Gospel Progress

Rome makes sense because we know Paul was imprisoned there for a time and the references to Caesar’s household and the palace guard further support this as a potential place of writing.

Working against Rome is its distance from Philippi and the numerous trips referenced in the epistle to and from with Epaphroditus and Timothy making trips and Paul’s own plan to visit Philippi soon.

The distance between Rome and Philippi was 700 miles by land and 900 miles by sea

Comparable: OC to Salt Lake City, UT (Map)

Also, Paul’s plan following his imprisonment in Rome was to travel to Spain, not to return to the areas where he had already been

Caesarea is another possible location for Paul’s imprisonment (MAP)

This was where he was initially held before being transferred to Rome

Acts 23

Possible he anticipated traveling through Philippi on his way to Rome after he had appealed to Caesar in Acts 25

The problem of distance still remains though and is even greater here as the gap was over 1000 miles between Caesarea and Philippi

Also, when Paul left this region in Acts 20, he conveyed that he would not return

Ephesus is yet a third option suggested by some (MAP)

No direct mention of him being imprisoned there;

however, there was a major riot that took place in response to his ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19)

2 Corinthians 1:8-10 communicates that while in Ephesus Paul feared for his life not knowing if he would survive

Ephesus was a major city in the Roman empire and home to much of its military in the region

First century inscriptions have been found indicating Ephesus as home to the palace guard and members of Caesar’s household

In the end, we cannot be conclusive re: the place of writing, though most still favor Rome.

Paul’s imprisonments were never meant to further his evangelistic efforts, but that’s exactly what happened.

1:12 “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has REALLY served to advance the gospel,”

CSB: “what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel,”

NASB: “my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel”

LEB: “my circumstances have happened instead for the progress of the gospel”

The point of this verse is that circumstances can never hinder God from carrying out the mission of his church.

His friends (Lydia and the jailer and their families) were likely anxious over what might happen to their leader, their shepherd, their spiritual father, so Paul’s report that his imprisonment was helping his ministry would have been pretty surprising and very encouraging.

Our God is faithful to respond to our obedience to his mission by blessing our labors. Paul was in jail, and yet he knew he had a job to do that hadn’t changed. His audience had changed, but the task had remained the same. The venue had changed, but the message was still the same. Paul’s a great example to us of a joyful obedience to the call of Jesus.

P1: Joyfully Share Jesus wherever You Are (vv. 12-13)

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

God took the desires of his opponents and turned them on their heads.

His enemies wanted him silenced, but they just changed his audience

His enemies wanted him ashamed and embarrassed, but he just preached more boldly

His enemies wanted him afraid and anxious, but he just continued with his mission

Lest we think Paul is the hero here…

1 Corinthians 3:6–7 ESV

6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

We’re talking about evangelism; faithfulness to that mission that we talked about last week–that good work that God will bring to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Just like Paul’s enemies wanted him silenced, ashamed, and afraid, you and I have an enemy who wants us silenced, ashamed, and afraid.

How often have you or I used our circumstances as an excuse for why we don’t evangelize?

I don’t have time

I don’t know them too well

I don’t want to get fired

I don’t want to make them angry

I don’t want them to make fun of me

These are all lies or obstacles that the enemy throws at you to derail you from doing the work Christ has called you to do. They’re all distractions from the task at hand. And we must, like Paul, learn to overcome them and share the gospel no matter our circumstances because God’s gospel will not be stopped by the enemy’s opposition.

Was Paul expecting to be imprisoned?

No, but God knew he would; it was part of his plan to get the gospel to those guards

If Paul was to plan his ministry would it have included jail?

Probably not

Y’all we don’t know what is coming tomorrow or where we will be a week from now, but wherever we are we know what we are supposed to be doing. We are to joyfully share Jesus. Whatever your circumstances, God knows and wants you to be on mission where you are.

Have y’all ever met the person who shares Jesus with the cashier at the grocery store? Or the person who shares the gospel with their barista as they’re picking up their coffee?

We can learn something from them.

Whatever your circumstances, God can use the power of his life-saving message of salvation by faith in Christ to see lost people saved.

END P1

Paul’s example is one for us to follow in our own lives and we should be emboldened by his faithfulness.

That’s exactly what happened to those he mentions in verse 14.

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.”

Who are these brothers?

Christians living in the region of his imprisonment

The local church in the immediate area of his “chains” was emboldened in their witness because of what they had seen and heard from Paul.

They were drawing inspiration from him and his faithfulness in spite of his chains.

If Paul could have success in prison, how much more should we be working?!

This boldness would be necessary if this was Rome during the early 60’s AD because of the reign of Nero.

Fearing what he might do to them and seeing some of the persecution already befalling some of their ranks may have led them to a more “underground” approach to church and evangelism.

But here was Paul preaching to Caesar’s palace guards!

Not only is it inspiring to think of this, but it should also serve as a bit of a kick in the pants the way I’m sure it did for these Christians.

P2: Share Jesus with Bold Confidence (v. 14)

Remember: circumstances will never stop God from carrying out his mission, and sometimes he uses the circumstances of other people to encourage us in our own mission field.

Illustration:

I love reading about the faithful martyrs that have done this so well in part because their stories are so moving and also because they are inspiring and motivating to me.

Jim Elliott, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming

All of these men died trying to get the gospel to an unreached South American tribe called the Aucas

Then there’s Elizabeth Elliot and Steve Saint who embodied this bold confidence that we’re talking about:

Within 2 years after the death of Jim (Elizabeth’s husband) she and Nate Saint’s sister had made contact with the Aucas and began work on a Bible translation for them

She also began to do what her husband had wanted so badly, and that is, she began to share the gospel with them

God responded the way he had responded to Paul’s boldness in his imprisonment, and slowly but surely the very same men who had killed her husband came to faith in Christ through her patient and merciful witness

Steve Saint grew up with the Aucas, the same people who had murdered his dad, Nate.

He became an adopted member of the tribe and even took his family to live there for a time as an adult.

Stories like these are good for our evangelistic motivation. They are good to turn our desire to reach the lost into action, and that’s what was happening with the people in the local church where Paul was imprisoned.

Illustrate: Amanda and I used to watch The Biggest Loser while sitting on the couch eating ice cream.

Paul’s example should inspire us the way it inspired those believers.

It should increase our confidence in God

It should cause us to want to do the same

It should calm our fears and anxieties about sharing the gospel with people

Luke 12:4–5 ESV

4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Y’all one of the biggest reasons we don’t share the gospel is fear.

Fear of man

Fear of suffering

Fear of loss

Here’s Paul in prison, not knowing if he will survive to see tomorrow, and he’s sharing the gospel.

Do you know what the first amendment says?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

This is a golden ticket to evangelize as you have opportunity!

Think for a minute what Paul and Timothy would have done if they had lived in our society and culture with a constitutional right to preach the gospel.

Illustrate: The Patriot - Mel Gibson takes up the flag and runs back

But it won’t if we don’t believe we should be doing this.

It won’t if we don’t believe in the gospel.

It won’t if we don’t believe that people will go to hell without it.

It won’t if we don’t believe that heaven is so much better than this earth.

It also won’t if we don’t really love others.

It won’t inspire us to action if we’re okay with lost people going to hell as long as we’re not.

END P2

Not all were responding with pure motives, though most were.

1:15 “Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.”

There was a faction who wanted the popularity and influence that Paul had achieved, and they viewed the gospel as the means to that end.

1:17 “The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.”

They wanted Paul to be jealous that they were able to roam freely preaching the gospel without bonds and making a name for themselves where he had previously held such a place.

It sounds dumb, but y’all we can fall prey to the same methods of thinking when we become factionalized and divisive over secondary and tertiary issues in the church.

We begin to think that our brand, our way, our model is the only right way of doing things, and we spite anyone else who would dare to do things differently.

Look, it’s important for us to have clear doctrinal convictions that we believe in and hold fast to, but we can’t let that cause us to loose sight that God is using believers from a breadth and width of theological and denominational backgrounds to preach his good news and see lost come to saving faith in Jesus. And that should bring us joy.

P3: Rejoice wherever the Gospel is Proclaimed (vv. 15-18)

Remember: circumstances will never stop God from carrying out his mission, and so wherever we see that mission being carried out faithfully, we need to rejoice.

Illustrate: Annie wanting to run with me in order to beat her brother’s time.

Look I grew up with a mentality that was like this: if you don’t believe like me and my evangelical tribe, you’re wrong and people shouldn’t go to your church.

As I’ve gotten older, my mindset has changed.

My first questions aren’t...

Are they Calvinist or Arminean?

Do they speak in tongues?

Now my first concern is “Do they preach the Biblical gospel?”

Look y’all, if a church is faithful to preach the biblical gospel we should be celebrating them and cheering them on rather than taking potshots and criticizing them.

Caveat:

Theology matters, and we should be clear about what we believe on secondary matters.

I’m a Calvinist because I believe that’s what the Bible teaches.

I’m a cessationist for the same reason.

But I will be the first to tell you there are Christians who disagree with me on those issues.

Because those issues don’t save anyone, the gospel does.

We see this in action in Galatians 2:6-10.

James and Peter and John were primarily concerned with delivering the gospel to the Jews (circumcised)

Paul and Barnabas were concerned with bringing the gospel to the Gentiles (uncircumcised), and there was an understanding that each would do so effectively in their respective spheres.

James, Peter, and John might be tolerant and understanding of circumcision amongst the believers in the Jewish community, but Paul was not going to promote it or require it for the Gentile converts.

But earlier in Galatians 1:6-10 Paul made it clear that there is one thing that must be present and accurate: the unadulterated biblical gospel

Paul is in prison and people are literally preaching the gospel to inflict pain upon him, and he gives it a shrug and says, “At least the gospel is getting preached.”

Y’all this is humility that says, “God’s plan for salvation is bigger than me and bigger than my theological camp.”

The world is getting increasingly dark, and Christianity is facing more and more opposition. We can’t afford to be fighting amongst ourselves, suffering casualties from friendly fire. We have to be those who celebrate with joy when the biblical gospel is being proclaimed wherever it is being proclaimed.

CONCLUSION:

God’s church never experiences a rebuild. Circumstances will never stop God from carrying out his mission.

Application Questions:

Read Philippians 1:12. What are some unique or trying circumstances in your life that God has used to advance the gospel in unexpected ways?

Read Philippians 1:14. What are some of the most common reasons we don’t share the gospel with people? What are we afraid of? How do the stories of people like Jim and Elizabeth Elliot help us overcome these fears?

Read Luke 12:4-5. How should the biblical doctrine of hell also help us overcome some of the fears that keep us back from sharing the gospel with people?

Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. What are the core components that must be present in the biblical gospel? What are some red flags that we should be aware of that would suggest a church might not be proclaiming a biblical gospel?

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