We're looking at this second
half of Philippians chapter one. Philippians has got some true
peaks of preaching richness in it, but
this second half of the chapter I've always found a bit difficult
to find a self-contained sermon in one or two places. But I want
to look at the whole passage this morning and get a few lessons
out of it. How much do you need to differ
from a preacher in order to stop regarding him as a minister of
Christ to your soul? Good question. There's all sorts
of preachers. I mean, if you look at sermon
audio, you know, the majority of what's on there, I wouldn't
recommend that you listen to because you won't hear Christ,
even though it's sermon audio with all the right kind of credentials
in theory. How much do you need to differ
from a preacher in order to stop regarding him as a minister of
Christ to your soul? What criteria should you apply
when, as John says, try the spirits, whether they be of God. He who
comes preaching Christ is come in the flesh is of God. He who
denies that isn't. And we know what that means.
It doesn't just mean what it seems to mean on the surface. It means
the preaching of the full of revelation of the gospel in our
Lord Jesus Christ, a particular redemption accomplished in him,
the one the Old Testament promised. That's what that means. What
are the criteria that we use when trying the spirits? In verse
10 of Philippians 1, this was the prayer last week, in last
week's message, this was one of the points, that you may approve
things that are excellent, or that you may try, test, things
that differ. that you may use discernment
to detect correct doctrine as opposed to false doctrine. What criteria are you going to
apply when approving things that are excellent, trying things
that differ in regard of preachers? First of all, remember what preachers
are. Remember what preachers are in
their nature. William Huntington was a great
preacher of the true gospel of a couple of hundred years ago,
maybe a bit more than that. and he was vilified by the religious
world, he was hated by the evangelical religious world in so many ways,
yet he proclaimed the true gospel. Absolutely, his writings are
some of the most wonderful things that have been kept. This man,
the old coal heaver he was, he was no formal education, but
just a wonderful a wonderful object of the grace of God. And
you know like people have degrees and you put after your name,
you know, Joe Blog's MA or whatever it is, and several of us here
have got degrees I'm sure this morning. But do you know what
degree William Huntington said he had? Instead of MA after his
name, SS. SS? Sinner Saved. At the best, this wonderful preacher
was a sinner. was a guilty sinner. In his flesh,
he was condemned in his flesh. He was deserving of all of the
law's penalty. In his flesh, as he was, he was
a sinner. But, he said, he was a sinner
who was saved. Not a sinner who'd done anything,
a sinner who was saved by the grace of God, by the satisfaction
that Christ has wrought as his substitute when Christ came to
stand in his place and to do all that justice required, to
do all that the justice of God required so that God could be
just and the justifier of a sinner like William Huntington. But
don't forget, the very best of preachers, as we would regard
them, are but saved sinners at the very best. The very best
of preachers are what Song of Solomon chapter 6 verse 13 calls
camps of two armies. The old flesh, with all of its
sinful misunderstandings and evil corruption, and at the same
time the new man of the Spirit of God. whoever is born of the
Spirit of God. You know, man cannot see the
kingdom of God unless he's born again. And the wind blows where
it listeth, and you don't know where it's coming from or where
it's going because of the sovereignty of God. He comes and takes one
of these sinners and implants in a new life. But still, camps
of two armies. Because in the one believer,
in the one preacher, there's this camp of two armies. There's
the flesh and the Spirit, as Ephesians tells us, as Galatians
tells us, and they're warring against one another. And they're
doing what Romans 7 says, when I want to do good, I do evil,
and when I don't want to do that evil, I end up doing it. This
is what we are by nature, but the Spirit wars against the flesh,
and the two are contrary to one another. At the same time, in
the one man, the one preacher, there will be the capacity to
reach the heights of heaven in terms of understanding. You know
where the scripture says we cannot plumb the depths? of what God
has done in salvation. You know, where's the bottom
of it? You know, have you ever tried reaching down in a swimming pool?
Where's the bottom? Oh, it's there, yeah. But what about one
of those where you just don't ever reach the bottom? Or the
width, how wide is it? The tape measure runs it. The
scriptures talk about understanding the gospel and the full, old
revelation of it as being beyond our ability to plumb the depths
and to measure the width and to measure the height of it.
And yet, in the one man you can have those that reach up to the
heights of heaven in understanding, and yet a moment later, down
to the depths of hell. In that one being. Great clarity
of thinking on the one side, and utterly inconsistent lapses
into error on the other side. Is that not the way it is? It
is, it's true. It's true. This is what This
is what it's like with preachers. They are, at best, fallen men. They are, at best, sinners saved. At best. That's what they are.
So let's not put anyone on a pedestal. And let's not think beyond what
any one preacher is capable of. But you know, we see things which
cause us trials. I've called this message earthly
trials en route to glory. And we see so often what we wouldn't
expect. We see coldness and even bitterness
from those who hold our doctrine. It's true, we do, and it's very
sad. Why? We see people who should have
good fellowship dividing over obscure points. Making secondary
matters ones that mean, oh I can't have anything to do with them,
I can't meet with them, I can't have fellowship with them. Denominational
splits is what we see, rather than non-denominational fellowship
of true believers in the gospel of God's grace. Now the Lord
has a lot to teach us in this passage, based on Paul's testimony
as he writes here. Paul, first of all, first thing,
Paul was a prisoner. When he was writing this, Paul
was a prisoner in Rome. You can see that, I mean it tells
us at the end of the epistle that this was written from prison
in Rome, but look back at Acts 28. Acts 28, the very last chapter
of the book of Acts, and the last two or three verses, couple
of verses, and it says what the situation was that Paul was in.
Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received
all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching
those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence,
no man forbidding him." He was under house arrest. in Rome,
awaiting Caesar's pleasure, the ruler, Nero as it was at the
time. He was waiting for him to decide
what he would do, but for this two years, he was under house
arrest. He was in chains, but he had
the liberty to have his own house and people could come and visit
him, and he had the liberty to teach and to preach the gospel. He had the liberty to write these
epistles. Several of the epistles were
written in this time. Why was Paul such an effective
missionary? Why was it in the purposes of
God that he was locked up for two years so he could write the
epistles? And thereby, having written the
epistles, not just visit people in first century Mediterranean
countries, But 2,000 years later, speak to us today, and all God's
people, believing in Him. He was under house arrest for
preaching the gospel, that's why. That's why He was under
house arrest, it was for preaching the gospel. They accused Him
of raising riots, of causing insurrection. of causing civil
disobedience. And that's why they said he was
causing trouble everywhere in the Roman Empire. He was disturbing
the peace of the Roman Empire and therefore he had to be locked
up. But no, it wasn't for that. Look back at Acts 24. Let me
just turn you back a few more pages. Acts 24. And he's before, now who is he
before here? It's one of the ones Festus or
Agrippa or one of those. It doesn't matter at the moment,
never mind, I'll find it. Felix, he's before Felix, that's
it. Felix Festus and Agrippa. And he's giving an account of
what he's accused of. And in verse 14, this is what
he says. Verse 13, he's accused of insurrection
and he says, Neither can they prove the things whereof they
now accuse me. But this I confess unto thee,
that after the way which they call heresy." Do you know what
that is? The true gospel. They call it
heresy, but it's the true gospel. They call it heresy because it's
not obeying their Jewish laws. They call it heresy, but it's
the true gospel of the grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ.
After the way they call heresy, so worship I, the God of my fathers."
I worship the same God of the Jewish fathers, believing all
things which are written in the law and in the prophets, because
those things written in the law and the prophets reveal the gospel
of God in Christ. And I have hope toward God, which
they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection
of the dead. You see, the Pharisees allowed
that there was a resurrection. The Pharisees believed. The Sadducees
didn't believe there was a resurrection. They denied the resurrection.
But the Pharisees did. Now look down at verse 21 of
this same passage. And so he says, you know, they've
tried to accuse me and I stood before the council. Verse 21,
except it be for this one voice that I cried standing among them,
touching the resurrection of the dead. I am called in question
by you this day." If the Pharisees allowed for
resurrection, why was Paul in prison, in chains, for preaching
the resurrection? I'll tell you why. I'll tell
you why. It's because what Paul preached
about the resurrection was that it was particular redemption
of the elect of God accomplished, as the scriptures make it clear
to us. The resurrection speaks of that
salvation being finished. He was delivered up, says Romans,
for our transgressions. Whose? The transgressions of
his people. And raised for our justification. It was the vindication, it was
the culmination, it was to prove that the price had been paid,
that redemption had indeed been accomplished. He raised him from
the dead. And this is what Paul preached. Paul preached not just
the literal fact of this man rising from the dead, for the
Pharisees accepted that there was such a thing as the resurrection.
The Sadducees didn't, but they did. But Paul preached what that
meant. He preached the gospel of particular
redemption. that that implied, in all of
its fullness, finished particular redemption. He testified of the
Kingdom of God, back in chapter 28 and verse 23. He testified of the Kingdom of
God. What is it to testify of the
Kingdom of God? Of a particular people. The Kingdom
of God is a particular people. What's Israel all about in the
Old Testament? It's a specific nation, a particular
people. God was gracious to a particular
people. This is the gospel of His grace.
This is what Paul testified. He testified to the true gospel
of effectual redemption of a particular people. Those that the Father
chose in Christ before the foundation of the world and put in Him that
He might accomplish all things that were necessary to satisfy
the demands of the law. Particular redemption. Just as
he says here in verse 23, testified the kingdom of God, persuading
them concerning Jesus, that it's by him, both out of the law of
Moses and out of the prophets, all the scriptures speak of him,
from morning till evening. Persuading them that it's in
this one, that the Old Testament scriptures, Moses and the prophets
promised, who would come as the promised Messiah, and accomplish
all of those things for that specific people. That's what
he preached and it's the fact that he was preaching that that
the religious folks hated then, and that the religious folks
have hated ever since. Why was William Huntington persecuted? It was for that very reason,
for preaching that gospel. Why do we find people of a religious
bent will have nothing to do with us? It's because of that
reason, because we seek to preach and hold to the truth of the
gospel of grace, of particular redemption in the Lord Jesus
Christ. But while he was a prisoner in
Rome, prisoner for preaching the gospel, while he was a prisoner,
he had liberty to preach and to witness and to write the epistles
that are of benefit to us today. But the Philippians, when they
heard about it, because the Philippians were very dear to Paul and Paul
to the Philippians, and they had been discouraged by his imprisonment. Look, Verse 12, you see from
the tone, I would that you should understand brethren, don't be
concerned brethren, the things that have happened to me, the
imprisonment that's happened to me, I want you to understand,
I've heard that you're concerned, you can read into it these things
perfectly justifiably, I want you to understand that the things
which have happened to me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance
of the gospel. Don't be discouraged by his imprisonment,
he's saying. Don't be discouraged. We get
discouragements, don't we? Daily, often we get discouragements.
How to react to them? How to view our time here? Now
look at verses 12 to 14. So, I would that ye should understand,
brethren, that the things which have happened unto me have fallen
out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel, so that my bonds
in Christ are manifest in all the palace." This is Caesar's
palace. He's near there, he's kept prisoner. But the word about him is getting
around, the guard. You know, they probably had different
shifts, different routines of guarding Paul, of making sure
that he stayed under house arrest. And they started to talk about
this chap that was so different to anybody else that they had
ever had prisoner. And his bonds, they could see,
were bonds in Christ. He wasn't a criminal. They could
see he'd done nothing wrong. They could see he wasn't a razor
of insurrection. And that his bonds were for what
he'd preached. That he'd preached this gospel
of Christ. Why is it? Can you imagine all those hours
guarding him? and the opportunity to speak.
And could he speak? Of course Paul could speak in
Latin. Paul, he said, I speak in tongues
more than all of you. He could witness to them, so
that his bonds in Christ were manifest in all the palace, throughout
all the palace guard, and from them in other places. People
were talking about this man, whose testimony of the grace
of God was so powerful. And many of the brethren in the
Lord outside, those who are true believers, who were formerly
reticent, were formerly fearful, were formerly shy, they've waxed,
they've become confident by my bonds. If Paul can speak in that
situation of being in danger of his life, because this man
Nero, who was the Caesar at the time, as soon as he willed it
that was the end of Paul's life and so he did eventually at the
end of the two years Paul was put to death by Nero by Nero's
whim as it seems but all in the purposes of God but people were
looking and saying well look at the testimony that's coming
out even prison guards the palace guards are talking about this
man Paul and the gospel of Christ they can see he's in there not
because he's a rioter or a razor of insurrection, but he's there
for preaching of gospel. And do you know some of these
guards are hearing it and thinking, this is the word of God. I wonder
how many of them were saved and joined with the others. And it
made the people more confident. The believers in Rome waxed,
they became more confident in my bonds. And they're much more
bold to speak the word without fear. Oh, that we might be given
some of that boldness. You know, we so often feel we
have to contrive situations, and it's so hard to contrive
situations. Oh, that God would cause, as
he says through Peter, is it 1 Peter 3, 15, isn't it? Be always
ready to give a reason to anyone that asks you of the hope that's
in you. Anyone that asks you, be ready to give them a reason.
So verse 15, he says, Some preach Christ even of envy of strife,
and some also of goodwill. Thinking about these things,
don't be concerned. It isn't all negative. This is
what Paul's saying to the Philippians. All things are in God's providential
goodness to his people, and for their good. We know all things
work together for good. Romans 8, 28. for those who are
God's people, who love Him. And why do they love Him? Because
He first loved them. They're the called according
to His purpose. Nothing is out of God's control. You read the
account of Job, and he suffered terribly, he suffered more than
any of us are ever likely to suffer in this life. But it was
all under the providential goodness of God and for his eternal good. God never ever lost control of
the situation. Satan could only ever do that
which God permitted him to do. And why did he permit him? He
didn't permit him to do it to Job, he permitted him to do it
for Job. The gospel was being prospered
as a result of Paul being in prison. It was prospered. It wasn't confined. This is what
Paul's saying, don't be concerned. Surely you would think the gospel
would be prospered by Paul going on more missionary journeys,
but he says no. The gospel is being prospered as a result of
him being in prison. We should expect things that
look like difficulties to come along. It's God's work of refining
his people. We can expect trials, we can
expect chastisement. Is it not also that we don't
get too comfortable here? Isn't it also that we don't think
that this is it, we've ultimately arrived, everything's fine, everything's
good now? No, it's always, always, always
to keep us thinking of eternity. So it was becoming obvious that
he's a prisoner for the cause of Christ and the gospel of his
grace. This narrow sect that believers
were known as, this heresy, the heresy that he was accused of,
he was a prisoner for the cause of Christ. His imprisonment was raising
the opportunity for many believers who were otherwise shy and reticent
to speak and to witness and to testify and to be bold without
fear to the furtherance of the gospel. The things that have
happened have turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.
Now verse 15, 15 down to 18. Some indeed preach Christ even
of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill. The one preached
Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to
my bonds, but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the
defense of the gospel. What then? Notwithstanding every
way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and
I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." Now what do we
make of this? What do we make of this? There are those, because
of Paul in his situation, what he's saying is the gospel is
being furthered, is being prospered, is being expanded. But it's happening
in some odd ways. You see, there are those that
are preaching Christ now out of envy and strife and contention,
whereas there are others who are preaching Christ out of love
and goodwill. What do we make of this? Different
motives of those that you would call brethren. Now, all of these,
the ones preaching out of envy and strife and contention, were
brethren. Just as well as the ones preaching
out of goodwill and of love. Now, this has got something to
teach us, I'm pretty sure. They're all brethren. How do
we know that these were all brethren? Verse 18. In truth, Christ is
preached, and therein do I rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." Paul
rejoiced in the preaching of those that were preaching Christ
out of envy, strife, and contention. it must have been true preaching.
He couldn't possibly have rejoiced in false doctrine. He couldn't
possibly have rejoiced in the preaching of wolves in sheep's
clothing. He regards them as true ministers
of the gospel of God's grace. And yet, there was envy and strife. Now remember what I said, William
Huntingdon, S.S., sinner saved. Remember what the best of preachers
are. The very best of preachers are
sinners saved, who go from the heights of the glory of the doctrine
of Christ one minute, and in that one sane being, to the depths
of hell in inconsistent behavior. It's perfectly possible. It's
perfectly possible. This is what he's saying. He
couldn't have rejoiced in the preaching of wolves in sheep's
clothing. These are true preachers of the
true gospel, but some of them, sadly, due to their fallen nature,
and the fallen nature of all of us, are doing it out of envy
and strife. There's envy of Paul's gifts. There's envy of his knowledge.
There's envy, you know, he says to the Corinthians, as we saw
a few weeks ago, he speaks in tongues more than any of them,
you know, in terms of the gifts of the Spirit. He had gifts of
healing that were more than all of them. The fallen flesh of
some of those preaching was envious of Paul, was jealous of him. They used the opportunity of
Paul's confinement under house arrest to try and take his place. But nevertheless, he rejoiced. Why? Because the true gospel,
he cannot have rejoiced in it if it was a false gospel. You
read what he says in Galatians chapter 1 about those preaching
a false gospel. He says, let them be accursed.
I'll tell you again, if anyone preaches any gospel other than
that which I've brought to you, let him be accursed. These must
have been preaching the true gospel of Christ, yet in their
fallen flesh, out of envy and strife and contention. They were
jealous of him. They used the opportunity to
try and take his place. So the lesson is this. The best
of preachers is at best a sinner saved. Where does Paul say the
treasure of the gospel? What do we hold it in? What vessel
contains it? An old earthen pot. That's what
the best of preachers is. An old earthen pot that you could
easily just hit with a hammer and it would shatter in pieces.
We hold this treasure not in pots of fine gold. We hold this
treasure not in the best porcelain. We hold this treasure in an old
earthen pot. An old sinful fallen earthen
pot. The best of preachers is at best
a sinner saved. An earthen vessel with inconsistent
behavior. It's true, isn't it? inconsistent
behavior. Sometimes outward behavior that
seems to contradict the very essence of gospel precepts. Coldness,
loveless division over secondary matters. Verse 16, The one preached
Christ of contention. Contention. Not overcore doctrine. Oh no. No, no, no. They didn't
contend about Jesus Christ coming in the flesh. They didn't contend
about the particular redemption of a people in the gospel of
God's grace. They didn't contend about salvation accomplished
in what Christ has done. They didn't contend over the
issue of Christ coming under the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God to accomplish the redemption of his elect, but over secondary
matters, misunderstandings, contention over secondary matters. You see,
I'm going to get very, very specific now, but let's just think of
some of the things that we could fall out over. For example, communion. Oh, do we have wine? Or do we
have grape juice? Now then, I think there's no
question the Scriptures are clear. We should only ever celebrate
the Lord's Supper with real wine and with proper unleavened bread
that has no yeasting, because that's the picture. But you know,
there are those that don't. There are those that use grape
juice, and there are those that just use ordinary bread that
has been leavened. And I wish they wouldn't, and
I think I can show them from the Scriptures that they shouldn't,
but if they're preaching that true gospel of Christ, we shouldn't
fall out with them over it. You know, it's secondary It's
secondary, isn't it? Then there's the issue of who's
allowed to have communion. Is it closed and that you have
to be vetted before you can have communion, or not? Do you see
what I mean? It's secondary matters over which
we could have contention. And in fact, we do have contention. We do, with those that believe
the same gospel as us, dress standards. There are those that
would look around and would say, oh, oh, some of the men are not
wearing a tie, oh dear, we can't have anything to do with you,
no. And not only must you wear a
tie, but you must wear a black suit and a white shirt with a
black tie. if you're going to come to worship
God to do it. See, it's secondary matters. It's not the core of
the gospel. Denominational allegiances taking
precedence over simple brotherly love in the gospel of grace.
Whether the women should wear hats or not. All of these things
are secondary matters. They're not the cause, the core
of the gospel. And Paul says it's supposing,
why were they doing? Supposing to add affliction to
his bonds, verse 16. They preach Christ out of contention,
not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to his bonds, to make
him frustrated that they have liberty to preach outside while
he is confined. But whatever, whatever, Paul
rejoices in this. Christ is preached. Christ is
preached truthfully. Christ is preached faithful to
gospel truth. Nothing added. Nothing added
to that gospel of grace, just the grace of God. Preaching not
themselves, but Christ. These ones of envy and strife,
this is what Paul's saying about them. They're preaching Christ,
so therefore they're not preaching themselves, but Christ Jesus
the Lord. There are those that preach Christ
truthfully, but will not recognize us as brethren. That's true. There are denominational divisions
which are a cause of grief. all sorts of issues which would
divide, but this is the lesson I think here, we rejoice that
there are brethren who truly are preaching the gospel of Christ
as it's revealed in the scriptures. Okay, verse 19. For I know that
this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply
of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." Paul's not saying there that
he's not saved and he needs them to pray that he'll be saved.
What he's talking about is his release from prison. He's wondering
whether it's going to be the Lord's will that as when the
disciples prayed and Peter was in prison, the prison doors were
opened and Peter was released. He says, I know this shall turn
out to my release from prison through your prayer. Maybe, as
you pray, it will be God's will that he'll open the prison doors
and I will come out. and the supply of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and my
hope, that in nothing, whatever happens, whatever happens, in
nothing I shall be ashamed. Nothing that happens will cause
me shame, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also, Christ
shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. So he's saying, yes, it would
be good if by your prayers God opens the prison and by whatever
means I come out and have liberty again. But nevertheless, whatever
happens, whatever happens, the things that happened to me were
all in God's purpose. They weren't just random events. They all happened because God
ordained them. All in God's purposes. And whether
it be, because Paul doesn't know, Paul doesn't know. Paul does
not have that gift of knowing exactly what's going to happen
to him, for that is in the hands of God. But whatever it is, whether
it's his life and his liberty, or whether it's continued imprisonment
resulting in death, God's purposes cannot be frustrated by Satan's
devices. Christ shall be magnified. Christ
shall be made bigger. Know what magnified means? Christ,
we cannot make Christ too big. We cannot make Christ too big. And his gospel, central in everything,
verse 21, for to me, to live, is Christ. My opinion, if I carry
on living in this life, Well, it's Christ. To live in this
life is Christ. And if I die? Well, what change
is that? It's gain. I get more. To live,
if that be God's purpose for me now, is Christ, he says. He is the one. What does it mean,
to live is Christ? He is the one who gives me life,
gives me spiritual life from on high. John 10, 28, Jesus said
about the sheep, I give unto them eternal life. He is our
life. To live is Christ. He gives us. Think what your life would be
if your knowledge of the gospel of grace and of the presence
of Christ were taken away from you. Would it be any worse? Would
it be any less? Would it be diminished in any
way? Would it? For the true child of God it
would be. For to live is Christ. To live is Christ. He is the
one who gives me life. He is the sum and substance of
my life. Christ is the sum and substance.
We do all sorts of other things, we go to work, we get into projects,
we get excited by all sorts of things, but for the believer,
the sum and substance of your life is Christ. In me, in my
mind, in my affections, in my desires, in my hopes, in my ambitions,
in my motivation, He is my hope of eternal life. He is. He's
my hope. Christ, to live, is Christ. He
is my hope of eternal life. That as He has risen and ascended
as the firstfruits, I shall. Psalm 17 verse 15, I shall be
satisfied when I wake with thy likeness. This is the believer's
testimony. I shall be satisfied. To live
is Christ. To die is gain. I am crucified
with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not
I. But Christ lives in me. For me to live is Christ. And
the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith
of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I'm
in union with Christ. God the Father put me in union
with Christ before the beginning of time. My old man, the old
me, is truly crucified with Christ. And what I am now, in God's judgment,
is exactly what his son is. I'm the righteousness of God
in him. I'm justified in him from all
things that I couldn't be justified according to the law of Moses.
And if I die, what changes anything? Nothing changes, except I gain
his immediate presence. to die is gain. Verse 22, But
if I will in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor. Yet
what I shall choose I want not, for I am in a straight betwixt
two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is
far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the
flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I
know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance
and joy in the faith, that your rejoicing may be more abundant
in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. He's saying,
I don't really know. As a believer, what do you want
to do then, Paul? Do you want this to end in your
death? Well, that would be Christ, which is far better, yes. Ah,
but for the Philippian church, for believers, there's a ministry
to be done, which is to their benefit. And so, I'm undecided. I'm in a straight between the
two. To depart and be with Christ, which is far better, or to remain,
that it might be to your benefit as I minister to the church.
Whatever, it's all in the will of God. It's not my decision.
He says, I'm happy to labor on doing his will here. But if I
have a preference, he says, it is to be with him, for that's
far better. A strong desire marks this man
out to see Christ. but it's better for the Philippian
church if he stays to minister. Now the closing verses is just
an exhortation to them in the knowledge of these things that
their conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, verse 27. live in accordance with it. I
know we've fallen, I know everything I've said before about being
sinners in the flesh, about the best of preachers being sinners
saved. Yes, I know all that, but he
says, as the world looks on, think, think the world is looking
on. Let your conversation be as it
becometh. Be in harmony with the gospel
of Christ. Not to cause any to look and
to pour scorn on it. As far as is in you, avoid that
which is inconsistent. Live by gospel precepts. I don't
know how to say this without sounding as if I'm preaching
a form of works legalism. I'm not. It's what the epistles
say. It's what Philpott called gospel
precepts. He's saying, let your conversation
be as becometh the gospel. And don't be terrified of your
adversaries. Don't be terrified of them. He
says, as they come and see your satisfaction, this is verse 28,
it's a sign to you of their own lostness, their own perdition,
but to you of salvation. For it's given to you in this
world, not only to believe in Christ, but to suffer for his
sake. To suffer the taunts and opposition
of those around. So then, In conclusion, we can
expect division, and this is the point, this is the core I
think I wanted to bring to you, even with those truthfully preaching
Christ. I don't want us to be confused
about those who are sounding like it but are preaching another
gospel, but there are those who truthfully preach Christ, and
yet we're divided. Strife, envy, contention over
secondary matters, and that's a grief, but nevertheless, Paul
rejoiced that Christ was preached, and so let us rejoice. and trust
God to order all things for our lives to fulfill his eternal
purposes. Whether we live or die, whatever
happens, trust God who orders all things. See what Paul says?
The things that happen that look like they're so bad, oh dear,
oh what terrible things, they've turned out to the furtherance
of the gospel. But whilst we're here, knowing
what we are as sinners, unable to please God in the flesh, if
there's a new man within, let him hear that final exhortation
to live in a way becoming of the gospel. Okay, we'll end it
there.