“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. 12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, 13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, 14 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. 15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,”
One of the surest tests of a believer’s level of spiritual maturity is how much it takes to spoil his joy; or how much it takes to get him to throw up his hands and say, ‘That’s it, I quit. I can’t do this any more.”
I say it is a mark and measure of spiritual maturity, because the kind of abiding joy and unwavering faithfulness to God and calling demonstrated in the life of the Apostle Paul can only be born of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and can only owe its strength and continuance to the ongoing sanctifying work of that same Spirit.
Here sits Paul in Roman captivity, unable to move about as he pleases and uncertain of his own immediate future, and so far in this letter all he has talked about is joy and rejoicing and thankfulness and the love of the brethren and praise to God.
When his circumstances are mentioned, he has nothing to say about them in the negative at all. He just talks about the good that has come as a result and even finds cause for rejoicing at what most of us would consider very unsettling news.
We’ll talk about these things in more detail, but first I want you to see something else about this man’s priorities.
By the time we get to the end of today’s text verses, that is, in the first 18 verses of this letter, Paul has already managed to refer to Christ eleven times. In addition, he has mentioned God six times and the gospel 5 times. That is, he has used the word ‘gospel’ 4, and referred to the word of God once, which in a real sense is a reference to the good news specifically of Christ.
I wanted you to take notice of these things early on, because as I read down through these verses again and again what keeps popping out at me is a theme of faithfulness. The faithfulness of the Apostle to his calling, the faithfulness that he calls for in the Philippian church toward one another, and most importantly, the overarching theme we see in the whole thing, of faithfulness to Christ and the proclamation of the gospel.
FAITHFULNESS TO THE CALLING
I think that many Christians labor under a misconception of what it means to be a Christian. It may be largely the fault of Christian leadership over the past generation or two due to a change of focus from the teaching of the Word to a teaching of Christian morality and its application to the immoral world.
In any case and for whatever reason, I think many people think that being a Christian means believing the gospel, then trying to live more cleanly in daily life and in the meantime attending church and Bible Studies and being involved in church activity and perhaps for some, in politics and community service.
This is not however the New Testament picture of the Christian. At best it is an incomplete one.
If you stop to consider for a moment who it is that Paul is writing to, you might come to the awareness that these were just folks like you and me. They were from all the occupations that made up first century Greek society, they were of all ages and personal interests, in other words, they weren’t Apostles and only the few of them were preachers and teachers in the assembly.
Nevertheless, Paul writes to them as those in full time ministry. Not in the sense that we mean that term today, in the role of Pastor or Missionary, but full time in the sense that ministry to one another and the holding out of the gospel to the lost was now to be their primary focus in life and all that once was given preeminence in their lives now only served to sustain them and take second place to their participation in the gospel (1:5).
In verse one of the chapter Paul addresses his letter to ‘the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi’, and we know that a saint is simply a person sanctified in Christ, that is, a born again believer, which means he was addressing all Christians in Philippi. Then in verse 5, which I partly quoted a moment ago, he refers to their participation in the gospel and his wording indicates that from the moment they were brought into the church until the present, as he is writing, they continue to spread the good news of Jesus Christ actively.
Then as we come to our text verses, he expresses his wish and his prayer that they will continue not only in the work, but in personal spiritual growth and the bearing of spiritual fruit.
So what does it mean to be a Christian according to Paul? It means that when a person becomes a Christian his or her priorities become radically changed forever. The things in this life that once were an end in themselves, such as job, homemaking, retirement plans and so forth, now take second place. Many things in life that once held a high priority on the other hand now fall by the wayside. They either lose their attraction by virtue of their lack of significance, or they were harmful or dangerous or offensive and cannot have a place in a holy life.
The priorities of the Christian are brand new and are of a nature that no one but a true believer can hold to them or can even want to hold to them, but should hold to them. These new priorities all focus in Christ and eternity, and according to Paul the Apostle the believer should not only be continuing in them, but growing and abounding in them.
See in verses 9 and 10 he refers to this same love that has kept them working in the gospel and kept them caring for one another and for him and him for them, and says that his prayer is that it will grow in intensity and be demonstrated in ‘real knowledge and all discernment’.
Statements like this are often confusing to us at first glance, I think because to a large degree Christian love and brotherhood in the church is often presented in terms of tolerating one another, giving to the special offering being taken up for the sister in chemotherapy or the family whose house burned, or making a circle and joining hands at the end of the evening study and singing “I’m So Glad I’m a Part of the Family of God”.
Again, and I repeat, this is not the New Testament picture. Paul’s encouragement to them is to let Christlike love express itself among them through growth in knowledge of some things and discernment of some things.
Now Paul is not speaking in general terms here. He is not advocating a sort of shotgun approach to learning and discerning. He is talking about their knowledge of the Scriptures and spiritual matters and their deepening knowledge of Christ who saved them.
Next to that there is to be a maturing in discernment between what is essential and what is not, what is good and what is not, as the writer to the Hebrews put it, having their senses trained to discern good and evil.
This is supported by his wording in verse 10 where he says, “so that you may approve the things that are excellent”. The NIV says ‘that you may discern what is best’, and a literal translation there, which most of you will find in the margin of your Bible, is ‘that you may distinguish between the things that differ.
‘…distinguish between the things that differ…’ On this Albert Barnes comments:
“The margin here more correctly expresses the sense of the Greek word. The idea is, that he wished them to be able to distinguish between things that differed from each other; to have an intelligent apprehension of what was right and wrong, of what was good and evil. He would not have them love and approve all things indiscriminately. They should be esteemed according to their real value. It is remarkable here how anxious the Apostle was, not only that they should be Christians, but that they should be intelligent Christians and should understand the real worth and value of objects.” Barnes’ Notes on the Old and New Testaments Albert Barnes, 1949 Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich
And what was Paul’s purpose in this? So that they might be both sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.
Now I’m going to avoid a word study here, but by sincere he refers to cohesiveness and unity among them as they take seriously the work of the gospel and are faithful to pursue knowledge and discernment of spiritual things in their mutual love and support of one another.
Folks, this is muscular Christianity. This is not pew-warming and volunteering to set up tables for the church bazaar.
Paul is talking about an active pursuit of sound teaching and mutual unity and personal knowledge of scripture and spiritual maturity so that they will not falter and will not stumble as adversity comes, which it most certainly did to them and most certainly will to you and me.
This is the calling of the true believer and being a Christian means being faithful to the call, faithful to one another, and faithful to pursue greater knowledge and discernment, and a deeper relationship with the Christ who saved and called us.
FAITHFULNESS TO THE CAUSE
As he goes on here Paul tells his readers that his circumstances have served to further the gospel rather than to hinder it, and in verse 13 he says that his imprisonment is for the cause of Christ.
Now we talked in our last study about what these circumstances were and we won’t rehash them here. He’s in jail, he’s chained to his guards and so forth; right?
So today let’s just talk about his faithfulness to stay centered. To stay on track. To stay focused and see things as they really are; a reality that transcends physical appearances.
If you read the accounts that are available of believers who have suffered in the cause of Christ down through the centuries, you will find a common denominator, that their knowledge that they suffered in His name was what kept their flame alive and their joy full.
If you run into someone who begins with you by giving a blow by blow accounting of every thing that is wrong and uncomfortable in their life, and ends with a sorrowful declaration that it’s all for the cause of Christ (however they might term it), you would be right in having some doubts as to the real reason they suffer.
Remember Eeyore the donkey from the Winnie the Pooh stories? He is a sad, droop-eared character who is forever losing his tail and resigning himself to the idea of going through life without it until someone finds it for him and pins it back on. Even then he is never joyful over finding his tail, and even when he thanks them it is with a sort of ‘Oh, well…’ tone in his voice.
If you run into an ‘Eeyore Christian’ who takes this approach to the circumstances of life, pity him if you want, help him find his tail if you will, but don’t applaud him. This is not Biblical response to tribulation.
Faithfulness in the cause of Christ means being the same joyful Christian in trouble that you were in times of ease and plenty, because your joyfulness and your faithfulness were never dependant on any outward circumstance.
Another thing I want to say here is that we must be careful not to think that just because we’re Christians every bad thing that happens to us can be attributed to our being in the cause of Christ.
In July of 2007 I fell off a mountain trail and dislocated my shoulder and broke my scapula, resulting in surgery and extended physical therapy. This was not done in the cause of Christ. It was done out of clumsiness.
That is not to say that I cannot continue to be joyful in the trial and when given opportunity talk to people about Jesus.
But Paul didn’t fall into prison. He was there by the will of Godless men because he preached the gospel. And because he preached the gospel we must also say that he was there by God’s will primarily.
Unless we have our priorities properly aligned and are as focused on the participation in the gospel as I spoke of earlier, we are not very likely to suffer directly for the cause of Christ. We live in a society that will be very tolerant of us as long as we don’t confront them with the issue of their sin and need of a Savior, and as long as we don’t openly proclaim Christ as the only way to heaven.
But if you ever find yourself in this kind of undesirable situation and the stated purpose of the persecution is because you have spoken out for the truth of the Bible and for Jesus Christ, you will know then that you are serving Him because you will be filled with joy and you will be faithful to recognize the good and the progress of the gospel that will be evident in it.
There was nothing ‘Eeyore’ about the Apostle Paul. ‘Hey, I love you guys and I pray for you, and I rejoice when I think of you, and I encourage you to keep on loving and growing and staying united and continuing in the grace of God and in the work of the gospel… and by the way, if you’re concerned about me, wondering how terrible it is for me being where I am, I just want you to know that even here I have cause to rejoice because while I just sit here chatting with these guards and telling them about Jesus, the gospel is spreading throughout their ranks and even reaching into the house of the Caesar. So don’t weep for me brothers and sisters, I’m right where God wants me and, hallelujah, I’m even hearing stories of my local partners in ministry being emboldened to preach the Word by what they see happening here. Wahoo!”
Ok, maybe he didn’t say ‘wahoo’. But he wasn’t saying ‘oh, well…’ either.
How faithful are you and I in the participation of the gospel regardless of our surrounding circumstances? How often are we guilty of missing opportunities for ministry and demonstrating an ungodly witness by moping around and trying to find our own tail?
Are we not suffering for the cause of Christ because in reality we haven’t taken up His cause at all?
Just something to think about.
FAITHFULNESS TO CHRIST
Now in verses 15-18 of our text there is a difficulty that, if we allow it, could distract us from what we really ought to be seeing there. It seems strange to us, doesn’t it, that Paul would talk of these men who proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition and malice toward Paul, and yet he would go on to rejoice that nevertheless, Christ is being proclaimed?
So let’s talk about this just a little and get it out of the way.
Paul was probably talking about the Judaizers who had been a thorn in his side during his entire ministry. These were Jews who had made a profession of Christ as the long-expected Messiah, but they wanted to cling also to the Law of Moses and Jewish tradition. So they went around teaching that Jesus was the Christ, and that salvation was through believing in His death and resurrection, but that the believer must also be circumcised and keep the Mosaic Law.
No doubt, these people were very happy to have Paul in prison and out of the way so he could not publicly refute their error.
There were probably also self-appointed preachers of the gospel who wanted to gather their own following, have their own church, get their own attention, and they saw Paul as the big draw who because of his popularity kept their congregations from growing. This is something I have witnessed in my years in ministry, and it goes on between preachers and churches and organized ministries all the time.
I have known of men with what could have been valid and fruitful ministries in their church, holding all that back from happening because they were so consumed with envy and bitterness directed at some guy down the road who was having obvious success and growing fame.
So now Paul is under wraps, so to speak, and they are seeing their way clear to glean from what they had perceived as his crop.
Paul’s attitude about the whole thing? Well, it’s kind of humorous if you think about it. He’s bound in chains, humbly telling visitors and guards about Jesus, and even as a prisoner he is influencing the very house of the Caesar with the gospel.
In contrast here are these guys on the outside, seemingly free as birds but in reality more bound up, more imprisoned by their selfishness and greed and malice than Paul could ever be…
…and in response to hearing about them all Paul can say is, “Hey, the gospel is the power of God for salvation to all who believe, and whatever the condition of their hearts, whatever their motives for doing so, the Holy Spirit will use the power of the gospel to save, even if He cannot bless the preachers of it.”
That is the essence of the problem addressed in verses 15-18, and it should serve as a wakeup call and a solemn warning to many a pastor.
No matter how well we might have begun, we must ever be on our guard against the motive of our ministry devolving into something selfish, something mean, something evil. Because even the heart of the called preacher is deceitful above all else, and desperately sick Jeremiah 17:9 and must be examined and opened for God to examine frequently.
Having addressed that issue and gotten clear of it, look at the faithfulness of this man to the One who called him – the one whose cause he serves even in imprisonment.
It’s all he can think about. It’s what drives him. It’s his breath and his heartbeat.
“The greater progress of the gospel”
“The cause of Christ”
“Trusting in the Lord”
“Courage to speak the Word of God”
“Preaching Christ”
“The defense of the gospel”
“”Christ is proclaimed”
“…in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice”
Fellow believer in Jesus, you and I will never know this joy no matter how eloquently we speak of it; we will never know what it truly is to serve the cause of Christ, until our lives become this focused, until we give ourselves to the real life of the Christian as is described and demonstrated for us here.
Listen. If you are a Christian then you are different. The Bible says so. You are a new creature. You are no longer to fit into the world’s mould. Your priorities must change, your goals must change, your very thought processes must be radically changed into something they never were before and never could have been, because now they are shaped and guided by the Holy Spirit of God who drew you, gave you life and made you His.
C.H. MacKintosh said it very well, and I have had opportunity recently to use this quote in other settings but it says it all here.
“Grace assures us that all our interests, for time and eternity, have been most fully provided for in the death and resurrection of Christ, and gives us to see that our only business now is to live to the praise of Him who died for us, and rose again.”
Let me remind you once more that Paul was writing to teachers and doctors and carpenters and cobblers and wheel wrights and cooper smiths and bakers and seamstresses and moms and dads and students and well… whatever they were, they were saints in Christ Jesus.
They were just like us, Christ-followers. Therefore what Paul said to them, as he sat with quill and parchment and pictured their faces in his mind and smiled at the memory of them, the Holy Spirit was writing through the Apostle, and as He wrote I think He was picturing your face and mine. Because this was meant for us as much as for the saints in Philippi.
That leaves us with choices to make, once more.
You and I can sit and console each other about our aches and pains and bemoan our lot in life and fret about what those crazy politicians are going to do next. We can pour all our attentions and energies into whatever it is we do to put bread on the table and pay the rent. We can dream about that cruise we’ve never been able to afford or the condo we’ll have one day in some plush and cozy vacation spot. We can chat about world affairs over the backyard fence with one neighbor and watch the neighbor on the other side out our bedroom window with suspicion and loathing because of some perceived wrong they have done us. We can be just like the people who are in the world; just like we once were; just like we always have been.
Or we can give ourselves to faithfulness. We can be participants in the gospel. We can abound in love for God and for the brethren and increase in knowledge and discernment through the scriptures and by the Holy Spirit so that we might be discerning and wise. We can go with Paul and fly above the circumstances of life that keep the worldly chained to the world and with Paul and with MacKintosh and with all the faithful saints of the ages we can see that by God’s grace all of our interests for time and eternity have been most fully provided for in the death and resurrection of Christ.
And resting in that understanding and finally putting the calling and cause of Christ ahead of all else in our life, we can be filled with and have produced through us the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
And we can rejoice, yes, and rejoice again.
Choose again. It’s a new day. Choose once more…
