Chains for Christ
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Good morning Church! If you have your Bible and I hope that you do, please turn with me to Philippians 1:12. Philippians 1:12. Happy birthday to Laura Reed! We’re so thankful for you and your faithful testimony to the Lord.
Before we begin the sermon, I want to briefly address a concern from our July 6th service.
Back in March, during a business meeting, a motion was made to incorporate more patriotic songs on national holidays. The exact wording of the vote was not clear to us at that time. But, It’s clear looking at the minutes as they’re recorded that the Elders dropped the ball in organizing the worship service on July 6th and following the motion that was voted on and approved by the church body. For that we apologize.
We do want to make it clear that the Elders are not in favor of the motion. Therefore, in the next few weeks, we would like to discuss it in depth with the church and vote on it again.
We are looking today at how God may use difficult seasons for His glory today. As a pastor I have the privilege of seeing many people be sanctified by the situations that God allows them to be placed in and what I’ve learned is that there are three ways to respond to God when you’re faced with difficulty:
Reliance. I’m starting with how we should respond because it’s the Lord’s will for us to rely on Him during those seasons of tremendous difficulty.
4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
Whether its a sickness, the loss of a loved one, job stresses, etc. God permits these things into our lives intentionally and for the Christian there is always a Gospel purpose behind our suffering: either for us to learn something about the Lord or for us to suffer in such a way that others are drawn to the Gospel of Christ.
Resistance. Some people wrestle against the Lord and the situations that He allows. You might bang on every possible door, try to open every window, and turn to every option other that trusting in the Lord and His plan for you. You might call this Self-Reliance because you lean on your own understanding and in doing so you may be resisting the Lord’s will in your life. We’re not called to resist the Lord.
Resignation. Instead of walking by faith, some people just go with the flow instead of having active faith in the promises of God or seeking out His purpose for them.
A kayaker going down rapids cant just sit and enjoy the trip. He must engage the rapids and navigate the rocks. Imagine how different the stories of faith would be if people resigned themselves to circumstances and called it faith! Daniel in the lion’s den would be much shorter. Moses would have remained in Midian. Esther would have been destroyed. We’re not called to resign.
Resentment. Some people get angry with God because He allows for their lives to be radically altered. No one plans for chronic sickness. No one wants to deal with hardships and difficulties. Bitterness begins to spread and many folks begin to question, “If God is so good then why would He allow this to happen?” We’re not called to resent the Lord.
Today, we’re going to focus on the right response which is full reliance upon the Lord with active, living faith! Let’s stand together in honor of God’s Word as we read Philippians 1:12-18
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Our Father in heaven, we thank You for this day in which we gather to worship You and tell each other about how marvelous You are! You are good and glorious! Full of majesty and completely holy! There is no darkness in You. There is no change in Your character and we know that You love us! Thank You for Who You are are! The uncreated One. The unchanging One.
We want take time before we listen to Your word to repent of our sin. We are often loveless toward You when You deserve all our attention and affection. We’re small and finite and lose our way easily and we ask for Your forgiveness. Please grant us renewed hearts filled with love toward You and our neighbors around us. We live as divided people with divided hearts. Things vie for our attention more and more and we ask that You would change our hearts and renew our minds and let us look to You to unite us all by faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ.
We pray that You would grow us Lord. Grow us in love. Increase our faith Lord. And help us to take greater steps of faith, even when we struggle. Even when we don’t understand. Help our unbelief and grant us greater reliance on Your Holy Spirit.
We pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who are gathering in Your name. For our brothers and sisters in Asia, we pray for Your Holy Spirit to move and bring about new believers. Thank You for the faithful ministry and evangelism of Christians.
We pray for our brothers and sisters in Africa that minister in the midst of spiritual darkness. We pray for Your light to permeate the minds of those that do not know You, that they would be born again to a living hope.
We pray for our brothers and sisters in Central and South America, who are in service right now. Lord, we pray that You would work mightily in their midst. Help them, Lord to abide in Your truth and make disciples in their areas around them.
We want to lift us missionaries around the world. For the many missionaries that we know and love from IMB to Ethnos 360 to independent ones. There’s so many Christians doing so much to share the Gospel. Strengthen them and allow them fruitful and abundant harvests as they lean on You.
We pray for Western churches. There are so many that are struggling Lord. I pray for my brothers that are in pulpits right now. I pray that You would empower them with Your Spirit and that they would rightly divide the Word of truth. I pray that You would revive the Western Church and I pray that it would happen here in this place. We pray for Your Holy Spirit to instruct, convict, and renew souls today. Be with us, Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Paul states his purpose behind his letter. “I want you to know”. I want you to know is customary at this time. We have letters from soldiers to their families and after an introduction they would say the same thing, “I want you to know” and what is it that Paul wants the Philippian church to know? “what has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel.”
So Paul’s entire purpose of writing is to inform the Philippians about how his imprisonment is being used to advance the Gospel. Through word of mouth the news of Paul’s imprisonment concerned the church at Philippi. But God was working to advance the Kingdom of God.
Christ’s Gospel Advances
Christ’s Gospel Advances
What happened to Paul? He was in chains! He was imprisoned as a criminal! You look at the Bible and this is what happened to so many who are righteous. Look at Joseph who was sold into slavery and eventually found himself in chains in Egypt. Yet what happened to him really served to save people and advance the gospel! There would be 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine. God had a purpose in it.
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Joseph had a wise view. He saw the sovereign hand of God in his life circumstances and instead of blaming Potiphar’s wife or vilifying his brothers, He rested in the Lord, continued to walk by faith and was a faithful servant despite his situation.
And notice what Paul is saying: While God was bringing good from his suffering, he is not saying that suffering in and of itself is good. While God uses suffering and allows it, God does not author suffering. God never sins nor tempts us to sin, but He does sovereignly ordain all things—even suffering—for His glory and our good. And while there is joy to be found in suffering, we are also allowed sorrow.
This passage, by no means negates the emotions we feel when we suffer, but it shows us that God is with us and has a purpose through it. Now, how was Paul able to write this with such conviction and purpose? It’s because he had a glorious view of the Gospel!
He knew that there was a reason behind the imprisonment and instead of going with the flow or being bitter that his church planting ministry had ceased, he looked for Gospel opportunities and he became so effective that the whole imperial guard became aware of the Gospel!
Now, that word for imperial guard is Praetorian in the Greek and refers to an elite group of Roman soldiers that functioned as the emperor’s body guards. They served as police officers in Rome and only the best soldiers made it to this elite group. These men served bravely, fought fiercely, and led courageously. There were 9-10,000 of these men and Paul evangelized as many as he could. So much so that every single one of the imperial guards knew that Paul was there for Christ.
Paul would declare later to Timothy to
8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!
Do you have a Gospel perspective while suffering? The truth is that if you look inside you, you will find turmoil. If you look around you, you will despair. If you look to Jesus you will find the author and perfecter of your faith beckoning you to take His yoke because it is easy and light.
When we suffer with faith in God’s purpose in the Gospel, it leads to others being encouraged around us. Paul writes, “most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
Courage Abounds
Courage Abounds
You see, Paul’s suffering with Gospel purpose became a catalyst for others to grow in the faith. Paul calls this “boldness”. It’s most often translated as “dare”. Its a visible sign of confidence in the goodness and faithfulness of God. The catalyst for this boldness was Paul’s bondage.
Are you bold to speak the Word without fear? There’s many willing to boldly share opinions when they should probably just sit back and be quiet. But what about sharing God’s truth? We look at the Bible and the heroes of our faith were willing to stand and say, “Thus saith the Lord!”
Moses stood before the most powerful emperor on the planet and he said,
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’ ”
Jeremiah was called by the Lord
2 “Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word.
Daniel chose to pray to the Lord as he had always done.
10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.
Peter and John were beaten and told to stop sharing about Christ and the resurrection
19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
Boldness is a flame and it spreads like fire through dry grass. As Paul became bold in His chains for Christ, the brothers became bold as slaves of Christ. Has someone’s faith emboldened yours in the past? Are you willing to be that example for someone else?
But it’s not all wonderful is it? Because there were severe critics of Paul.
Critics Arise
Critics Arise
Many people hold up the early church as the ideal church. That is based on the belief that because they had the apostles, they had it all together. However, that’s far from the case. We know that there were many many things in the early church that people wrestled with and doctrines that had to be clarified. The early church had many issues just like modern churches. There’s never been a period of time in all the church’s history that it’s had it all together.
But Paul writes that some preachers didn’t have the best motives. Some preachers. Actually Paul refers to these as brothers in verse 14. The emphasis is on the negative here that these preachers were bold to speak the word out of envy and rivalry.
Perhaps these men thought to gain a larger congregation now that Paul was imprisoned? It could have been they were intimidated by him? Whatever the reason, their motives were not good.
So these brothers are preaching Christ. They’re preaching the true Gospel, but they have no love for the apostle Paul. That’s weird to hear isn’t it? There were many that opposed Paul and his ministry because they didn’t like what he had to say. They didn’t receive his apostolic ministry. They rejected his authority and this led to envy and rivalry.
Envy is the Greek word phthonos which describes the feeling of resentment when you want what someone else has. Or it could be used to describe a feeling of hostility when someone has success or some kind of advantage. We might call it jealousy or spite.
Rivalry is the Greek word eris which refers to an open rivalry. It could be verbal or even physical and shows a combative and divisive spirit.
Envy and rivalry are ranked up there with the most heinous sins. Paul writes that envy and rivalry are parts of the “works of the flesh”.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
He describes a depraved mind as one that is
29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,
It is because of these attitudes that Paul rebukes the Corinthians
3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
The church has struggled in this area for millennia. It’s why the Great Schism of 1054 happened which split the church into Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. It’s why the Reformation happened when those in power were envious that average people were being taught the Word of God. It’s why The Scottish Covenanters fought for the purity of worship but were splintered by envy and rivalry and led to factions even though they agreed on all the principles! It’s why the Marrow Controversy tore through Presbyterians and sowed rivalry and envy even though the leaders were theologically correct. It’s why George Whitfield and John Wesley publicly rebuked one another over differences between Calvinism and Arminianism. For years they opposed each other in their writings and their sermons hurling insults at each other!
But there’s hope! You see, the cure for envy and rivalry is the Gospel and repentance. Whitefield eventually came out and broke the cycle of envy and rivalry. He said, “Let the name of Whitefield perish, but Christ be glorified. Let us look above names and parties; let Jesus be our all in all… I care not who is uppermost. I know my place… even to be the servant of all.”
Now… this didn’t resolve their disagreement over Calvinism or Arminianism, but it shows true love and honor and it was such a massive change that they began to become champions of each other! Later, when Whitefield died, John Wesley preached his funeral, and said “Have we read or heard of any person since the apostles, who called so many thousands to the saving knowledge of Christ? …He had the heart of an apostle.”
Christian, the way to honor the Lord is not through division but through love based on truth. I think about this in the context of our own church because we have some folks that are fully convinced of all sorts of issues: public school or home school? Hymns or modern worship? Patriotic or no? It all stems from these issues of envy and rivalry and they’re fruits of the flesh and ultimately against God’s plan for His Church.
Is there envy in your heart toward another’s ministry or influence? How might God be calling you to repent of those criticisms? If you’re harboring resentment toward a brother or sister, don’t let that fester. Go to them, repent, seek peace. Christ is too glorious, and the Gospel is too urgent, for us to let pride linger.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
But you know in spite of the divisions there were some that preached Christ from love and good will. These supporters of Paul’s ministry are identified as those that “know that he is there for the defense of the gospel”.
In every faithful ministry, there will be adversaries and allies, even from within the church. Yet in Paul’s case, we don’t know who the ones are that are allies nor do we know who are the ones that are adversaries. We don’t know any of the specifics and Paul keeps it that way not because he is afraid, but because he is wise. He has identified those that oppose his ministry as those with flawed motives, not with a flawed message.
Paul was willing to call out and name the names of false teachers. He named Hymenaeus, Alexander, Demas, Elymas, and so called “super apostles” who preached another Jesus and gospel. Yet, Paul doesn’t name any names here because he isn’t dealing with heretics, he is dealing with brothers that disagree with him.
He doesn’t name them, but he does correct them and their flawed thinking: namely their 1) selfish ambition, 2) lack of sincerity, and 3) desire to hurt him more while he is imprisoned. Yet his attitude is “so what?” So what if their motives aren’t the best for him? He doesn’t have to be liked his who conclusion is this:
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Paul’s whole thing is that
Christ is Announced
Christ is Announced
This is the path of mature thinking. It’s not insisting on its own way. It’s not in using influence to get your way. It’s not in thinking poorly about a brother or a sister but greeting them warmly on Sundays, that’s double-mindedness and hypocrisy. It’s about authentic love united in God’s truth.
Paul’s joy is deeply rooted in Christ being declared. He isn’t concerned about his reputation or personal desires. He doesn’t even allude to a wish to be honored. He just wants Jesus and in the proclamation of the Gospel, that’s what brings him joy. To know the Lord and to see Him made known!
And this leads to our last point
Celebration is Abiding
Celebration is Abiding
Paul says, “in that I rejoice. Yes, I will rejoice” So Paul declares its his present joy and cause of his celebration, but it’s also a future joy that can never be stolen! Paul is imprisoned and the chains become a means of joy because he sees God’s plan to embolden other believers through his circumstances and this causes Paul to praise the Lord despite the pain he is enduring.
And just as those chains tethered him to a cold stone wall, the chains of the Gospel held him fast and secure in increasing joy despite his suffering. Mark Keown said, “When our joy is tied to the advancement of the Gospel rather than our physical conditions, or others responses to us, then it remains firm even when circumstances are against us.”
The joy of Gospel proclamation is what brings the Christian peace even when things aren’t really going your way.
So let’s wrap all this up. Paul was in chains—but he wasn’t defeated. His circumstances did not define him; Christ did. And because of that, he saw every hardship as an opportunity for Gospel advancement.
Let’s remember the five truths we’ve seen in this passage:
Even in prison, even in pain, Christ’s Gospel is Advancing. The Gospel was not stopped and it will never be stopped! Paul’s chains were not a hindrance, they were a help to accomplishing that. So don’t underestimate how God can use your situation—even the hard and unjust ones—for His glory.
Paul’s faith didn’t make others shrink back—it made their courage abound! His boldness in chains stirred boldness in others. As a result, the fire of courage spread. When you suffer well and speak God’s truth boldly with faith, others will follow your example.
Even in the church, there are those who operate from envy and rivalry. And yet—even when motives are mixed—God is sovereign. Paul didn’t get lost in critics arising. He stayed focused on the mission: Christ announced.
Paul rejoiced not in his comfort, not in his reputation, but in the fact that Jesus was being made known. His joy was tied to the message, not the messenger. Can the same be said of us?
Despite chains, despite critics, despite challenges—Paul’s celebration was abiding. Not just once, but twice he says it: “I rejoice. Yes, I will rejoice.” His joy wasn’t circumstantial. It was rooted in Christ, anchored in the Gospel, and fueled by seeing Jesus exalted.
So what does this mean for us?
When hardship comes—and it will—you can resist, resign, resent, or you can rely on God.
We can look at Paul’s example which is a solid one but more importantly we can look to Christ who suffered unjustly and moved forward with faith in the Father’s plan to save the world and through Christ’s faithful suffering, redeemed us and gave us life and purpose.
So whatever your sufferings are, be sure to use them as a pathway for sharing the Gospel.
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
As you find your joy in Christ and your life is full of Gospel purpose you will increase in your joy and your joy in Christ will never be shaken. So let us all be a church that rejoices in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not in ease, but in eternity. Not in comfort, but in Christ. Church, let’s be a people who rejoice in Christ being proclaimed, no matter who gets the credit.
Head: God wants you to know that He uses suffering to advance the Gospel, embolden others, and deepen our joy—not by removing hardship, but by giving us Christ-centered purpose within it.
God sovereignly uses even the most difficult circumstances to advance the Gospel and shape His people. Like Paul in chains, your suffering is not wasted—it’s a strategic part of God’s redemptive plan.
Heart: God wants you to believe that He is sovereign over your suffering and will use it for His glory and your growth—even when you cannot see how.
Believe that God is in control of your trials and is working through them to glorify Christ and strengthen your faith. Even when others have wrong motives or your pain feels pointless, God’s purposes never fail.
Hand: God wants you to rely on Christ in your suffering and look for ways to make Him known through it.
In every hardship, choose to rely on Christ instead of resisting, resigning, or growing resentful. Look for opportunities to speak boldly of Jesus, knowing that your faithful endurance may encourage others and exalt your Savior.
