Philippians 1:27-30 Our Conduct
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
Good morning church!
Blessed we get to continue through Philippians together!
Today we got 4 powerful verses
(In the greek these 4 verses is just 1 verse)
I titled the message based on this section: “Our Conduct”
because
We’re going to see in our passage
for this morning that
Paul has moved from his personal situation
to the situations of the Philippians.
Paul previously told them that he will win either way,
that his circumstances will turn out for the advance of the gospel,
and that his joy will continue to increase.
So as we saw last week Paul will be just fine
in Paul’s conduct
he is seeing his situation as a win win
actually he feels caught between great thing and a greater thing!
To serve Christ, or to be with Christ
He will be OK, but what about them?
What is the Philippians conduct
Will they go in the tank when trials come?
Will they pout when they have problems?
Will they fold instead of being faithful?
Will they turn on each other instead of working with each other?
When things are not easy will they get queasy
and begin to question their faith?
Lets pray
read verses 27-30
then we gather the context and dive in
27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. 29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.
The Philippian church was a great church,
and Paul wanted it to remain great.
so basically he is saying
“Walk the talk”
or “live up to who you are.”
live up to what you believe
which means that you stand fast
striving together
unafraid of your enemies
suffering for Christ
Our conduct must represent what we believe
and that should not change
when hard times come.
instead we should lock arms
remain unified
and maintain our conduct being worthy of the gospel
no matter what we face.
Paul wants to know that whether
he is around or not
their conduct is worthy of the gospel
and that they are unified together
even in the face of suffering.
lets dive in and
lets just look at the first part of
read verse 27a
Philippians 1:27 (NKJV)
27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, ...
The greek word for conduct
carries the idea of being a citizen
"live your lives as citizens"
worthy of the gospel
Philippi was city full of people
proud of being citizens of Rome
Philippi was a colony of Rome
and they had rights, and privileges
The Philippians although lived
hundreds and hundreds of miles from Rome
they kept their ties to Rome
with their language, practices, customs, and dress.
A few times in Acts 16 when Paul
was in Philippi there is references to Rome
The Philippians prided themselves
in being citizens of Rome
although in a foreign environment
So Paul uses this word
that would remind the believers
of their better citizenship...
Paul takes this concept
further in chapter 3:20
Later in Php 3:20.
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
The believers in Philippi
are citizens of Heaven
a colony of heaven on earth
so our conduct reveals where we are from.
the question is what does our conduct reveal?
that we are citizens of Heaven or of this world?
Eph 2:1-3 shows us how citizen of the world conduct themselves in how we once walked according to the course of this world.
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
but because of Jesus we become citizens of Heaven
as verse 4-5 of Eph 2 says,
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
and so we became citizens of Heaven
that we may not be conformed to this world… but be transformed...
Eph 4:1-3 pretty closely parallels our section in Philippians today in that it says
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
So what does your conduct reveal about you?
are we living more like citizens of this world
or of Heaven?
How do we we conduct ourselves?
is it worthy of the gospel of Christ?
Do you live in a way that it
supports the gospel we believe?
That is how people know us
if you labelled yourself, Christian
then you’re the Bible
to all those around you
to your kids and co workers, neighbors, friends
how we live
how we talk
how we handle situations and circumstances
reveal to others what we believe, and living for
If we tell people “God saved me from my sins”
and we live and continue without any repentance in sin
we communicate sin isnt that bad to the people around us
and thats not a conduct worthy of the gospel
Or we tell people God changed my life
but live just like everyone else
with no evidence of change
we communicate what is the point of the gospel?
We can be telling people “yes we are Christians”
but if we conduct ourselves like the world
as Eph 2 described
we communicate to the people around us
that following God does nothing.
Why would someone need Jesus
if we live the same as everyone else.
If we we received the gospel message
and placed our trust in Jesus
may that show
other wise we show lack of authenticity
of the gospel
and hypocrisy
discrediting the message
we claim thats saves us.
but
God saved me of my sins
He has changed my life
We have God’s love
God’s given us believers His Spirit
with the fruits of the Spirit
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
So may we be unashamed
and have a conduct
that reveals the
love God has given
the salvation He has given to us
and the work He has done in our lives.
because arent we thankful to God for all He has done
all that He has given to us?
He has given us salvation, He has given us His Spirit
we can go on on and on
and hear testimony after testimony here
so as col 3:17 puts it
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
So where do we act like?
act like were of this world
or of Heaven?
Does our walk match our talk?
I read a short poem
that I want to share
that speaks to this.
"You're writing a "gospel,"
A chapter each day,
By the deeds that you do,
By the words that you say;
Men read what you write,
Whether faithless or true;
Say, what is the "gospel"
According to you?”
--- Paul Gilbert
lets now look at the next half of verse 27
Philippians 1:27 (NKJV)
27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,
Paul wants to see the Philippians continuing to do well
and so he knows if they're conduct is worthy of the gospel
and if they are united
they will do well.
Paul shows the Philippians,
You don’t need me in order
to move forward in the mission.
Whether or not I’m there,
keep pressing on.
The church needed to be prepared
to move forward with or without Paul around
and they were going to do that by:
having a conduct worthy of the gospel
and by being unified by
by standing fast in one spirit
having one mind
striving together for the faith of the gospel.
The Philippians will be attacked for their faith in Jesus
so they must be unified in
standing fast in one spirit, and having one mind
I love the NT Greek word for stand fast (steko)
also means to stand firm
it indicates the determination of a soldier who stands his ground
I picture a soldier commanded to defend a particular position
and despite all the attacks
he doesn't even move an inch from his post
he isnt letting the enemy,
the weather
his own tiredness keep him from holding his position
How about with us.
When the enemy attacks
do we hold our ground?
or do we allow our emotions to take over?
Do we give up on our Christianity when we get tired?
Will we hold our ground when the world
challenges us.
Will we stand fast
When the trials of this life try to knock us down?
When it just seems easier to just give up
to blame God
to doubt God
to be angry at Him
to question Him
why did you let this happen?
its easy to fall down,
but will you stand fast.
while Paul is a great example to us of this
I also think Job
he lost it all
he suffers
he gets bad counsel
he doesn't listen to that
Job remains faithful to God
and does not waver in his trust and devotion.
He displays remarkable patience, resilience,
and unwavering faith throughout his ordeal.
When the attacks come
when the trials come
when the temptation comes
will we standfast
and remain unmoved in our faith
now it says we are to stand fast in one spirit
in one spirit
means that
we are in unity, and harmony
so theres no bickering, contention, self seeking
that we are locking arms together
not letting the attacks get to us
not letting the enemy win over us
as a church we need to recognize
when the enemy attacks, or when sin tries to creep in,
or divisions,
that we would be able to stand fast
and press forward to the call God has for us!
but also we are to be of one mind
having one mind is
described more in a few verses
in Phil 2:2-5
2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
we are to be unified having one mind
in humility
loves each other
Jesus said that how we should be known
35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
we are to be unified with the same purpose
to love each other
If there isnt love there
we wont have unity
and if we dont have unity
we wont be striving together
for the faith of the gospel
or have a conduct worthy of the gospel
The point Paul is making is
we need to be unified:
the world—its people, families, and nations—
may be split and divided,
arguing and differing,
fighting and divorcing,
warring and killing,
seeking and grasping;
but the church is not to live that way.
The church is to be unified;
it is to be one in spirit and one in mind;
one in heart and one in purpose. (cf 1 Cor 1:10, 2 Cor 13:11, Eph 4:3, Php 2:2-4, 1 Pe 3:8)
We must start by standing together
but then we need to do more than that.
We must also strive together:
I picture the movie remember the Titans
a high school football team
that had its first season
ethnically mixed
with black and white players
They had to overcome
serious internal strife before they could win
they had to become a unit in order to win.
for us we are in a
mission field to engage
God has a work to do in us
and we dont need fighting or disunity
keeping us from working together
to do what God has called for us!
esp. for what Paul brings up in verse 28
which is another thing that Paul
wants to hear about the Philippians
whether he will be with them or not
so that he knows they are continuing to grow.
read verse 28
28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.
The Philippians are going to need to be unified
as they are going to face adversaries,
and suffering
and Paul wants to hear that
they are not terrified by it
He doesn't tell us to retaliate against
the enemy
but he says to have a supernatural response--
don't be terrified
now this doesnt mean
they dont have a reason to be terrified
there are reasons.
even Habakkuk when he knew that Babylon
the great enemy of Judah was coming for them
he said was afraid
he was terrified
he had reason to be afraid
however in verses 16-19
we see that Habakkuk
makes God His strength
knowing that God is in control
and He can rest and rejoice
In this world we will face reasons to be afraid
just like the Philippians
knowing that what is ahead is adversaries
people who want to harm us and hurt us
however having a reason to be afraid
doesnt mean we need or should be afraid
because while
we know we may face opposition
we know that God is with us
and that He will win
that no matter what happens
what we read in Revelation 21:3-5 will happen
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
So may we
go about with our business as usual
unified, and acting as citizens of Heaven
not terrified by what man may do to us
as verse 28 says its a proof of perdition to our adversaries
that our refusal to be terrified
is evidence that the salvation they had experienced is real
so that their adversaries are doomed
to eternal loss and destruction.
When Christians are standing together
in the face of external pressure,
something is happening:
a “two-way sign.” is given.
It’s a sign pointing to destruction and salvation,
to condemnation and confirmation,
to wrath and rest.
Unbelievers are confronted with their unbelief
and believers are confirmed of their faith
Many of the pagans in Philippi
probably looked at the small group of Christians and thought,
We’re winning, and from the surface,
the church may have looked like a small,
weak, pathetic band of people.
But they are an unstoppable
force impowered by God
living as citizens of Heaven
unified together
accomplishing the purposes of God
so when we face opposition
don’t fear
Lets go on speaking the gospel,
and don’t be terrified by opposition
it will happen
in fact it actually granted to us
as verses 29-30 says:
29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.
That word granted derives from a word
meaning “grace” or “favor.”
like it had been
gifted to you to not just believe in Jesus
but also
it has been gifted to suffer for His sake.
‘both your faith and your suffering for Christ
are gifts of our loving
heavenly Father,
How can suffering be a gift?
well it does some great things
Jesus said on the sermon on the mount
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
In James chapter 1 we see that our suffering
matures us
In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
we see that our suffering causes us
to not be self reliant but relying on the Lord
In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 we see that
suffering allows us to be able to minister to others
as we saw with Paul’s suffering it
is a tool of evangelism
(to be used by God)
..
Remember Paul wrote this as he
suffered joyfully
All this just shows me
is that our lives are in His hands
so as Phil 4:4 says
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
As the worship comes forward
So how will we conduct ourselves?
will we remain unified when we face opposition?
will be striving together for the faith
will be of one spirit
of one mind
even when their are sufferings?
Are we living more like citizens of earth or of Heaven?
i hope that as we leave church today
we walk out of here with
conduct worthy of gospel, unified, and unafraid.
to do the call God has for us
that we also will be moving forward.
Pray