Number one, identity, solution.

Renew your mind by focusing on Christ.

The Philippians were citizens of Rome.

Because of their great loyalty to Rome, their citizenship had become their ultimate identity.

They were exalting their nation.

They took their eyes off of what mattered most.

When civic loyalty supersedes loyalty to Christ, it becomes idolatry.

Patriotism is good.

Nationalism is not.

Patriotism says, I love my country.

Nationalism says, my country first.

The believers took their eye off of what mattered most.

They were placing greater value on the temporal, not the eternal.

A Christian's highest allegiance is to God and his kingdom, not an earthly nation.

They got caught up in the surrounding culture, focusing on worldly things rather than heavenly things.

The believers needed a change of attitude.

Paul's decision to refer to them as citizens of heaven is his way of refocusing them, getting them to have a new perspective.

Let's consider another letter by Paul, the book of Romans.

The first 11 chapters are very doctrinal, but then in chapter 12 it shifts to practical.

And that's the letter of Philippians is 100% practical.

So listen to Romans chapter 12, verse 2.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is good, pleasing, and the perfect will of God.

In Paul's letter to the Romans, who is he writing to?

Roman citizens.

In Paul's letter to the Philippians, who is he writing to?

Roman citizens.

They both have the same problem.

They're both conformed to the world and its values.

And these values are opposed to God.

In Philippians, instead of using many words like he does in Romans, he just simply says, as citizens of heaven, it's subtle, it's subliminal.

It's going to move their focus from the nation to the kingdom, from the temporal to the eternal.

By focusing on Christ and his heavenly kingdom, their mindset will change.

Their mind will be renewed.

The believers were in Philippi, yes, but they were not of Philippi.

They were of the kingdom of Christ.

Paul is exhorting them, live as good citizens.

This was the thing that mattered most.

This new attitude would produce right action.

This new attitude would enable them to fix the next problem.

Problem two, disunity, solution, unify through Christ.

In chapter four, we're given some detail about what this disunity problem is.

Two members of the Philippian church are in disagreement.

We can assume that their disagreement was causing division in the church.

And as we see from verse 27, Paul is urging them to be united, standing firm in one spirit, in one accord.

Paul is urging them to be a united church, a church that is thinking the same way.

Chapter 2, verse 3 gives us a bit of a clue as what's causing this disunity.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.

Selfishness and pride.

Paul wants his beloved Philippi to be set apart from this.

Self-centeredness causes division.

Christ-centeredness unites.

Christ has achieved what matters most: eternal life through his sacrificial death.

By referring to the believers as citizens of heaven, Paul is moving their minds from the culture to the cross, from the temporal to the eternal.

They needed to see themselves as people clinging to the cross of Christ.

Only the cross unites, nothing else can.

Unity was especially important in first century A.D.

Listen to Acts chapter 2, verse 44.

Acts 2:44

Now all believers were together and held all things in common.

And then verse 46 every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple and broke bread from house to house.

Every day, this unity was not an option.

Selfishness divides.

A divided church does not glorify Christ.

A divided church does not grow.

Unity is a must.

Let's look at the last part of verse 27.

Contending together, there's that word again, for the faith of the gospel.

Now, when you read about contending, that assumes opponents, right?

And the Philippian church did have opponents.

But how could the church contend against these opponents if they were contending with each other?

They can't.

All of this sounds a lot like sports language.

If a team is divided in the clubhouse, they will ultimately fail.

To succeed in any team sport, unity is a must.

To succeed, everybody has to buy into one purpose winning, defeating the opponents.

Can we think of a team that's done this recently?

Maybe the guy in the blue shirt in the sixth row could tell us.

The New York Knicks, the reigning NBA champions.

Not the most talented team, right?

But they were united.

They bought into one purpose, winning.

Look at Brunson and Towns.

Not selfish.

They gave up their egos.

Brunson gave up a whole bunch of salary.

Towns gave up points.

He was the star on Minnesota, not on the Knicks.

They cast aside personal achievement.

They were united.

One spirit, one accord.

I think Paul would have been a big fan of the Knicks.

Paul knew that the Philippian church needed to contend together, or the gospel could not advance.

Christians unite when they see their unity with Christ.

It is the only way.

Problem three.

Solution.

Stand firm by looking to Christ.

Let's look at verse 28.

Not being frightened in any way by your opponents.

Who are these opponents?

An opponent is anyone who rejects the gospel.

It's really that simple.

But the Greek word used here for opponents means those who are placed against you.

This pictures an enemy on a battlefield.

It's a military term.

Who is Paul writing to?

He's writing to military families.

Philippi was a garrison town.

And the Greek word used here for stand firm means be unbending in the fight, immovable, standing together, like fearless soldiers marching into battle, upright, side by side.

And as members of military families, this was going to resonate well.

Paul was truly unbending in his fight.

Besides Christ himself, no one stood firmer in the face of adversity.

Paul is in chains.

He's awaiting trial.

His fate is in the hands of Nero.

Is he frightened?

No, he's joyful.

In fact, the theme of Philippians, one of the themes, is joy.

We see joy or rejoice 16 times in the book.

Why?

Why is Paul like this?

Because the gospel is not in chains.

It is being proclaimed, it is advancing, and he is rejoicing as a result of it.

And if Paul wasn't frightened, neither should the church be.

Paul knew what mattered most.

What about us?

Should we be frightened by our opponents?

Should we be scared when we're mocked, maligned, made fun of, even canceled?

Should we fear the inevitable suffering we will face?

No, we should expect these things.

Take a look at verse 29.

The verse right after ours, for it has been granted to you on Christ's behalf, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him.

And listen to the words of our Lord, John chapter 16, verse 33.

John 16:33

You will have suffering in this world.

Be courageous.

I have conquered the world.

Suffering is part of the Christian walk.

So while we walk in a world that's hostile to the gospel, we have Christ to keep us from stumbling.

We belong to Him.

We've identified the what.

Live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.

We've identified the how.

Renew your mind.

Unify.

Stand firm.

Be courageous.

I should pause here to mention this.

Paul's message is not a straighten up, fly right, do better message.

It is not a moralistic message.

It is only by focusing on Christ, his person and his work, that any of the how is possible.

Only Christ can repair our brokenness.

No one can fix themselves.

Why is this so important to Paul?

Look at the last part of verse 28.

This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your salvation, and this is from God.

Notice the contrast.

Them and your their destruction, your salvation.

The why is twofold.

One, witness.

Two, security.

First of all, what is witness?

Brothers and sisters, in everything that we do, we are witnessing.

Our words, our actions, our reactions, what we choose to do, what we choose not to do.

It is all witness.

And if we are truly witnessing for the kingdom, reflecting the character of Christ, the Father is glorified, the kingdom grows.

Bravery is witness.

If the believer can stand firm, if the believer can exhibit bravery in the face of adversity, it is a clear sign to the opponents that the war is over.

The unbeliever's attempt, failed attempt, to silence the gospel highlights their coming judgment.

Perhaps you've heard of the name John Huss.

He lived a hundred years before the Reformation.

John Huss held to biblical truths.

He confronted the church.

He questioned the authority of the Pope, and they killed him for it.

With 800 soldiers surrounding him, he was burned at the stake on July 6th, 1415.

Was he frightened?

No.

Legend has it, he was singing hymns.

He was singing while he was burning.

Every Christian martyr, and there have been millions over the centuries, have provided powerful witness for the gospel, for the kingdom.

Think about the 800 soldiers.

I wonder how many were saved that day as a result of that incredible, powerful witness by John Huss.

I'm sure there were many.

This brings us to the second reason why Paul wants the church to live their life worthy of the gospel, security, a believer's salvation, a believer's assurance of salvation.

We are a fallen race.

We continually have fear, doubt, and anxiety.

We focus too much on the temporal.

We fear our opponents, the world, the flesh, the devil.

They're going to continue to war against us.

Paul wants the believers to understand something.

Not only does a fearless stance expose unbelief, it also confirms genuine faith.

Bravery is evidence of a believer's salvation.

A believer's bravery proves the reality of the grace that has already been received.

And where does this grace come from?

The last part of our passage.

And this is from God.

God's redeeming and sustaining free gift of grace.

At some point in your life, maybe this week, you are going to feel pressure to compromise your faith.

Maybe a coworker.

Maybe a family member.

You may for a moment flinch or get rattled.

Don't be alarmed.

This is natural.

Don't argue.

Don't panic.

Instead, fix your eyes on Christ.

Hebrews 12 2, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

We just heard that in a prayer.

Brothers and sisters, we are citizens of heaven.

We belong to the King.

It is finished, John 19, 30.

Our sin debt has been paid in full.

Opponents?

The victory's already been won.

Listen to these words from Paul, Romans chapter 8, verse 30.

Romans 8:30

And those he predestined, he also called.

And those he called, he also justified.

And those he justified, he also glorified.

It is finished.

We have learned much from our text.

As individuals, we are responsible to reflect the character of the Savior.

But this must be understood when in the setting of a local church.

When we fail to conduct ourselves as ambassadors for Christ, the church suffers.

The body of Christ suffers.

When one part of the body is not functioning correctly, every part is affected.

Here is a fact.

The opponents are never going away.

Spurgeon said this.

The Christian life is not a playground, it is a battleground.

So how do we battle?

We rest.

We rest in knowing we are citizens of heaven.

We have received God's free gift of grace.

He has chosen us.

Listen to these reassuring words from Paul.

The next verse, chapter 8, verse 31.

What then shall we say to these things?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

Amen.

And please don't forget, the Holy Spirit indwells us.

The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us.

We have the ability to manifest Christ to a world that needs to see Him.

We can live as good citizens in the kingdom.

And we have a family of united believers that will lift us up if we should fall.

It is a fact.

The opponents are never going away.

But neither is our Savior.

Let's consider what we discussed earlier.

In 42 BC, one political faction defeated another, a new emperor came in, and then he would die or be overthrown.

Another emperor would come in, and so on, and so on.

Let's pull that scenario forward.

1781, we won our freedom as a country over England.

Eight years later, George Washington elected our first president.

And we've been electing presidents ever since, every four years.

Every four years, two or more political parties battle it out.

They contend for the Oval Office.

And we tend to all get caught up in this, don't we?

Even if you're not into politics, you're just drawn in.

The ads, the debates, especially a month leading up to it, we're all totally engaged.

It's very seductive, right?

But it divides.

Politics divide.

We as Christians focus on our nation more than we should.

We take our eyes off of the kingdom just like the Philippians did.

A warning for us all.

Politics can become a false gospel.

Politics drift into idolatry when we look to leaders, movements, or ideologies for hope, identity, meaning, and salvation, especially salvation.

Politics was never designed by God to carry humanity's ultimate hope.

Governments can restrain evil, preserve order, promote justice, but laws cannot regenerate a heart.

Only Christ can.

The Philippian believers placed their Roman citizenship above their heavenly citizenship, their national status above their heavenly status.

They were looking at the wrong monarch, the wrong throne.

Brothers and sisters, are we guilty of the same?

Have we placed a U.S.

president, state governor, or maybe a city mayor above the throne of Christ?

Listen to these words from Paul in Colossians chapter 3, verse 2.

Colossians 3:2

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Ask yourself this question: what matters most?

Political engagement can become spiritually dangerous when we look to a human leader to accomplish what only Christ can.

And if you are here today and you're trying to discern who this king is, who this savior is, I have good news.

He can be your king and savior too.

His name is Jesus.

He is the Son of God.

He came down from heaven 2,000 years ago to save sinners.

Will you receive him by believing in his name?

The Apostle Paul spoke these words.

Acts chapter 4, verse 12.

Acts 4:12

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.

Amen.

Nations rise, nations fall, victories are won, victories are lost.

Leaders come and go.

We have to stop looking to the left and to the right and look up.

Because during all of this, King Jesus has been sitting on his throne, ruling and reigning.

His victory came at the cross 2,000 years ago, and he will never be dethroned.

King Jesus offers us what no political leader can: eternal life.

Brothers and sisters, just one more thing.

We need to be continually checking ourselves.

We need to be asking ourselves hard questions.

Is Christ the center of our lives?

Are we living lives worthy of the gospel?

Are we living as good citizens of Christ's kingdom?

Are we beginning each day with prayer or with social media?

Are we saturating our minds with God's word or with cable news?

We can control these things.

The world, the flesh, and the devil will continue to war with us.

And there will be many days where they will get the upper hand.

When that happens, pause, reflect what matters most.

Fix your eyes on Christ.

He matters most.

Paul had physical chains, yes.

But his real chains, they were cast at the cross decades earlier.

Brothers and sisters, our chains are gone.

We are free.

We have been set free.

Free to live our lives worthy of the gospel.

The world says, live your life to the fullest.

The kingdom says, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ, all for his glory.

What is fuller than that?

Let's close with these words.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Amen.

Father, thank you for this wonderful, wonderful verse tonight.

Thank you for Paul.

Thank you for all of the wonderful letters he wrote that so edify us.

Father, as we go into the world this week, we just pray that these words, your truth resonates with us, and we apply your wonderful truth, your wonderful principles to our lives.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.