Live As Becomes The Gospel

Philippians chapter one, and we're going to read from verse 27. Philippians chapter one, verse 27. Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation and that of God. For unto you it is given, in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which he saw in me, and now here to be in me. Amen. May God bless to us this reading from his word.

Now you remember, perhaps, that the Apostle Paul is writing to the church at Philippi. He is in prison in Rome. And he is comforting and encouraging the believers there who are concerned for both his well-being and the well-being of the gospel. And Paul has reassured them that, as he says, imprisonment, the incarceration of the Apostle in Rome has actually worked for the furtherance of the gospel. But he has a hope still that he might soon be able to leave his imprisonment and come and visit them again. And he encourages them and he comforts them in the gospel in this letter as he comes to the end of this first section.

One of the problems that we have today, and I'm speaking now about when we're preaching the gospel today, one of the problems we have today, when we speak concerning the gospel, is that the gospel, that phrase, the gospel, means many things to many people. When we preach the gospel, what do people understand by that phrase?

For some, the gospel is the story of Jesus. His coming, his life, his death, his miracles, his teaching, his resurrection. those things that are recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. To such people, the Gospel is the story of Jesus.

And no more than that. For some people, to believe the Gospel is simply to believe that these accounts, these gospel accounts, are factual and that they actually happen. So that if we believe the story of Jesus, then we're saved. We're Christians and we're going to heaven.

Now, we said before, and I don't think too long ago, it was just a few sermons ago as we were first coming into this book of Philippians, we mentioned that the gospel means, or gospel means good tidings, or good news, or God's words, God's words. And I think that it is important for us to realize the gospel is not just the words of the gospel writers. The gospel is the words or the revelation of God, God himself. It is what God has said to sinners concerning salvation. so that the gospel is not just bound up in the first four books of the New Testament, or even then commented on in the epistles, the rest of the New Testament. It is the whole revelation of God to men concerning salvation by his son. Nor is the gospel merely the factual account of what Jesus has done.

It is rather what he has accomplished by the things that he has done. The gospel began in the Garden of Eden. when God slew animals, shed blood on account of man's sin, and made a covering of skins for the nakedness of Adam and Eve. The gospel was spoken when the Lord promised our first parents that a son would be born, who would bruise the serpent's head. The gospel was added to and filled out, embellished by the prophets and priests who foretold the coming of the Messiah and gave us his name and specified his birthplace and specified to whom he would be born and sketched out his character and typified his work in millions of sacrifices that were offered for sin. So that the gospel is in its entirety God's promise of grace to man. And it is the greatest message God ever gave to man. And it is the greatest message that man has ever heard. It isn't just good news, it's the best news.

Certainly the angels thought so. at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, which was the culmination of all of these Old Testament prophecies and promises. At the birth of Christ, in that moment when Christ came, they came from heaven. They were dispatched from the presence of God. They came from heaven and they told the best news to the shepherds. a great heavenly host proclaimed glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill towards men. The gospel that the angels preached glorified God in heaven and on earth announced peace and reconciliation between God and man upon the birth of this child.

And when the angel spoke to Joseph in Matthew chapter 1 verse 21, he told that man, thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now note that. His name was to be called Jesus, for he will save his people. He shall save his people from their sins. Not might save them, not hopes to save them, not will make it possible for his people if they believe, but he shall save his people. That's the gospel. The gospel is the publication of God's completed work for the salvation of his people.

Now, to reinforce this point, I could draw on many other statements. You're familiar with these. We've spoken about these on numerous occasions. And these and many other like statements could be drawn to our attention in order to emphasize this point of the effectual accomplishment of salvation by the death of Jesus Christ. But I'm going to forgo that, and I just want to say this.

When Paul is speaking about the gospel in his epistles, and here to the Philippians, he is not speaking about a story. He's not speaking about a biography, or a life well lived, be it ever so attractive and exemplary as Christ's life was. When he speaks about the gospel, he is speaking of blood-bought reconciliation.

He is speaking of effectual redemption, costly ransom, secured pardon, and imputed righteousness. And that is why Paul calls the gospel, the power of God unto salvation. It is redemption accomplished and applied by the death of Jesus Christ. It is substitutionary atonement. It is peace with God by the death of his son in our place. It is the good news that God has successfully and completely saved his chosen people and freely bestowed knowledge and experience of that salvation by the gift of faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and all that he has done.

That's the gospel. Now I've taken quite a long time to state this, but I think that it's important for us always to realize this is what the gospel means when we hear Paul speaking of it in his epistles. To Paul, the gospel isn't some nebulous, vague hope, some airy-fairy notion without substance or any clear definition. To Paul, the gospel is the effectual salvation of God's elect people by the blood of Jesus Christ. So that now, in Philippians, when Paul says we have fellowship in the gospel, he means that we have fellowship on the grounds of the effectual salvation of God's elect people by the blood of Jesus Christ.

And I just want us to realize that we're not having fellowship today on any other grounds. We could come together because we've got some common interest, because we've got some common reason to speak to one another and share with one another, but that would be so meaningless. We have fellowship, we have union on the basis of our salvation in Jesus Christ. That's what fellowship in the gospel means.

It's what Paul means when he uses that phrase. When he speaks of the confirmation of the gospel, He means preaching and confirming the effectual salvation of God's elect by the blood of Christ. By applying that gospel, by applying that message and confirming God's elect in that truth. It's what he means when he speaks about the gospel. When Paul says, as he does here to the Philippians, that his imprisonment has fallen out unto the furtherance of the gospel. He means that being in prison has advanced the cause of Christ and advanced the effectual salvation of God's elect people by the blood of Christ. When he speaks of the defense of the gospel, Well, I hope you get my meaning. I hope you know what gospel it is that he's defending. Now, I've laid the groundwork, and I trust I've laid it suitably for our verses today. When the apostle tells the Philippians, only let your conversation be as becometh the gospel of Christ, What gospel is he talking about? What is he saying here? Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.

I believe he is saying something very significant and important. Paul is eager that the Philippians walk worthy of the gospel that they believe and the savior that they trust. Again, it's not nebulous. It's not vague in some way. He is speaking about the specific, defined gospel truths that he has preached among the Philippians and which they believe. He is speaking about the work of Christ in whom they trust.

He is saying to these believers, these brethren, let your life reflect the effectual salvation of God's people by the blood of Christ. And Paul's use of the word only here, it's restrictive and exclusive. Here's what I mean. He is explaining to the church that living according to the gospel is the greatest and foremost standard of conduct for believers. He is enforcing the gospel as the pattern of our lives. He is saying, Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.

It is the gospel that our life will be compared against, not the law. That is what Paul is emphasizing. The gospel, not the law, is what a believer's life is to be ordered by, compared against. The gospel, not the law, is the rule or the measure of a believer's obedience. Paul speaks about our conversation. Only let your conversation, he says. Our conversation is more than how we talk to one another. Although, as I said before, that is included.

But Paul is referring to a believer's whole life. Scripture, when it speaks about our conversation, it means all the things to do with our life. It's our whole life in all its parts because all we say and all we do relates to our Christian witness. Every part, every department of our lives as believers belongs to Christ, wholly and completely. And we are called to live our whole, complete lives to the honor of Christ, in the service of Christ, and for the good of his church.

So let us do nothing to bring shame on the gospel. Why? Because the gospel, that standard of measurement, is the effectual salvation of God's elect people by the blood of Jesus Christ. And that gospel That gospel is what we are to look to, what we are to consider, what we are to identify with and align ourselves with as far as our conversation, our life in this world and amongst men is concerned. Let us do nothing to bring distress upon the Lord's people, but let us look to Christ and let us follow the pattern of his life.

Some preachers teach their congregation, tell their congregation to go to Mount Calvary for salvation and then point them back to Mount Sinai to get their sanctification or to get their holiness. Salvation at Calvary, sanctification at Sinai. You'll remember that Mount Sinai was where God gave Moses the 10 commandments. What these preachers, what these ministers are teaching, what these churches are teaching is that you go to Christ to be saved and then you go back to the law of God, the Ten Commandments, in order to learn how to live in this world. These poor folk are taught to look to Christ to give them life and then look to Moses to guide their life. And that's not right.

Our salvation and our sanctification both are in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The cross of Christ is the source of life and the rule of life. If you want to know Paul's teaching on how we should live as believers, here it is right here in these opening verses of Philippians. He says, Only let your conversation, only let your life be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. Entirely live your life as becomes a man and a woman who is redeemed by the blood of Christ, holy in the sight of God and desires to express how grateful and privileged he is to be numbered amongst God's elect people.

Children of God are not under the law as their rule of life. We live by grace in the pure light of God's mercy and love. We don't need regulations and rules. We don't need threats of punishment or promises of reward to motivate and govern our hearts. We look to the cross. We see the blood. the love, the sacrifice, and the grace of God manifested in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we desire to follow Christ's example. That's what it means to be his disciples. That's what it means to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. We follow Christ's example, and this is our rule.

And it isn't only Paul who teaches us this. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2, verse 21, For even hereunto were ye called. This is what you are called to, says Peter. Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow in his steps. That's our calling, to follow in the steps of Christ.

He is our example. To live in this world for the glory of God, we must simply follow the example of Him who hung on the cross and bore our sins. Christ teaches us love, sacrifice, patience, perseverance, and every spiritual grace by his own example. And then he puts his enabling spirit in our souls, and he calls us to follow in his steps.

When Paul says, live as becometh the gospel, He doesn't then resort to a list of rules or a series of do's and don'ts. Walking worthy of the gospel isn't outward compliance to God's law. Lots of people try to follow that path and it leads to the pit of hypocrisy. Walking worthy of the gospel is walking and living with an inward submission to the rule of Christ, to his kingship, to his governance.

And believers have been transformed by faith in Jesus Christ. We are enabled, we are new creations with a new spirit and a new desire. We have a love for Christ. We have a passion for his glory. We are united to Christ. He is our head and we are members together with his body, the church. God the Holy Spirit dwells in us. And Paul calls every justified and sanctified soul to live accordingly. Live what you are. Live the new creation that you are. Live as the son of a king. Live as the children of heaven.

This is Paul's direction and we do that by looking to Christ, by trusting in Christ, by faith in Christ. As we go on in these verses, Paul has a couple of supporting statements here, which I think are very blessed. He, as it were, unpacks this direction that he gives us in our first thought. And he says, stand fast in one spirit, striving together for the faith of the gospel. and standing fast in one spirit and striving together for the faith of the gospel are, to me at least, energizing and motivating phrases to describe Christ's militant church, Christ's people in this world. Standing fast and striving together. This isn't the dead hand of Moses' law upon our shoulders.

Paul's speaking of our spiritual life in regeneration and the doctrinal truth of the gospel that we believe. So it is the spirit and the word together in the life of a believer. Every believer is united to Christ and we are connected, we are joined to each other by the Holy Spirit. Every believer is united in gospel truth, in the faith of the gospel. in the faith of the effectual salvation of God's elect people by the blood of Christ.

There we are, I'm repeating it again. This is what Paul means when he speaks about the gospel, that we are joined together by that effectual salvation. Now, if you're not saved by this gospel, you're not saved at all. And it is Christ's own faith, the faith of which Christ is the author and finisher. that has brought us to know Jehovah God.

We are to stand fast in that knowledge. We are to strive together in that faith, that gospel, which the Apostle Paul is speaking of here to the Philippians. As I said, these are energising phrases and I think that in using language like this, standing fast and striving together, the Apostle Paul is also preparing us for that implicit opposition which shall result from our faith in the gospel and our defence of the gospel. Paul is acknowledging that the church will meet adversaries who will oppose God's free grace and our Christian freedom.

That's what's going to happen. You preach this gospel. You preach the gospel of God's sovereign grace. You preach the gospel of imputed righteousness. You preach the gospel of forgiveness by the shed blood of Jesus Christ alone. and acceptance by the blood of Christ alone, and holiness by the blood of Christ alone, and you will meet adversaries who will oppose you.

Standing fast and striving together means standing shoulder to shoulder, fixed in place, fastened or even roped together and roped to our post. Think of the pictures that you used to see of wartime trenches or the soldiers that had to march in formation into battle, and they had to stand shoulder to shoulder in order to defend the line. That's what the apostle is referring to here, standing fast and striving together, laboring and fighting against the enemies of the gospel and the enemies of men's souls. Christ's people are active and engaged in a constant spiritual battle.

And notice that Paul speaks of adversity in the Christian life that is endured. He speaks of adversity for the faith of the gospel. That is for the effectual salvation that we've been speaking about. He is speaking specifically about opposition to the doctrines of sovereign grace.

And that's very clear when we read together in verses 28 and 29, where the apostle indicates that we shall suffer for preaching the salvation that comes from God. Let me read them again. He says there, verses 28, And in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation and that of God.

This is God's salvation. Not the salvation of the free willers. Not the salvation of man's doing in order to gain a salvation that is made possible. But this is the salvation which comes from God. The salvation of which Jonah spoke. Salvation is of the Lord. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ to believe. It is given as a gift. Faith is a gift. So this is the sovereign grace gospel that the apostle is speaking about. The gospel of imputed righteousness. The gospel of faith a gift. The gospel of salvation by Jesus Christ. Accomplished and applied.

And just as faith is given as God's free gift to his elect, So Paul tells us suffering for that faith, suffering for that free gift will be our portion in this world as well. Those who believe that they must work for holiness will always hate and oppose those to whom holiness is given as a free gift. Paul had himself felt this conflict. As the Philippians well knew, he'd experienced adversity in Philippi, their own city, when he and Silas were beaten and imprisoned for what?

Preaching the gospel, preaching free grace. And now he was detained in Rome, awaiting trial for the very same thing. The gospel of God's righteousness imputed. on the behalf of Christ was the cause of Paul's trouble. That was the cause of Paul's trouble, that gospel. Neglect preaching righteousness by Christ and the Jews would have left him alone. Persist in preaching righteousness by Christ and they will hound him to the ends of the earth. from Jerusalem to Caesarea and on to Rome via a shipwreck. That was how far these Jews were pursuing Paul.

For what reason? Because he preached righteousness by Christ. Satan does not oppose freewill works religion of any variety. He always encourages self-righteousness and he always opposes the righteousness of God which is by Jesus Christ. That's just fact.

Paul tells the Philippians not to be afraid when they're opposed. not to be surprised when they're opposed. Those who contend against the faith of the gospel reveal themselves to be the enemies of God and the enemies of his truth. They're condemned already because they tread underfoot the effectual cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Opposing the gospel Opposing sovereign grace, opposing the effectual work of Christ on the cross, opposing the gospel of Christ is an evident token of perdition, says Paul. Perdition is the final state of ruin and punishment. Perdition is eternity in hell. It is the opposite of salvation in heaven.

Okay, how to wrap up our thoughts today. What is Paul teaching the Philippians? What is Paul teaching us in these verses today? Three things, let me just conclude with these three short thoughts. Firstly, the revelation of God's free and sovereign grace in Jesus Christ is the gospel. And it is the greatest message ever given to man. It is the message of peace with God. Peace with God for sinners by the death of Jesus Christ, God's Son.

It is the message that Paul speaks when he speaks the gospel. And it is what he is speaking of when he makes reference to the gospel. That's what he means. And we should note that whenever we read his teaching and he mentions the gospel, he is mentioning or speaking or referring to the gospel of free and sovereign grace. He wasn't interested in a free will gospel. He opposes that. It's no gospel at all. He wasn't interested in a man's works gospel by which we get forgiveness from Christ and holiness from our personal obedience. Again, that's not the gospel to Paul.

Paul believed Christ is all we need for salvation and all we need for life. He of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. And that's enough. That's sufficient. Second thing Paul is teaching the Philippians and teaching us is standing fast and striving together in gospel faith and unity of spirit with our fellow saints is the gold standard of Christian living. Stand fast, strive together.

Looking to Christ is how we live our lives. It is what we do as believers. It is how we live by the grace of God. The faith of the gospel is the divine promise of full, free, accomplished salvation by the death of Jesus Christ. And this is what we believe.

The faith of the gospel repudiates any contribution by man towards his own salvation. And standing fast and striving together for the gospel is the church's God-given privilege. It has nothing to do with obedience to the Ten Commandments. And then lastly, believers in this fallen sinful world will attract opposition from natural men.

Most certainly we will. And we shall suffer accordingly, just as Paul did. The apostle tells us it is given to us to suffer, just as it is given to us to serve, just as it is given to us to believe, It is our calling to stand fast and strive together for the faith. This is the pattern of life for a believer. Converted sinners living for Christ, resting in Christ, suffering for Christ's sake. Thus we adorn the doctrine of God and the gospel of God. it becometh the gospel. It is our gift and privilege to live in this world as becomes the gospel. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us today. Amen.

Live As Becomes The Gospel

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Live As Becomes The Gospel

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