Good Citizens of Heaven

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Intro

What does it take to be a good citizen? Here in America, a good citizen is generally considered to be patriotic, some who pays their taxes, obeys the laws of the land, and is productive and a positive contributor to society through work and social good, and who stands up for what is right.

Someone who inhabits these qualities will likely be viewed as a good citizen by most people.

What does it take to be a good citizen of heaven? We know that becoming a citizen of heaven requires faith in the finished work of Christ, but once the faith is placed in Christ, what then?

Paul says that our citizenship is in heaven…what implications does that have for us now?

That is what we are going to examine here today.

As we learned last week, Paul sought to honor Christ by life of by death. So too are we called to live as good citizens of heaven, living lives worthy of the Gospel.

What does such a life look like?

It is a life that is marked by harmony, Gospel Proclamation, and peace

Let’s look at our text this morning

Philippians 1:27–30 ESV

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Paul has just shared about his desire to come to the Philippians, but he notes that whatever the outcome of his life is, he is going to live to honor Christ, whether that means life…or death. He says that if he were forced to choose between the two, he doesn’t know what he would pick. Certainly it would be better for Paul to depart and be with Christ, but it would be better for the church to remain. In either case, Paul is determined to glorify God in his body, and as long as he lives, we will live to honor Christ by blessing others.

As he comes into this next paragraph, this really sets up the rest of the letter, as Paul is going to expand on these concepts in the following chapters.

The first part of verse 27 gives us the main point, and then the rest of chapters two and three help us understand what it looks like to follow those instructions.

“Only let your manner of life be worth of the Gospel of Christ”

This is the main command of the passage. There are a few things to notice before we get into what it looks likes to obey this command.

Worthy Living Requires both Effort and Grace, or better, a Grace-Filled Effort

First there is the phrase “let your manner of life”

The original word here refers to living life as a citizen of a nation. Later in chapter three Paul is going to directly say that our citizenship is in heaven, thus the entire book of Philippians has Paul teaching us how to live as joyful citizens of heaven while we live out this earthly life.

Paul is both a Jew and a Roman citizen. He is not being treated as a countrymen by the Jews, who had him arrested numerous times, nor is he receiving a fair trial at the hands of the Roman government. His earthly citizenship is not affording him with many benefits as he sits in prison.

Nevertheless. Paul’s life’s aim is to please not his earthly ruler, but His King is King of kings. Those who are in Christ are citizens of heaven, and Paul is identifying that reality and instructing us to live in that manner.

Thus the Christian Standard Bible provides us with what I think is the most accurate translation of this verse: “as citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the Gospel of Christ”

This speaks of our conduct, which is why most translations render it that way: let your manner of life, let your conduct. If you have the KJV, it says “conversations” which is a old timey way of saying lifestyle.

So how we live our lives matters. We don’t have freedom to live however we choose to live, but must govern ourselves as citizens of heaven, as God’s children, in such a way that is worthy of the Gospel.

Now.

This is a high calling. If we’re being honest, it is an overwhelming calling. An impossible calling.

We cannot live worthy of the Gospel. We are fallen, finite, sinful human beings. This is the whole point of the Gospel in the first place. This is why we needed a savior, because we were incapable of living lives worthy of God. Right? Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

So how is that Paul can jump in here and issue this command to live a life worthy of the Gospel, when he knows that we are incapable of that on our own?

The answer is that though Paul is giving this command to the church, he doesn’t expect us to do it on our own. We need the grace of Christ. We are saved by grace and we are sanctified by grace. All our effort in the pursuit of holiness out to be grace-driven and grace-filled effort. This is why Paul said in the opening paragraph that he is confident that He who began a good work will complete it. And this is why he will go on to say in chapter two that we are work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but that it is God who works in you both to will, and to do, for His good pleasure.

So this is a daunting task, but Paul does not expect you to labor in it on your own. In his book The Discipline of Grace Jerry Bridges writes about how pursuing holiness in our own strength with either lead to self-righteousness…or self-pity. Without grace, we are doomed to fail.

But on the flip side, if we fail to pursue this manner of living, we will descend into worldliness that is will bring a reproach upon the name of Christ.

So, though Paul does not think that we are to labor in our own strength, he does give us this command: as a citizen of heaven, live your life worthy of the Gospel of Christ.

What does this look like? Paul gives us three portraits of such a life. It’s a life lived in harmony within the church, a life that spreads the Gospel outside the church, and a life lived in peace within.

1. Worthy lives stand in harmony

Paul first turns his attention to the Christian community. The church.

Philippians 1:27 (ESV)

Paul introduces a purpose clause “so that” . This shows us the intended result. When Paul says “live a life worthy of the Gospel” this is how he meant it to manifest itself.

Regardless of how things turn out for Paul, he desires that these things manifest themselves in the lives of the church.

I’m a bi-vocational pastor, and so I do electrical work on the side to help pay the bills. Several years back when I was working electrical full-time, it was common that my crew would often find itself working in a house doing the finish work—hanging lights, getting the power on ,etc—the same time as one of the other trades. These guys were some of slowest workers in their trade of all the guys I’ve come across, and it was because they would spend more time sitting on a bucket looking at their phones than they did working. One day they were having problems with one house, so the boss showed up to help them figure it out. Let me tell you something, turns out those guys did know how to work hard! They were fast, efficient, and got things sorted out. The boss left, leaving them to tie up loose ends, and you can probably guess what happened. Back to the buckets.

They only worked hard when they were being watched. Only when they were supervised did they put in the effort.

I’m reminded of

Colossians 3:22–24 ESV

22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

These guy were those who worked by way of eye-service.

Paul says, no. You’re not to live this way. I may or may not come, but in their case I want to be able to hear that you are living a life worthy of the Gospel. Whatever happens to me, you live as a good citizen of heaven.

And the first part of that is the issue of living in harmony. Worthy lives live in harmony.

The theme of unity in Christ is going to come up a few times in this letter. We also find Paul urging the people to unity in other books like 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, Romans, Colossians. and the Pastoral Epistles. It seems that the tendency to divide over trivial matters is not something unique to our day and age, but rather was occuring even in the early church.

James writes “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it no this, that your passions are at war within you?”

It’s our own pride. It’s our own selfishness.

“It’d be easier to live in harmony in everyone simply agreed with me” right?

Clearly, I’m not wrong. Therefore you must be, and you need to change.

It’s easy to have this mindset

But Paul wants us to strive for unity.

He says “Standing firm in one spirit.”

The unity that we strive for comes in the context of standing firm together. Paul is speaking to a suffering church and says “hey, we need to live in harmony. We gotta stand firm together, in one spirit. United.”

There are countless pressures from the world as we live out our Christian life. The world delights to see Christians infighting. The world gloats when sin is discovered within the Christian community.

Right now, there is significant pressure from the world for the church to embrace ideologies like Critical Race Theory. Egalitarianism/Feminism. Homosexuality. The Bible speaks very clearly to these issues and we must not bend on biblical truth. How various churches respond to these issues threaten our unity.

Inside the church, issues of sin, false teaching, and apostacy, to simple disagreements over more trivial matters threaten our unity when we let our pride get in the way. Disagreements over conscience matters, how funds should be allocated, or even minor matters of theology can serve as fertile ground for the seeds of disunity to grow.

But how do we know when an issue worth worth dividing over, and when we ought to remain unified despite a surface-level disagreement?

On the one hand, we are never called to sacrifice clear biblical truth in the name of unity! But on the other, we are called to unity, and the Bible is clear that the there are times when believers who affirm the same Gospel and have the same Holy Spirit will disagree and that’s okay. How do we tell the difference?

Clearly, we need God’s wisdom. But in order to help us think through these things, a college classmate and I developed a chart to serve as a helpful guide for thinking these things through, and that resource is available to you on the back table.

But we are called to stand firm for biblical truth, and to do so in unity. There is too much at stake to be dividing over trivial matters.

A life lived worthy of a Gospel lives in harmony with each other in the church.

Second, worthy lives live for the Gospel.

2. Worthy lives strive for the advancement of the Gospel

Philippians 1:27b ESV

After talking about what the Christian community looks like on the inside, Paul turns his attention to how we deal with those on the outside.

With one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel. The idea here is that we are working together, side by side, with a unity of mind, the same purpose. Not only are we to stand for biblical truth and have unity within the church, but we are also to have unity in purpose: striving for the faith of the Gospel.

This refers to the concept of the Great Commission. This is why we are here. After working through this verse, one commentator summed up his thoughts with these words: “The Philippians are to stand united in their struggle for the cause oft he faith—it’s spread and growth, the same goal that was set before Paul.”

Those who seek to live lives worthy of the Gospel will be united in mind and purpose to proclaim that same Gospel.

This is the great commission. Peter tells us in 2 Pet 3 that this is why Jesus has not yet returned: he is patient and we are to consider this patience as an opportunity for salvation.

A few weeks ago I was reading a post in a Facebook group I’m in where a person was trying to argue that the responsibility to proclaim the Gospel rested solely on the shoulders of specific individuals within the church that God had uniquely gifted for that purpose.

I reject that, and this is one of the passages why. Paul did not address this letter to just a few individuals within the church, but to the church as a whole. In 2 Corinthians Paul wrote about how we all have the ministry of reconciliation. Peter wrote to entire churches when he wrote we should always be ready to give a defense of the Gospel for the hope that lies within us.

The idea that this is something that is to be carried out by a select few within the church is the fastest way to get a church to die.

As pastor of this church, the Scriptures are clear regarding my responsibilities. 2 Tim 4: I’m to preach the word. I’m to do the work of an evangelist. Eph 4, I’m to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

We are all called to be God’s ambassadors, bringing the Good News of Christ to those around us.

That is why these banners hang on the way. This is not just to be a clever statement that sounds nice. This needs to be part and parcel of who we are. We exist to glorify God by proclaiming Christ, that every individual in our reach might hear, believe, and follow Him.

That’s it. That’s why we’re here.

If this is absent from the life of a church, we are not living a life worthy of the Gospel.

Each Saturday I go down to the Jeffersonville Farmers market. We have a canopy to keep the sun off, we have a fan to give us a breeze. We have signs advertising free water, free bibles, and free prayers. With every conversation we give out a gospel tract. It’s such an easy, simple way to serve and share the Gospel with others. I invite you to come and spend a morning with us. I’m not asking you to commit to coming every week, but come check it out and see what it’s like.

If we are live lives worthy of the Gospel, we must strive for the same purpose: the advancement of the Gospel.

One more thing I want to say before we move on. What I just said has the opportunity to sound like a guilt trip. That’s not my goal. Now, maybe you need to feel guilty and that’s the Holy Spirit pricking you a little, but that’s not my goal. Living a life worthy of the Gospel requires the grace of God. We cannot do it on our own. But it requires grace-filled effort. And that’s what we need to take with us to our evangelistic encounters.

Finally,

3. Worthy lives live fearlessly

Philippians 1:28 ESV

28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

This is the third characteristic of a worthy life: fearlessness in the face of opposition.

This was a church that was suffering. They faced persecution for their faith. Paul himself, their beloved apostle and leader in the Church, was in prison awaiting what would eventually be his death sentence. If there was an opportunity for intimidation, it was there.

Paul says don’t be afraid of them. Don’t be afraid.

When Jesus was sending out His disciples he istructed them not to fear:

Matthew 10:28 ESV

28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Hebrews quotes a passage from the psalms when it says in chapter 13:6

Hebrews 13:6 ESV

6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

And Paul wrote to the Romans

Romans 8:35–39 ESV

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Right now we have an opportunity to be afraid.

We see the shifting tides in our culture and its not hard to figure out that we are rapidly running towards increased pressure to conform to the world, and that pressure may soon develop into persecution. It might start slow. We’ll lose our tax exempt status. We’ll lose some aspects of free-speech. It may be that pastors will be jailed, which is happening right now in Canada by the way. Violence may very well be headed our way.

We have a choice to make. Will we be afraid of those things? It will certainly disrupt our way of life. It will doubtless be painful to endure. But need we be afraid?

No. We need not be afraid. He who promised is faithful. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

And when we stand with confidence before God, Paul says this is a sign for us. This inner peace that passes all understanding in the face of even severe opposition and persecution is a clear sign that we belong to God. Those who oppose God’s people. That is a clear sign that they are on their way to Christ-less eternity if they do not repent.

How can we live this fearless life? Why should we stand firm and be unflappable in the face of severe opposition? Verse 29

Philippians 1:29–30 ESV

29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Paul says you can remain steadfast, you can be fearless…because what you have, what you’re experiencing is a gift from God.

Now, we may not like the gift, but Paul says just as your salvation is a gift, so to is your suffering.

God is at work, even in our suffering. Though the road is hard, we must embrace that reality. Peter wrote of this in 1 Peter 4

1 Peter 4:13–16 ESV

13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

We don’t have to fear, but we can rejoice.

Paul wanted us to live as good citizens of heaven, living lives worthy of the Gospel. This cannot be done in our own strength; we need the grace of God to work it in us. But through grace-filled effort, we are to strive for holiness. A life that is worthy of the Gospel will have at least these three characteristics: lives that stand in harmony, lives that strive for the advancement of the Gospel, and lives that live fearlessly in the face of opposition.