Gospel Unity Pt. 1

Introduction

Well, Good morning! If you have your Bible’s, go ahead and open them up to Philippians chapter one. We’re gonna be continuing our sermon series “Bridge Builders,” looking at the letter Paul wrote to the church of Philippi while he was on house arrest in Roman custody. And so far in our series, we’ve really done our best to break down the first 26 verses where Paul kind of gave the Philippians an update on his circumstances and of course his outlook on how everything that’s happened to him has happened because it all served to advance the gospel, right? His heart, as we’ve seen is focused on Jesus and making Him known in all the places he’s called to.

And listen, what we’ve kind of seen throughout this first chapter so far is all the things we’re unified around as believers and followers of Jesus Christ. That’s why our series title is “Bridge Builders.” Jesus, through His work on the cross, He’s bridged the gap between us and God. And as believers, as those called to Himself, we’re called to bridge the gaps that exist between us, all for the purposes of advancing the gospel…we’re to mirror Paul’s motivation, right? Because in the same way Paul was changed by the Spirit of God, as His children, those that have repented and believed in Jesus, we’re changed as well. And we’re changed to be reoriented to the Son of Man…to Jesus.

Pastor Tim Keller said this, “Because the gospel is endlessly rich, it can handle the burden of being the one ‘main thing’ of a church.” Meaning, because it’s such great news…because it so radically and drastically saves us and changes us....it can handle being the only thing we care about here at First Baptist Church. The gospel can be our singular focus because it’s enough. It’s all we need. And listen, that’s been Paul’s message. He believed that the gospel was enough. That it was worth everything…even his life. And just this far in, we’ve seen his joy through this partnership between him and these Philippians. We’ve seen his desire to wanna defend and confirm the gospel. We’ve seen how his suffering was used as a means to advance the gospel and how it was used as a platform from which the gospel was boldly preached. And listen, as we continue in his letter, he shifts his focus back onto the Philippians and he charges them to do the same. He charges the church to live a life worthy of the gospel and to strive and contend, side by side, for the faith of the gospel. He charges them almost as if he’s a general sending his troops out to battle.

And what’s interesting as we continue in this series, we’re gonna see two main things our unity with each other should display…courage and compassion. The next two weeks, these passages, it’s what I’ll call the John Wayne passage to Paul’s charge…For those of you that know what I’m talking about, “The Duke,” he was known for being tough and tender, right? In the first section of this passage, what we’ll look at today, verses 27 through 30, Paul really emphasizes the need for the Philippian believers to be tough or courageous as they stand against opposition…as they fight this fight we’ve all been called to. And then, next week, Kyler’s gonna walk us through the first couple verses in chapter two, where Paul emphasizes the need to be affectionate or tender in their humble love toward one another. And listen, both of these paragraphs, they emphasize unity and togetherness. And when we look back in history, we see that faithful Christians have always displayed this combination of courage and tenacity mingled with humility and compassion. These virtues are the results of living out the gospel. It’s what happens when we make the gospel the main thing in the church. We’re made these things by God’s grace.

Guys, when sin entered the world through our first parents, Adam was told by God that he’d be tempted to drift…he’d be tempted to drift towards either passivity or abuse. And listen, sadly, these traits, these things, they define many men today, right? But listen, the gospel, it makes us both courageous (not passive) and it makes us humble (not abusive)…all at the same time. It liberates us to live in the freedom of the gospel, fearing nothing and it reminds us that we’re all unworthy of this grace we’ve received. And because of that, we extend this tender love to everyone but at the same time, heeding to the authority of Scripture and pursuing courageous service together as God’s people.

And so, if you’re there with me…let’s stand together as we read verses 27 through 30. Paul says this, “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.”

Listen, the thesis of Paul’s letter here, his main point, its that the church, these believers that he’s writing too, they live live’s worthy of the gospel. That’s why he starts with the word ‘only’. I love how the CSB translation puts it…Paul says, “Just one thing.” Paul’s making one very important and serious point to the church of Philippi here and I think it’s important that we pay attention to what follows that statement, “Just one thing....Just one thing, let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel.” Paul’s saying, it’s this one thing…this only thing that’s necessary. This is our objective. Live lives worthy of the gospel.

And listen, in order to understand what Paul’s saying here we have to understand what he doesn’t mean first. Paul doesn’t mean that we should try and do things to merit grace from God. He doesn’t mean for us to try and earn anything. Our living lives worthy of the gospel doesn’t mean we have to figure out how to be worthy of God’s grace by living good enough lives to where we deserve it. That’s not what Paul’s saying here.

Listen, any of you seen the movie, “Saving Private Ryan?” Well, basically, there’s this group of soldiers that go behind enemy lines in order to rescue this paratrooper whose brothers had all been killed in action. And long story short, there were a ton of guys that gave their lives to save Private Ryan…and after he’s found, Tom Hank’s character Captain John Miller, just as he’s about to die, he looks at Private Ryan and tells him to “earn this.” Basically he’s saying to make his life count because of the cost it took to save his one life. And if you make it all the way to the end of the movie, Private Ryan’s much older self, he’s visiting the graves of the men that gave their lives for his and he asks his wife, “did I earn it?” He was asking if his life mattered and was shown worthy of the sacrifice that was given to him.

Listen, oftentimes, when we read what Paul wrote here to the church of Philippi, that’s kind of the impression we take away. But guys, Paul was saying the complete opposite. Everything he said up this point has shown us that. Paul was saying we can’t earn favor with God. We can’t live lives worthy of Jesus on our own. Again, what Paul’s saying here is that a life that’s changed by the gospel, is a life that can’t help but make much about Jesus. And it’s the humility that Kyler’s gonna talk about next week that grounds us as believers, understanding that we can only be these people through the power of Christ…and because of that assurance of who we are, it stirs us to boldness all for the glory of God.

And listen, Paul’s message is this....only Jesus and His message of good news is really big enough for us to stake our whole lives on. It’s only Jesus and the gospel that’s worth everything we can possibly give. And that’s why Paul reminds these Philippians that what unites them is their charge to stand together as children of God…it’s to strive together for the faith of the gospel…to fight together…and finally to suffer together…all for the gospel and the glory of Christ. And listen, I know it’s sometimes hard to chew, but that’s what we’ve been called to…a spiritual battle…all for the purpose of winning people to Jesus. And so, our unity involves us courageously standing for the gospel just as we’ve seen with Paul.

We Stand Together (v. 27)

Look back at verse 27 again. Paul writes, “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.”

Again, pay attention to that word “Only,” or “Just one thing” that Paul uses to kind of open up this charge. He’s saying, “You know, there’s a huge chance I don’t make it out of this prison…If I don’t, you need to know this one important thing.” And he said it’s this, “Whatever happens to me or even you, here’s the one thing that matters: live worthy of the gospel of Christ,” right?

And so, what’s it mean to live worthy of the gospel of Christ, especially if it doesn’t mean earning God’s favor? Well, he says, “Live a life that’s a living proof that Jesus’s kingdom’s real, no matter what happens…let your life be a testimony that Jesus is on the throne and that He does have authority and that everything is going His way…and you do that by first standing together in one spirit and with one mind.” That phrase there, “let your manner of life,” it literally means living as citizens of heaven. John Piper summaries this verse, “Paul is saying, ‘Bring your life into conformity with your true homeland: heaven.” We do that as a church by standing together in one spirit with one mind.

That word “stand firm,” it comes from a military word that means to hold one’s ground. It literally means to hold fast. It’s a word that Paul loved…he used it often…but it’s like a rousing call to hold fast to the gospel, to stand firm in the gospel. Meaning, the gospel, or the whole counsel of God’s Word is what we allow to guide and direct us. It’s what we’re willing to die for. We stand firm, we draw the line with that. And the scary part of today’s church, this is the one area that’s impacting us the most. Church’s are just not willing to stand on the whole counsel of God’s Word, and parts of the world is just seeping in.

But listen, he’s speaking to the idea of patriotism or national allegiance here as well. Again, we know these Philippians enjoyed Roman citizenship and because of that, it gave them a love for Rome and an allegiance to that nation. In fact, if you know anything about Roman culture, the emperor claimed divinity. He wanted the people to stand together in one spirit with one mind towards his leadership and rule. And that’s what united the Roman Empire. We see this same idea in our country today with patriotism. Oftentimes, we’re united around being American, right? I mean, I’ll never forget September 11th. It rallied our citizens around being American. But Paul’s point here is that just because we’re citizens of the United States, just as they were citizens of Rome, this isn’t our earthly home. We’re foreigners in a foreign land. We may love our country…but we can’t worship our country. We may align with a certain political party more than another, but neither of those things can save us. We must refuse to let anything become bigger in our lives and in our church than Jesus and His gospel. And we stand together in that one spirit with the same mind…as citizens of heaven.

And listen, the reality is, the world hasn’t really changed much since Paul wrote this…it’s still incredibly hard to be a Christian and stand together on the truths of God’s Word. And we live in a day and time where our beliefs are increasingly viewed not just as disagreeable but downright oppressive and evil. I mean, did you guys see the backlash after the Roe vs. Wade thing? They thought we were evil. And guys, the truth of it is, we’re not really against anyone, we’re just for Jesus and His message of truth. Empires rise and kingdoms fall, but the Word of the Lord stands forever.

And listen, Paul’s charge here…live lives worthy of the gospel by standing together for that message in one Spirit and with one mind. The world might draw all these dividing lines between us, but we continue to make much of Jesus and stand together courageously…with our backs straight, a smile on our face, proud of our homeland....ready to welcome immigrants. We stand firm because the salvation of the world depends on you maintaining the confession of faith. That’s our role as followers of Christ…to magnify Jesus and make Him known. And so, we stand together courageously.

We Strive Together (v. 27)

But I love how Paul concludes verse 27…First he says, “Stand,” and then Paul says, “striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.”

That single mindedness that Paul’s talking about is a single minded striving for the faith of the gospel. The “one accord” or “one mind” it’s a reference to the gospel as the sole point of reference. And the word “faith” here, it doesn’t mean a personal faith…Paul’s not referring to subjective truth but instead objective truth that’s found in Scripture. And it’s important to remember the context in which Paul’s writing here. It really helps us understand why he chose to use certain references or words and helps us understand his point. But again, appealing to that national sense of pride that these Philippians would’ve felt towards Rome, the imagery of striving side by side literally calls to mind Roman soldiers marching forward in lock-step all for the advancement of the empire, right? He’s appealing to that and he’s reminding them that they’re instead citizenships of heaven, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel in the same way.

Paul’s point here is that a life impacted by the gospel is one that lays aside every other agenda and purpose, and places their focus on the gospel and advancing it. We as a church, we have to lay aside our opinions, we have to lay aside our pride and differences…we have to come together in one mind, striving to advance the gospel in everything we do here at FBC. If it’s Sunday mornings…then we do it all for the glory of Christ with the purposes of advancing the gospel. Kids Club? We do it all to push the gospel forward. We give to the pregnancy center…we do it, to demonstrate the gospel and make Jesus known. We wanna go on a mission trip…then our focus is Jesus and His message....Home groups or youth group or whatever it is we come up with…all those things must be in place to give Him glory and make Him known…otherwise we do those things in vain and against His will. Our evaluation every year of our ministries, it should be this main question…did it allow us to advance the gospel?

And so, Paul’s charging us to strive together for the faith of the gospel in everything it is we do....and guys, we have to do that boldly and courageously.

We Fight Together (v. 28)

Verse 28 says, “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.”

And so, Paul’s exhorted these Philippians to stand courageously…to contend together for the faith of the gospel. Let the gospel be the main thing…not ideologies…not personal beliefs…not some political party…Paul says we make the good news of Jesus Christ, the main thing. And so, how do we strive together to make the gospel known according to Paul? Is it through hospitality? Or by giving out books or tracks…do we make the gospel known by inviting friends to church? Yes…we do it in every possible we can…that’s what it means to stand and strive together. We make it the priority in every way.

But look at this statement here in verse 28, “do it by not being frightened in anything,” right? Going back, looking at that word striving or contending…if the Philippians were citizens of heaven, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, they had to have their sight set pass their opponents or their enemies.

And this term he uses here is kind of an odd phrase. It’s a term that only appears here in the New Testament and it was used during this time period by Roman soldiers when they were speaking of being startled like a horse. And so, basically, Paul’s telling them not to be intimated by those that stand against them and the gospel because it would happen…it was a fight. And the only way to not be frightened is to do what he said…stand and strive together…so that we can fight together.

Listen, at the time Paul wrote this letter to the church of Philippi…there were those that absolutely tried everything in their power to stop the advancement of the gospel. I mean, that’s exactly why Paul’s on house arrest, right? And guys, the church was experiencing persecution in ways we could never imagine…and the only way for them to advance the gospel was to fight back. Paul’s saying, “Don’t be startled, church! There will be opposition to the gospel…but you fight back…you stand and contend for the faith of the gospel…Unify yourself in this fight because it’s all about Jesus and making Him known.” He says, “Fight!’

We Suffer Together (vv. 28b-30)

But look at the rest of verse 28…Paul says, “This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.”

Basically, when we fight…we will suffer for the sake of the gospel. He says, “Let this be a clear sign…let your suffering show people of their destruction and of your salvation.”

John Blanchard said this of hell, “hell is God’s cosmic rubbish dump, and all who go there become the garbage of the universe, wasted and worthless.” You know…it’s a tragedy of a life that rejects God, right? What Paul’s saying here is that when we suffer courageously, it’s a sign to our opponents of the gospel that their end is destruction. It shows they’re ruined and wasted…but it also shows salvation that can only come from God.

One of my absolute favorite things to study and read about is the early church and just some the courage many of our church fathers had to have. One of the most fascinating examples of just godly courage is Jan Huss. He was a forerunner to the Protestant Reformation, just about 100 years or so before Martin Luther. But Huss was burned at the stake in 1415 because of his evangelical doctrine. The Roman Catholic Church just didn’t like it and so they burned him. But about 2 weeks prior to his death, he wrote these words on his prison wall, “Oh most holy Christ, give me a fearless heart, a right faith, a firm hope, ,a perfect love, that for thy sake I may lay down my life with patience and joy. Amen.” He did it. He did not shrink from the flames when death came. He fought for the gospel in every way.

Now, of course, very few of us today will actually be burned at the stake for our faith, but guys listen, if we live faithfully in this world, if we’re steadfast in our confession of Jesus and if we hold out the gospel and hold onto truth, opposition’s going to come. It will! Criticism’s going to come…and at times, suffering will come. And guys, we have to have courage in order to face it.

At the end of verse 28…Paul shows us that when we suffer in this way, with courage…it’s a sign…and not just a sign that points to one thing…it’s a double sign according to Paul. He’s saying, “when you suffer courageously, when you’re not frightened by your opponents, it’s a sign of something. It’s a sign of their own destruction, and it’s a sign of your salvation.” When we suffer…what Paul’s saying…it’s a sign that God’s with us…He’s using us. That’s why Paul says in Romans 5:3, “We rejoice in our sufferings,” right? Or Romans 8:17, we suffer with Him because it proves we’re His children and that we’ll be glorified with Him.

Listen guys, seeing the glory of the Lord, it changes you. The powers of this world, they might be intimidating but when we stand for Jesus in a world that’s against Him, we don’t have to fear what they might do to us…or even what they can do to us. We’ve seen what Jesus can do in death. They killed Him and yet He still got up three days later!

Listen, you guys know I’m a nerd…and so when I was studying this week, I couldn’t help but think about The Avengers. I know you guys have seen Endgame…And listen, if you haven’t I’m disappointed.But in that movie, you got Captain America, and Iron Man, and Thor and they’re all fighting Thanos…and at one point in that scene, they all get their tails kicked. But listen, when they’re at their lowest…when they’re suffering and it looks like all hope’s lost…all these portals start opening up…and the Black Panther steps through…and Dr. Strange…and then Spiderman…and so on. And then there’s that great part of the movie where Captain America stands up and he says, “Avengers! Assemble.” Right? Listen, that’ll get you excited, right? But doesn’t that really paint a picture of what Paul’s saying here? “Listen, you can persecute me…make me suffer…you can kill me…but I have brothers and sisters who are gonna stand courageously with me…we’re all of the same mind and the same spirit…we’re striving and contending together for the gospel…and nothing you do can stop us. We’re not afraid of you. We’re on the battlefield because Jesus called us here…and we aren’t losing even if we’re dying. The powers of this world, they can do nothing to those in whom the power of the resurrection dwells! Amen?

Listen, none of us wanna suffer persecution…but because this world’s set itself against God, we know in following Him, it’s inevitable. It’s part of advancing the gospel…And that’s Paul’s message in the rest of our passage this morning. And so, when that suffering comes, where does our courage come from? Look at verse 29, “It’s been granted to us,” right? That word “granted,” it means graced. “That for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” According to Paul, God’s given us two things…grace to believe and listen to this…grace to suffer. We don’t deserve either. Both are of a part of the life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Our faith in Him, it’s a gift of His grace, according to Paul…and our suffering for Him, it’s a gift of His grace. And listen, it’s our belief in him that prepares us to suffer for Him.

And listen, as we close…Paul tells the church that they were following his own way of life. They knew of his sufferings, that’s why they sent support, right? And now, Paul calls them to share in these sufferings all for the sake of Jesus. Paul and the church of Philippi, they both received this gift of suffering. Full citizenship, it involves the grace of believing and the grace of suffering. And those are the things, according to Paul, that allows us to live in a manner worthy of the gospel together…it’s when we stand together for the kingdom of God.

Closing

Listen, as we come to a close in chapter one of Philippians this morning, would you just bow your head and close your eyes with me?

Guys, we’ve spent several weeks walking through these first several sections of Paul’s letter and we’ve really gotten to see his heart just pour out as he wrote to his friends at the church of Philippi. And the joy in which he writes to them, it just kind of causes us to lose focus on his circumstances and just all the uncertainty that surrounded his future. And you know, after reading this opening section, if we didn’t know anything else about Paul, it would’ve been clear that Paul was a changed man. Something had radical changed and altered the course of his life. All he cared about was Jesus and the gospel. That was the purpose of his life. That was his aim in everything he faced....because it changed him. He was able to look back and see this radical change that had taken place in him. He knew he was different. He knew the power of Jesus first hand, because he had experienced it. And guys, because of that, he devoted his life to that cause....telling as many people as he could about the saving power of God.

In fact, as we’ve kind of dug into these verses here…Paul was far from selfish with his salvation. The gospel and the impact it made on his life…it pushed him to wanna magnify Jesus in every situation and it caused him to long for him. The gospel pushed him to wanna bring Jesus glory. And it gave him the courage to stand with his brothers and sisters, to strive and contend with them all for the sake Christ…It caused him to fight and suffer for the advancement of the gospel....And here’s what Paul says as we conclude that first chapter, you should have the same heart…You should have the same motives.

And so, church, I’ll close with this question…is your purpose in life…is it built around Jesus and His gospel? Has your salvation…has it helped you to understand that you are in fact a sinner separated from God…has it helped you to understand the gap that exists between you and Him? Do you know that you deserve the wrath that was poured out on Jesus on Calvary? Do you recognize that your salvation…you don’t deserve it? Because guys, if you know those things…if you truly have repented and placed your trust and faith in Him…in the Son of Man, then the Holy Spirit transforms everything about you…and it pushes you to have the same exact heart that Paul shows us here…to care about the gospel…to care about Jesus above all else…to care about our brothers and sisters. And through those motivations, it gives us joy. Church, are you joyful this morning?

Maybe…maybe we need to get in the right posture and reorient our lives towards Jesus. And maybe…just maybe we need to re-prioritize some stuff. Listen, church…I don’t about you…but I got some things that I wanna fix so that I can live a life like Paul…I wanna be a part of a church that’s unified around the stuff he describes here. And so, that’s gonna be my prayer this morning. And maybe, you just need to get up from where you’re at…and come…and just lay at the altar this morning.

Listen, would you pray with me? And you respond however the Spirit’s leading.