by Larry Ferrell | December 29, 2017
Paul’s confidence that he would be acquitted at his trial and set free (vv. 25-26) inevitably fell short of an absolute certainty. He apparently so judged the needs of the church that he was as near sure as anyone could be that he would again visit Philippi. Nevertheless, he must prepare the church for either eventuality. Strikingly, one set of instructions was enough: absent or present, he required that their life should be worthy of the gospel of Christ (v. 27). The requirement was both exclusive and absolute. Paul said, “This one thing and this only”; nothing else must distract or excuse them from this great objective. Christians are to live worthy of their spiritual possessions. If you are a Christian, you do not hold your possessions in Christ through any virtue of your own. What you have, you only have from Him who is the King of kings. But having it, you must live worthy of your calling. Old things are to be put away; all things are to be new. Being a citizen of heaven, you are to live by the laws of that citizenship.

At this point Paul turns to two practical expressions of proper Christian conduct, expressions that follow logically upon his reference to citizenship. How do you live as a citizen of heaven? First, Paul says that we are to “stand firm in one spirit,” and second, with one mind we are to “strive together” for the advancement of the gospel. The first distinguishing mark of Christian conduct is that we stand together. We are ‘to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). Christians are not to divide along doctrinal or sociological lines. They are to be one. Unfortunately, evangelical churches are not known for “standing together.” In fact the opposite is true. This dishonors Christ. Moreover, it hinders the preaching of the gospel. In the place of these divisions Christians should know a unity that is visible and has practical results.

The second practical expression of true Christian conduct follows naturally from the first. If believers will conduct themselves in a manner that leads to Christian unity, then they will find that this also leads them to strive together to advance the Christian gospel. The result will be an aggressive Christianity. The Christians at Philippi knew what it meant to stand fast as Romans at the frontiers of the Roman world. They knew the obligation that was theirs to advance Roman rule in the face of barbarism. In the same way, Paul would have them united for an aggressive advancement of the faith. How we need to recover an aggressive faith today!

Paul has been emphasizing the need for Christian conduct. A Christian must be like Christ. No sooner has he mentioned this, however, that a sequence comes to mind. This prompts him to talk about a side subject in verses 28-30. The sequence is this: Wherever Christians will live as they ought to live in this world, where they will live righteous lives and aggressively seek to spread the gospel, in that place there will be persecution. This is true for all Christians. If you bear a proper witness for Jesus Christ, as God intends you to do, there will be persecution for you. It will not always be physical persecution as it was in Paul’s day, but you will suffer persecution of some sort nevertheless. It will be the natural result of your confession.

Sometimes it will be ridicule by the crowd. Sometimes our conduct will lead to persecution in business. The greatest example of persecution suffered for the sake of righteousness is in the life of Jesus Christ. Jesus came into the world as the Light of the world. But the world was in darkness. Where there is darkness, people do the works of darkness, and they do not want their deeds to be brought to light because their deeds are evil. When Jesus appeared, His life cut like a knife into the human conscience. People could get along with hypocrisy between one another, for humans are alike in their hypocrisy; but when Christ stood in their midst He exposed the hypocrisy, and they hated Him for it. People could get away with pride, dishonesty, sexual perversion, and legalism among themselves, but they could not do it in Christ’s presence. Consequently, those who rejected His standards eventually crucified Him.

Now I know that at this point you may be asking: Why does God allow persecution? What is its purpose? Paul gives two good reasons. One is that it is a token of salvation for the Christian. The other is that it is a token of destruction to the one who fails to believe. It’s not possible for a Christian to stand firm under persecution and for the world to dismiss it as nothing. It is evidence of a supernatural power. Consequently, it is a token of salvation to the Christian and of destruction to those who will not believe.

It may be that God will call you to bear a testimony like that of the prophets in the Old Testament. It may not be as dramatic as the prophets, but it may result in persecution. You may do it in a quiet way, and no one may ever hear your witness. No one will know of your courage. But God knows. And your witness will go down in the books of eternity as evidence that you were a Christian who lived as God called you to live and who bore the testimony God called you to bear. History will bear out that the things spoken by you were true, and your conduct will be vindicated. If you will see persecution in this light, then you will see it for what it really is a gift from the hand of God. Paul refers to persecution as a gift twice in the last two verses of this chapter, given by God as a token of His grace! How wonderful that persecution can be received in that way by Christians.

Philippians 1:27-30 Reflection Questions:
Do you believe that the church today is aggressive in advancement of the gospel? How might you help?
Have you experienced ridicule or prejudice for Christ’s sake?
Do you see persecution as a gift from God?

Be the first to comment