Advance of the Gospel

Be faithful to the gospel, no matter your life circumstance.

Phil.1:12-14 “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly.”

The “meat and potatoes” of Paul’s life = the prosper of the gospel — this is what he was called to.

God’s redemption of any circumstance…the man and his method are in prison, the message marches on.

Even Paul’s chains have offered an opportunity for outreach: the whole imperial guard has heard…four hour shifts, bound to Paul.

Paul’s imprisonment has given courage to others. If Paul can preach boldly in prison, we can be faithful to the gospel, preaching Christ in word and deed, wherever we find ourselves.

Rejoice when the gospel is preached, no matter the motives or the messenger.

Phil.1:15-18 “To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will. These preach out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.”

Paul has encountered and vehemently fought against false teachers…Judaizers in Galatia and later in this letter, resurrection deniers like in Corinth. These preachers preach properly: Christ!

Their motives are off: envy, rivalry, and selfish ambition.

envy = enslaved by all kinds of passions, typically before salvation

rivalry is a mark of a warped sinner

selfish ambition is elsewhere condemned (2 Cor.12:20 “For I fear that perhaps when I come I will not find you to be what I want, and you may not find me to be what you want. Perhaps there will be quarreling, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambitions, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.”; Gal.5:20 “idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions,”). They’re not concerned with true kingdom work, only their own promotion.

In unison, these destroy the harmony that should exist in the body.

While their doctrine seems right, Paul, in a round-a-bout way calls out their living instead.

Soap Box: it’s a shame how much this happens in Christianity today, and how many preachers are driven by one, two, or all three of these motives.

First, the preacher who wants a ministry just like the mega-church…and the mega-church pastor willing to peddle himself to tell you how you, too, can have a church just like his.

Second, the number of pastors at odds with each other because they view ministry in the same town as a competition rather than a partnership.

Third, a pastor’s need to build his own kingdom and brand…there’s a fine line between marketing a ministry in order to disciple folks and marketing a church to have the most people.

So rejoice when the gospel is preached, no matter the motive or the messenger. This is Paul’s conclusion — Phil.1:18 “What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice”

Pray and depend on the Spirit, trusting God’s sovereignty for deliverance.

Phil.1:18-20 “Yes, and I will continue to rejoice because I know this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”

There is a dual nature to salvation, and as we will see next week, Paul is torn between them both.

Some scholars believe his “salvation” will be physical — vindication and deliverance from his current chains.

Other really smart people believe he’s talking about eternal life, departing and being with Jesus.

Maybe it’s both?!

Here’s what is certain: without quoting Job, he perfectly quotes Job13:16 “Yes, this will result in my deliverance, for no godless person can appear before him.” And, it’s going to happen through the prayers of the saints and the provision of the Spirit.

While the Spirit’s help is not dependent on our prayers, our prayers are certainly dependent on the Spirit’s work.

You could even say that our prayers are powerless without the Spirit.

As the church’s prayers went up, Paul was certain he would know the Spirit’s comfort, help, and guidance (especially when speaking before others) into all truth.

So what’s the outcome?

Paul won’t be ashamed in any way. He wasn’t concerned with conventional sources of shame: prison and possible execution. Instead, shame would come to Paul if he failed to honor Christ.

Which brings us to the second outcome: I won’t be ashamed, BUT Christ will be honored either in life or death. We’ll flesh this out a little more next week, so let’s here circle back to our point:

TRUSTING GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY FOR DELIVERANCE. The sum total of Paul’s life and the key to honoring Jesus either in life or death was to make Christ the entire point of his existence.