Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening. And
now for today's program. Welcome to our program today.
If you'd like to follow along in your Bibles, I'm going to
be preaching from Philippians chapter 1. I preached from this
passage last week on a salvation that is begun and ended and completed
by God. And I want to continue on that.
That's not the title of today's message. Today's message is entitled,
Striving Together in the Truth. And I took that title from the
last verses of this chapter when Paul writes that his desire,
in verse 27, he says, only let your conversation, and that word
conversation means their walk, not just their talk, be as it
becometh the gospel of Christ that it's fitting to the gospel
that whether I come and see you or else be absent I may hear
of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit together now
with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel so
striving together in the gospel now this is really important
Paul was very bold, and his boldness was a gift that God gave him
to stand before sinners who by nature hated the truth. And really,
we're all like that by nature if we read the Bible and admit
it, that the truth is just something that we don't want when it comes
to how God saves sinners and who we really are. I often talk
about how we're sinful people. We're born that way. We fell
in Adam, the scripture says. You can read it in the Bible,
Romans 5, 12, for example, that through Adam's sin, all became
sinners, have sinned. We're born that way. and we grow
up that way, and it won't change unless God changes it in the
power of Christ and the Holy Spirit and the new birth. And
so we're spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. We're spiritually
depraved. People say, well, salvation is
by your free will. Now we have a will, but our will
is subject to our fallen human nature. And it's kind of like,
what we want is to have some glory for ourselves in salvation.
We want to think that we make the difference. And so when we
tell people who believe that salvation is conditioned on them
in some way, at some stage, to some degree, that they don't
know Christ, they don't know the gospel, it has a tendency
to make people angry. And when we tell people that
they're trying to measure salvation on a sliding scale of holiness
and righteousness that they don't know, that the only standard
of righteousness in the kingdom of God through the gospel is
the imputed righteousness of Christ. That's the perfection
of the law and justice of God that can only be found in him.
And so you understand that's why he's called the Lord our
righteousness twice in Jeremiah and all through the Old Testament.
But Paul suffered. Many times when he wrote these
epistles, like Philippians, he was in jail, arrested for preaching
the gospel, telling the truth. And it was the unbelieving Jews,
along with the idolatrous Romans, who put him there. But God allowed
it to happen. And he says, just for example,
look back in Philippians 1 verse nine. He said, and this I pray,
that your love may abound yet more and more and more in knowledge
and in all judgment, that you may approve things that are excellent,
that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.
Now that word offense there means a stumbling block. There's an
offense to the truth. It's called the offense of the
cross. But here he's talking about, I hope that nothing gets
in the way of your walk in the truth. And so he says, verse
11, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by
Jesus Christ under the glory and praise of God. The fruits
of righteousness has to do with the fruit of being justified
before God based on the righteousness of Christ. And what is the fruit
of righteousness? Well, it's being born again by
the Spirit, given life, a new heart, a new mind, new affections,
new will, the gift of faith, believing God. You see, if you
really believe in the true and living God, if you really come
to Christ, the true Christ, not a counterfeit now, But if you
really have come to Christ for salvation by faith in Him, and
if you've really repented of dead works and idolatry, if you
want to read about that, what that means, look at Philippians
3. If you've really done that, and
if you're really persevering in the faith, it's by the power
and goodness of God. Those things are all gifts that
God gave you, to His people. None of that came to you naturally.
You never made the difference. Christ did. Christ made the difference. God's grace makes the difference.
And we need to understand that. And so what makes the difference
between God's elect and those who are non-elect? God makes
the difference. You say, well, how can I know
if I'm one of them? Do you want to know the gospel? Do you want to know the scriptures?
Or when you hear the truth preached, do you turn away from it and
live your whole life in that way? You might be a religious
person. You might claim to believe in
Christ. Are you sure that the Christ you believe in is the
true Christ of this book? You say, well, what do you mean
by that? Well, listen to me now. Who is Jesus Christ? He's God with us. God manifests
in the flesh. There are whole denominations
that claim to be Christian, but they deny his deity. That's heresy. That's a false gospel and a false
Christ. Some even deny his humanity.
First John chapter four speaks of those who denied that Christ
came in the flesh because they looked at all flesh as being
sinful. And sometimes the word flesh in the New Testament is
equated with sin. Sometimes it's just referring
to the physical body. There's nothing sinful about
our physical bodies. Sin comes out of the heart, the
mind, the affections, the will, the motive, the conscience. Now, our physical bodies are
racked with the consequences of sin. That's why we get old
and die. The wages of sin is death. And
if we don't know Christ, if we step into eternity without Christ,
that'll be an eternal death. That'll be the second death.
And that's why You know, we who believe the gospel, we haven't
been saved from physical death. We're going to die. It's appointed
unto man once to die, and after that, the judgment. But we've
been saved from that eternal death, that eternal separation
from God. So the fruit of righteousness
is salvation, and that's Christ's righteousness, and it's to the
praise of the glory of the praise of God. Verse 12 of Philippians
1 says, but I would, you should understand, brethren, that the
things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the
furtherance of the gospel. Isn't that amazing? Now Paul's
in jail, but it didn't stop the furtherance of the gospel. God's
got a purpose. God's gonna get the gospel to
his people, period. He's gonna do it. And putting
Paul in jail, putting any preacher in jail, trying to burn Bibles
or whatever, that's not gonna stop it. God's gonna do it, and
that's the work of God. And then he mentions preachers
who are against him, but some of them preach the gospel. So
Paul even had, somebody asked me, he said, are these brethren
or are they just false preachers who sometimes preach the gospel?
I don't know. But I know they preach the gospel,
why? But look at verse 18. What then, notwithstanding every
way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and
I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. Now, when Christ
is preached, It's not a false gospel. It's the true Christ
is preached in the glory of His person and the power of His finished
work. So he says in verse 19, for I
know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer
and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And so, as he
goes on, he's encouraging them. Verse 20, according to my earnest
expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed,
but that with all boldness and always, as always, so now also
Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life
or by death. Whether I live or whether I die,
Christ will be magnified. That's what he's saying. And
let me tell you something. That's not a human power and
ability. That's the power of God. The
ability of God working through his people. Right there. He says
in verse 21, for to me to live is Christ, to die is gain. My
life here on earth is looking to, resting in, having confidence
in, following Christ, the Lord of Glory, who died for my sins
and rose because of my justification. In whose blood I'm washed and
whose righteousness I stand before God justified, forgiven of all
my sins, past, present, and future, on that just ground of His blood,
and declare righteous in God's sight on that just ground, His
righteousness imputed. And I live for His glory. I sometimes
mess up. I sometimes try to please self
rather than God. But I have a Savior who saves
me to the uttermost. the uttermost, and who will not
let me go." That's the promise of God by grace. So for to me,
to live is Christ. But to die is gain. What a gain
it would be. If I die, my spirit goes to be
with the Lord, and I won't have to struggle with this sin-fleshly
nature again. I won't have to struggle with
it at all. He says in verse 22, but if I
live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor, yet what shall
I choose? I want not, or I know not. For
I'm in a strait betwixt the two, having a desire to depart and
to be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to abide
in the flesh is more needful for you. Paul says, it'd be better
for me to go and be with the Lord. But it's better for you
if I stay around." Because Paul was such an encouraging, a knowledgeable
apostle. He encouraged them. He taught
them. He was used of God to write over half of the New Testament.
Now Paul, when I ever say that, I tell you, God wrote the Bible. He used men to do it, but he
used Paul to write over half the New Testament. And so, He
says, nevertheless, it's to abide in the flesh, verse 24, is needful
for you, and having this confidence, 25, verse 25, I know that I shall
abide and continue with you all for your furtherance in joy of
the faith, that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus
Christ for me by my coming to you. Look to Christ. I always love that passage in
the book of John where it talks about John the Baptist teaching
his disciples. And it said, they heard John
preaching, John the Baptist, but they followed Christ. And
that's the goal. You're hearing me preach, but
my desire is don't follow me, follow Christ as I lead you in
the scriptures. Now we come to this passage.
He says, verse 27, A person who claims to be saved by grace without
works who throws caution to the wind
with no desire to be an obedient servant of God, a good steward,
no desire to fight the flesh, no godly sorrow. My friend, that
person is fooling themselves. And he talks about what's becoming
to the gospel. What is appropriate to a sinner
saved by grace? I'll tell you what's appropriate.
Let your conversation, your walk, be becoming. Adorn the grace
of God with obedience. And that obedience is not for
salvation. That obedience is not to make
us acceptable before God. Only Christ has done that and
can do that. And that's why he says it becometh
the gospel. The gospel is the preaching of
salvation by God's grace in Christ, not by our works. If you preach
salvation by the law, by works of the law, at any stage, to
any degree, in any way, you're denying the gospel. So you take
a person who says, well, our salvation is by grace, but our
sanctification, our holiness, is by our works. That's not becoming
to the gospel. That's a denial of the gospel.
Many of you may have heard the term Lordship Salvation. Just
a few years ago that I was confronted with that, because it's not that
I preach it, it's heresy. But what Lordship Salvation is,
is works-based assurance. In other words, you're saved
by grace, but your assurance of salvation comes by your works. My friend, that's not becoming
to the gospel. That's not striving together
for the faith of the gospel. You may be striving to keep the
law, to be a good person, and you should, but not in order
to be saved, not in order to work your way into a righteousness
that God will accept. That's all in Christ. So where
does our assurance come from? The gospel of Christ. Hebrews
12 too states it. looking unto Jesus, the author
and the finisher of our faith. What did Paul say? I quoted it
earlier, 2 Timothy 1, 12. I know whom I have believed,
and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep, preserve that which
I have committed unto him against that day. And if you're a believer
now, If you want to think according to the gospel, ask yourself this
question, what have I committed to Christ? Well, I can tell you
what every believer has committed to it. Our whole salvation. Our new birth is committed to
Him, born of God, born of God, born from above. Our believing
is committed to Him. We wouldn't have faith if He
didn't give us the gift of faith. For by grace are you saved through
faith, but not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. I can tell you I chose Christ,
but not because of my will or desire or decision. I chose Him
because He chose me and He gave me a new heart. a new mind, a
new affections. I was born again under the gospel
and I believe in Him. I've repented of dead works and
what have I to do with those works? I count them all but lost
for Christ who is my only hope and my only ground of salvation.
That's striving together, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of my faith. That's the only way. that we
walk according to the gospel. So Paul says, only let your conversation,
this is verse 27, be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether
I come and see you or else be absent, whether I'm here or there,
I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit,
fellowship say, one mind, one goal, one ground. And that spirit
with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.
Let me just finish this chapter, just give you a few comments. In verse 28, he says, and in
nothing terrified by your adversaries. You'll have enemies. If you follow
Christ, you'll have enemies. Remember he told his disciples
in John 15, beginning at verse 18, he said, marvel not that
the world hate you. It hated me before it hated you. So that's the offense of the
cross. So he said, in nothing terrified by your adversaries,
which is to them an evident token of perdition, and that's damnation,
but to you of salvation and that of God. When the enemies of Christ
persecute the children of God, the believers, And unless God
intervenes, like he did with Saul of Tarsus, Paul, and turns
his heart, like he did Paul in the Damascus. Paul was a great
persecutor, a great enemy of Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples
and hated the gospel. But God intervened by his sovereign
mercy and grace and turned his heart, gave him a new heart,
a new spirit, a new mind, and made him a believer. That's what
happens. But those who are enemies of
the cross, enemies of Christ, enemies of the true church, and
who continue in that state until death, the only thing they have
to look forward to is perdition. He that believeth not is condemned
already. That's the non-elect. And that's
who follow their own way. But look at verse 29, he says,
for unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to
believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. Now what does that
tell you? Suffering for the gospel is a
gift of God. Now you might say, well, I'd
rather not have that gift, but it's, remember what he said,
it's a token to you of salvation and that of God. And so he says,
having the same conflict which you saw in me and now here to
be in me. Why was Paul in jail? Well, he
was in jail because of preaching the gospel. And the Jews, the
unbelieving Jews hated him for it. They, what Paul preached,
what Christ himself preached, what John the Baptist preached,
what Isaiah, every prophet, every preacher of the gospel preached,
exposed them to be ungodly, self-righteous religionists. That's what it
did. You remember Paul said in Romans
10, my heart's desire and prayer for my brethren, talking about
his brethren in the flesh, Jews, is that they might believe God,
they might know God, that they might be saved. For I bear them
record, he said, they have a zeal of God in the sense of religion.
but not according to knowledge, for they being ignorant of God's
righteousness, that's the imputed righteousness of Christ, and
going about to establish their own righteousness, listen to
it, they've rejected Christ. They rejected the only righteousness
that God will accept. For Christ is the end, the finishing,
the perfection of the law for righteousness to everyone that
believe it. And that's the only way. John
spoke of the light that exposes their evil deeds. And that's
the way the gospel does. The gospel reveals one way of
salvation. and that's by the person and
work of Christ. So this is why I urge you that
if you claim to be a Christian, make sure the Christ you're looking
to is the one that is identified and distinguished and described
in this book in the glory of his person and in the power of
his finished work. That's what Paul meant when he
said to the Corinthians, we strive not to know anything among you
save Jesus Christ and him crucified. That includes his resurrection.
He's the risen Christ. You know, I went to a Bible school
one time and I didn't have a professor who believed in the literal resurrection
of Christ. Well, my friend, they didn't
know the true Christ of the Bible. He was a counterfeit. Paul spoke
of that in 2 Corinthians 11, those who preach a false Christ,
a false Jesus, by a false gospel. And he says here, In Philippians
2 verse 12, he says, wherefore my beloved as you've always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Now, is he
telling them now to start working for their salvation? No. He says
work it out. He's talking about perseverance.
Persevere in the faith with fear and trembling. That godly fear,
And what is the trembling? Well, every true believer knows.
that you would tremble to stand before God on your own without
Christ. And so he says in verse 13, he
puts it in perspective. For it is God which worketh in
you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Like I talked
about last week, it's God's work from the beginning to the end. He who began the good work in
you will perfect it, will finish it. Now you strive together for
the faith of the gospel. That's what the whole thing is
about. Believing in Christ, persevering in Christ, not by your own power
or goodness, but by His power and His goodness, we persevere
because He preserves. He preserves His people. He keeps
us. And that's what Paul's talking
about. Now, you're gonna go through some problems, he says. You're
gonna have some enemies. You're gonna suffer in many ways. And one of the things I always
tell our congregation, I thank God that we live in a day where
we have, and this is God's providence too, where we have a constitution
in our country that does not enable people or even the government,
allow them to persecute us and put us in jail for what we believe.
Back then, during Paul's day, the Roman Empire and the Jewish
state, they put them in jail. They tortured them. Most of the
apostles, except John, they say, were martyred for the faith,
killed for the faith. So we don't want that. But it
may come. I pray all the time, Lord, I
pray for our nation. that you will hold back these
people who want to stop what we preach because they hate it. And I said, allow us to worship
and to preach, to evangelize as you command us to do without
hindrance from the government. And we see that. So this is striving
together for the faith of the gospel. But understand this,
and this is a perspective that it's definitely, not by our power. That suffering is a gift from
God, striving together in the faith of the gospel. I hope you'll
join us next week for another message from God's word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
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today and may the Lord be with you.