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Meditations from the Book of Philippians part 3 – Week 26 / June 25th
The Glory of the Gospel – Philippians 1:27-30
Paul’s Passion
As we meditate on the first chapter of the Book of Philippians we get a sense of Paul’s dedication and commitment to the preaching of the Good News of Jesus. It is his passion and everything else in life takes second place. We see this reflected in all of his epistles and it was this passion that drove him to go to the “end of the world” in his day. (Romans 1:14-15) His zeal for the Gentile Mission, as we call it, most certainly gave the Gospel of Jesus a foothold in the world that has, since then, seen it spread to all the continents of the earth. Paul was right when he stated that his passion to preach the Gospel was greater than that of any of the other disciples. (2Corinthians 11:22-23) Paul considered himself a debtor to the world and he needed to pay his debt by preaching the Gospel to them. This Gospel is the power of God unto salvation and the only hope for a lost world. (Romans 1:16-17)
So for Paul Christians need to:
Live the Gospel V27
Someone once said, “Preach the Gospel at all times and sometimes use words.” Nothing gives power to our words like living out the truth that we proclaim. Our conduct needs to be “worthy of the Gospel of Christ.” Where the Holy Spirit can find a life that lives out and demonstrates the truth of the Gospel He will empower it mightily. In this verse Paul calls upon believers to stand together in this great endeavor. We cannot do it alone since by being together we stand fast, encourage one another and maintain unity of mind. Active Christians have little time to squabble and disagree! The devil most certainly does find work for idle hands and nowhere in the Bible are we encouraged to just be Church attendees; though this is what most Christians are today. Be like Paul and live the Gospel!
Defend the Gospel V28
Preaching the Gospel makes enemies; natural and supernatural. We should not be intimidated by them, says Paul, as this is a clear sign that you have the truth and are saved and that they are going to destruction. Only one thing stands between the sinner and hell; the Gospel. (John 3:16) Should the sinner not embrace the Gospel he or she will end up in Hell or perdition. (Revelation 20:15) Hell is a real place that is characterized by torment, fire and outer darkness. Jesus spoke of it, believed in it and warned about going there. We need to take this seriously!! Sadly, one hardly hears preaching about Hell today because such preaching might offend the delicate and sensitive ears of the sinner! May God help us to defend the Gospel!
Suffer for the Gospel V29-30
To suffer for the cause of Christ is a privilege. In fact, according to Paul, God gives us this privilege of bearing the reproach of Christ. (1Peter 3:13-17) Obviously, we should not suffer as wrong doers for herein is no glory, but, if we suffer because we are preachers of the Gospel of Jesus then the glory of God is upon us. (1Peter 4:14) Let us therefore be strong and go into all the world with the Good News of Jesus for so He has commanded us. (Matthew 28:18-20)
What a wonderful message we have then and even though Paul is no longer with us his life and passion for the Gospel still speaks to us and inspires us to walk in his footsteps for in so doing we will follow Christ.
Malcolm Hedding.
©Malcolm Hedding Ministries
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