VITAL SIGNS OF A HEALTHY CHRISTIAN
Philippians 2:25-30
A couple of years ago, a dear friend of mine whose wife has been battling a terminal health issue called to tell me that she had taken a turn for the worse. The hospice workers called the family in and it seemed like the end was near. I immediately went to their home and when I arrived I saw a far too familiar scene. This precious lady appeared to be mere hours away from death. She was lying flat with her head tilted back and struggling for each breath. I was certain that I heard the “death rattle”. Her vital signs were poor; her temperature was high, her blood pressure and blood oxygen levels were low, as was her heart rate. I began to share scriptures in an effort to bring the family some sense of peace in such a tragic time. We even gathered around her for a final word of prayer for her comfort and for peace and strength for the family.
About 20 minutes later, her husband bent over and kissed her on the forehead; when he did she sat straight up in the chair and her eyes opened wide. A few minutes later I told the family that I was going home and I predicted that she would be up and walking around before the night was over. Three hours later her husband called to say that she was walking around the living room and her vital signs were almost back to normal. Though a couple of months later she ultimately went home to be with the Lord, for a time, she experienced something of a “physical revival”.
Our selected text tells of a man who was at the point of death but God had mercy on him and “revived” him; his name is Epaphroditus. There are many people in our churches who are in desperate need of personal revival. However, their situation is much different than that of Epaphroditus. You see, though he was at the point of death physically, he was alive and well spiritually. In contrast, many of our brothers and sisters are perfectly healthy physically, but they are sick, some even at the point of death spiritually speaking.
- I would like to look at Paul’s biography of Epaphroditus and examine “The Vital Signs Of A Healthy Christian”.
Vital signs are clinical measurements that can indicate when something is wrong with our physical health. Once an issue is identified we can take the proper steps to address the problem with the hope that it will lead to better health. The scriptures provide us with certain signs that serve as indicators as to whether or not you are a “healthy Christian”. If the Holy Spirit reveals to you that there are any areas of concern related to your spiritual health, I pray that you will take the proper steps to address those issues before it is too late.
In this passage, Paul is writing to the Philippians from a Roman prison. The saints at Philippi were precious to him and their friendship and partnership in the Gospel ministry was a source of great joy in the midst of his suffering. This letter is a “thank you note” from Paul to his brothers and sisters in Christ. This letter also contains many exhortations, great encouragement, and much instruction concerning the Christian life.
Perhaps the most important section in this Epistle and one of the most marvelous passages in the Bible is found earlier in this chapter. In Philippians 2:5-11 Paul says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.
Notice that Paul calls on the Saints to “have the mind of Christ”. Epaphroditus was a shining example of someone who had adopted the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus. He was a messenger who came from Philippi to minister to Paul while he was imprisoned at Rome. When he arrived, he brought Paul a financial gift from the Philippian church. When he returned to the Church he carried the very letter that we are studying with him.
The fruits of Epaphroditus’ labor did not go unnoticed by the Apostle. He highlights the fact that this man was a humble, devoted servant of Christ and the Church. Furthermore (and more importantly) God saw His faithfulness. I don’t mean to over-spiritualize the situation, but I think it could be said that Epaphroditus humbled himself before God and as a result God exalted him. For the Lord saw fit to record his testimony of service in scripture and to use it as an example of Christian faithfulness throughout church history.
When examining the life of Epaphroditus we find certain “signs” that are “vital” in the life of a healthy Christian. As we consider the “Vital Signs Of A Healthy Christian” we will begin with:
VITAL SIGN # 1: SALVATION
Paul refers to Epaphroditus as a “brother”; this shows us that he was a genuine believer. We are not given the details surrounding his conversion but we know that the divine providence of God was at work in his life. The name Epaphroditus originally meant “beloved of Aphrodite”. Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty. I think it is a safe assumption that his parents were pagan worshippers of this goddess and they likely named their son in her honor.
Though Epaphroditus was not raised in a Christian home, God had a special plan for his life. This plan was set in motion before he was born; in fact, God had a plan for him before the world was ever formed! In His divine providence, God ordained certain events in order for Epaphroditus to come face to face with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Acts 16, Paul and his associates had an intense desire to minister in Asia; however the Holy Spirit prevented them from traveling to Asia. One night Paul received a vision of a man from Macedonia who said, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” (Acts 16:19). Though Paul had good intentions, God knew that there was a man in the region of Philippi named Epaphroditus who desperately needed to hear the life changing Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul’s obedience to the Macedonian call began a chain of events that led to the establishment of the Church at Philippi and very likely resulted in the conversion of Epaphroditus.
It is simply astonishing when we step back and look at the events of our lives that led to our own conversion. There are certain circumstances we have walked through, certain places we have been, and certain people that God has placed in our lives that caused us to come face to face with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In a crowd this size, none of us have an identical testimony. There are many different details surrounding our conversion; but there is one constant and that is that God was at work in our lives. Because of His grace we heard the Gospel and responded to Holy Spirit conviction by trusting in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
God’s divine providence is evident in our lives and like Epaphroditus; God had a plan for us even before the world was formed. Paul says in Ephesians 1:4 “(God) chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will”. When Christ does His divine work of regeneration in our lives we experience “the new birth”. Living a healthy Christian life begins with this new birth resulting in salvation.
- Let’s move a little further and consider:
VITAL SIGN # 2: SURRENDER
Though I have separated salvation and surrender into two headings, they are actually intertwined. Contrary to popular belief, you cannot have one without the other. There is a damnable heresy that has been propagated for generations that would tell you that all you have to do is “believe in Jesus” and you can be a Christian. The majority of people that we encounter “believe in Jesus” but it is apparent that they are not all saved. James says “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” (James 2:19)
Far too many people have been convinced that they can “believe” in Jesus and have Him as Savior without Him being Lord. I’m waiting on someone to show me a biblical example to prove their case! However, there are numerous verses that refer to “our Lord AND Savior Jesus Christ.”
The entire context of Epaphroditus’ biography illustrates the fact that he was completely surrendered to the Lord. He was confronted with the truth of the Gospel and he responded by surrendering to Jesus as Lord. We know this because Paul called him his “brother”.
Epaphroditus did not respond to the gospel by simply praying a prayer. He was not saved because his name was on the role of the Church at Philippi. He wasn’t saved because he went through baptismal waters. He was saved because he believed, he repented, and he surrendered to Jesus!
Many times someone will begin to doubt their salvation and the common response from Christian leaders is “was there ever a time when you prayed and asked Jesus to come into your heart”. Dear friends, there is more involved in this process than praying a simple prayer. It is a great tragedy that hell is full of people who lived their lives putting their faith in a prayer instead of the finished work of Jesus Christ. Do not base your assurance of salvation on the fact that you “prayed a prayer” decades ago; rather assess your life and ask the hard question “am I walking with Jesus today?”
Is Jesus the Lord of your life? Have you truly surrendered to Him? Those who subscribe to “easy believeism” will inevitably quote Romans 10:13 which says: “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” That is a great verse that contains a wonderful promise, but often overlooked is what we are to believe about Jesus. Paul refers to “those who call on the name of THE LORD!” Lord means “supreme ruler”. This means that Jesus is the ultimate authority in your life!
We don’t know much about Epaphroditus but we do know that he was a man who gave his all to Jesus Christ. He realized that his life was not his own, he had been bought with a price and he lived in such a way that he glorified God in his body, even to the point of death! When we truly repent and believe in Jesus: we turn from our sin, turn from ourselves, turn from the things of this world, turn from everyone and everything else and turn to Jesus. We surrender our lives completely to Him.
Let me just add that this surrender is not a one-time event; it is a constant, daily requirement. In Luke 9:23 (Jesus said), “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it”. We are to live our lives in complete and continual surrender to our Lord. When we are surrendered to Him we will go where He says go, we will do what He says do, we will stay as long as He says stay, and we will endure whatever may come our way! If we are to live a healthy Christian life, surrender is vital!
- Moving on, let’s examine:
VITAL SIGN # 3: SERVICE
If you have been saved, you have been saved to serve. God has a purpose and a plan for your life and there is a special and specific work for you to accomplish. This is seen in the life of Epaphroditus. Paul calls him his “fellow worker”; by using this term Paul presents him as being an equal partner in the gospel ministry. I do not have the time to cover all of the many ways that God can use you to serve Him, but if you belong to Him, He has a plan to use your service for His glory.
Some of you are truly saved but you are not currently living a “healthy Christian life”. This is because you are not actively serving the Lord. If this is the case, then it is also an indicator that there is an issue with your surrender.
In Luke 6:46 Jesus asked a sobering question, He said: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” Could it be that He is asking you that question today? If so, then there is a major issue with your spiritual health that needs to be addressed immediately!
- The next vital sign that we must examine is:
VITAL SIGN # 4: SACRIFICE
Paul refers to Epaphroditus as a “fellow soldier”; this is a term that is used to refer to someone who fights honorably alongside another. Earlier in this letter Paul called on the Philippians to “let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see 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” (Philippians 1:27)
It was vital for the saints at Philippi to sacrifice and serve together for the furtherance of the Gospel. This is vital for the members of Christ’s church today! The Christian soldier is one who is willing to sacrifice himself for the benefit of others. This mindset is seen in the life of Epaphroditus. He sacrificed his time, he sacrificed personal opportunities, he even sacrificed his health in order to serve the church at Philippi and to minister to Paul.
Healthy Christians are those who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the advancement of God’s Kingdom. Sadly, our churches are filled with people who would rather be served than to serve. We have had people leave our assembly and move to another church because that church “had more to offer their family”. This is not the mark of a healthy Christian.
A healthy Christian is one, who sees a need and is willing to serve, one who is humble, selfless, and willing to sacrifice in order to serve others. A healthy Christian is one who will approach the pastor and say, “there is a need in the children’s, youth, or senior adult ministry, use me”. A healthy Christian says, “our church needs someone to start a class for a certain demographic, let me teach it”. A healthy Christian will say “there is a need for people to be involved in evangelistic work, send me”. A healthy Christian says, “there is a need for someone to clean the building, give me a mop”. If you will do this, I can assure you that your pastor will hug you and put you to work immediately!
Epaphroditus didn’t complain because of the task that had been assigned. He didn’t say, “I have better things to do, send someone else.” He didn’t say “I have paid my dues, let someone younger make the trip”. He wasn’t worried about losing an opportunity to head a committee or hold a certain position in the Philippian church. He didn’t say, “I’ll pay the way for someone else to go”. No! Epaphroditus saw a great need and he said, “here I am send me!”
Healthy Christians today will do the same. They will sacrifice their time, personal desires and comforts and they will do what is necessary to meet the needs within the church. They will use their talents and abilities and selflessly serve others with the intention of bringing glory to God.
- One will not exhibit this kind of sacrifice if they do not possess a measure of selflessness. This leads us to:
VITAL SIGN # 5: SELFLESSNESS
Paul refers to Epaphroditus as “your messenger” and “the one who ministered to my need”. Verse 26 gives us a glimpse into the heart of Epaphroditus. Paul says that: “he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick”.
This man exemplified humility and compassion for his brothers and sisters in Christ. His selflessness prompted him to sacrifice much in order to serve others. In order to reach Paul, Epaphroditus was required to travel some seven hundred miles. As a result of this long and arduous journey, he became very ill; in fact “he was sick almost unto death”. However, it seems that he was more concerned with the welfare of the saints than he was his own physical health. Paul says that he was greatly “distressed” because word of his illness had reached the saints at Philippi. It is possible that he was worried that his brothers and sisters may have blamed themselves for putting him in such a dangerous position.
Epaphroditus genuinely possessed “lowliness of mind” and humbly “counted others more significant than himself” (v3). He did not “look out only for his own interests, but also for the interest of others” (v4). No one could accuse him of doing things “through selfish ambition or conceit”. He was a man who was already living in the way that Paul would instruct the church to live in this Epistle. Even at the point of death Epaphroditus possessed great love and affection for the Saints at Philippi.
If we are healthy Christians, we will not be concerned with ourselves. We will not “look out only for our own interests, but also for the interests of others”. We will be humble, compassionate and willing to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others.
Epaphroditus was saved & surrendered, he was a servant, he was sacrificial, he was selfless and finally we will see that he was steadfast. This leads us to:
VITAL SIGN # 6: STEADFASTNESS
Epaphroditus selflessly sacrificed himself in his service to the Lord and the church and it almost killed him. Fortunately for Paul and the Philippian Christians, God had mercy on Epaphroditus and healed him. Notice verse 27, “For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow”. God had mercy on Epaphroditus and spared his life. Paul says that in his healing, God has mercy on him as well. Otherwise he would have had “sorrow upon sorrow”.
Over the last few years I have experienced sorrow upon sorrow as the Lord has called several of my (spiritually) healthy Christian brothers and sisters home. Though I am assured that they are in the presence of the Lord, their absence is apparent every time I walk into the church. But if I am honest, there have been others who have passed in that same period of time and it had no real impact on our assembly whatsoever. My friend, if you are a healthy Christian that exhibits the vital signs that we have seen this evening, it will have a tremendous impact on your church when the Lord calls you home.
After Epaphroditus was revived, Paul sent him back to Philippi in an effort to lessen his own personal sorrow and to increase the joy of that Saints. He says in verse 28-29, “I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men”.
Paul says that Epaphroditus and men like him should be held in “high esteem”. Why? The answer is found in verse 30, “because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life...”. Epaphroditus was not concerned with life or death; his aim was to minister to the Apostle Paul, to support the local church, and to serve the Lord. He served to the point of death, he was revived physically and he continued to serve the Lord.
Some of you once exhibited each of these vital signs of a healthy Christian; but somewhere along the way, your spiritual health took a turn. You are still saved, but your surrender is not what it should be. You used to serve, but now you are idle. You were once selfless and sacrificial, but now you are selfish and consumed with apathy. Rather than heeding the exhortation to be “steadfast, unmovable and always abounding in the work of the Lord”, somewhere along the way you ceased your labor.
Whenever you visit your primary care doctor; the medical assistants will hook you up to certain machines and check your vital signs. The purpose of this is to assess your physical health. If there is an issue, they will identify it and tell you what steps you should take in order to improve your health. Some heed the advice of their physician and their health improves considerably. Others refuse to make the proper changes and their health continues to decline, eventually leading to death.
God has certain ways of assessing our spiritual health. Through the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures He shows us when our vital signs are not where they should be. When He reveals this, then we must take the proper steps to address our spiritual health. If we will do this, then there is nothing preventing us from living a healthy Christian life. If we refuse, our spiritual health will continue to decline. It would take another whole sermon to warn you of the danger of making such a foolish decision.
I implore you to listen to The Great Physician and do what is necessary to return to a place of vibrant spiritual health. If you have never been saved, you have the opportunity to experience spiritual, abundant, and eternal life. Repent and believe in Jesus Christ and surrender to Him as Lord. If you have done this, then ensure that your surrender is complete and constant. If you have ceased your labor, return to the Lord and resume your service to Him. If you are serving the Lord, do so with humility and compassion.
Finally, when the vital signs of salvation, surrender, service, selflessness and sacrifice are evident in your life, ensure that you remain steadfast. God has given us a great example of a healthy Christian in this man, Epaphroditus. Let us assess our lives and ensure that we exhibit all of “The Vital Signs Of A Healthy Christian.”
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