
FAITH OF THE GOSPEL
PHILIPPIANS 1:27-30
27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
30 Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
Intro
- In these verses, Paul is speaking about fighting for the faith of the Gospel.
The “faith” is the same thing that Jude mentioned in Jude 3 – “Earnestly contending for the faith.” (cf. 1 Tim. 4:1)
Paul says there are 3 essentials to fighting for the faith of the Gospel:
1. Consistency (v. 27a)
- The word “conversation” is about the “
It is related to our word “politics.” It’s about citizenship. Paul is saying that we should live like we are good citizens of heaven. (cf. Phil. 3:20)
“The most important weapon against the enemy is not a stirring sermon or a powerful book, it is the
Unbelievers need to see the gospel in us. That’s when the gospel becomes a powerhouse to others. If the gospel is not real in us, why should it affect others?
We are to live as a colony of heaven on earth. The Philippians would have picked up this truth because they were a Colony of Rome. So, they lived under the rules, regulations, and standards of Rome.
We must ask ourselves the questions, “Am I conducting myself in a manner worthy of the Gospel? How is my behavior?” (cf. Eph. 4:1; Col. 1:10)
The only Gospel many will ever see is our lives. (2 Cor. 3:2)
You are writing a Gospel,
A chapter each day,
By the deeds that you do
And the words that you say,
Men read what you write,
Whether faithful or true:
Just what is the Gospel
According to you?
2. Cooperation (v. 27b)
- Paul shifts from the theme of politics to the theme of athletics.
John Maxwell – “Teamwork makes the dream work.” In essence, this is what Paul says to the Philippians.
If we are going to adequately defend the Gospel, we must
If we have a broken team defense, we’re going to lose to our enemy.
In Philippi there was some dissention and disunity between two women (cf. 4:2), and people in the church were taking sides.
The enemy’s motto is “Divide and Conquer.”
Paul encourages the church to be of one spirit and one mind toward striving for the faith of the Gospel.
- The word “striving” comes from the Greek “sunathleo,” which means “striving together as athletes.”
- Just as a team must have unity to win, a church must have unity to win and defend the faith of the Gospel.
- We must do it
3. Confidence (vv. 28-30)
- Paul says that we are to be confident, not terrified in anything. The verb Paul uses here pictures a horse shying away from
Paul gives several encouragements here to give us confidence in the battle.
1) The proof (v. 28)
- Battles prove our
The Christian life is not free from trouble or turmoil. (cf. Phil. 3:10; Jn. 16:33; 2 Tim. 3:12)
Our confidence is the proof to Satan of our sure
2) The privilege (v. 29)
- The presence of conflict is a privilege. We suffer for his sake.
- Conflict is
3) The pressure
- The pressure and conflicts that others are experiencing show us that we are not alone. Our difficulties are not unique.
If others are undergoing conflict, then we know that we can do it too.
Conflict helps us to grow.
- Battles prove our
Conclusion
- The single mind enables us to have joy in the midst of battle, because it produces in us consistency, cooperation, and confidence. We experience the joy of “spiritual teamwork” as we strive together for the faith of the Gospel.