Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
May 20, 1984
The Advance of the Gospel
Philippians 1:12-18, KJV
It's easier to witness about your faith in some places more than in others. A church is a pretty easy place. You can tell people how much you love Jesus and it fits right in with the surroundings. In other places it's more difficult to witness. For instance, being a prisoner in a jail. In a situation like that, telling people Jesus has changed your life can raise a few eyebrows.
The apostle Paul was in one of those hard situations. He was under arrest in Rome and it appears that some Christians were looking down on him because of it. Paul was concerned about their feelings but it didn't get him depressed. Putting problems into perspective is one of the greatest attributes for a Christian. To be swamped by problems and overwhelmed by difficulties is pretty easy - all you have to do is stand there. But to get your overwhelming problems in perspective takes the help of the Holy Spirit in your life.
Some people worship their problems more regularly and with greater sincerity than they worship their Lord. Their lives revolve around every difficulty and problem that pops up. Other people have a different approach - they ignore their problems. They feel real Christians are not supposed to have problems because problems mean God has failed or you have. To keep from being unspiritual, they pretend everything is rosy, even if they're torn up inside.
God doesn't want us to worship our problems and he doesn't want us to pretend they don't exist. He simply wants us to put them in the right perspective. The right perspective comes when we realize that God has allowed the problem and it can make us more knowledgeable and useful for him.
Paul's perspective on his problems comes out in verse 12 where he says,
"But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel."
The Greek word for furtherance means to advance like an army in spite of obstacles in the way. Being a prisoner was an obstacle for Paul. He wasn't in a jail as such but he was under house arrest. He was also chained to a guard day and night. It was an obstacle because he couldn't visit his churches but it had its advantages as well. In verse 13 he gives one advantage:
"My bonds (chains) in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places."
The word "palace" is literally praetorium, which usually refers to the guards of the palace rather than the palace itself. The praetorium guard consisted of 9,000 men, Rome's best soldiers. They personally protected the emperor and were a lot like our Secret Service. As Paul was chained to individual guards, he took the opportunity to witness to them. By being a prisoner Paul was able to reach men that other Christians wouldn't have access to.
[Nepal real-life story - I am sure it was a perfect illustration but I have no idea what it was about]
Another advantage to his situation is given in verse 14:
"And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear."
First-century Christians were a lot like 20th century ones - they tended to be timid. You can't really blame them since they were outnumbered a million to one. The probably enjoyed the way Paul was so effective in evangelizing before he was arrested because it got them off the hook. Now that he was chained but preaching in spite of it, they were encouraged and followed his example.
Whenever we witness and try to live boldly for Jesus we do more than just win converts to the Lord. We also become an encouragement to fellow Christians. The reason we have someone share a testimony once a month is for both these reasons. We want to show how God has changed people's lives so that others can be saved. We also want to challenge other Christians to live for God. This was Paul's motivation while he was a prisoner. Other Christians had other motives. According to verse 15, some preachers had good intentions while others wanted to cause trouble. Concerning the last group Paul says they "preach about Christ out of contention, not sincerely." The word "contention" is better translated as "selfish ambition," as it is in the NIV. The word was used to describe politicians who ran for office to make themselves look good. So these Christians were ones who preached harder now that Paul was in prison. They wanted to gain more influence at Paul's expense. What's really sad is that they wanted Paul to know it - literally, they wanted to add friction to his bonds.
Many students of the Bible like to think these people are phony Christians. A well-known example would be the evangelist Marjoe. In the 1970's he led crusades and healing services across the U.S. He didn't really believe in the gospel but he was good at it (he started as a child evangelist) and it made him rich. When he began to feel guilty he quit, only to start up again when his money ran out.
Some of Paul's opponents may have been fakes like this but most of them probably weren't. Paul says they preach Christ and he never says this about heretics. What is obvious is that his opponents were more motivated by their own egos than by the Lord. Even today, churches are broken up by sincere Christians who have their priorities all wrong. They say they are fighting for the Lord, when actually their personal ambitions are the only thing at issue.
It is to Paul's credit that he doesn't focus on personalities. The climax of this passage is in verse 18, which says,
"What then? Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice."
We can spend our whole lives analyzing each other's evangelism methods or the purity of our motives; they are important but the message about Jesus is more important. Since the message has the priority, we should be bolder when we witness. From experience I know that one thing which keeps me from witnessing is my own feeling of sinfulness. I'll have an opportunity to share about Christ but my motives and attitudes aren't pure, so I let the opportunity pass. When you get right down to it, your motives are never completely pure. When I'm closest to the Lord, that selfishness and ambition is still present.
Even in situations like this, you can be an effective witness. The person who witnessed to me had a bucket-load of problems but the Lord used him to lead me to faith. The thousands who accepted Christ when Marjoe preached are genuinely saved, even if the evangelist himself is a fraud. God can bless the gospel message in whatever form it is preached.
I have problems with some of the television evangelists. They're a little too domineering and money hungry for my taste. But people are being saved by them and that's good. There are probably ministers in this county who need to be re-dedicated but they can still be effective for the Lord. God will use whomever he wants in order to get his will done. But how much more effective we would be if we were sincerely committed to our Lord!
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Typed on October 1, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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