Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
June 3, 1984
Watch Your Conduct
Philippians 1:27-30, KJV
When I was in high school, buttons were popular. You know, the kind with messages on them. Some of them said, "Have a Happy Day." Others had a smiley face or a peace symbol. Then there were always the button with the Marijuana leaf or S-E-X in big letters. I wore one that said, "Jesus Christ Changed My Life." I got a lot of reactions out of that button. They would stare at that button and then stare at me. Most of them had a pretty skeptical look on their face (which of course was totally justified). The message on that button was a vital spiritual fact. When we believe in Jesus and commit ourselves to him, he will change our lives. That's a fact. You should believe it; but there's something else we should know at the same time -- other people are more concerned about how we live than what we believe. It's always been that way and it always will. This is why Paul says in verse 27:
"Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ."
The King James translation trips up people here. We use the word "conversation" to mean a situation where people are talking. Conversation meant something different three hundred and fifty years ago. It meant "your conduct, way of life, or how you behaved" and that's exactly what it means here. In fact, the Greek word translated "conversation" is the word from which we get terms like "politics" and "police." It is a word that has to do with citizenship.
Citizenship was very important to Paul. If he had not been a Roman citizen he would still be rotting in that jail in Philippi. Citizenship always involves privileges and responsibilities. Christians have a double-citizenship, as it says in Philippians 3:20. Paul uses the same word there so he's really saying - "Our citizenship is in heaven." If it makes any difference in our lives that we are Americans, it should make an even greater difference that we are Christians.
"Becometh" is another important word. It means to "be of equal weight." To paraphrase this verse we could say, "Make sure that your behavior as citizens adds up to the gospel you represent." When I speak of Christian citizenship I'm not just talking about things like voting and paying taxes. Think of every area of your life. Do you act like a Christian - in a traffic jam? Or do you find yourself saying, "Come on, grandma, move it or lose it!"
There are people in business who will tell you it is impossible to run a business on Christian principles. These Christian businessmen live according to the gospel on Sundays, fight their way through the business jungle Monday through Friday and vegetate on Saturday. This isn't what the apostle Paul had in mind. If the gospel is true on Sunday it also has to be true the rest of the week.
Because Christians have been hypocrites in the way they live, the church has been a sitting duck for criticism. The main complaint I hear from outsiders is that Christians don't practice what they preach. Of course the critics are thinking about the exceptional hypocrites. You know - the adulterers, gossips, drunks, lottery players. These are the ones who stick out but I think the greatest danger to the church is the mild hypocrite. They don't sin in a big way but they don't love in a big way either. Christians have a tendency to pat themselves on the back if they're no worse than anyone else but Paul doesn't say, "Conduct yourselves according to the standards of the world." He says, "Conduct your lives according to the gospel."
A small house-church in communist China learned the difference the hard way. The church was made up of eight Christian families who lived in five adjoining buildings. They used one of them for their church. These Christians were in contact with four hundred other house-churches in their area. In 1963 there was famine in their province and they received word that twenty house-churches in a nearby commune were so low on food they were starving. When the pastor told them the news they all scraped together what they could spare. They were able to gather over six hundred pounds of food and notified the starving Christians to come and pick it up. According to a church-member, "Before they left, they held our hands and loudly sang praises to the Lord. Rev. Yeong said this was New Testament Christianity. We were all very moved." A week later government officials found out about it and showed up at the church. The officials accused the Christians of unfairly distributing food and even of stealing some of it. Three Christian leaders ended up pleading guilty for the group and had their rations reduced for six months. One of these leaders later wrote, "In the eyes of the communists the over-riding fact was that we had shown more concern for the Christians in the other commune than for fellow villagers in our own commune. They, of course, have a point. But we failed to see it. This experience taught us a deep lessen - that Christians must learn to be open with people. We must learn to love as Jesus loved."
On the face of it, these Chinese believers were outstanding Christians. They were generous with other churches. This is good but it's not exactly what the gospel says. According to Matthew 5:
"Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you... For if you love them which love you, what reward have ye?"
Apparently there are times when it takes a communist to make this clear to us. It's not enough to avoid the sins of the world. Christians have to go beyond this and try to live the gospel. Paul goes on to say:
"... that I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel."
You can find three characteristics of conduct here and in verse 28. First, Christian conduct should be steadfast. This means you can hold your ground, finish what you start and be reliable. One of the best indicators of true Christianity is time. Hypocrisy and other sins can be hidden for a while but eventually they pop up. A strong, consistent Christian is steadfast. They don't give you rude surprises and they keep at it year after year.
A second characteristic is forcefulness. Christians should "strive together." Paul says. This expression has to do with team wrestling. The ancient Greeks did not tend to wrestle one on one. Instead, four or five would line up on each side and go at it all at once. The Christian life takes a lot of effort and it also requires help from teammates.
The third characteristic is in verse 28:
"And in nothing terrified by your adversaries."
The word "terrified" was used to describe a horse that gets spooked. Opposition shouldn't stampede Christians. Christian conduct can be a costly activity. Verse 29 sets this out very bluntly:
"For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake."
Some Christians feel a lack of trouble in life is a sign they're not following God. One day John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, was riding his horse down a road when it dawned on him that he had not been persecuted for three whole days. For three days he had not been cursed or egged. Alarmed, he stopped his horse and said to himself, "Maybe I've sinned and have backslidden." Wesley dismounted the horse, got on his knees and prayed to God that he would show him where he had gone wrong. A redneck on the other side of the road heard his prayer and recognized the Methodist evangelist. He said, "I'll fix that preacher," and heaved a brick at him. It missed Wesley and thudded on the road. So Wesley leaped to his feet and exclaimed, "Thank God! Everything's all right! I still have God's presence with me."
Christians don't have to look for trouble. It will look for them. Live like a consistent Christian at your job or school and you'll find it rubs some people the wrong way.
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Typed on October 30, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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