Phil. 1:28
God-Ordained Results of Courageousness
In this sermon, Pastor Albert N. Martin expounds Philippians 1:27-30, focusing on the 'God-ordained results of undaunted courageousness' in the face of adversity. He argues that a Christian's unwavering courage serves as a 'token of perdition' to adversaries by intensifying their conscience and fear of God's judgment, while simultaneously serving as a 'token of salvation' to believers, buttressing their assurance that God is at work in them. Martin applies this by urging believers not to view opposition with self-centeredness and to recognize the evangelistic power of a godly life joined to courage, while also calling unbelievers to heed their conscience and flee to Christ for cleansing.
Primary Texts
Topics
Outline 11 sections · 53 min
- Introduction: The Christian Doctrine of Suffering in Philippians 1 0:06
- The God-Ordained Results of Undaunted Courageousness 6:12
- Undaunted Courage as a Token of Perdition to Adversaries 9:31
- The Role of Conscience and Accountability in Adversaries 13:45
- How Christian Courage Intensifies the Adversary's Conscience 17:55
- Biblical Examples of Courage and Conscience 23:05
- Undaunted Courage as a Token of Salvation to Believers 34:09
- God as the Origin of All Courage and Its Results 38:36
- Application for Believers: Don't Underestimate Godly Courage 40:49
- Application for Unbelievers: Heed Your Conscience and Flee to Christ 46:42
- Prayer for Grace and Courage 50:25
Key Quotes
“Now God, who knows our frame, is fully aware of our fear of suffering and of distress, and yet it is this very God who calls us to a life of such supreme attachment to himself, to his Son and to his ways, as to demand our willingness to bear any kind and any amount of suffering which may come to us, in the path of our adherence to him.”
“And the word never means annihilation. It never means extinction. It can only be made to mean that as men twist the obvious meaning of the Biblical word.”
“I would sooner die than knowingly disobey my Lord”
“This is a token this is a proof this is a manifestation of the coming perdition of that adversary of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ”
“If they were true Christians they knew that left to themselves they were a mass of people of weakness left to themselves they had no strength to face adversity left to themselves they'd be turncoats left to themselves they would deny their Lord”
“there's only one place where a guilty conscience can be cleansed of its guilt that's the fountain opened in the blood of Christ you go to him”
Applications
Believers
- Graciously but firmly speak up when conversation becomes filthy and vile, even if you are laughed at.
All listeners
- Don't view opposition to your life as a Christian merely with the eyes of self-centeredness; instead, pray for undaunted courage that serves as a token to the unconverted and buttresses your own confidence in salvation.
- Don't underestimate the evangelistic power of a consistent godly life joined to undaunted courage.
- Seal your testimony with a kind of honesty that makes you stand out in your office, even if it means being labeled a 'prude' or 'snobbish.'
- Don't stifle the voice of conscience, which reminds you of accountability to God and coming judgment.
- Flee to the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness in the blood of Christ to cleanse your guilty conscience.
- Come out of the camp of the adversaries and join the ranks of those for whom affliction and opposition is a living evidence of their salvation.
A full transcript is available on the tab. 78 paragraphs, roughly 53 minutes.
Introduction: The Christian Doctrine of Suffering in Philippians 1
This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, February 15, 1981, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now, if you will please turn with me to Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1, as we come in our verse-by-verse study of this fascinating, very warm and intimate letter of the Apostle to the Church at Philippi, to the closing verses of the first chapter, will you follow as I read, please, beginning with verse 27.
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you or be absent, I may hear of your state, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the gospel, and in nothing. Frightened by the adversaries, which is for them an evident token or a proof of perdition, but of your salvation, and that from God. Because to you it has been granted in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him,
but also to suffer in his behalf, having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now... Now here to be in me.
Every one of us sitting in this auditorium this morning, young or old, recoils from suffering and from adversity.
Each one of us is naturally frightened by the presence of people or things which we have reason to believe will cause us pain or distress, whether it's the bully on the block, that some of you fellows are afraid of, or whether it's the loving family physician, whom you know is the man who sticks a needle in your arm sometimes, and therefore you're a bit afraid of him. Every one of us is so constituted that any person or thing with which we associate adversity, pain or discomfort, brings us a sense of dread and aversion.
Now God, who knows our frame, is fully aware of our fear of suffering and of distress, and yet it is this very God who calls us to a life of such supreme attachment to himself, to his Son and to his ways, as to demand our willingness to bear any kind and any amount of suffering which may come to us, in the path of our adherence to him. Jesus could say, don't be afraid of those that kill the body, and after this have no more that they can do, but fear him,
which after he hath killed, hath power to cast both soul and body into hell. Now on the surface, this seems to be a contradiction. The psalmist could say, he knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust, he knows that we draw back from pain, and from adversity and suffering, and yet, he calls us to such an attachment to himself, his Son and his ways, that we must be willing to bear any kind or any amount of suffering, which adherence to his person, his Son and his ways, may bring us.
And it is in the light of the apostles' knowledge, both of the natural aversion to adversity, and suffering, and yet that call to attachment to Christ, which often brings adversity, that we have in the verses read in your hearing, this very concentrated emphasis upon the Christian doctrine of suffering. In verse 27, the apostle had given a general exhortation to the Philippians. The exhortation was that their lives should be worthy of the Godhead, the Godhead, and the gospel of Christ.
Then he applied that general exhortation to three specific areas. A life worthy of the gospel is a life, first of all, of unified steadfastness. He said, whether I hear of you, whether I come, I want it to be known, or I want to know, that you are standing fast in one spirit. And then a life worthy of the gospel is a life marked by the gospel, marked by harmonious aggressiveness, striving with one soul for the faith of the gospel.
And then thirdly, he said, a life worthy of the gospel is a life of undaunted courageousness, in nothing terrified by your adversaries. And having touched then on the subject of adversity, and the fact that, the fact that the Philippian Christians were then and would in the future face adversaries in the pursuit of obedience to Christ and a life conformed to the gospel of Christ, the subject being introduced as the third aspect of a life worthy of the gospel, from that point on to the end of the chapter,
The God-Ordained Results of Undaunted Courageousness
this matter of suffering and adversity is the focal point of the apostasy. Apostles' concentration. So in the remainder of the chapter we have what we might call, first of all, the God-ordained results of undaunted courageousness. What happens when the people of God walking worthily of the gospel are not afraid of their adversaries?
Well, Paul says, such a response is for them a token of perdition but to you of salvation. So then we have, first of all, the God-ordained results of undaunted courageousness. Then we have, secondly, what we could call the God-ordained cause of the adversity. For unto you it has been given on the behalf of Christ not only to believe but to suffer and then finally the God-ordained comfort and example in the midst of adversity having the same conflict
which you saw in me and now here to be in me. Now we'll only have time this morning to take up that first line of thought given to us in verse 28. In nothing affrighted by the adversaries which is for them an evident token of perdition, but of your salvation and that from God. Now you'll remember that two weeks ago in the exposition of the passage I mentioned that this word affrighted or affrightened is a word which literally means to be startled as an animal that suddenly has something
dart across his path and a horse may rear back on its hind legs. Paul says in nothing, are you to be startled by your adversaries and now to encourage them to pursue such a life of undaunted courageousness he tells them that there are God-ordained results accruing from such undaunted courageousness and those results have two focal points. Notice, first of all a focal point, upon the adversaries who are making it rough for you. Your undaunted courage
says something to them but then it also says something to the people of God. A more literal rendering would be in nothing terrified by the adversaries which for them is evident token of perdition but to you of salvation. So you have the evidence, the emphasis to them and to you. Now what are then the God-ordained results of undaunted courageousness in the face of our adversaries?
Undaunted Courage as a Token of Perdition to Adversaries
Well, with reference to our adversaries Paul says our undaunted courageousness is an evident token of perdition. Now the word translated in the 1901 edition evident token is a word which in the other two or three usages in the New Testament evidently means basically a proof or an indication or evidence. It's the word used in 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 24. Many of you will be familiar with the setting.
Paul is urging the Corinthians to complete the collection for the poor saints in Judea. And he says show therefore unto them in the face of the churches and here's the word the proof, the evidence, the tangible tokens of your love. And you have the word in both its noun and its verbal form. Give the proof of your love in the face of the churches.
Let there be a token, a manifestation a tangible indication of your love. So much for the word evident token or sign as it is translated in some editions or I should say in some translations. But now the word perdition. The word perdition with but two exceptions and those are found in the Gospels.
The word always refers to that destruction which comes to men when they fall under the final sentence of Almighty God and drop into the state of eternal loss and ruin in that place that the Bible calls hell. Now with but the two exceptions found in the Gospels in which the word means to waste or to spoil the word perdition has this significance. It's used in chapter 3 and verse 19 of this very epistle speaking of those who are the enemies of the Gospel of Christ
verse 18 of chapter 3 for many walk of whom I told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is perdition. And the word never means annihilation. It never means extinction. It can only be made to mean that as men twist the obvious meaning of the Biblical word.
Now then what is the Apostle saying to these Philippians? Remember what he's doing. He's saying whether I come or whether I hear of you let your life be worthy of the Gospel and the third application of a life worthy of the Gospel is undaunted is undaunted is undaunted is undaunted courageousness. Not terrified by your adversaries no matter what they do.
The double negative. Whether they give you verbal abuse economic boycott whether there's physical abuse no matter what your adversaries do let nothing terrify you. Let nothing frighten you away from your professed attachment to Jesus Christ in faith or in love. And if you do this he says this will be to your very adversaries a token a proof a manifestation of their perdition.
Now how in the world is the Christians undaunted courageousness a token of perdition to the very ones who are their adversaries? Now that's a question with which I've been wrestling for two weeks.
The Role of Conscience and Accountability in Adversaries
And I think I have at least part of the answer. And let me set it before you this morning. Now you won't understand what was in the mind of the apostle unless you understand several fundamental truths about all men even the most bitter enemies of the gospel. And the first thing you must understand is that men have a conscience.
Men have a conscience.
Mankind was made in the image of God and even though that image has been marred one of the evidences that man is a distinct creature a creature made with moral consciousness is the presence of conscience. This little moral monitor within our breast who has only two words in his vocabulary right and wrong who has only two facial expressions the smile of approval or the frown of disapproval upon everyone every contemplated act and upon every accomplished act. And even in those who have never seen the pages of a bible
who have never heard one word of what we call special revelation the truths embodied in the old and the new testament Paul can say of such people in Romans chapter 2 these words verse 14 for when Gentiles that have not the law that is the written scriptures do by nature the things of the law these not having the law are the law unto themselves in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts. Now how do they show this? Their conscience bearing witness therewith
and their thoughts one with another accusing or else expelling excusing them the presence and the active function of conscience in the heart and mind of all men even those who have not seen the lips of a bible or heard one word of gospel truth is evidence of God having done something in their creation that sets them apart from all of his other creatures. Mankind has a conscience that is not and granted the conscience can be dull the conscience can be seared the conscience
can be made evil the conscience can be misguided and the bible teaches that and any full doctrine of conscience would include it but that's not my purpose to give a full doctrine of conscience this morning simply to reiterate that truth man has a conscience and the second thing is with that conscience comes a sense of accountability to God and an awareness of deserved punishment for evil with that conscience comes a sense of accountability to God and an awareness of deserved punishment Romans 1.32 speaking again
of those who do not have the scriptures who knowing the ordinance of God that they who practice such things are worthy of the of death not only do the same but also consent with them that practice them who knowing the ordinance of God that they who practice such things are worthy of death where did they learn that the practice of sins against the light of nature and conscience would result in death they know it because God has stamped the consciousness upon their very being as creatures made in his image now then
How Christian Courage Intensifies the Adversary's Conscience
bring this over into the realm of what the apostle is telling the Philippians here the Philippians are seeking to live humble earnest Christ exalting lives they are seeking to live lives worthy of the gospel in their unified steadfastness in their corporate aggressiveness in spreading the gospel and then opposition arises and men begin to oppose them verbally some are opposed at work some lose their job others are maligned and lies are told about them we've begun to read through Mr. Houghton's lovely little work on church history and our own family worship and he mentions in there how
in the experience of the early Christians anything that went wrong in the Roman Empire blame it upon the Christians if anything happened it's because the gods were angry because the Christians were not worshipping them blame it on the Christians well here are some humble believers at Philippi seeking to live lives of simple unadorned godliness before God and man and then people begin to oppose them they begin to put pressure upon them and what do they see they see in these humble meek people an element that never surfaced when they were not opposing them they see that amidst their humility humility amidst
their gentleness amidst their spirit of non-retaliation to evil there is a strain of iron in the souls of these people and they dare to face their adversaries no matter how imposing they may be and humbly say if you stand between me and pursuit of the will of my Savior Jesus Christ then I call no man master no man Lord I shall cling in obedience and faith and love to my Savior to my last breath I would sooner die than knowingly disobey my Lord
now what happens in the face of such undaunted courage there is an answer in the conscience of the adversary that he cannot gainsay he sees in that humble Christian one who is not only conscious of his accountability to God aware of the law of God but who is joyfully living in the light of the claims of that God and the moment the adversary sees such a creature he sees in that creature what in the depths of his being he knows
he ought to be and he sees in his actions what he ought to be and what happens the voice of conscience then is intensified its volume is turned up and whereas the person perhaps has been able to stifle the voice of conscience amidst the pursuit of carnal pleasures and friendships and even the legitimate preoccupations of life when he meets a suffering Christian who stands resolutely unafraid in the presence of any fellow mortal because he knows he stands before almighty
God suddenly the volume of that conscience is turned up and the dim becomes such as to terrify the adversary and furthermore if I may change the analogy light is beamed upon his own conscience and where he has tried to ignore what his own conscience has been saying to him in the presence of such a person he can ignore it no longer he is afraid of death that man who violates his conscience by his sin knows that he is worthy of death and in the language of Hebrews 2 through fear of death he is subject to bondage now he meets
a person who is not afraid of death who says look I have no death wish I would love to live out my three score and ten I would like to be around to see my grandchildren grow up and have them sit upon my knee but not at the expense of knowingly violating one law of King Jesus if you force me to a position where it's choosing death or disobedience to my Savior I shall choose death before I will disobey my Lord why you see in the presence of such a person what happens this is a token this is a proof this is a manifestation of the coming perdition of that adversary of the gospel
Biblical Examples of Courage and Conscience
of the Lord Jesus Christ I wonder and I'm only wondering I'm only conjecturing out loud this morning if this is not something of what is embodied in the record in Acts chapter 7 and then picked up in chapter 26 you remember Stephen godly Stephen set upon by the angry man mob in Jerusalem and as they heat the stones upon him and as his life ebbs away we find this record of Stephen's final words verse 59
of Acts 7 and they stoned Stephen calling upon the name of the Lord and saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit and he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice Lord lay not this sin to their charge and when he had said this he fell asleep and Saul was consenting unto his death now here are the adversaries and the epitome of the adversaries is the man Saul of Tarsus this man who was committed to obliteration
of the Christian church to the obliteration of the Christian church and he beholds Stephen in the midst of his adversity not terrified whatsoever not terrified of death not terrified of his accusers not terrified even of the cruel method of death in quietness in calmness of spirit he commends his own spirit to Christ and then his dying words are words of prayer which reflect he has no vindictive spirit toward those who take his life well when the Lord apprehends Saul of Tarsus you remember one of the questions that he asked him or one of the assertions he made it's recorded in Acts 26
in verse 14 Acts 26 in verse 14 Paul is giving an account of his conversion and this is what he says and when we were all fallen to the earth I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew language Saul Saul why persecutest thou me it is hard for thee to kick against the goads some of us have been in museums where we have seen replicas of the plows that were used back in Bible days and on those plows were sharp pointed
sticks so that if the oxen or the animal that was pulling the plow grew restive it would bring the back of his legs his hocks up into those goads and that's the picture God knows the heart of the apostle and he knows that he is kicking against something that is acting like sharp stakes biting into the tender flesh of his conscience I wonder if it wasn't this precise principle at work he beheld a man who was terrified in nothing by his adversaries and it became to the apostle a token of his own purpose
because he knew with all of his pharisaic religion with all of his ritual with all of his external pomp and activity he could not face death in the calmness of a Stephen he could not look death square in the eye he could not have that spirit of forgiveness that Stephen manifested and it could well be that the apostle got his theology of Philippians 128 right out of his own heart and from his own experience I would not dogmatically assert I'm saying it could well be then I could not help but reflect on that famous
Old Testament story you children could take up at this point and tell this part of the story the story of David and Goliath let's turn back to it for a moment in 1st Samuel chapter 17 1st Samuel chapter 17 you remember the picture this great giant Goliath who's been defying the armies of God and David goes down to the place of battle and we pick up the story at verse 41 and the Philistine came on and drew near unto David and the man that bore the shield went before him and when the Philistine looked about
and saw David he disdained him for he was but a youth and ruddy and with all a fair countenance apparently he wasn't even able yet to grow a good stubble on his chin he was a youth and ruddy and a fair countenance he wasn't 7 or 8 he wasn't 12 or 13 but neither was he a strapling man a strapping man as yet he was a youth probably in his late teens and the Philistine said unto David am I a dog that you come to me with staves and the Philistine cursed David by his gods now notice he was a religious man
and there on the battlefield when he goes to cursing David he does so by his gods he was a worshipper of many gods and the Philistine said to David come to me and I'll give thy flesh unto the birds of the heavens and to the beast of the field well at that point you see he would expect that David would begin to shake in his sandals come to me and I'll feed you to the buzzards that would be a 20th century paraphrase come to me and I'll feed you to the buzzards we'll give the vultures a banquet David and the banquet will be your flesh but instead of trembling before the adversary what happens then said David
to the Philistine you come to me with a stave and a sword and with a spear and with a javelin but I come to you in the name of Jehovah of hosts the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied now get the context here he's been naming the whole gamut of all his heathen gods cursing David by the name of this God and that God and the other God and David stands in that midst and says to the Philistines look all of your gods are just a bunch of names there is one true and living God and it is that God whom you've defied in your cursing of the armies of Israel
this day will the Lord deliver you into my hand and I will smite you and take your head from off you and give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of heaven you say you're God's will help you to give my body as a feast to the buzzards David says my God will go beyond that I will not only give your head to the buzzards but the entire Philistine army speaks to him in the bold language of faith I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day unto the birds
of the heaven and to the wild beasts of the earth that all the earth may know that there is a God not one among many but a God the true and living God in Israel and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand and it came to pass when the Philistine arose and came and drew nigh to meet David that David hastened and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine now that's the point at which I believe we need to insert our text I wonder what went on
in the conscience of that giant here he has stood with all his weaponry in all of the imposing elements of his own vast hulk-like stature curse David tells him he'll feed his body to the his flesh of his body to the birds of the heaven and David stands in face as him and tells him you've defied the living God and the living God will enable me to take off your head the living God will feed the bodies of your whole army to the birds of the heaven the living God is going to show that he is truly God and no sooner does the giant get up and begin to move toward David David it says
begins to run towards him I wonder when on but on in the conscience of the giant if at that point he did not feel the reality of Philippians 128 in nothing terrified by your adversaries which is to them a token a proof of their perdition I wonder if the moment he saw that strapling running toward him with nothing but his sandals and his flowing outer garment and the sling in his hand if already the giant did not die a thousand deaths in the court of his own conscience
and of his own heart because he knew this man was actuated by realities of which he knew nothing experimentally but concerning which he had a haunting consciousness there must be one true and living God and I'm about to meet this God in my dealings with his young servant well I wouldn't dogmatize but I but as I've meditated upon these words it seems to me that it could well have been that he experienced this
Undaunted Courage as a Token of Salvation to Believers
and Paul would buttress the hearts of the suffering saints at Philippi with the consciousness that in seeking to live a life worthy of the gospel men who are the tools of the devil will oppose and become the adversaries of humble obedient Christians but we are never to be terrified no matter what they do no matter what they say no matter what they threaten why because we know that this undaunted courageousness will be to them a token a sign a proof of their coming perdition at the hands of almighty God but now notice quickly what such undaunted courageousness is to the people of God
this is what it is to them but what about to you the people of God what is this undaunted courageousness in its results with respect to the people of God well Paul says to you and the word sign being understood to you a sign or a token or a proof of salvation the very undaunted courageousness which is a proof to your adversaries of their coming perdition is a proof to you Philippians of your salvation now what did he mean by that
well simply this it was an added indication and a buttressing evidence to their own hearts that God had indeed begun a good work in them and that he who had begun a good work in them would perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ for if they were true Christians they knew that left to themselves they were a mass of people of weakness left to themselves they had no strength to face adversity left to themselves they'd be turncoats left to themselves they would deny their Lord and yet he says as you're able to meet your adversaries with undaunted courage in nothing terrified by them
this will be a proof to you of your salvation notice he doesn't say it will be the basis of your salvation no no the basis is Christ of your salvation and the work that Christ has wrought for sinners but when we ask the grand question is the faith that I profess in Christ true faith well you know from the parable of the sower that that which revealed the true state of the soil was the sun of adversity remember when the sun arose and Jesus said when tribulation and persecution arise because of the word that's when the true state of the soil was revealed
and as then so now as the people of God who know ourselves to be a mass of weakness a mass of fears who have this native aversion to any kind of pain or discomfort not only physical but social who likes to feel social ostracization I don't who likes to feel crowded out of the in crowd at school or at the office or at the shop who likes to be told that the reason he's not getting a promotion is his incompetence when he knows the reason is he's determined to be honest and dishonest men leapfrog over him in the scale of ascending strength and position
in the business in the shop who likes that none of us does left to ourselves we would compromise principle for the sake of advancement left to ourselves we would compromise principle for the sake of social acceptance and surely if it's true with regard to social pressure and economic pressure it's true with regard to the physical suffering that may yet come to some or many of us in our own generation well then as we meet whatever opposition comes to us with undaunted courage this will be to us a fresh proof of our own salvation that it's God who has begun a good work
God as the Origin of All Courage and Its Results
in us it is God who has taken one who is natively and left to himself nothing but cowardice personified and made of that man and that woman one who boldly stands for truth at any cost and then Paul underscores the origin of all of this this matter of our undaunted courageousness having these two results who will who's behind all of this look and that or literally and this thing from God and he uses without getting into great grammar but he uses a gender in the pronoun
which means it can't refer just to the sign that it is to the unconverted or the sign that it is to the believer but the entire thing undaunted courageousness being a token on the one hand of coming perdition to our adversaries and of salvation to the people of God Paul says and this entire complex of reality behind it is God this thing comes down from God and that's why I've called it the God ordained results of undaunted courageousness in other words the Philippians are being taught by the apostle to look behind
the faces of their adversaries look behind that external wall of the felt world of spiritual reality and see behind it beneath it above it and surrounding it the mighty hand of a sovereign God working out his own purposes even in their afflictions and in their opposition the origin of all of this is God himself now what does this say to us well in closing I have just a couple of brief words of application and the first one is this child of God don't view
Application for Believers: Don't Underestimate Godly Courage
opposition to your life as a Christian merely with the eyes of self centeredness when the heat is on the temptation is to think look what this opposition is doing to me look what this look at what it's doing to me economically socially personally no no we must learn from this passage if our passion is to live a life worthy of the gospel then our prayer is Lord may I in nothing be terrified by my adversaries and as I pray that let it be my prayer oh God to the end that my undaunted
courage will be a token a proof a sign an indication to the unconverted that they are going to stand before you let my life be the inescapable reminder that their conscience must be heeded and Lord let whatever suffering come that you design for me that will strengthen and buttress my confidence that I am indeed your child child of God don't view adversity from the eyes of self centeredness but then the second great and fundamental principle that's in the passage to us as God's people is this
don't underestimate the evangelistic power of a consistent godly life joined to undaunted courage don't underestimate the evangelistic power of a consistent godly life joined to undaunted courage only let your whole manner of life be worthy of the gospel why if a person's living worthily of the gospel he's honest at work he's not flirting with women he shouldn't be he's not picking someone else's pocket he's not running roughshod over someone or position why would anyone become an adversary of a holy man because men love darkness
rather than light that's why that's why and the presence of a godly man or woman is light that exposes the ungodly and the presence and they cannot stand that exposure and so they will oppose you as they would oppose the Philippians who are seeking to live a life worthy of the gospel but child of God listen don't underestimate the evangelistic power of that godly life when joined to undaunted courage and courageousness in the office in the shop in the school wherever you may be live a life conformed to Jesus Christ in obedience to his holy law don't be fearful to speak where speaking
is necessary and where silence is compromised and even though men and women and fellas and girls may oppose you that life joined to undaunted courage is sending an arrow to their consciences and is reminding them that they are accountable to the living God which is to them a sign a token a proof of their coming perdition perhaps some of us have wondered what in the world would we do if the time came when we were called upon to seal our testimony with our life's blood well that's really
an academic question right now isn't it the question is you're called upon to seal your testimony with a kind of honesty that will make you stand out like a sore thumb in your office you'll be known as the guy who won't even take home a paper clip you'll be known as the girl whom nobody can penetrate in terms of getting any response to the most subtle form of flirtation because the moment you sense that that's what's coming you know how to pull down that veil of an icy look that gets the message out strong and clear that they're messing around with the wrong woman
you'll be labeled in that office as the prude the one who's going to be the one who's going to be a bit snobbish sure you will sure you will that's where you're called upon to live a life worthy of the gospel and in nothing terrified by your adversaries sitting in that home room when free discussion is permitted and the conversation becomes filthy and vile must vileness and filthiness predominate can no Christian teenager graciously but firmly speak up and say hey fellas and girls knock it off this is a this is offensive to my ears and more so it's offensive to the ears
of almighty God you say I'd be laughed at so what there are teenagers who sealed their testimony with their blood in the history of the church and who knows but what that consistent life joined to that undaunted courage would become the very prick the gold in the conscience of some of those unconverted friends but then my final word of application is to you who are not Christians do you know one of the advantages a preacher has when he preaches to unsaved people he's got a hook in your heart
Application for Unbelievers: Heed Your Conscience and Flee to Christ
you know what that hook is your own conscience and you sit here this morning unconverted man or woman boy or girl you have a conscience you have within you that little monitor who has been telling you all the years of your life right wrong he's been reminding you that one day you'll stand before God you know that beyond death is judgment and even though you've tried to dismiss such thoughts even though you've done your best to try to crowd them out they are there and when you hear them preached there's an inner sense of terror and dread you say I know it's true oh my friend listen don't stifle the voice of conscience
there's an hour coming when God will force every man to own up to what his conscience has been telling him all along that's the day of judgment and if there's anything that meets the description of hell as the place where their worm dies not and the fire is never quenched the picture of a consuming worm that is always eating and yet always has something upon which to feed surely it must be the worm of a guilty condemned uncleansed conscience in hell to remind you that every single pang of agony that streaks across
your whole humanity for eternity is deserved every bit of it is deserved my friend there's only one place to get cleansed from a bad conscience that's not to sear your conscience not to try to deafen the voice of conscience or drown it out I'm sorry it's to flee to a fountain open for sin and uncleanness there's only one place where a guilty conscience can be cleansed of its guilt that's the fountain opened in the blood of Christ you go to him
who hung upon a cross and there bore in his own body the wrath of almighty God against human sin you behold in the riding form of Jesus Christ you listen in the cry of dereliction my God my God why have you forsaken me see how God's anger burned against sin when it was judged in his only beloved only begotten son and you flee to him who cried it is finished and you will find his promises true him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out some
of you sitting here this morning non-Christians you're living proofs of Philippians 1 because you have opposed Christians and in seeing the way they've responded you know that the power of the God whose voice has thundered to you at times in your own conscience is what makes them tick and you know the reason they live the way they live is because they live before the God of the universe and you know you're going to stand before that God oh my friend why not come out of the camp of the adversaries who have nothing but a token a sign a pledge a proof of their perdition in the undaunted courage of believers why not join the ranks of
Prayer for Grace and Courage
those for whom affliction and opposition is a living evidence of their salvation and that from God oh may God write upon our hearts this portion of his own precious word let us pray our father as we have attempted this morning to open up a difficult portion of your word and yet one we believe so filled with practical implications we pray that the Holy Spirit will
take the things of Christ and reveal them unto us give us both understanding of your truth and then grace to yield to its pressure at the very point where that pressure is exerted by the spirit upon our wills and upon our consciences our father we pray that we as a people may be marked by that undaunted courageousness which will become an evident token a living proof of the perdition of our adversaries and also a living proof of our salvation we confess that left to ourselves we're a mass
of cowardice we are full of fear we love too much our temporal ease ever to suffer for a world that we've never yet seen with our physical eyes and for a savior whom we've never beheld with our physical eyes but we thank you that by the spirit you can make so real that world of unseen spiritual reality and the savior whom having not seen we love that for his sake and for the sake of his kingdom we would be willing even to seal our life our life's confession with our own blood grant us lord that grace you alone can give it to us
be pleased to grant it for the sake of your beloved son we ask in his worthy name amen
This transcript was generated by automated speech recognition and may contain errors. It is provided for study and reference only; the audio recording is the authoritative source.
Passages Expounded
This passage is the central text, providing the framework for understanding the God-ordained results of courageousness in Christian living.
Texts Expounded
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