And we're reading from Philippians chapter 1 verse 27 to 30.
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence,
I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,
striving together as one for the faith of the gospel,
without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.
This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed,
but that you will be saved, and that by God.
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him,
but also to suffer for Him,
since you were going through the same struggle you saw I had,
and now here that I still have.
Thank you, Thelma and Eric.
Good morning, everyone.
It's indeed wonderful to be together on this warm day,
and to be looking at a wonderful passage of Scripture together as the Lord's people.
There was those very wise words from the Apostle Paul
written to the church in Ephesus all those years ago.
I pray that the eyes of your hearts are enlightened to know the truth,
and that's what we want this morning.
We want to know the truth.
So would you please pray with me as we ask our Father to help us.
Father, we thank you so much that we are indeed
around the words of eternal life this morning,
that these are your words to us.
We ask, Father, that you would, by the work of your Spirit,
hold the Lord Jesus Christ high in our midst,
and draw all manner of people to yourself this morning through these words.
We ask for this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Some time ago, the National Museum of Australia put on a fascinating exhibition
in which they displayed some relics of Australia's bush-ranging past.
Of course, when anybody thinks of bush-rangers,
they're naturally drawn to Australia's most famous bearded bush-ranger,
the most famous bearded folk hero, Ned Kelly.
Now, I was in Melbourne when this exhibition was on
and was really excited to go, not just to see his armour,
but also to see the famous Gerald Derry letter.
Now, why was I excited to see this letter, you might wonder?
Well, it's because it was the only one of its kind in existence
that had an active criminal on the run who was also attempting
to write letters to the public via the newspaper,
all in an attempt to explain and excuse his actions.
Now, if you've ever seen the letter in the flesh,
well, let me just say it's absolutely impossible to read,
as the handwriting is like something that's been created
by dipping spiderwebs in ink and then throwing it onto a page.
However, the National Museum's website has done a full transcription of the letter.
And I must say, it's a pretty interesting read.
But what's most peculiar is how Ned made all these claims and defences,
and then at the very end, he switches.
He switches from justification of his actions to demands and threats,
ending his letter by saying, quote,
I'm a widow's son, outlawed, my orders must be obeyed.
Why did he write this?
Well, historians agree that he was attempting to strike fear
into the hearts of his readers.
Meet my demands or I'll get you kind of thing.
This morning, we too come to a part of our letter in which the apostle switches.
He switches from telling his friends in the church about how he's going,
about what he's praying for, about the absolute joy he has when he remembers them,
about the confidence he has in their mutual faith and salvation
and how the gospel is flourishing even in his chains,
to bringing things a little closer to home.
And he does this by exhorting his listeners with what we are to do
as we live out our Christian lives on this earth.
In fact, these exhortations or commands are going to take our attention
over the next few weeks as they pepper most of what is written up to chapter two, verse 18.
But what we're fast going to see with our apostles' words to us
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
isn't a demand of our lives that motivates fear,
but commands that encourage us to live out the great work of Jesus Christ
that is already happening in our lives.
So with that said, let's get into our passage with looking at the first part of verse 27.
Paul writes,
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Now I just want to have a think about why Paul starts by saying,
Whatever happens.
Well, this phrase is deeply tied into what came before in the preceding verses,
which we looked at last week,
in which Paul was saying to his friends that he had a great couple of options that he was facing.
Either he was going to be released or he was going to be executed.
Now before you start scratching your head and say,
well, only one of those sounds like a good option,
well, we know that both were great options for Paul
because he saw his life as totally in the hands of God.
And because of the work of Jesus Christ on his behalf,
he was faced with either staying here on this earth to continue to do great ministry
or to leave this earth and meet Jesus face to face.
That's what we saw last week when Paul said,
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
What an incredible hope in the face of such uncertainty.
And that hope, as we saw, wasn't just for Paul or the Philippians,
but a very present hope for anyone who has put their trust in Christ.
Death is but a servant that takes us heavenward,
the grave, a mere door to the presence of Christ.
However, if you were with us last week, you'll also remember that, yes,
Paul certainly was confident that God would keep him around a little while longer
because he knew that his gifts for ministry still had a purpose to serve on this side of yonder.
But this is the interesting thing that we see with the words that Paul has employed here.
He says, whatever happens.
In other words, he's saying, though I'm confident that I'll see you again
and we will be together at some point,
this is the one thing that I want you to do in the meantime.
You are, and it's in the rest of verse 27, to conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Now, it's very important that we understand what he means by that,
because for anyone who has put their trust in Christ, who is part of the body of Christ,
then this command is a direct obligation for us as well.
So let's ask the question.
What exactly is the gospel of Christ so that we, as the church, can conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of it?
Well, quite simply this.
The gospel is the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.
And it's the greatest announcement that this world has ever heard.
It is the glad tidings that this fallen human race may find salvation from the wrath of God
through the sinless life and substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.
That's because Jesus obtained perfect righteousness by living the perfect life that we could never live.
Further, he purchased our freedom, our pardon from sin by his death upon a Roman cross
through the shedding of his blood and the giving of his very life.
And by this sin-bearing substitutionary act, Jesus redeemed all those who he came to save,
and absolute and total forgiveness of sin is offered to all
as a free gift that is received by faith alone, apart from any good works.
Let me reiterate what I just said.
This offer is a free gift that is received by faith alone
and given to anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord.
You might think about it like this.
The kingdom of God is open to anyone who will turn around from the way that they are going
and are welcome to enter into the kingdom of God by simply coming to Jesus.
That, my dear friends, is the gospel of Christ, and it is indeed good news.
So when Paul says we're to conduct ourselves in a manner that is worthy of this good news,
he's simply saying that because we've been rescued from the clutches of this world
and all its wicked and dark ways, because we've been torn out of the kingdom of darkness
and grafted into the kingdom of light, then live as a citizen of that country that you're now part of.
Live in a law-rebiding manner.
In other words, if you've seen your sin for what it is, if you've seen Christ for who he is,
and you trust him, then live in accordance with that reality.
Live in accordance with what God would have you to do.
It's as John Simmons famously wrote all those years ago in his famous hymn,
Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.
Think about it like this.
Criminals are criminals because they break the law of the land.
Well, as Christians, we're citizens of a new country and part of a new people,
the kingdom of God, so don't live like criminals in that land.
Live like good law-rebiding citizens. Obey God's word.
That's Paul's command here.
To put it simply, if you're a Christian, then we are to live what we believe in our hearts
and confess with our mouths out in our actions in this world.
It's how we conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
This is the thing.
This conducting of ourselves in a worthy manner isn't always that easy.
I mean, think about the direct context that our letter was written into.
Our author was in chains and his recipients were being persecuted.
So how were they to go about living their confession of Christ in such hostile environments?
Well, they were to do that in the way that any Christian in any circumstance throughout time does.
Not in our own strength, but in the grace and the power of the Spirit of Christ.
You see, that's been Paul's objective all along.
That's been his point that he's written to the Philippians.
Not I, but Christ who lives in me.
I mean, for example, he has given them an update of where things are at and how things are going,
all with the objective to point them every step of the way to where his great hope was coming from,
his source of great strength, if you will.
And that was to the work of God in all of them.
That was his point in chapter one, verse six,
when he said, he who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Here, who was at work in them?
God himself.
And with that in mind, what God had started, he was going to finish.
That's why Paul could pray with such confidence because he knew that there was something huge going on,
something massive at play, and that was God himself rescuing his people in the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's why he could say with such confidence in chapter one, nine through to 11,
this is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
so that you may be able to discern what's best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.
Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.
Hear that, hear how Paul could pray for his friends with such confidence.
It was because he knew that they had a work that had started in them, and that was by God himself.
And because of that grace, they had Christ, or better yet, Christ had them.
That's why Paul could pray with confidence that they would grow more and more,
because he knew that none of it would come about by their own efforts alone,
but through, as he says, Jesus Christ, and vice versa.
Paul knew he could endure his trials on this earth, saying in chapter one, verse 19 through to 20,
for I know that through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
what happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.
I eagerly expect and hope that I won't be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage,
so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death.
Brothers and sisters, this is the Christian life.
Our living for Christ comes through Christ first living for us,
so that when we turn to him, he might live in us by his Spirit.
It is then and only then that we can walk out our Christian life in this world,
because we're not living by our own strength, but in the grace and the power of another.
It's what theologians refer to as sanctification, a separation, if you will,
from our old and dead ways and walking by the Spirit in our new and born again ways more and more.
So who's worthy among us? None.
But there is one who was and always will be, whose Spirit is at work in and through his people.
We can only walk in a manner worthy of the gospel if we have the worthy one with us.
In other words, our actions grow out of a new life in Christ.
And that's where Paul takes things here in the rest of our verse.
He says, do this, live like people who are worthy of being part of God's people.
And then he directs us in how we are as Christians to live out our new lives in Christ.
And that's going to go all the way through Philippians.
But we're just going to concentrate on our passage this morning.
He wants us to know how to live out our new lives in Christ as citizens of God's heavenly kingdom,
while still very much being part of this world.
Look with me, if you would, at the rest of verse 27.
Paul says, then whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence,
I'll know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.
OK, so we don't want to miss what Paul's saying here.
And so I want to break down this sentence into four different things that I think Paul wants the church to get.
And that's that we are to have tenacity, to walk in mutuality, to be active in our confession
and to live out gospel unity in this world.
So for you note takers out there, first, tenacity.
Paul directs us in that way of thinking by saying, stand firm.
In other words, we're to be persistent in our clinging to the hope of Christ through it all.
Now, again, think of the original recipients of this letter.
There's a whole load of things going on in this church externally and internally that was causing pressure for them to recant.
If we think of maybe just one in the historical context, they were under tremendous pressure to recant their faith and confession
that Jesus is the Son of God and admit that that title only really belongs to the head of the state, Caesar.
That was a thing in the Roman world. And Philippi was very much part of the Greco-Roman world.
That's what was going on here. And Paul directs them in saying, stand firm, friends.
Be consistent, be persistent through it all.
That is how we conduct ourselves as citizens worthy of the gospel on this earth.
Now, we're very blessed in this nation of ours that we don't have the government telling us to give up our Bibles and buildings and seminaries.
But we also must be keenly aware that there are external pressures on Christians to change what we believe on certain central matters
to make our message more palatable in this egalitarian society that we find ourselves in.
And so with that comes the external pressure to change the message and the meaning of the gospel.
That Jesus Christ is the way, that he is the truth, he is the life, and there is no other way to the Father except through him.
And so there is a pressure to pull up the anchor and drift with the tide of the nation.
No, says Paul, stand firm, don't get pulled around by other forces, but rather be anchored in one place, in the hope of the gospel.
Because as he says elsewhere, it is the gospel that is the power unto salvation for all who believe.
So that's first, we are to be tenacious in our holding to Christ.
Second, we're to walk in mutuality.
That's why he goes on to say in the rest of this sentence, stand firm in the one spirit.
As I've already pointed out this morning, we don't live our Christian lives out in our own strength,
but in the grace and the power of another, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
And when the spirit of God opened our hearts to the gospel so that we might throw ourselves on the Lord Jesus Christ,
there wasn't just a change of heart, but there is a changing of the mind as well, a renewing of the mind.
And that's what Paul is drawing on here.
He's drawing on our drive, our new drive and our new motivation for living.
And that's the thing, brothers and sisters, that we have in this world that no other community has.
It's a deep seeded, born again commitment to God and his mission in this world.
In other words, we have the same spirit in us doing the same work and driving our very lives in the same way.
That's why you can travel anywhere in the world and meet any born again believer and have instant rapport and love for them.
It's because we have the same spirit.
Jesus is working in us.
He is driving us in all that we do.
And this is the thing, that is a gift of God that we don't obtain, but are to maintain in us all.
So Paul says, stand firm together with that oneness that you have in Christ.
Work together in the same convictions of truth and hold each other in that same allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's how we conduct ourselves as citizens worthy of the gospel on this earth.
We're to be tenacious and to walk in mutuality.
Third, we are to be active in our confession.
Now I say that because of the very important word that we find here in verse 27.
It's the word striving.
Paul says it right there in verse 27.
And this isn't meant to be taken in any way as a passive thing.
And that's the danger we run into when we come to grips with the grace of God at work in our lives.
We can, if we're not careful, come off the road and go into a ditch on either side of the road.
On the one hand, you have those whose mantra is just let go and let God.
It's kind of like taking your hands off the wheel and getting in the back seat and thinking everything's going to be OK because, hey, I have cruise control on.
It's an unbiblical concept.
The Christian life isn't one of passivity, but activity.
In walking out our confession of what we believe.
But we also need to be careful of that, that that activity isn't the thing we look to as the means of our salvation.
As I said before, salvation is a free gift that is received by faith alone, apart from any good works.
So, church, how do we hold it in balance?
How do we strive without falling on either side of the ditch?
Well, it comes back to the gospel.
It always comes back to the gospel.
It comes back to the life Jesus has won for his people already before our heavenly father.
Brothers and sisters, if you have called upon the name of the Lord and you are trusting in his perfect work on your behalf,
there has been a supernatural work in your life in which you have, as the Bible says, been born again.
And that heart of stone that you once had towards God and his law, it's been replaced with a heart of flesh,
one that loves our heavenly father and all his ways.
And so, we strive from that place.
We strive from that new heart to want and desire what God would have for us,
not to earn, but to please our father who we know has rescued us in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And notice this, notice the unity Paul always drives at.
He's not encouraging individualism here.
We are to strive together.
That's how we conduct ourselves as citizens worthy of the gospel on this earth.
We are to be tenacious, walk in mutuality and be active together and strive together in our confession of Christ,
which naturally leads us to the fourth thing, and that is we are to live our gospel unity out in this world.
We are to live it out.
Notice this, notice what Paul is saying here.
We are not to live out our unity for unity's sake, but live out our unity from and for the gospel's sake.
That's why he says, strive together as one for the faith of the gospel.
Brothers and sisters, we will only ever have tenacity, walk in mutuality and strive together actively in our confession
if we have really been born again and believe that the gospel actually does something in this world.
In other words, we will only ever really be united in one spirit, striving together,
standing our ground in promoting and preaching the gospel in this world if that gospel work has genuinely taken root in us.
That's how you can tell the genuine from the non-genuine, the real from the fake.
Born again people can't help themselves but trust and obey.
We won't get it perfect, but there is a great want and desire.
Because we've come to the knowledge that there is no other way.
The Lord has the words of eternal life.
We have no other want to live out our lives on this earth, even as Paul said, if we're killed for it.
As he said, for to me to live is Christ, to die is gain.
That's the only way in which any of what Paul is commanding us to do will come about.
It's that we have been born again and given such a heart and mind to want to strive together in our mutual faith of the gospel.
It's because of Christ in us, working with us, that we will conduct ourselves as citizens worthy of the gospel on this earth.
And because of that work in us and for the gospel, for us in the gospel, we will want to share it with everyone.
And the gospel, and why wouldn't we? The gospel is such good news.
That sin can be forgiven, lives can be changed, people can be set free.
Such wonderful news for the world to hear.
But believe it or not, the world doesn't always want to hear it and will in fact hate us for living by this truth.
That's why Paul has been commanding the church.
Friends, stick together, strive together, believe together for the gospel's sake, because you will be opposed in this world.
And as you're opposed, your oneness, your unity, your togetherness will in fact be a testimony to the world that they will be destroyed.
Verse 28. What's Paul saying here?
He's saying you're going to face opposition because you're Christians.
Stick together.
That is what Paul under the inspiration of the Spirit is writing to the church.
He says when you're opposed and you will be, stand firm in your faith as one, which is the work of God among us.
Because conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel, even under opposition, will act as a sign to those who want to destroy us that they will in fact be destroyed themselves.
Notice what else he goes on to say in verse 28.
He says your oneness in the faith is a sign that those who oppose you will be destroyed, but that you will be saved. And that by God.
You see, the church isn't just some organization that happens to like the same values, the same hymns, the same tea and bikis on a Sunday afternoon.
Now the church is a worldwide organism that has been called out, put together and paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ.
The church isn't a building, but a spiritual temple that's been filled with the very Spirit of God himself.
In other words, we are God's blood purchased precious children.
And so in a very real sense to oppose God's people and the message of the gospel is to oppose God himself.
That's the kind of father we have. He's a father that doesn't let his enemies get away with injustice forever.
Now there will come a time where every wrong will be made right, where every evil will be punished and when every enemy of God will come to an end.
So this morning we have seen a shift, haven't we? We've seen a shift in Paul's purpose in this letter.
He's gone from informing his friends to commanding the church.
Not to strike fear into our hearts, but to direct us in the way that we are to live in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Jesus.
And we will be exploring it over the next few weeks.
And as we've seen just this morning, we are to be active in these instructions.
Active in tenacity, in walking, in mutuality, in striving together in our confession and living out our gospel unity in this world.
Because our obedience will be assigned to the world that they're not just fighting against the church or the gospel, but God himself.
But don't fear little flock. We have Christ. Or better yet, Christ has us.
And God is fully and utterly in control of it all.
With Paul's situation, with the Philippians and with us here 2000 years later, as our apostle reflects.
For it's been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer.
Granted. Since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had and now still know that I have.
Verse 29 and 30.
Church, as we've heard this morning, all those who have turned to the Lord Jesus Christ are a new creation with the spirit of Christ working in and through us.
But as you've also heard, the Christian life is not a passive life, but an active striving to trust and obey.
And we are to trust and obey God in all that we do.
And as we do, as we trust and obey in the power of the spirit, we will be opposed for what we stand for and share with this world.
And so church, salvation and suffering can't be divorced.
And we must not live our lives as though what we have seen this morning doesn't apply to us.
We never want to be needlessly offensive.
But we are called to speak and live out the truth and love in our suburb city and nation.
However, as we do, we must understand that there may be a price to pay.
But what we have in the gospel is such good news.
It's not easy news to hear, but this is the thing.
We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is life transforming, eternally liberating awesome news.
And so we know that it is worth the sacrifice because quite simply, we once were opposed to the gospel.
Enemies of God and his people, yet through faithful men and women who loved us enough to share this good news.
That's how we came to know that the gospel really saves any and everyone who believes it.
And we are testimony to it.
And so would you join me in praying this morning, in praying that we would be a people that would be united in the gospel,
a people that won't compromise on our faith, but live in the way that we have been called to live,
as redeemed people who live in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ in this world, no matter the cost.
Would you pray with me?
Father, this morning we began our time by asking that you would enlighten the eyes of our heart
and that you would hold Christ high in our midst and draw all manner of people to yourself.
Father, we thank you that for many of us in this room, that is a reality that we live in.
You have by your spirit worked such a work in our hearts that you have brought us to the Lord Jesus Christ.
That we have turned from our dead and dark ways to the truth, to the living God.
And so Father, we would ask that you would continue to use us to share the gospel.
Use us Lord, this community here in Armidale to be a light, a city on a hill.
That we would be faithful with the message that you have given us.
That you would use us to make disciples and to celebrate with you all those that you are bringing into your kingdom through the Lord Jesus.
Give us boldness, courage, tenacity and might we be united in the work.
We ask for this in Jesus' name, Amen.