Gospel Optimism

I. Introduction:

A. The Saint’s Heart

B. The Saint’s Hands

C. The Saint’s Mind

II. Exegesis:

A. Roadblocks are Ramps

Philippians 1:12–13 “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.”

KEY: Paul wants the Philippians to know that looks like a roadblock to the gospel is actually a ramp.

Through union with Christ and the Spirit’s renewing of His mind the Apostle Paul is able to see the obstacle as an opportunity.

What’s the obstacle turned opportunity? Wrongful Imprisonment.

Q: Would you view wrongful imprisonment as an obstacle or an opportunity?

Our sinful nature, would say that it’s clearly an obstacle and an injustice.

But the renewed mind sees roadblocks as ramps for the gospel.

And this is biblical witness that threads through Scripture by the way.

Joseph

Daniel

The Lord Jesus Christ

Paul

What’s the obstacle? — Imprisonment.

What’s the opportunity? — Sharing the Gospel.

Philippians 1:13 “so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.”

What the Philippians see as a prison Paul sees as a brand new mission field.

The penitentiary is potential.

Now, Paul has access to the “whole imperial guard” — what we would call now an “unreached people group”.

KEY: Paul is saying, “what you don’t understand is I’m not locked in here with them. They’re locked in here with me.”

Who is the imperial guard?

The imperial guard (Praetorium) is Caesar’s personal guard force

These are high ranking, revered, soldiers that serve Caesar.

Perhaps, if you suffered through Star Wars: The Last Jedi you remember the scene with Kylo Ren and Rey dueling with Snoke’s guards who are known as his Praetorium.

These were soldiers that followed him and protected him.

Paul is using this opportunity to convert those closest to Caesar.

More than that is says Philippians 1:13 “so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.”

Beyond the guard, every one else knows what?

That he is imprisoned for Christ.

Paul is not imprisoned for theft or murder or arson or vandalism or any real crime.

KEY: He’s imprisoned for preaching Christ, and imprisonment isn’t going to stop Him from preaching Christ.

Again this radical mindset isn’t limited to Paul.

Acts 5:40–42 “and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.”

Maybe you remember the “This is your brain on drugs” commercials

Well this is your brain on Christ.

Union with Christ implements a rewiring of the brain.

Paul like the other Apostles, considers it a joy and an opportunity for the gospel and he won’t be deterred.

Maybe you’re hearing this and you’re just a negative or pessimistic person.

You’re saying “I wish I could think like that” or “I don’t know if I can ever be like” and you’re discouraged just by the thought.

Put that thought away because this isn’t meant to be discouraging but rather it’s encouraging.

B. Morale Boosters

Philippians 1:14 “And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”

What is meant to discourage the brothers, is actually encouraging the brothers.

What is meant to drain the energy out of these Christians is actually putting in fresh batteries.

What is meant to snuff out morale has actually served to put fresh wood on the fire of their faith.

And that’s only because renewed minds by the Spirit through union with Christ.

Seeing the Apostle imprisoned has not made the brothers timid, but rather it’s made them bold.

See Paul go through his imprisonment has made the brothers bolder to speak the word without fear.

And it’s on that note that Paul shifts slightly to a different subject — and although the subject changes, the theme of the Spirit renewed minds through union with Christ persists.

C. The Heart of the Preacher

Philippians 1:15–18 “Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,”

Apparently — there are two groups of preachers at this time and Paul addresses both.

Group 1:

Preach Christ from envy, rivalry, insincerely, and from selfish ambition.

These preach Christ as a dig at Paul in his imprisonment.

Envy (Greek — Phthono):

Sense: spite and resentment toward the success or possessions of others

Mark 15:10 “For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.”

Galatians 5:19–21 “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 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.”

Titus 3:3 “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.”

1 Peter 2:1 “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.”

Just from a brief survey, we can see that envy is persistent problem.

Envy needs to be put off and put away.

The envious life is no way to live, and it’s certainly no way to preach.

And yet, Group 1 Preachers are preaching out of envy because they want Paul’s popularity without the persecution.

They do not preach with hearts of love, but hearts of jealousy.

Rivaly (Greek — Eris): strife or contention

Sense: bitter conflict; headed often violent dissension.

Romans 1:29 “They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness.”

1 Corinthians 3:2–3 “I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 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?”

KEY: Rivalry is the fruit of envy.

Jealously in the heart results in rivalry with the hands.

Which is why it must be put off.

Self-Ambition:

Finally, he says that Group 1 preachers preach from self-ambition and not sincerely.

They preach to dig at Paul in his imprisonment.

They don’t want to see people grow in the Lord, they want to see themselves grow in influence.

They aren’t concerned with God’s people, they are concerned with their bank accounts.

But not all of them are like this — there is a second group.

Group 2:

Preach Christ from good will and out of love.

He mentions in the previous verse brothers who preach Christ more boldly despite the threat of imprisonment.

Notice how he connects love with his own imprisonment.

“The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the Gospel.”

They preach from a place of love, because the threat of imprisonment looms over them.

KEY: Preaching Christ must be a labor of love.

Parents: Family Worship is likely the high point on your stress scale every day.

Paul calls out both groups one in the negative and one in the positive but what’s his conclusion?

Philippians 1:18 “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,”

His conclusion is that whatever the intention he’s going to rejoice that Christ is being preached.

Is that not radical?

To be clear:

With the first group, the problem isn’t the preaching — the problem is the preachers.

They preach Christ — just for the wrong reasons.

The isn’t the message, it’s the intention.

Possibly you’re grasping a premature application in how you think about various “false teachers”

What Paul is not a 1:1 ratio with many of the false teachers we deal with today.

We do not rejoice at the viewership numbers of Joel Osteen or Steven Furtick.

We do not rejoice at the book sales of Bill Johnson, T.D. Jakes, and Joyce Meyers.

They do not preach Christ crucified.

They’re message and their intent is flawed.

A better application would be how we feel about our presbyterian, anglican, methodist, and lutheran brothers and sisters.

We differ on various points of theology but we should rejoice in the fact that Christ is being preached in the majority of these churches.

We should be grateful that God has raised up so many Christ-centered, God-glorifying, gospel-proclaiming preachers across His kingdom.

We cannot know the intentions of every preachers heart and we should be concerned about their hearts.

But we cannot know their hearts. We can’t always decipher a pretense from reality.

Do you know what “pretense” means?

SORT OUT SOME KIND OF A EXAMPLE HERE

III. Application (Law): Gospel Optimism

A. Hurdles into Ramps (Husbands and Wives)

Husbands and Wives — you need to have this mentality.

The hurdles in your marriage, are actually ramps for the Gospel to work and for sanctification to happen.

This happens through stopping the yelling, and beginning the confessing.

You’re both sinners, you both need the gospel right then and right there.

Paul Tripp says that the Christian can have gospel gaps in their lives.

They know the Gospel covers their past and has paid for their future but they forget that they need the gospel in every moment.

B. Obstacles are Opportunities (Fathers and Mothers)

Parenting is another opportunity where obstacles are gospel opportunities.

Fits and tantrums and disobedience and rebellions are opportunities for the Gospel.

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B. Full Glass and Full heart

IV. Gospel: Christ

A. The Example of Christ

B. The Encouragement of Christ

C. The Rest of Christ