THE ADVANCE OF THE GOSPEL - "I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice."
As Christians living in a world that is watching our every move, how we respond to adversity can be the greatest witnessing tool we have at our disposal. What makes things difficult and/or counter-productive though is that we're human and our flaws, imperfections and insecurities cause us to shrink back when troubles come, rather than embrace the moment with a positive frame of mind. Paul begins this section of Philippians by flipping the script on our psyche and declaring victory in the midst of what would appear to be defeat. Incarceration itself would be enough to damper one's attitude and spirit, but not so for Paul. He knew that God not only could work in any circumstance for His glory, but indeed was working in and through his life despite what appeared on the surface to be insurmountable opposition. In other words, circumstance was not a deterrent at all. Rather, it became an evangelistic platform with which Paul could speak truth and influence others to consider the Gospel message. Granted, it was not an easy task for Paul to endure persecution joyfully, but he knew that his response in the midst of opposition would either cripple his ministry or provide amply opportunity for lost souls to come to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
In order for us to grasp what compelled Paul to respond how he did, we needn't look any further than John's Gospel for perspective. "Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest" (John 4:31–35). Jesus' focus was not on the temporal satisfaction of his own physical replenishment, but rather the eternal ramifications of the spiritual harvest before Him who desperately needed salvation. In other words, Jesus understood that timing was critical and disregarded his momentary, physical needs in order to satisfy the eternal, spiritual needs of lost souls all around him. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Paul's strategy paid incredible dividends because he saw what Jesus did but others could not—a ripe and bountiful harvest of lost souls waiting to be redeemed from the vantage point of a prisoner in chains with unquenchable love in his heart for those who kept guard over him. It begs the question whether we truly grasp the enormity of our salvation as compared to Paul, we who live comfortably surrounded by worldly riches.
Paul wrote to the church in Rome, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35–39). Often times, we lose focus of our true identity in Christ. We cower at the thought of trials, much less persecution, and shift our attention inward toward removing the suffering at hand as quickly as possible. What Paul would challenge us to consider is not simply what God would teach us in the moment, but whether we would open our hearts to His sovereign perspective which sees what we do not and acts accordingly. Scripture exhorts, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness" (James 1:2–3). However, are we willing to surrender ourselves to various trials and allow ourselves to be tested unconditionally? More pointedly, is steadfastness even on our radar screen as something we aspire to acquiring as reward for enduring trials?
Paul never forgot his identity, and we are expected as born-again followers of Christ to not forget ours as well. Paul boldly proclaimed, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). Keep in mind that prior to conversion, Paul was zealous for Judaism and violently persecuted Christians in order to destroy the church (Galatians 1:13). However, once Jesus confronted Paul on the Damascus road and revealed His identity as God's Son, Paul's previous identity as a religious persecutor of Christianity forever changed. The religious zealot became a slave unto righteousness by faith in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8), destined to be mocked, ridiculed and threatened for that which he himself once persecuted, because his identity had been changed. We too share in Paul's story. Regardless of the circumstance or details, our lives mirror the transforming power of salvation Paul experienced. Therefore, we need not fear our adversaries because we have been chosen for a greater purpose in life—to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, which we intimately know because of what He did on the cross to purchase our salvation. "For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men" (1 Corinthians 7:22–23).
What is most amazing is how the righteousness of one man could inspire countless others throughout the generations to emulate his example for roughly 2,000 years. Today, Christians all around the world are subjected to various forms of trials, persecution and even martyrdom, but what is incredibly compelling is that EVERY follower of Christ shares the same persecuted residency as a citizen of this fallen world. Make no mistake, prison bars are just as much figurative as literal, and we are naive to consider ourselves exempt from Paul's similar plight because we sit in the comfort of our homes. Make no mistake, we too are surrounded by a bounty of unrighteousness ripe for the harvest. The real question is whether we will allow our perspective to be limited by our capacity to look past our selfish, personal needs for the spiritual needs and interests of others. Granted, that sacrifice might cost us far more than we bargained for, but is that even worth the time it takes to consider? Are we truly so shallow in our faith to count the costs as if what we may be asked to sacrifice even remotely compares to the blood of Jesus Christ shed on our behalf? My brethren, let us collectively WAKE UP and embrace our identity in Christ! "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).
Let us also be clear that selfish ambition will be judged severely by our Lord to those who are compelled by envy or rivalry. Paul's adversaries were countless outside his prison walls, but even within the church, Paul faced wolves disguised as sheep. However, rather than be distracted by those who perverted his message by questioning and drawing attention to his popularity, Paul took the moment to give thanks and rejoice that Christ was being proclaimed no matter the negative impact on his personal reputation. What is so amazing is that Paul was not consumed or jaded by opposition. Rather, he looked for the silver lining and allowed God to maintain ultimate control in spite of the circumstance. Paul knew God could restore what the swarming locusts had eaten (Joel 2:25), therefore there was no point in worrying about his personal interest because God could turn water into wine and sift out the selfish ambition of sinful men to accomplish His purpose. In other words, as Joseph once proclaimed, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today" (Genesis 50:20). Therefore, let us be encouraged to boldly speak the Word of God in love, compassion and understanding toward those who may not share our beliefs but are ripe for the harvest, that one day they may come to faith by not only hearing the Gospel preached, but seeing it lived out in our lives for the glory of God.
