All In For the Gospel
Notes
Transcript
TITLE: A Life worth Living
PASSAGE: Philippians 1:27-2:4
Big Idea: Is your Life Worthy of the Gospel of Christ?
Opening story:
Story about ALL IN for the gospel >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
As we are going to see in today’s passage. In the end, the gospel of Christ should be our greatest desire, and Christ glory should be our ultimate goal
Turn with me to Philippians 1 verse 27-30.
Turn with me to Philippians 1 verse 27-30.
Read: “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that—whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent—I should hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel, 1:28 and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of their destruction, but of your salvation—a sign which is from God. 1:29 For it has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him, 1:30 since you are encountering the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing. [net]
We are citizens of Heaven not of earth
We are citizens of Heaven not of earth
3 qualities of a good citizen.
3 qualities of a good citizen.
Believers must understand where their Citizenship lies. (v. 27)
“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ”
Paul begins verse 27 with the word “only.”
This tells us there are not 2 options but just ONE.
There is not a 2nd way for a Christian to live his life, but only in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Paul says, “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ”
In the original Greek text the phrase “conduct yourselves, or let your manner” is better translated: “behave constantly as good citizens- this comes from the root word (polis) meaning city. like our word Metropolis
Because they were citizens of Rome the Phillippians understood that their roman citizenship carried legal and social advantages for them:
They had The right to vote
The right to hold office
The right to own property
The right not to pay some taxes
The right to defend themself in court
The right to have a legal trial with a judge;
the right to appeal a decision
No Roman citizen could be tortured, whipped, or receive the death penalty (unless found guilty of treason against Rome)
The Philippians would have understood this term ceitizenship very well because they were free Roman citizens possessing all of the rights and privileges of Rome.
Paul was saying that you are not just a citizen of Rome but a citizen of Heaven.
Paul opens up this verse by is saying that if you are a citizen of Heaven, if you are a born again redeemed child of God,with all the rights and priveledges that come from following Jesus than there is ONLY one way for you to live.
Paul is telling the church of Philippi . “You are citizens of heaven.-Now act like.
If we are going to be ALL in For Christ this summer than we need understand were our citizenship lies.
Transition:If we are going to be all in for Christ than
Walk Worthy of the Gospel (v. 27)
Walk Worthy of the Gospel (v. 27)
“Paul goes on with the most essential thing a citizen of heaven must do, they must live a life that remembers who they are and where their eternal home really is.
“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ”
As Citizens of heaven- there is only one way to live and that is WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST!
To be “worthy of the gospel” does not mean that we are worthy of salvation.
...That we have done enough good to out-way the bad, or even that God looks down on us as if we deserve the gospel more than anyone else.
Ephesians 2:8-9 makes this idea very clear that there is nothing we can do to gain salvation.
“For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 2:9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast [NET]
In fact it is just the opposite of earning our salvation it was given to us as a free gift that was Underserved and unearned.
Romans 3:11 Describes our human nature when it says “no one understands (Salvation); no one seeks for God.”
man’s depravity is so great that non of us would have ever sought out God on our own.
Our own total depravity forever excludes any of us from every being “worthy of the gospel of Christ on our own. and its only through our citizenship in Heaven that we can walk worthy of Christ Gospel.
Do you know who Ross Wilson or Yuri Kim is? NO- How about Carlos Moreno, or Larry Palmer or Denise Bauer. Or maybe Earl Miller?
These men are ambassadors of the United states around the world.
All of these names are representatives of the President- Their entire purpose is represent the president as if He were there himself.
They are his ambassadors!
In fact the President of the United States has over 130 official ambassadors.
A US Ambassador does not speak in his own name but speaks on the behalf of the President. His duty is to spread the President’s message and not his own.
What Paul is communicating is that as believers in Christ, we are God’s ambassadors. We represent His “good news” not our own.
Our role as Christ’s ambassadors is to bring Christ’s Gospel of divine reconciliation to a lost and hostile world.
(2 Cor. 5:20) “we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” 5:21 God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.”
To walk worthy of the gospel means that we understand that It’s His gospel that will change lives not our story.
Since we are His representatives we should live our lives in a way that makes His name great and proclaims His good news.
Walk Unified in The Gospel
Walk Unified in The Gospel
Our desire as citizens of heaven should be to steadfast living here on earth.
The verb “standing firm” tells us that the Philippians were the true church of Christ and because of that, they were to maintain their stand throughout their earthly lives.
Many believers including some of us unfortunately, stand but do not work, and others seem to work and do not stand.
In the next couple of verses, Paul gives us 5 characteristics of a God- pleasing stand here on earth.
Stand in Unity (v.27b)
“Standing firm in 1 spirit”
as a body of believers we must stand together.
We as followers of Jesus,must stand firm on the truths of scripture. We must hold fast the doctrine of salvation. And we must keep each other accountable when divisions arise from among us.
Paul reiterates the charge to be unified as a local church in Ephesians 4:3
He states there is one body, one Spirit, one Hope One Lord, One faith, one baptism, and One God and Father of all.
As citizens of Heaven – we must stand firm on the foundational teachings of scripture.
Stand in Evangelism – 3 marks
1. You need to be of One Mind
Joined together as David and Jonathan who loved each other.
2. Strive together – work as a team
i. Like an athletic team- each believer has a role and they must execute their role at the right time and in the right way.
3. One Goal- “the faith of the gospel.”
i. Keeping with the sports metaphor- like a good defense unit in football, the believers must not let Satan and false teachings penetrate their assembly. Like a good offensive line, they must drive forward to victory. They must defend the truth and win converts at the same time.
ii. Faith here refers to all of the necessary truth needed to understand and believe the gospel and bring people to salvation. It is the clear biblical exposition of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
4. We must hold fast to the truths of the gospel.
i. Jesus Christ came to earth, He lived a perfect life, and He died a cruel death on a cross not for His own sin but for ours. He was buried, and in 3 days He conquered the grave, He trampled over sin and He rose from the grave. And now He is in heaven preparing a place for ALL those who put their faith wholly in Him Alone for their salvation.
ii. We must not waver. We must stand firm in the truth of the Gospel. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE!!!!
Walk with courage from the Gospel (v.28)
Walk with courage from the Gospel (v.28)
“and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of their destruction, but of your salvation—a sign which is from God. 1:29 For it has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him, 1:30 since you are encountering the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing”
Paul says “do not be intimidated or frightened in any way”
This is the greek word that is used to describe a horse that get scared and start an uncontrollable stampede.
Inner fear is usually caused by an outside stimulus.
The Philippians were dual citizens- They were citizens of Roman and also citizens of Heaven.
As believers we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven but also are citizens of earthly kingdoms that are ruled by Satan.
The “opponents” that Paul is telling the Philippians to not fear included the Judaizes who said they needed to be circumcised to be true followers of Christ, the self-righteous legalist who had invaded the local churches, pagan idol worshippers, the evil world systems, Satan, and demonic powers.
Today it’s no different for us as believers. We need to stand firm on the truths of scripture and we cannot fear this world and the things of this world.
Satan is powerful and He wants to break this church apart. He wants to drive wedges between Believers and He would love nothing better than for you to be useless and ineffective in sharing Christ with your community.
Paul says stand firm and do not fear.
In Luke 12 Jesus tells His followers that hard times will come to His followers that trials and tribulations are part of following Him.
Jesus Says they will come so be prepared.
But He also tells them in John16:33“ I have overcome the World”
The World loves its own but it hates and persecutes those who have turned to Christ.
This hasn’t changed since the beginning of time.
In one sense Christians should rejoice when oppositions comes, because they can conclude that the world sees Christ in them, thus assuring them that they are genuinely saved.
Paul adds one more phrase to this thought - He adds “and this salvation is from God.”
This shows that God is the source of our salvation
God has allowed the persecution to occur within the limits He has prescribed. (JOB)
Stand in Suffering.
We as Americans see persecution as a trial, as a burden, as a prayer request for deliverance. But Paul here sees it as an opportunity.
Persecution by the world gives the believers an opportunity to receive the blessings of being able to suffer for the sake of the Cross (Matt: 5:10-12)
Such opposition should not be viewed as a punishment but as a gift.
Do you view persecution as a gift?
Look at our own country- Freedom of religion is vanishing quickly.
Do we rejoice that prayer in public schools takes courage?
Do we look forward to the opportunities we have to stand firm on God’s Teaching On marriage.
Christians are being called Bigots and haters because we stand up for what is right in God’s eyes.
This is what Paul is talking about- are you willing to stand in persecution?
Will you stand up for Christ or will you shrink down and remain silent.
· Peter- denied Christ- in the garden, but later was crucified upside down because He would not denounce the name of Jesus.
The verb “Granted” is based on the same word as Grace.
Since grace is unmerited divine favor, we do not deserve to suffer for Christ any more than we deserve so be saved from sin.
Our suffering should not be viewed as a burden but as a privilege.
God is allowing use to suffer for His Glory!
In this passage we see God gave us 2 divine gifts. (vs 29) READ
The first is to believe in Him
Through Christ unregenerate sinners receive grace through their belief.
The entire program of salvation is a gift. Man didn’t earn it nor does he deserve it. It is only through grace we have been saved.
2nd it was “given to them to suffer for His sake”-
We tend to want glory without suffering
We want faith without conflict
However scriptures tell us that our suffering for Christ brings reward (1Pt 4:14, It produces evangelistic fruit (1:12-14), and it glorifies God (Acts 9:16)
We as believers must be willing to suffer for Christ sake just as He once suffered for ours.
III. Conclusion -When conflicts come what is your response?
III. Conclusion -When conflicts come what is your response?
1. Do you begin to look inward- at your own struggles, at how to make your own life comfortable
2. OR do you look upward- do you rejoice that God has given you an opportunity to suffer for His name?
3. Are you living a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ Are you living like a citizen of Heaven, or a citizen of this earthly sinful kingdom?
4. Do you strive to stand in unity with other Christians in your community or are you identified with the world?
5. Does your life scream out the gospel of Jesus Christ or does it proclaim your own glory and fame?
6. Is your life marked with courage? Or are you more afraid of what the world thinks of you than what God desires from you?
i. Are your ready to suffer strong for Christ?
ii. IF we are to be worthy of the gospel of Christ our actions should proclaim God’s Glory and not our own. Our Words should bring all the glory to Jesus and not ourselves?
iii. If Christ were to look at you today would HE say well done good and faithful servant?
iv. Commit today to live a life WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST and act like a citizen of Heaven!