Sermon Idea: God calls us to live worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Introduction: A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking to the Junior High FCA. There was a great group of fun but attentive students present. My hope was to encourage them from Colossians 3:1-2.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Col 3:1–2)
To do that, I opened with a common saying I thought they would be familiar with. I asked them if they had heard the saying, “Some are so heavenly-minded that they are of no earthly good.”
This is when I realized I had made a misstep because they looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. It was obvious that they had never heard this phrase or ever thought about it. That’s not an indictment of them. They just hadn’t been exposed to it. It’s more an indict of me. I’m given a chance to speak to young people, and I open with that? C’mon, Nate. Be better.
I am willing to bet though that this is a better crowd for this reflection, so let’s hear it again, “Some are so heavenly-mind that they are of no earthly good.”
Although I can understand the criticism a statement like that brings, Scripture calls us, again and again, to remember who we are in Christ (Gal. 2:20), and that we have received in Christ all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:3), to seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Col. 3:2). The church is to be a people who are heavenly-minded.
If the church is going to be of any earthly good, we must set our minds on the realities accomplished by Christ, who we are in Christ, and the heavenly future that awaits because of Christ.
Last week, the text showed us how Paul was able to find joy, even while suffering in prison because he believed that to live is Christ and to die is gain. (1:21) Paul was a missionary who was heavenly-minded. Now, he encourages the Philippians to pursue their progress and joy in the faith.
Our text this morning is connected to the previous section in that Paul’s example of how to suffer well for Christ becomes the model that the Philippians are to follow. After all the Philippians are, “engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.” (Php 1:30)
The way that does that is by reminding the Philippians that they are gospel citizens. He wants them to know that they are representatives of the kingdom of heaven on earth and to live out that citizenship in a manner fitting of God and his people.
By way of review, it’s good for us to remember that verse 27 begins the main body of the letter, which ends at 3:20. We know that because in both verses Paul references citizenship.
27 Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. (Php 1:27, CSB)
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Php 3:20)
Citizenship would have resonated with the Philippians because Philippi was a colony of Rome, and residents of Philippi would have shared the legal status of being a Roman citizen with all its benefits and protections. Paul now employs this theme so that they’ll live faithful to Christ as citizens of heaven. They are to persevere even through suffering because they are citizens of heaven with benefits and protections greater than this world.
So what I want us to do is to hear God calling us to live worthy of the gospel. Gospel citizens live worthy of the gospel, live unified in the gospel, and live with the assurance gifted in the gospel.
I.) Gospel citizens live worthy of the gospel (Phil. 1:27a)
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ (Php 1:27)
There are two things worth noting about this verse, but I want to caveat that with a third. This command corporate. It’s aimed at the church. Of course, we want our Christian lives to be worthy of the gospel, but Paul’s concern is grander than that. We are to live worthy of the gospel as a church.
- The gospel is the priority of the Christian life.
- The gospel is the standard of the Christian life.
The word “only” in verse 27 speaks to the priority of the gospel in the life of the church and our Christian lives. Commentator George Guthrie translates it this way, “Make this your focus.”
When I was in college, one of my professors shared a quote from D.A. Carson, who is a well-respected New Testament scholar.
“If I have learned anything in 35 or 40 years of teaching, it is that students don’t learn everything I teach them. What they learn is what I am excited about, the kinds of things I emphasize again and again and again and again. That had better be the gospel.”
What are the saints of Waldo most excited about? What are we going to emphasize again and again and again? What we focus on and get excited about sets the culture of our church. I want the gospel of Jesus Christ to be what excites us the most. It should be what we emphasize more than anything else.
Every Lord’s Day should be a rehearsal of the glorious good news that God has sent his Son in human flesh to live, die on the cross for sinners, and be raised to a new life as the ascended Lord over all things.
We should reflect on our sins, be assured of God’s forgiving grace, and sing praises to the God who has saved us.
The gospel is also the standard of the Christian life. When Paul says,
let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ; he means the gospel is the standard or point of reference for our life as a church.
Perhaps we can think about it this way. Does the way we live with one another and among the world bear witness to the power and grace of the gospel, or does our way of life distract or minimize the gospel?
Some churches distract and minimize the gospel by embracing a view of cheap grace that borders on lawlessness. That is, they are not zealous for personal holiness and sanctification in Christ. Sin is not taken seriously enough, repentance is infrequent, and people are apathetic toward change. God is gracious and merciful, but apathy toward the things of God, because he is gracious, distorts the gospel. God’s grace should not be presumed and taken for granted.
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? (Ro 6:1–2)
Other churches distort the gospel by embracing such a graceless view of the Christian life that it borders on legalism. That is, there is pressure to meet some extrabiblical standard to be right with the Lord. Legalism places burdens on people that are too heavy to carry. Legalism distorts the gospel by making works—what we do— the means of gaining favor with God. That is not the good news of the gospel. This is the good news of the gospel.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)
Lastly, some churches distract from the gospel by embracing pragmatism. This is the idea that something’s value is determined by whether it works or not. Rather than being guided by Biblical convictions and principles, pragmatism simply asks, does this method give me the outcome that I want? Pragmatism is doing what is right in our own eyes. The problem is that pragmatism ignores something very important: asking how God has instructed us in his Word to do ministry. What are his methods to achieve his purposes? We not only need to avoid pragmatism in ministry and worship but in our cultural engagement. We should bring all of our Christian convictions to the public square, participate in the political process, and seek the good of our city. We just need to remember that true, lasting change comes through spiritual means.
All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. – Baptist Faith & Message 2000, Article XV
We want to avoid all three of these dangers by making it our focus to live as citizens worthy of the gospel. The Word of God, prayer, the ordinances, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. This is how we pursue a life worthy of the gospel of Christ.
We are to as citizens worthy of the gospel of Christ. One way we do that is by being in unity with one another for the faith of the gospel.
II.) Gospel citizens live unified for the gospel (Phil. 1:27b-28)
so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, (Php 1:27)
For the church to live as citizens worthy of the gospel, they must maintain their unity so they can continue to strive together for the advancement of the gospel.
The unity spoken of here is the unity shared by the Church in the Holy Spirit. The church is made up of different people from all walks of life, who become one because of their shared faith in Christ and sharing in the indwelling of the Spirit.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Co 12:13)
18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (Eph 2:18–19)
When unity is maintained, church members can strive side by side for the faith of the gospel. The image we are given is that of soldiers fighting with a united front. They are so united that they are like one man instead of several. They have the same mind that is unified in the gospel.
What do we mean by unity, though? Are you talking about the mere absence of conflict? Is unity simply agreeing to disagree? We can say a lot about this, but for now let’s focus on this: unity is in something for some purpose.
“…with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” (1:27)
One mind = unity in the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are united in their shared confession of faith. They are united in something.
“…for the faith of the gospel” = unity in a shared purpose and mission. The church’s unity is for a purpose: the advancement of the gospel.
Unity is in something for some purpose.
It would be fruitful for us to consider what unites us as a local church. We should be united in what we believe, our confession of faith. We should be united in how to live before God and one another, a membership covenant. We should be united in our purpose, the great commission.
If we spend most of our time divided and fighting one another, it’ll prevent us from being united and on mission together.
When you get upset about nonessentials, you should ask yourself some questions. Is this concern worth disrupting unity and distracting from our mission? What is lost if I overlook this with grace?
I want us to be united in what we believe, united in covenant commitment to each other, and united in purpose. Why? Because I want to make more disciples, raise up more pastors, send more missionaries, and plant more churches.
Transition: We live worthy of the gospel by being in unity but also not living in fear of opponents of the gospel. This is possible because God reassures us with gifts in the gospel.
III.) Gospel citizens live with the assurances gifted in the gospel (Phil. 1:29-30)
28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God (Php 1:28)
The Philippians would have been under perpetual pressure to conform themselves to Roman culture and values, including religious worship. Some scholars suggest, for example, that there may have been pressure to offer sacrifices to the emperor. Paul encourages them to stand firm because despite whatever trouble these opponents can bring, God will work salvation for them.
29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. (Php 1:29–30)
God granted belief in Christ
God granted suffering for his sake
Both trust in Christ and suffering for Christ are described as gifts by Paul. We need to be clear about this: Paul is not referring to all suffering but “suffering for his sake.” Believers, some more than others, will share in the sufferings of Christ, and God will not waste that suffering. God redeems suffering in his name for his glory.
and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Ro 8:17)
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. (1 Pe 2:21–23)
The oldest written account of Christian martyrdom outside the New Testament is a letter called the Martyrdom of Polycarp.
Polycarp was the Bishop of Smyrna, and at 86 years old, he was arrested for not swearing allegiance and making sacrifices to the Emperor. It is a fascinating and moving read.
“…the magistrate persisted and said, “Swear the oath, and I will release you; revile Christ,” Polycarp replied, “For eighty-six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”
Polycarp would then pray a beautiful final prayer, and upon saying Amen, he became a martyr as he was set on fire.
It is doubtful that we will face martyrdom or even the pressure the Philippians are experiencing. But we should believe God’s word about suffering for Christ. We should prayerfully ask God to make us worthy of the gospel.
We are to be heavenly-minded because we are citizens of heaven. We are to live out our citizenship in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, unified in one Spirit, of one mind, and trusting that God is working for our salvation and his glory.
Nathaniel R. Martin 