Paul's Bonds Further the Gospel

Paul's Intimate Communication to the Philippians

0:03 The following sermon was preached on November the 30th, 1980, while the Trinity Church was still meeting at the Grover Cleveland Junior High School in Caldwell, New Jersey. I would encourage you to turn in your own Bibles once more to the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter 1, as we continue our consecutive expositions of this very intimate and warm, instructive letter of the Apostle to the Church at Philippi, Philippians chapter 1. This morning I shall read verses 12 through two-thirds of verse 18. I'll not explain why I've done that yet,

0:46 but I trust in due time to give a rational explanation. Philippians chapter 1, beginning with verse 12.

0:58 Now I would have you know, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the progress of the gospel, so that my bonds became manifest in Christ throughout the whole praetorian guard and to all the rest, and that the most of the brethren in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear. Some, indeed, preach Christ, even of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill. The one do it of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel,

1:41 but the other proclaim Christ of faction, not sincerely, thinking to raise up affliction for me in my bonds. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and therein I rejoice.

2:06 As we begin our study of this portion of the word of God this morning, I want to ask each of you a very simple question. The question is this. Do you have a very close and intimate friend?

2:26 Do you personally have a very close and intimate friend?

2:34 Is there someone, apart from husband or wife or sweetheart or mother or dad, outside of that most intimate, natural friendship, do you have someone with whom you feel free to share your most intimate concerns and thoughts, one in whose presence you feel comfortable in, just as it were, unbuttoning the whole of your heart and laying it bare in the presence of that person? Well, if you do have such a friend, then you are very conscious that one of the characteristics of a close friendship is this spontaneous desire

3:16 to know the well-being of your intimate friend, so that whenever intimate friends see each other, whenever they share their thoughts by means of letters, or whenever they ring each other up on the telephone, call each other on the phone, often, the conversation is carried along by a series of questions. You begin with the more general, how are you, and then you descend to the particulars. You know things about that friend because there is this deep level of friendship, and you then seek to pry, as it were, into those areas of your concern, and your friend will do the same with you. If your friend happens to be another teenage friend,

4:01 if you're a teenager, then it isn't long before they want to know how your romances are going, and whether or not he still looks at you in a special way, and whether you've had your first kiss yet, and if it's other kinds of friendships, why there's concern to know about how your job is, or about your aches and pains. Well, all of us who has a close friend is very conscious that one of the unwritten ground rules of an intimate friendship is both that liberty to pry into the concerns of another, and also, the knowledge that areas that are clouded or shrouded in ignorance can cause pain to a true friend.

4:43 Now, it's precisely because of that very common principle of friendship that the Apostle moves from the lofty heights of his prayer, which concluded in verse 11, with that great sweeping concern of the glory and the honor of the living God, to this very, folksy communication of facts about his own circumstances there in his Roman prison. From the words unto the glory and praise of God, he moves immediately to these words, I would have you know, brethren,

5:26 that the things pertaining to me, and there is no jangling in these things, for the God whose praise and glory is the great and ultimate end of his prayer for the Philippians, is the God who having made us in his image, has made us social beings, and who having recreated us in Christ, has given us the deepest capacity to feel and to yearn for one another, and it's that God whom the Apostle served, and it's that God whom the Philippians knew, and it was in the fellowship of that, that God that they were drawn together, and so it was very natural that these Philippians,

6:11 who had heard bits and pieces of information about the Apostle since he was last with them, who knew that he had been involved in a riot at Jerusalem, who knew that he had been taken to Rome, and on the way, no doubt, they understood about his shipwreck, and now they send Epaphroditus to him, bringing gifts, expressing their concern and their love, and they're very anxious that when Epaphroditus returns, he'll fill in the blank spots in their information, that he'll write in between the lines, giving them details about the Apostle's condition, and because the Apostle recognized that true friends have that longing, he was sensitive to respond to that longing.

6:55 In the midst of all of the great concerns that filled his mind, here was a man who was deeply aware of the responsibility of an intimate friendship, and one of them is to convey the kind of information that will set the mind and heart of our intimate friends at rest as they learn the facts about us. And so then, in this particular passage, the Apostle begins to bear his heart and to tell them of his present state. As he does, he first of all sets before us what I am calling the central fact the central fact the central fact of his present circumstances. That's given to us in verse 12.

The Central Fact: Gospel Progress

7:39 Then he gives, in verses 13 and 14, the specific manifestations of that fact. He states the central fact, then he gives two specific manifestations of that fact, in verses 13 and 14, and then in verse 15, he gives the necessary qualifications of this fact, all the way down to the first part, or the middle part, of verse 18. Now, this morning, we'll only have time to take up the first two strands of thought, the central fact concerning his circumstances, verse 12, and the specific manifestations of that fact in verses 13 and 14.

8:23 Well then, what was the central fact concerning Paul's present circumstances? He expresses it in this way, I would have you know, brethren, that the things which happened unto me, and you'll notice in the 1901, the words which happened are in italics, they are supplied to give apparently smooth English sense, but a better translation would be this, that the things pertaining unto me have fallen out rather unto the progress of the gospel, or as one has rendered it, I wish you to know, brethren, that the things concerning me,

9:04 have gone for the gospel's advancement. Now, try to imagine how this information of this central fact of Paul's circumstances would come to the ears of the Philippians. They have heard of Paul's imprisonment. They are aware of his trials.

9:26 They know something of his present circumstances at Rome, for they have sent Epaphroditus to minister to him in the way of their gifts, chapter 4 and verse 18. They know something of the hardships that he has endured. They are aware that he is not on a fool's errand, and that his life itself is in jeopardy. And with all of these apprehensions about their beloved friend, as well as their esteemed spiritual father and leader, one can only imagine the sigh of relief that must have spread through the congregation when the reader on that particular morning, if it was Epaphroditus himself,

10:10 stood and read these words. I would have you to know, brethren, that the things pertaining to me and everyone's ears are perked up, listening eagerly, well, what has happened with the things pertaining to you, Paul? And he says, the central fact concerning all of them is this, they have resulted in the progress, the progress of the gospel. In other words, he says, you can take everything you've heard about me prior to Epaphroditus' coming back to you, everything you've heard from his lips, and put them in a column.

10:47 From all the way back to my original seizure there in Jerusalem by an angry mob, put them in a column. My being seized by the angry mob, my being taken under Roman governmental, authority, my shipwreck, my trials, even to my present chain by which I am bound to a Roman soldier, and everything else pertaining to the things that have happened to me, line them up in a column, draw a line at the bottom, add them up, and he says, this is what you get, the progress of the gospel. I would have you know, brethren, that the things,

11:30 all of them, the things that you Philippians, have looked upon with such apprehension, the things that have caused you pain because I am your friend and your spiritual father and esteemed leader, let me set your loving, friendly hearts at rest, all of the things pertaining to me have resulted in the advancement of the gospel. And no doubt this caused not only great surprise and relief to the Philippians, but nothing was calculated to bring them greater joy. For I remind you that this was a church passionately committed to the spread of the gospel.

12:13 You remember in chapter one in verse five, the thing for which he gives God thanks upon every remembrance of the Philippians is their communion, their fellowship with him in the gospel from the very first day until now. And when Paul set out on his missionary journey, he says, in chapter four verses 15 and 16, that the Philippian church was the only church that shared in a tangible way his great passion to bring the gospel to other regions. You Philippians alone in the beginning of the gospel when I departed from Macedonia had fellowship with me in the matter of giving

12:55 and receiving you only. So when a church that is not merely basking in the light of its gospel privileges, but passionately committed to the spread of the gospel, has a friend who in pursuit of spreading the gospel has become incarcerated, who is suffering, whose life may be in danger. When this man writes back and says, there is one central fact concerning my circumstances that I want you to know, that fact being all the things that have happened to me have resulted in the spread, the blessing, the progress, the advancement of the gospel. I say this was calculated not only to bring relief,

13:40 but to bring great joy to the hearts of the Philippians. Now was this language the excessive language of an eternal optimist? Was it the wishful thinking of an idealistic dreamer? Was it stretching the truth in order to comfort the Philippians?

Manifestation 1: Gospel Advancement Among the Unconverted

14:01 No. For he tells us in verses 13 and 14 the specific manifestations of this fact. Central fact is, everything that has happened to me has resulted in the progress of the gospel. Proof of this, and he breaks that proof down into two categories.

14:20 Verse 13, So that my bonds became manifest in Christ throughout the whole Praetorian Guard and to all the rest. The second category, verse 14, and most of the brethren in the Lord being confident through my bonds are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear. Now what are these two categories that provide the specific manifestations of the fact asserted in verse 12? Well I have called them the advancement of the gospel with respect to the unconverted at Rome and then the advancement of the gospel with respect to the church or the people of God.

15:02 First of all then Paul's description of the advancement of the gospel with respect to the unconverted at Rome. Now when we come to verse 13 we ought to be aware of the fact that in the history of interpretation volumes not volumes but many many pages have been written with reference to the precise meaning of Paul's use of the term in the whole Praetorian. Now some have asserted that the Praetorian referred to the palace of Nero. So the old authorized version translates it in all the palace.

15:44 Some have asserted that it referred to the military barracks where this special band of hand-picked guards resided. Others say well it refers not to a place but to people. Now I've tried to wade through many of those pages available to me and my own friends in my own library and after weighing the arguments and the counter-arguments for the various positions I'm satisfied that the position espoused by Lightfoot in another generation and Hendrickson and Lenski in our own generation is most likely the proper interpretation or understanding of the passage and that understanding is reflected in most of the modern translations.

16:28 The 1901 edition translates it my bonds have become manifest in Christ throughout the whole Praetorian guard and not in all other places but to all the rest. And I'm satisfied that that is a proper translation but some of you in your reading may become aware that it's not 100% certain and my credibility would be jeopardized if I did not apprise you of the fact that I'm fully aware of the arguments on the other side. Suffice it to say that there is a good chance that we are right in rendering it this way. For we read in the book of Acts

17:11 that Paul was constantly under Roman guard. In Acts chapter 26 and in verse 28 I'm sorry and verse 16 we read when we entered into Rome Paul was suffered to abide by himself with the soul of God. A soldier that guarded him. Verse 18 he speaks of being of one it speaks of him as being in a position where he might be set at liberty.

17:50 Verse 30 he abode two whole years in his own higher dwelling and received all that went in unto him. Though he had certain liberties he was under the care of Romans soldiers and most likely this guard of what we would call crack troops. It would be like a special elite group taken out of an already elite group such as our Marines. And these soldiers were deployed on special errands throughout the Roman Empire and in all likelihood the Apostle Paul was guarded by this group called the Praetorian Guard.

18:32 Every six hours a different soldier would come and would exchange the chain of his soldier friend the chain which was attached to the soldier and to the arm of the Apostle Paul. So that day and night there was in very close proximity to the Apostle a Roman soldier. Now imagine what this would have been like to be with this man who's already said in this epistle that he is a man of prayer. But a man whose prayers are suffused with praise and thanksgiving and one again can only imagine the look on the eyes of a Roman soldier who for the first time takes up his assignment

19:16 to guard this man. And when it comes time for Paul's private devotions he begins to pray. And as he begins to pray instead of hearing him complaining to God and asking God to send an earthquake and shake that place and set him free. He hears this man break out in praise and worship and adoration of the living God.

19:40 Then he hears him as he exercises his heart in concerns for the people of God across the whole Roman Empire. Then as various friends come the soldier cannot help but listen as he speaks again and again of the things concerning Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God according to the last verse in the book of Acts. He sees this man with a large heart with great Catholic concerns with a disposition of thoughtfulness and graciousness and non-complaint for he said in chapter 4 he had learned whatever state he was in to be content and one can only imagine how it must have blown the minds of these soldiers. And he says this went on until

20:25 now notice the wording of the text his bonds or his chains became manifested in Christ through the Lord. And he says this went on throughout the whole Praetorian Guard. In other words it became manifest that his bonds his chains had reference or connection to Christ. It would be evident that he was not there because he was a madman a murderer a political agitator or insurrectionist.

20:56 It would become evident over the course of the days and the weeks and the months to every single thing that this soldier who was chained to Paul the entire Praetorian Guard that was committed to his protection and to guarding him that this man's bonds were vitally connected with the cause of Jesus Christ whom he called the Messiah. It became manifest to the entire Praetorian Guard what became manifest his bonds in connection with Jesus Christ that it was for Christ's sake that he was a prisoner not because he was out to topple the Roman government

21:41 not because he was a nasty man who agitated and hated his fellow Jews they could see him receiving his fellow Jews with warmth and compassion and no doubt pleading with them with tears that they might embrace the Messiah. Until as the text says this became evident not only to the entire Praetorian Guard guard or band but notice and to all the rest that is to many beyond the guard many in the imperial court many no doubt throughout all of Rome and so the very prediction or prophecy

22:25 that the Lord had given to Paul the very promise made in Acts chapter 9 and verse 15 and then reiterated more specifically in Acts 23.11 was marvelously fulfilled God in his initial dealings with Paul said go thy way for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and then that becomes more specific in Acts 23 and verse 11 where we read Acts 23.11 and the night following the Lord stood by him and said be of good cheer for as thou has testified concerning me at Jerusalem

23:09 so must thou bear witness also at Rome and so now God in a strange way has brought his servant to Rome and there he bears witness to the unconverted soldiers and to all the rest in that place in which God has put him I want to read from Lenski the Lutheran commentator who summarizing this verse says for two years day after day soldier after soldier had guarded Paul in his rented house in this way Paul gained entrance into the Praetorian cohorts his daily guards

23:53 heard all that he said and saw all that he did talked about it in their barracks became interested in the case until when it was now up for hearing when it was established that the imprisoned had to do with this Christ of Paul's teaching the whole influential body of the imperial guard became thoroughly conversant with and interested in the case all the rest cannot mean not only the leaders who presided at Paul's hearing he commanded the Praetorians and thus belonged to what Paul calls the whole Praetorium he and his officials heard Paul's defense and confirmation as a matter of course but getting public is a different thing

24:38 from being brought to the judge's ears in a courtroom it is getting to the attention and into the talk of others and here Paul dares to write even all of the rest this cannot mean less than Rome in general the people of the capital of the world and its dominating military force in the remarkable providence of God through this lowly prisoner heard the whole gospel story of Christ since the imperial court had thus far acted favorably all this publicity was likewise favorable no wonder Paul was joyful and so when Paul writes to the Philippians and says

25:21 add up everything that has happened to me the sum total is the advancement of the gospel he was not the eternal optimist he was stating facts and fact number one is that his bonds in Christ had become manifested to the whole praetorian guard and to all the rest there was knowledge that he was Christ's prisoner he was a prisoner for the cause of the gospel amongst the unconverted at Rome but then he gives a second fact to buttress that wonderful assertion and it has to do with the advancement of the gospel with respect to the Christians at Rome verse 14

Manifestation 2: Gospel Advancement Among Roman Christians

26:05 of Philippians chapter 1 and that most of the brethren he could not say all but most of the brethren in the Lord being confident through my bonds are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear the sense of the meaning of this verse is beautifully captured by the new international version I quote it because of my chains most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God courageously and fearlessly because of my chains most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God

26:49 courageously and fearlessly now what does he say well try to relive the situation this comes out of a very real historical context it is known by the church at Rome that Paul is a prisoner under Nero's guard now what will happen to Paul under this kind of pressure and personal danger will he soft pedal the gospel will he compromise the cause of Christ to save his own hide will the emperor manifest his antipathy to the gospel by severing Paul's head from his shoulders and begin a general persecution well you see the people of God

27:33 are rather skittish some of them are timid in their gospel witness at the very citadel of paganism there at Rome but when they hear of Paul's chain and when the news reaches them that he is receiving people daily and that he is boldly preaching the gospel when they hear that in spite of that bold preaching God has restrained the fury of a pagan emperor and Paul is given liberty to go on preaching what's the effect of this upon the people of God why it's used of God to embolden them they reason why if Paul in the midst of that kind of danger can speak boldly what's wrong with us that we're being timid

28:17 we're not in the same danger as he is if in the midst of that great trial he can boldly proclaim the gospel why should not we seize our liberties and opportunities to proclaim the word of God without fear and so most of the brethren though he could not say all he could say most of the brethren have received a new impetus to be bold and unflinching in their proclamation of the gospel so Paul says to his dear friends at Philippi don't be apprehensive about me the things that have happened to me have fallen out to the advancement of the gospel not only in the direct witness born to the unconverted at Rome

29:02 the whole praetorian guard and all the rest but then the witness born to the saints which had this peculiar manifestation in that it made them yet more bold to preach the gospel and remember this is a church that is passionately committed to the gospel and what was more calculated to bring them comfort than to convey information that let them know the cause of the gospel was a cause that was advancing in the midst of the apostles in prison he said in essence my chains have loosed their tongues and they now speak boldly well that's the basic significance

Abiding Lesson 1: A God-Centered Perspective on Life

29:46 of those two verses now what in the world does all of this have to say to us believing that the word of God is profitable for doctrine reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness that's all well and good to know that Paul and his intimate friends at Philippi had this deep relationship and Paul is able to give them this central fact and the two manifestations of the fact but what is all that to us and as I attempt to answer that question I'm amazed again at the richness of the word of God how that in two verses or three verses such as the ones I've attempted to open up in your hearing

30:28 containing intimate personal news between friends can become as it were the platform from which God proclaims some of the most profound truths to be found anywhere in scripture and never are the profound truths more attractive when they are dressed up in the garb of real live situations such as we have here this time permits consider with me several of these abiding lessons of that which Paul has written in these verses first of all these verses contain a searching message a searching manifestation of a God-centered perspective on life

31:09 a searching manifestation of a God-centered perspective on life look at the language of verse 12 I would have you know brethren that the things pertaining to me and at that point he stops talking about himself he doesn't say the things pertaining to me have resulted in great personal inconvenience God's personal inconvenience great personal sorrow and suffering and agony and great personal shame and no no he doesn't go on to talk about himself he says the things pertaining to me and then all of the description

31:54 has to do with those things that lie closest to the heart of the living God for you see it is in the gospel that God's glory is most fully displayed it is through the gospel that God's eternal purposes come to bear upon men and so the cause of the gospel is the cause of God and here is a man who because of his God-centeredness cannot help but have a gospel-centeredness and so he evaluates all that happens to him personally not in terms of his own personal ambition his own personal reputation his own personal interest his own personal convenience

32:37 his own little sets of likes and dislikes here is a man who has a God-centered perspective on life and whatever results in the advancement of the glory of God and the purposes of God in the gospel can only fill him with joy he says to the Ephesian elders that even his own life is expendable I count not my life as any account dear to myself that I may finish my course to testify to the gospel of the grace of God my unconverted friend listen to me you don't know anything of this the life God has given you to live to his praise

33:22 to live in communion with him you have taken and you squander all of God's gifts upon your own self-centeredness and you are the sun around which everything in your life must orbit your pleasures your everything your ambitions your likes your dislikes my friend God didn't make you to be a little self-centered independent God he made you that you might find your greatest joy in glorifying him in the language of the catechism that you might glorify God and enjoy him forever and this is why you need a savior

34:05 because every day of your life lived in self-centeredness is lived in direct violation of God's law he commands you to love him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength not yourself and that's why you need a savior because you're a self-centered fallen creature and that's why you need a savior who can not only cleanse you from the guilt of your sin but break that bondage to self-centeredness which is as natural to you as breathing it is as natural for every son and daughter of Adam to be centered in self as it is to breathe and this is why Jesus said we must be born from above

34:48 there must be the impartation of a new life which has a new center which is God himself as revealed in the Lord Jesus but surely there's a word for us as the people of God as well some of you it seems are so slow to come to this perspective your reflexive response is still though you've been a Christian for years in every situation how does this affect me my plans my ambitions my likes my sensitivities my friend that's a miserable existence the apostle Paul could face the chain of the Roman guard

35:31 all of the personal shame and the abuse that had come and say to his friends at Philippi I'm not a Christian I set your mind at rest the things pertaining to me have resulted in the progress of the gospel and since the glory of God is bound up in the gospel I can only rejoice because my life is centered in that God I say that's a searching manifestation of a God centered life what would you have written if you were in those circumstances well some in our day would have written to the church saying please get up and go to church get up and go to church get up and go to church get up and go to church get up and go to church get up and go to church and come in mass

36:15 to Nero's place and demand my release let's have Christian social action not the apostle whether I have a chain on my arm illegally and unjustly is not the issue the issue is this can I see the progress of the gospel if the gospel progresses what is the chain upon Paul's arm what is the inconvenience daily the night of being in the presence of a coarse cursing foul mouth pagan soldier if the gospel can progress

Abiding Lesson 2: The Invincibility of the Gospel

37:00 you see the God centeredness of this man and I say it searches our hearts but furthermore these verses contain not only a searching manifestation of a God centered perspective on life but they contain a wonderful illustration of the invincibility of the cause of the gospel now you can't the word invincible means you simply can't conquer it invincibility means it cannot be overcome and these passages contain this passage contains a wonderful illustration of the invincibility of the cause of the gospel Paul can say from the mob scene recorded in Acts 21 to that situation

37:43 described in Acts 28 the cause of the gospel has been advanced why well I've already given you the answer because the cause of the gospel is the cause of the triune God and nothing stands in the way of that God here we have an illustration of the second song the kings of the earth gather together against the Lord and against his anointed and the apostle Paul has become as it were the very focal point of men's enmity against the gospel and the only way they figure they can shut the mouth of this man and impede the progress of the gospel is stir up a riot so they stir up a riot and when they see the soldiers

38:28 haul Paul off one can only imagine how the opposers of the gospel must have gone home that night and celebrated said man we really pulled it off we've got his mouth shut for good for a while and let's hope that Nero shuts it permanently but what happened through all of those circumstances God's invincible purposes go on without missing a stitch why because he that sitteth in the heaven shall laugh he shall have them in derision he shall say I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion ask of me and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance and the uttermost part of the earth

39:13 for thy possession Jesus said I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it oh my dear dear friends it should fill us with tremendous consolation as we think of the world situation as we think of all of those places that seem to be a veritable time bomb about to explode and we wonder what will it all come to well my friend this much we know the purposes of God with respect to the gospel are invincible and this world will not blow itself up until every last elect sheep has been gathered into the fold and men will not be able

39:57 to bring this world to nothing if they multiply their hydrogen bombs a thousand times over as long as there is one sheep yet uncalled in any part of the world be it today's Rome's the great metropolis centers of humanity or in some remote little village in the heart of the Amazon where there exists a tribe of only ten people but within that tribe there is one of those sheep the Lord will hold it all at bay until he's called every last sheep to himself and has put the last living stone in that temple oh what consolation

Abiding Lesson 3: The Mystery of Divine Providence

40:42 we should derive from this wonderful illustration of the invincibility of the cause of the gospel but then thirdly these verses contain a fascinating demonstration of the mystery of divine power of divine providence a fascinating demonstration of the mystery of divine providence what is providence? I go back to the catechism God's most holy wise and powerful governing all governing and preserving all his creatures and all of their actions well here we see such a providence at work

41:24 he makes Paul to have a chain that by that chain the tongues of Christians might be loosed well whoever heard of loosing something with a chain well that's the way God works my chains have resulted in most of the brethren being bold to speak without fear Paul's imprisonment his being made a captive leads to captives being set free the knowledge of Christ comes to the whole praetorian guard and to all the rest so that later on he can speak

42:09 of greeting those that are in Caesar's household and the Lord is pleased to overrule and make his prison a platform to preach not only to the church in that day but to the church to the end of time for where would we be without the prison epistles where would we be without the book of Philippians where would we be without Ephesians where would we be without those other epistles that were written when he was there chained to a soldier ostensibly now the cause of the gospel greatly hindered this great and flaming apostle and evangelist taken as it were out of circulation

42:54 and yet in the mystery of God's providence the gospel is advancing as one has aptly said he came to Rome a prisoner his passage paid by the Roman government and the hatred of his enemies was the breath of the almighty which wafted him to his desired destination think of it it was the very breath of his enemies I'm sorry the hatred of his enemies that constituted the breath of the almighty which was brought him there to Rome where the cause of the gospel would be advanced ah but someone

43:38 ejects and says pastor but he was a great apostle an eminent servant of Christ and that God would tailor make his providence for such a man as that I can see but for me it's this very man who writes to all the saints and says and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them that love God to them that love God to those who are the called according to purpose the special providence that was at work in Paul's life is at work in our lives and though we cannot see often any rhyme or reason to the things that seem to impede us in our most noble ambitions there is a wise providence

44:23 at work accomplishing the designs of the loving heart of our God and of our Father you remember Joseph's classic words ye meant it for evil but God meant it for good someone has penned these lines and I found them so moving that I wanted to read them to you this morning in the first line the word Avenger is with a capital A it refers to God as the Avenger of evil and these are the lines speaking of this very thing this mystery of divine providence illustrated in these words careless seems the great Avenger

45:06 history's pages but record one death grapple in the darkness twixt old systems and the word you get the picture? it seems as though God is a careless bystander the pages of history represent a death grapple in the darkness between the systems of error and the word of God truth forever on the scaffold right now long forever on the throne yet that scaffold sways the future and behind the dim unknown standeth God within the shadow keeping watch upon his own

Abiding Lesson 4: The Efficacy of an Exemplary Life

45:48 it seems that truth is forever on the scaffold about to be put to death Paul in prison truth upon the scaffold evil in error upon the throne Nero and his cohorts but there is truth in the shadows God is at work for the advancement of the gospel and then finally these verses contain not only a searching manifestation of a God-centered perspective on life a wonderful illustration of the invincibility of the gospel a fascinating demonstration of the mystery of providence but they contain a powerful affirmation

46:32 of the efficacy of an exemplary life Paul says that by my chains the brethren have waxed bold to speak he did not go to the church at Rome and exhort them and whip up the troops it was by the efficacy of his own life and example that the entire church was stirred to the depths without a verbal sermon from the apostle Paul says it was the eloquence of an exemplary life which preached with such power that most of the brethren

47:16 there at Rome were stirred up to a level of boldness and aggressiveness in the work of the gospel that hitherto they had not known and oh how desperately we need to remind ourselves again and again with respect to the truth of the gospel that many times one picture is worth a thousand words could it be that with some of you the reason why the things preached from this pulpit to your children taught by you at family worship have so little grip is that your life simply does not exemplify the power of truth I have seen no cynicism like the cynicism

48:01 of young people who sit under a sound biblical ministry who are the children of parents who also sit under that ministry and profess to believe and love that ministry but who don't exemplify the power of the truth proclaimed in that ministry I say there is no greater cynicism than I've ever seen I've seen ignorance where people don't sit under a sound ministry but not the kind of cynicism that's seen when children boys and girls and teenagers sit in a place like this right next to moms and dads who seem to support and believe and embrace a biblical ministry

48:45 but who do not exemplify in the nitty gritty of life day by day the power of the truth preached in that ministry and the children gradually assume it's all a bunch of religious gobbledygook empty wind hot air religious talk I ask you dear parent realizing some of you are unusually sensitive and not wanting in any way to take advantage of that sensitivity but I ask you could it be could it be that the reason why the word does not have more grip upon the conscience of your own children is because that word is not being buttressed by the efficacy of an exemplary life

49:28 those of you who aspire to be leaders may God write upon your heart and write afresh upon my heart it's one thing to love the sound of your own voice in a pulpit it's another thing to be prepared to pay the price of living an exemplary life in an exemplary life at any cost and if you're not prepared to live an exemplary life so that the consciences of men are on your side when you speak in the name of God then don't clog up a Christian pulpit I don't care if you have the native eloquence of a Demosthenes joined to a Whitfield may God forever seal your lips until your life

50:13 is a constant amen to the validity of that which you proclaim these words contain a power a powerful affirmation of the efficacy of an exemplary life well then I leave you with these words of Paul who writes to his friends at Philippi and he tells them first of all the central fact of his circumstances all that has happened has resulted in the progress of the gospel specifically how with reference to the unconverted at Rome particularly the Praetorian guard and the and all the rest and then with respect to the people of God they are stirred to new boldness

Conclusion: Christ as the Undergirding Secret

50:57 and you will notice that in the midst of this entire record even when he's just giving what we would call bits of news and information you see how close Christ is to his thought and therefore to his pen I would have you know brethren the things which have happened unto me have fallen out to the progress of the gospel the great theme of which is the person and work of Christ so that my bonds became manifest in Christ throughout the whole Praetorian guard and to all the rest and most of the brethren in the Lord waxing confident through my bonds are more abundantly bold

51:41 to speak the word of God without fear you see the great secret that undergirds all that the apostles says was his relationship to the Lord Jesus he tells us later on in this chapter for to me to live is Christ and that wasn't just a pious expression that he had learned here we see it pulsing and breathing through the very news that he conveys to the people at Philippi and there is no hope that we shall ever begin to live such a life until we are in vital union with the Christ that Paul knew and that we shall live and to the extent that we learn to live upon him to feed upon him

52:25 to look only to him to draw our strength from him to that extent alone we begin to manifest the kind of grace that was manifested in the life of this man let us pray our father we are indeed grateful for this record of your dealings with your servant many hundreds of years ago we thank you for the relevance the freshness of its application to us and we pray that you would give to us

53:09 that largeness of heart that looks beyond personal convenience and personal and selfish ambition you will give to us the kind of passionate longing for the progress of the gospel that was evident in Paul and in the Philippians we know Lord that natively they were as selfish as we are and we thank you but that by your grace that selfishness was in great measure subdued and their hearts purified and filled with that selfless concern for your glory work in us that we too may know that same spirit we do thank you for the confidence we have that you are

53:54 the God of special providence that you do take the wrath of man to praise you that whatever men mean for evil you are able to turn to our good and we pray that our confidence in the invincibility of the cause of the gospel may make us bold and zealous to spread that gospel we think particularly oh Lord as we stand on the threshold of entering a new community with new opportunities believing that by a special providence we have been directed to that community and to that piece of land we pray that you will fill us with your spirit that we may see all of these things resulting in the advancement

54:38 of the gospel hear then our prayer and write your word upon our hearts we ask through our Lord Jesus Christ Amen