Sermon Tone Analysis
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Gospel-Centered Life
Introduction
It is a privilege to be with you and to bring God’s Word to you tonight
We have been working our way through Philippians on Tuesday nights
What we’ve found is that the book of Philippians is all about the Gospel
The book has been characterized as being about joy - and that fruit of the Spirit is certainly to be found in these four short chapters
But the book - the main theme of the book - is found in one of the verses we’re going to study tonight
I would like to submit that the book lays out a spectrum for examining our Christian walk
I would call it
The Philippian Spectrum
The Gospel leads to Joy leads to Humility which leads to Unity.
We find the Gospel expressed by Paul immediately in the book - as he does in most of his Epistles
Grace and peace together sum up the entirety of the Gospel - we were given grace by Christ dying from our sins which now gives us peace with God
Paul also demonstrates his humility as he refers to himself as a slave of Christ and the Philippian believers as saints
He shows us how he prays for the Philippians in verses 4-7
He celebrates their koinonia (partnership) with him in the Gospel
The Philippians and Paul shared a deep affection and striving together for the faith
He shows us what he prays for the Philippians in verses 9-11
He prays that their love would abound more and more
Not just love, but also knowledge and discernment - two very unpopular disciplines in Christianity today
When our love abounds supported by a knowledge of who we love and a discernment of what He has determined as right - we are able to glorify God most
He provides us a glimpse of his perspective when opposition arises in 12-18
And in 18-26 Paul demonstrates perseverance in submission to the will of God
For me to live - Christ; to die - gain
but Paul is convinced that it is better for the Philippians if he remains
he submits his desires to what glorifies Christ most
With that brief overview we can now look at tonights passage
Paul begins a new portion of the letter
from informational to imperative
Our outline will be:
Be a Good Citizen (Philippians 1:27a)
Stand United (Philippians 1:27b-28)
Suffering is a Gift? (Philippians 1:29-30)
Read the Scripture (STAND UP)
Prayer
Be A Good Citizen
Acts 16:37-39; Philippians 3:20
Paul here uses a verb that carries with it the sense of “be a good citizen” - politeuomai
While the concept of citizenship may be getting reworked in our current affairs, the concept of citizenship in the ancient world was far grander than what we would think today
The Romans conquered the Greeks in 168 BC and designated Philippi as a station on the Egnatian Way - the highway that connected the Eastern and Western Empires
Site of a major battle between Brutus and Cassius (the assassins of Julius Caesar) and Octavius and Antony (who emerged victorious) un 42 BC
Rebuilt in 31 BC and established as a Roman Colony
Residents had the rights of citizens under Roman law; they could own property and land
Citizenship meant a lot to the residents
Many were former soldiers who had earned their citizenship
One of the reasons that Paul and Silas’ imprisonment was such an embarrassment - they had been denied proper proceedings due to citizens
The use of the verb (used only twice in the entire New Testament) seems to carry with it a dual meaning
Be a good citizen of your earthly state remembering that everything you do reflects on the Gospel
Jesus said the same thing when he said render unto Caeser
But you are not only a citizen of Philippi - but of Heaven
If you write to me, write to me like this: at Westminster, London.
Temporary address: Westminster; permanent address: heaven in Christ.
I am but a stranger here, heaven is my home.
Tony Sargent, Gems from Martyn Lloyd-Jones: An Anthology of Quotations from “the Doctor” (Milton Keynes, England; Colorado Springs, CO; Hyderabad, AP: Paternoster., 2007), 63.Stand United
Stand United
Philippians 1:26; Acts 16:6-9; 2 Corinthians 1:15-16, 23-24; Ecclesiastes 4:9,12; Philippians 1:19; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 2 Timothy 4:3; 2 Timothy 1:7; Luke 12:5
Whether I come and see you or am absent - sounds strange considering that Paul had just told the Philippians that he would be coming to see them
Paul is submitting to the sovereignty and providence of Christ over his plans
Many times he had planned to go one way and had been directed another
That was how he had come to Philippi in the first place
He had tried to enter further in to Asia Minor but the Spirit had opposed him
A major point of contention and one of the reasons for the Epistle of 2 Corinthians was Paul’s seeming capriciousness in changing plans
Paul tells them that regardless the expectation is clear
That they will stand firm
Carries a military overtone - common in Paul’s writings
Soldiers holding the line together regardless of personal consequences
The fifth general order of a sentry - to quit my post only when properly relieved
in one spirit with one mind
striving side by side - Paul shifts from a military to an athletic metaphor
Tug of War
Unity provides resolve, accountability , and confidence.
Resolve to continue the struggle because the man or woman next to you isn’t quitting
Accountability to the group as well as being able to hold one another accountable for their part
Confidence - Ecclesiastes 4:9,12
In his commentary on Philippians Dr. John MacArthur writes:
Striving together in the church means playing as a team to advance the truth of God
Paul has just demonstrated for the Philippians how their prayers activated the help of the Holy Spirit to keep him strong during his trials
For Paul the deliverance spoken of mattered not whether it was life or death
We stand together for the faith of the Gospel
Standing together for the faith is more than just standing for the truth
It is also standing against error from within the church
and outside the church
Paul tells us - Don’t be afraid of your opponents
The source for our ability to stand firm is two fold
the first is unity which we’ve already talked about
the second is the content of Paul’s prayer for the Philippians
abounding love through knowledge and discernment
The greater knowledge we have of God and His Word the more firm we are in our convictions that it is true
The greater our ability to discern truth from falsehood the better we are at determining what is primary and what is secondary
He that is not a son of peace, is not a son of God.
All other sins destroy the church consequentially, but division and separation demolish it directly.
Building the church is but an orderly joining of the materials; and what then is disjoining, but pulling down?
Many doctrinal differences must be tolerated in a church.
And why, but for unity and peace?
Therefore, disunion and separation is utterly intolerable.
Elliot Ritzema, ed., 300 Quotations for Preachers (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).
The next sentence is the most difficult part of the text to decypher
Most modern translations have supplied the “their” in reference to destruction
A better reading of this is probably your
so the verse would read “this is a clear sign to them of your destruction, but to you of your salvation”
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