Forward Movement
Today we continue our look into Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Last week we talked about being filled with the fruits of righteousness. This week, we’re going to see the direction Paul is going to go after requesting on behalf of the Philippians in prayer for them to be filled with the fruits of righteousness.
There’s a story of two neighbors, Mr. Smith and Mr. Wilson, who were constantly at odds with each other. They were constantly fighting about where the property lines were, who’s tree was it that lost limbs in who’s yard…it was a constant battle. One day the son of Mr. Smith was talking to his friend and said “You know, my father and Mr. Wilson have been fighting and arguing for 30 years, but now, they’ve finally stopped!”
“Why?” his friend replied, “Did they bury the hatchet?”
“No, actually they buried Mr. Wilson.”
Today we’re going to see Paul talking about being in prison and other people who are preaching the Gospel of Christ to cause problems for Paul. We will see exactly how Paul handles these particular situations.
Let’s read Philippians 1:12-18.
12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
First off, we see Paul immediately stating that what has happened has happened for a purpose. Paul has recognized that he has been put in prison because the Gospel is being advanced through this opportunity. As a result of being humble enough to realize that God has called him to the prison, even the guards have realized that Paul is here for the cause of Christ.
One of the things that really caught my eye here was that the words here aren’t just a guard, but a palace guard. The Greek word used here is referring to the Praetorian Guard. This praetorian guard is made up of Roman soldiers, not just every day guards. These guards were top of the line, Roman citizens from the palace sent to guard this very big threat as it was seen back in that day. It was even clear to these high end guards that Paul was there because of Christ. That is not an easy task.
If Paul can win the Praetorian Guard, which belong to a society that has multiple gods keep in mind, the power of Christ through us is endless.
I want take a minute to explain that Paul uses the word chains here, but it doesn’t refer to being in actual prison. Paul is surely referring to the chains he was in by way of serving Christ. Paul was living in a rented facility in Rome and was not necessarily under arrest…however, he was in a “prison” of sorts because wherever he went, he spoke of Christ. This worried the Romans because they did not want him upsetting their system of government and way of life. So, what the emperor did was send this Praetorian Guard to quell Paul in his teaching of Christ’s Gospel. Unfortunately, this did not work as we just saw, Paul was winning over even the Praetorian Guards.
The only reason Paul is able to do this is because he has allowed himself to be filled with the fruits of righteousness. Love reigns in his life and his love for Christ and advancing the Gospel shows. Because love reigns, all of the other brothers that are with Paul have been encouraged to be more open and bold in their sharing of the Gospel.
The Gospel was advancing in Rome because other believers were empowered by the way God was working through Paul. They became bold themselves and allowed God to work his message through them. It’s the work of Salvation that we talked about last week. It is God’s work and when we open ourselves up to it, we can be just as bold as these brothers were. It’s just not easy…
Have you ever noticed that with yourself? It’s a lot easier to talk openly about Christ when others are talking about it too. I know myself that when you don’t know where someone else stands it is a little more difficult to get up the nerve to ask or say something. In our culture today, it’s almost considered not politically correct to speak of religious issues in public. These are similar issues to what Paul was facing. We won’t end up having the Secret Service on our doorstep making sure we are quiet, but it’s not considered popular to speak up. Paul is encouraging us to be bold because there are others, him included, who have gone before us in chains for the Gospel. We should be encouraged to follow their footsteps and speak out even if it isn’t popular.
In this next portion of Paul’s letter, Paul continues on this trek of advancing the Gospel. He seems to be answering a question of sorts. It seems that there are two types of not only preachers, but people who share the Gospel, although it does apply to preachers as well. There are those who share the Gospel who are jealous and competitive and want to tear down others, and there are those who share the Gospel out of love of sharing the needed message with others.
Paul was facing people who are sharing the Gospel of Christ because they wanted to compete with him, and, in fact, are actually jealous of Paul’s position. You see, Paul had a position of power within this new Christian church and many were jealous of that position. If they stirred up trouble and spoke up about the Gospel of Christ, they might in fact stir up enough trouble to have Paul executed.
For us today, we know that there are people who indeed preach and share the Gospel, but they do it for selfish ambitions. They do it because they want either stature within their church, power or influence in the church or community. Doing this is a sin for sure, because the motives are for personal gain, not for the love of Christ. What they did do however, was preach the Gospel in a doctrinally sound way.
The others however, preach and share the Gospel out of love. Love for God, love for Christ and love for sharing the message that needs to be spread. These people were good, authentic Christians who were genuinely concerned with sharing Christ’s message.
A number of years ago, there was a schoolteacher who was trying to teach a student a lesson. To try and teach him a lesson on sharing, she posed this question. “If your mother gave you a large apple and a small apple and told you to divide it with your brother, which apple would you give him?” The little boy replied, “Do you mean my little brother or my big brother?”
Paul rejoices in the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To Paul, they are preaching the Gospel in Truth and whether or not their motives behind it are authentic, it serves to advance the cause of Christ. Paul does not necessarily rejoice in the split that the unfaithful sharers cause. What Paul does rejoice in is the fact that Gospel is spread further.
So, what does all this mean to us? Do we have the same issues in this day and age that they did back then? Well, our problems in this world are a shade different than they were 2000 years ago. In our country today, we just don’t face the possibility of jail time if we spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. However, our laws on Freedom of Speech and Religion are vital to our ability to speak this Good News, have also been a detriment to us as well.
The politically correct idea in America the past 30 or 40 years or so has gained strength and we, especially the younger generations, are afraid to speak up because we have been conditioned with the “you might offend somebody” syndrome. Quite frankly, we as younger believers should ignore the status quo and boldly move forward the Gospel.
For the older generations certainly pre-WWII and possibly from before the 60’s or so, from my vantage point as a whipper snapper as my grandpa used to call me, most everyone believed. I would venture to say more people believed then that do now. The dire need for evangelism just wasn’t as bad as it is today. Perhaps it was because of the events of the 40’s in the war that did it. Maybe it was a time when it was simply more natural for people to believe. In this case, what I perceive as most important are a few different areas.
First, in our workplace and in the community is where we can be influential. With our place in our job or perhaps in the community on the board or just as a person whom people seek advice from. From this we can show by the way we live our lives. Talking about Christ is also important while we lead by example as well. Basically put, give credit where credit is due to our Lord.
Second, in our families is where we can be the most influential. Sharing the Gospel with grandchildren, living as examples of what God can do with us is a part of it. We can be so influential within our own circle that we sometimes don’t even realize it.
As an example, my grandparents on my dad’s side were always a great example of Christianity. They always went to church, always talked to us about God and took us whenever we spent the night with them on the weekend. They were both very involved with their respective ministries within the church. As you probably know, I was raised Catholic and let me tell you, Catholicism doesn’t encourage Bible reading, but my grandparents bought us our first Bibles and encouraged us to read them. Not only this, but my grandpa especially could be seen consistently reading his. They were very influential in my life and in my walk with Christ.
This parents and grandparents is our job…our most important job in the world. I’m sure that it isn’t just my grandparents that were influential in my life, my bet is that there are many of you out there who had the same thing from either your parents or grandparents.
So…the main theme for today? Forward Movement…by living our lives and speaking up for the Gospel of Christ, we can keep Christ’s message going with Forward Movement, thereby ensuring his message to the next generation. That, as I said earlier, is our most important job as parents and grandparents…to pass down the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There’s a story of two neighbors, Mr. Smith and Mr. Wilson, who were constantly at odds with each other. They were constantly fighting about where the property lines were, who’s tree was it that lost limbs in who’s yard…it was a constant battle. One day the son of Mr. Smith was talking to his friend and said “You know, my father and Mr. Wilson have been fighting and arguing for 30 years, but now, they’ve finally stopped!”
“Why?” his friend replied, “Did they bury the hatchet?”
“No, actually they buried Mr. Wilson.”
Today we’re going to see Paul talking about being in prison and other people who are preaching the Gospel of Christ to cause problems for Paul. We will see exactly how Paul handles these particular situations.
Let’s read Philippians 1:12-18.
12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
First off, we see Paul immediately stating that what has happened has happened for a purpose. Paul has recognized that he has been put in prison because the Gospel is being advanced through this opportunity. As a result of being humble enough to realize that God has called him to the prison, even the guards have realized that Paul is here for the cause of Christ.
One of the things that really caught my eye here was that the words here aren’t just a guard, but a palace guard. The Greek word used here is referring to the Praetorian Guard. This praetorian guard is made up of Roman soldiers, not just every day guards. These guards were top of the line, Roman citizens from the palace sent to guard this very big threat as it was seen back in that day. It was even clear to these high end guards that Paul was there because of Christ. That is not an easy task.
If Paul can win the Praetorian Guard, which belong to a society that has multiple gods keep in mind, the power of Christ through us is endless.
I want take a minute to explain that Paul uses the word chains here, but it doesn’t refer to being in actual prison. Paul is surely referring to the chains he was in by way of serving Christ. Paul was living in a rented facility in Rome and was not necessarily under arrest…however, he was in a “prison” of sorts because wherever he went, he spoke of Christ. This worried the Romans because they did not want him upsetting their system of government and way of life. So, what the emperor did was send this Praetorian Guard to quell Paul in his teaching of Christ’s Gospel. Unfortunately, this did not work as we just saw, Paul was winning over even the Praetorian Guards.
The only reason Paul is able to do this is because he has allowed himself to be filled with the fruits of righteousness. Love reigns in his life and his love for Christ and advancing the Gospel shows. Because love reigns, all of the other brothers that are with Paul have been encouraged to be more open and bold in their sharing of the Gospel.
The Gospel was advancing in Rome because other believers were empowered by the way God was working through Paul. They became bold themselves and allowed God to work his message through them. It’s the work of Salvation that we talked about last week. It is God’s work and when we open ourselves up to it, we can be just as bold as these brothers were. It’s just not easy…
Have you ever noticed that with yourself? It’s a lot easier to talk openly about Christ when others are talking about it too. I know myself that when you don’t know where someone else stands it is a little more difficult to get up the nerve to ask or say something. In our culture today, it’s almost considered not politically correct to speak of religious issues in public. These are similar issues to what Paul was facing. We won’t end up having the Secret Service on our doorstep making sure we are quiet, but it’s not considered popular to speak up. Paul is encouraging us to be bold because there are others, him included, who have gone before us in chains for the Gospel. We should be encouraged to follow their footsteps and speak out even if it isn’t popular.
In this next portion of Paul’s letter, Paul continues on this trek of advancing the Gospel. He seems to be answering a question of sorts. It seems that there are two types of not only preachers, but people who share the Gospel, although it does apply to preachers as well. There are those who share the Gospel who are jealous and competitive and want to tear down others, and there are those who share the Gospel out of love of sharing the needed message with others.
Paul was facing people who are sharing the Gospel of Christ because they wanted to compete with him, and, in fact, are actually jealous of Paul’s position. You see, Paul had a position of power within this new Christian church and many were jealous of that position. If they stirred up trouble and spoke up about the Gospel of Christ, they might in fact stir up enough trouble to have Paul executed.
For us today, we know that there are people who indeed preach and share the Gospel, but they do it for selfish ambitions. They do it because they want either stature within their church, power or influence in the church or community. Doing this is a sin for sure, because the motives are for personal gain, not for the love of Christ. What they did do however, was preach the Gospel in a doctrinally sound way.
The others however, preach and share the Gospel out of love. Love for God, love for Christ and love for sharing the message that needs to be spread. These people were good, authentic Christians who were genuinely concerned with sharing Christ’s message.
A number of years ago, there was a schoolteacher who was trying to teach a student a lesson. To try and teach him a lesson on sharing, she posed this question. “If your mother gave you a large apple and a small apple and told you to divide it with your brother, which apple would you give him?” The little boy replied, “Do you mean my little brother or my big brother?”
Paul rejoices in the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To Paul, they are preaching the Gospel in Truth and whether or not their motives behind it are authentic, it serves to advance the cause of Christ. Paul does not necessarily rejoice in the split that the unfaithful sharers cause. What Paul does rejoice in is the fact that Gospel is spread further.
So, what does all this mean to us? Do we have the same issues in this day and age that they did back then? Well, our problems in this world are a shade different than they were 2000 years ago. In our country today, we just don’t face the possibility of jail time if we spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. However, our laws on Freedom of Speech and Religion are vital to our ability to speak this Good News, have also been a detriment to us as well.
The politically correct idea in America the past 30 or 40 years or so has gained strength and we, especially the younger generations, are afraid to speak up because we have been conditioned with the “you might offend somebody” syndrome. Quite frankly, we as younger believers should ignore the status quo and boldly move forward the Gospel.
For the older generations certainly pre-WWII and possibly from before the 60’s or so, from my vantage point as a whipper snapper as my grandpa used to call me, most everyone believed. I would venture to say more people believed then that do now. The dire need for evangelism just wasn’t as bad as it is today. Perhaps it was because of the events of the 40’s in the war that did it. Maybe it was a time when it was simply more natural for people to believe. In this case, what I perceive as most important are a few different areas.
First, in our workplace and in the community is where we can be influential. With our place in our job or perhaps in the community on the board or just as a person whom people seek advice from. From this we can show by the way we live our lives. Talking about Christ is also important while we lead by example as well. Basically put, give credit where credit is due to our Lord.
Second, in our families is where we can be the most influential. Sharing the Gospel with grandchildren, living as examples of what God can do with us is a part of it. We can be so influential within our own circle that we sometimes don’t even realize it.
As an example, my grandparents on my dad’s side were always a great example of Christianity. They always went to church, always talked to us about God and took us whenever we spent the night with them on the weekend. They were both very involved with their respective ministries within the church. As you probably know, I was raised Catholic and let me tell you, Catholicism doesn’t encourage Bible reading, but my grandparents bought us our first Bibles and encouraged us to read them. Not only this, but my grandpa especially could be seen consistently reading his. They were very influential in my life and in my walk with Christ.
This parents and grandparents is our job…our most important job in the world. I’m sure that it isn’t just my grandparents that were influential in my life, my bet is that there are many of you out there who had the same thing from either your parents or grandparents.
So…the main theme for today? Forward Movement…by living our lives and speaking up for the Gospel of Christ, we can keep Christ’s message going with Forward Movement, thereby ensuring his message to the next generation. That, as I said earlier, is our most important job as parents and grandparents…to pass down the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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