You can open with me in your Bibles to the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter one. Philippians chapter one, our focus will be verses 12 to 18. And basically what we have is Paul's report on his current situation. And then in verses 19 to 26, he gives a report concerning his future, the prospects with reference to whether he's killed or whether he remains on in the flesh. So the report on his current situation actually reads as a progress report and demonstrates the priority of the gospel for the apostle. So I want to read verse 1 to remind us of the context, all the way through verse 18, and then, as I said, verses 12 to 18 we'll look at. Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making requests for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happen to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. And most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill. The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains, but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for this passage of Holy Scripture. We pray for the ministry of the Holy Spirit who gave it to us. May He guide us now. May we appreciate the glory of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, May we see that even in what appears to be a frowning providence, the apostle in prison, nevertheless it turns out for the advancement of the cause of God and truth. We praise you that you are the God who works all things for good to those who love you, to those who are the called according to your purpose. Blessed this time we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. So thus far we have seen the introduction to this particular letter from Paul to the Philippians in verses 1 and 2. Secondly, the expression of gratitude by the apostle in verses 3 to 8 with reference to the church in Philippi, and then his intercessory prayer for them according to verses 9 to 11. So now he turns, as it were, to the body of the letter or the letter proper. He wants them to be encouraged at his present situation. This is a difficult time in the life of the apostle. He refers to his imprisonment several times in the book of Philippians, but as well, we know it's not just Philippians, but Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon. Paul writes between the years 80, 60, and 62 when he's in that first Roman imprisonment. And so the apostle is undergoing hardships, difficulties, and afflictions, and God has used it for the glory of Christ and for the good of the church. So I want to look first at the progress report concerning the gospel in verses 12 to 14. And then secondly, the priority of the gospel for the apostle Paul in verses 15 to 18. So let's look first at the progress report. Remember the situation, verse 12. But I want you to know, brethren, the things which happened to me. The first Roman imprisonment, as I mentioned, it's in Acts 28, 16 to 31, the book of Acts ends with Paul in prison. As I said, AD 60 to 62, there are several references in this epistle. Notice at one seven, in as much as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. We see it here, both in verses 13 and 14, and then again, in verse 16, and then chapter 4, verse 22, ends on a very positive note. All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar's household. He's not participating in Caesar's household as a guest. He's not there as a dignitary. He's not there because he's someone special in the Roman state. He's a prisoner. Most likely this doesn't mean in Caesar's living room, but the palace guard was nearby Caesar. And so Paul emphasizes his imprisonment. And so when he writes there in Philippians 1.12, I want you to know brethren that the things which happened to me. So several references in the epistle remind them of the situation he faces. And obviously that could cause discouragement on the part of the people of God. Paul has a special relationship with the church in Philippi. Not that he doesn't with the others, but he has a very special relationship with that. So when they hear that he's in prison, there's going to be the tendency to be sad, to be sorrowful, to be downcast, as certainly that news would produce that in all of us. But notice as well what he says. I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happen to me," now that's supplied. It's not in the original language, but it's a good supplying of a particular phrase there. And I want you to hear what John Gill says. I think this is perceptive. He says, his sufferings on account of the gospel, which those said to happen were not things of chance. Paul's not a victim of circumstances, languishing in a prison and wondering why or how could such a bad thing ever happen to me. We're not things of chance, but of appointment. For as all the sufferings of Christ the head were by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, so are those of all the members of his mystical body. and of His ministers who are appointed to these things, and they for them, of which Christ has given previous notice, so that they do not come unexpected, but are looked for by them, nor are they overdistressed with them, being supported with the presence, spirit, grace, and favor of God. So Paul is not a victim of circumstances. He's a happy subject to the providence of God. And I think there's a great lesson for us there combined with what we're looking at in the book of John. We see that suffering and affliction and hardship and problems and difficulties are a necessary part of the Christian life. And so the idea is, is that we don't balk under that. We don't upbraid God because of them. We don't conduct ourselves as hapless victims, but realize that we are subject to the providence of God, the one who governs all His creatures and all their actions for His own glory. for predetermined, for foreordained purposes. And as we move our way through this particular passage, we see that the miserable situation that Paul presently is in has nevertheless been the catalyst for the proclamation of the gospel. So notice he mentions that benefit in verse 12. I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happen to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. It's paradoxical. No doubt the enemies of the Apostle Paul, both the religious enemies and the civil state, though 60 to 62, it still wasn't bad in the empire in terms of animosity with reference to the government against the Christians. It's building Nero is losing his mind. Nero is unraveling. Nero is going to become very bad, 63-ish, 64-ish, 60, 62, still not a great deal of antipathy from the government to the Christian church, but certainly the unbelieving Jews. They wanted to silence Paul. Why do you think they had him brought up on charges? Why do you think they delivered him up to the civil magistrate? It wasn't to give him a further hearing. It wasn't so that his message could penetrate Caesar's household. It wasn't so that all the world could hear the knowledge of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They thought they were silencing. They thought they were shutting him up. They thought they were taking him out of the way So that this gospel, this message concerning Jesus being the Messiah, promised by God in the Old Testament, was not the real thing. They wanted to shut Him up. And so we see here in the providence of God, they try to silence Him, and yet God blesses it. As well, we see the power of God. The spread of the gospel is certainly not hindered by the enemies of the gospel. The spread of the gospel is not advanced necessarily by the preachers of the gospel. They're instrumental, but one can die and another be raised up. One can be useful for a time and another takes his place. That's the reality. Turn over to 2 Timothy 2, and this, I think, is a reference to his second Roman imprisonment. It's this one that ultimately, or subsequent to this, he will die. In Philippians, it's a potential, it's a possibility. He has that realization. We'll see that in the future prospect, God willing, next Sunday. But with reference to 2 Timothy, he knows his time is short. He knows that he's going to die. And in 2 Timothy 2 at verse 8, he says, Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains, but the word of God is not chained. So while they may chain the apostle, while they may put him in a prison cell, they can't chain his message, they can't chain the gospel, they can't eradicate it, they can't obliterate it, and they can't eliminate it. It is that impetus which causes him to say in verse 10, therefore, I endure all things for the sake of the elect that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. So this brother's in a second Roman imprisonment. He knows that his time is short and he says, I endure all this for the sake of the elect. I happily embrace all this because I know that through the preaching of my message, sinners are going to come out of darkness into marvelous light. So he understands the providence of God, the power of God, and the purpose of God. The things which happen to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. The furtherance of the gospel means it's spread throughout the world so that every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation can hear of Jesus Christ and by God's grace come to him in saving faith. Now notice he explains verse 12 in verses 13 and 14. They might ask the question as I might, well, how? How could it possibly have turned out for good? How could there be benefit in your imprisonment? Is Paul just one of those guys? He's an eternal optimist. Everything's always great. The cup is always half full. There's always a silver lining in every dark cloud. Maybe Paul was that kind of a fellow, but I don't think that's the emphasis here. He wants to show or demonstrate how it is that these things have turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. And he mentions two things. First, there's an evangelistic thrust. And secondly, there's the edification of the saints. Note the evangelistic thrust in verse 13, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. Now, this palace guard or praetorium is defined in several ways or used in several ways in the gospel or in the New Testament documents. It can mean the judgment hall or court of judicature belonging to Roman governors. You see that in Acts 23 and verse 25. It could be the emperor's palace at Rome, which was heavily attended by the palace guard. We see that in Philippians 4.22. Or it could mean, and I think this is probably the meaning, the men forming the Praetorian Guard. This was about 9,000 troops. So the Praetorian Guard was pretty well stocked to put down rebellion amongst the citizenry and as well to protect the dignitaries in that empire. Now, I don't think that Paul had personal contact with every one of those 9,000 people. He doubtless had each one chained to him at certain times wherein he got to preach the gospel to them. but it had become known throughout the Praetorian Guard as to why the apostle was there. And most likely because when he was chained to certain guards, he told them why he was there. And I would suspect, I've never been a prison guard, but I would suspect that as a prison guard, I'd want to know why a prisoner was in the jail cell. It's kind of helpful information, isn't it? If he's a counterfeiter, yeah, that's a bummer. If he's a murderer, say specifically a prison guard, I want to know that. So amongst the Praetorian, there was the word that this apostle was in their midst, but it wasn't because he had committed any crimes. There was no murder rap. There was no counterfeiting charge. He was a preacher of this Nazarene called Jesus. He was a preacher of this good news wherein he says that if men come to this Jesus in faith, they will be washed in his blood and they will receive his righteousness. So Paul, when he's chained, makes much of the opportunity to tell the people why he's chained. He's not saying, call my lawyer, I've been framed, get me some good food, where's my blanket or my pillows? He's telling them why he's in the prison. Note the language, verse 13, so that it has become evident to the whole praetorium and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. He uses similar language in Ephesians 4 verse 1, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord. His chains are in Christ. That means it is according to his function as an apostle of Jesus Christ that he is in chains and that he is in prison. It's not owing to crime. It's not because of any rebellion against the government. It's not for any other reason than he preached Jesus as Israel's Messiah in the synagogues of the Jews to such a point that they eventually turned him over to the civil state so that the civil state could punish him accordingly. That's the reason. His chains are in Christ. But then notice the edification of the saints. Verse 14, this is a wonderful statement here. So the things have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. Vis-a-vis, the whole palace guard now knows about Jesus, but vis-a-vis as well, verse 14, most of the brethren in the Lord, that means the people of God, the saints of Christ, those who are believers. They knew about Paul's imprisonment. They knew about Paul being in Rome at this time. He says, and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Brethren, that's how it ought to be, the solidarity of Christ's church. We are a body and Christ is our head. And if one suffers, all suffer. If one rejoices, all rejoice. If one is being oppressed and persecuted by the civil state, that should embolden us, not cause us to flee, not cause us to run, not cause us to hide. I've often thought of that, not so much now, but early on in the midst of COVID. What if every single church would have just stayed open? What if there would have been that solidarity? What if that little whiff of persecution had actually worked the way it does in Philippians 1.14, so that the people of God don't turn and run and hide themselves, but instead stand fast, and instead preach Christ, and instead even go to chains in Christ if absolutely necessary. So the apostle understands once again the providence of God. I'm sorry, not just the Apostle, but the people who heard it. The imprisonment of Paul was meant probably not only to silence Paul, but to silence anybody like Paul. They do that sometimes. Let's pick off the Paul so that all the other monkeys will fall into line. Well, that didn't happen with all the other monkeys. They understood the providence of God. They knew that Paul was a man of faith and faithfulness. They knew his gospel. They knew his truth. They knew the Lord Jesus Christ. His truth is our truth. It's everybody's truth. I don't like this. Personalization, my truth. Truth is truth, whether you own it or not. So for the apostle and the people of God, they understood the providence of God. Oh, they caught Paul. They've put Paul in prison. So what do we do? We do what we're supposed to do. We preach the gospel, we meet for public worship, we engage in the manner that God has called us to. They understood as well the power of God. Look at the text. Having become confident by my chains, notice, are much more bold. Not just that they're still doing it, that in and of itself would be worthy of accolades, not that they're just still doing it, but they're much more bold. In other words, you went after our guy. As a result of that, not only are we not gonna kowtow, but that's further emboldened us because we know the power and the providence and the blessing of God, so we're gonna continue to preach Christ in him crucified. And as well, they understood the purpose of God, the solidarity of the church, and the power of persecution. This is why the Apostle, I think, Paul, in Hebrews chapter 13, tells us to remember the prisoners, to remember those suffering. Why? Because we're one in the body with that. Listen to John Gill. He says, Persecution in one place has often been the means of carrying and spreading the gospel in many others. He refers to Acts 8.1. After the stoning death of Stephen, Saul there consenting to his death, a massive rage went against the children of God. And what happened? They spread out from Jerusalem. And then they went, I'm sorry, from the region of Judea, Samaria, or I'm sorry, they were in Jerusalem. They spread out from there to Judea, Samaria, and they preached the gospel. So Gil continues, and has been God's ordinance for the conversion of multitudes of souls, where it has been the fiercest and hottest, in so much that it became a common saying in primitive times that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church. a Christianity that we're not familiar with, at least experientially or personally. We are cognitively. We read Voice of the Martyrs. We try to pray for the Voice of the Martyrs. We try to pray for the persecuted church. We read Fox's Book of Martyrs. We read other stories and accounts of the early church or the medieval church or the Reformation era church. We see all that viciousness and animosity targeting the people of God. So we know it, it's out there. We don't know it as we will perhaps one day know it. And brethren, if we're not ready in peacetime, we're not going to be ready in wartime. If we're not going to stand fast when the bullets aren't flying, what possibly makes us think we're going to stand fast while the bullets are flying? If we are not faithful in times of peace, we're not going to be faithful in times of battle. I just think that's the law of nature. Train for battle. Train for war. Develop that mindset and that realization that there may be a time coming that is unlike anything we have seen heretofore, And as a result, instead of us running from persecution, we may be much more bold to speak the word of the gospel. It really is a wonderful report that the apostle gives to demonstrate to the Philippians, this ain't a bad gig. Now, I'm sure all things being equal, Paul wouldn't want to be chained to a Roman soldier in a prison cell, but as it is, as far as he's concerned, it's actually turned out for good. That brings us then to what I call the priority of the gospel for the apostle, and it hinges mainly on verse 18. But before we get to verse 18, we've got to go through verses 15 and 17. Now, I know there's a bit of a textual issue that if you don't have the King James or the New King James, it might read just the opposite to what I read to you. So I'm just going to proceed here with the New King James. It's the same content, just a bit of a different ordering. So first he deals with the motivation of preachers in verses 15 to 17. Then he highlights the priority of the gospel in verse 18. But note first the bad motives. And here we look at 15a and 16. Notice in 15a, some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife. And then in 16, he fleshes that out a bit. The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains. So with reference to these badly motivated people or these men with bad motivation in terms of gospel preaching, the first question is, who are they? Who are these guys? I mean, that Paul says what Paul says and nevertheless rejoices that the gospel is preached indicates that they're not unbelieving Jews. They're not unbelieving Jews with some vague or general or undefined notion of a Messiah. They are not Judaizers who mingle faith plus works in order for salvation. Paul has strong words to say about them in Philippians 3, 1 to 11. He calls them dogs. He calls them the mutilation. He turns the cannon against them. So they're not unbelieving Jews and they're not Judaizers. The preachers were probably those with an ax to grind against Paul personally. These men still preached Christ. I know that's hard for us, but as we move through it, that's the obvious emphasis in the text. O'Brien says the most satisfactory explanation of Paul's words is to regard the opposition to the apostle as one of personal rivalry. Perhaps they thought, how could that man end up in prison? What a shameful thing that he is now in jail, sidelined from the task of preaching Jesus Christ and him crucified. Even though while Paul is sidelined, he's preaching Christ and him crucified for the benefit of the palace guard and for the brethren who may be otherwise timid, but are now much more bold to speak the word of truth. These preachers were motivated by envy. Notice that in verse 15. Some indeed preach Christ even from envy. I think the difference between envy and jealousy is simple. They both want something. Jealousy, though, doesn't care whether you have it or not. I just want it. Envy wants it, but doesn't want you to have it. It's communism, basically. Envy is the deprivation of a good from someone else. personal rivalry, personal animosity, an envious spirit to the Apostle Paul. Again, it doesn't run along doctrinal lines because Paul will tell us whatever their motivation is, they are preaching Christ. And in that, I rejoice. He's a much more magnanimous man than I. They don't like me. They got problems with me. God, don't bless their gospel. That's not Paul. For Paul, it's the priority of the gospel. These preachers are motivated by strife. The presence of conflict was no inhibition to them. You know, most normal people don't like conflict. Most normal people don't gravitate toward chaos. But these people were not normal. They had bad hearts, bad motives, and as a result, envy and strife were in their hearts. Notice he goes on, verse 16. He says they were motivated by selfish ambition. One-upmanship against Paul. This is their opportunity. Paul's sidelined, he's in prison. We can now make inroads and we can get glory and accolades for ourselves. They had selfish ambition. Brethren, I realize that just saying what I'm about to say is an impossibility with remaining corruption, but we shouldn't have selfish ambition. especially ministers of the gospel. Selfish ambition. That is not the purpose. That is not the job. It's not to make a name for yourself. It is rather to make known the glory of Jesus Christ and his saving gospel. That's the emphasis. I love what John the Baptist says in John chapter three. He says that Jesus must increase and I must decrease. Think about that. John doesn't say, I want Jesus to increase and me to stay the same. I want Jesus to increase in me just a little bit. Not only must Jesus increase, but John the Baptist must decrease. That's what the Baptist says. The absolute contrary to selfish ambition. The absolute contrary to a man who is sitting in a prison cell and instead of whining about it, instead of arguing about it, instead of victimizing over it, he understands in the big picture of God, this is actually turning out good. This is actually making inroads to the palace guard. The saints of Christ are bold now, and they are much more bold to speak the truth. This is a win-win for the Apostle Paul. Selfish ambition is the death knell to faithful gospel ministry. Notice as well, the preachers are motivated by insincerity. They don't have sincere hearts. They don't have a longing for the glory of God and the good of souls and the good of their fellows. They want to hurt the apostle. And then notice the preachers were motivated by doing additional harm to Paul. Note that language, supposing to add affliction to my chains. There's two enemies in that statement. First, my chains, the civil government. He's there because of the civil government. We call that an external threat. That's what we face as the people of God. There's always an external threat. but also the internal threat of these badly motivated preachers, who out of their personal rivalry with the apostle Paul, and their selfish ambition, and their envy, and their strife, are needling him, supposing to add afflictions to my chains, Again, brethren, if you come through this passage and don't have a newfound appreciation for the spirit of the Apostle Paul, you're not reading Paul correctly. This man is godly. This man is righteous. This man understands the score. He understands what is most needful is not his comfort. It's not even his reputation. It is rather the advancement of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we've got the external threat of the civil government and the internal threat of preachers who are preaching Christ but doing it with bad motivation because they're supposing to add afflictions to my chains. And I would suggest it's the internal threat more often than not that is more difficult to sustain and to deal with in the Christian life. For David, he knew Philistines were gonna Philistine. David knew that the Philistines were the sworn enemies of the children of Israel. He expected that. He owned that. He knew that. But Saul, the king of Israel? That he would come after David? That he would try to exterminate David? That he would try to rid the world of David? Probably that pained him even more so. Look at Paul again in 2 Corinthians 11. 2 Corinthians 11, as he highlights all the things that he has suffered for the cause of Christ and his gospel. And this is really an intriguing section as a whole. If you look back in 2 Corinthians 11, or look up, I was gonna point us to 22, but look up first to verse 12. But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works." So just a bit of backdrop here in 2 Corinthians, you got these guys that have come in to the church and they're saying, you know, this Paul is not all that he's cracked up to be. He's kind of fickle. He's kind of weak. He's kind of pathetic. That's why second Corinthians, there's much of Paul's defense of Paul. Not because Paul is ambitious and not because Paul wants to maintain his reputation, but Paul understands all too well that if Paul is called into question, so will be his message. He's concerned for the Corinthian church. He doesn't want these false apostles going in there, spreading their lies such that it creates a rift between the people and the message of Christ and him crucified. So just imagine, he's weak, he's pathetic. That's why he emphasizes and he boasts in his weaknesses and his patheticness. He gives this litany of things that he has suffered for the cause of Jesus Christ. These false apostles, these super apostles, these men that have branded themselves as the super excellent ones, They wouldn't suffer such indignities like these. Well, Paul throws it right back into their faces. I've suffered these indignities. I've suffered a lot of these indignities. But the last one, or one of the last ones, I want you to see is in verse 28. So after all the things that he says that he has been deprived of, the pain that he has suffered, the difficulties, the hardships, I mean, it's a long list. Verse 28, besides the other things, what comes upon me daily? My deep concern for all the churches. It'd be one thing to be a night and a day out in the sea. It'd be one thing to be beaten with the Roman rod. It'd be one thing to be forced fasting because you don't have any food. But besides all these things, while he's getting the Roman rod, while he's waiting as a, you know, Dodd paddling so he doesn't drown, he's got this deep concern for all the churches, churches like Corinth, churches like Corinth where, you know, a man has his father's wife. Churches like Corinth where they've actually entertained these false apostles. Churches like Corinth that have engaged in all kinds of things that are contrary to biblical sanctification. So going back, these men are the opposite of what the Apostle Paul was. Notice the right motives. We see that in verse 15. So he mentions the bad motive guys, and then he says, and some also from goodwill. He describes them further in verse 17, but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. So the identification of these preachers, right doctrine, right motivation. They don't have an ax to grind with Paul. They don't look at Paul's imprisonment and say, how embarrassing, how pathetic and how weak could he possibly be? These preachers were motivated by goodwill, not badwill. These preachers were motivated by love, love to God, love to the apostle Paul. And these preachers were motivated by an understanding of God's providence. They didn't conclude Paul in prison, therefore Paul bad. Imagine being that guy. Wow, you don't think the civil government ever puts anybody in jail unless they're guilty? Okay, you want to buy a piece of property in the swamp? This is the reality. They understood Paul was godly and he was faithful. And if Paul is in prison, it's not because he was godless or faithless. It is because he spoke truth to power and power didn't like it. Paul was in prison, likely an affront to the first group, because of God's purpose and plan. They had good theology that fed good motives. Look at Philippians 1.29. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. Having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me. They had good theology which fed good motives. The other guys had good theology insofar as the cross. They missed something, though, along the way. And as a result, they had bad motives. And that brings us then to the priority. Verse 18. Notice proclamation and joy. What makes Paul happy? The proclamation of the cross. Verse 18. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached. Gil says, Christ is preached in the glory of his person, in the fullness of his grace, in the suitableness of his offices, and great salvation, in the excellency of his righteousness, and the virtue of his blood, and the efficacy of his sacrifice. I love that line, as a Christian, because it feeds my soul. That is a great explanation of what it means to preach Christ in short compass. But then notice, Paul acknowledges that they were preaching Christ He doesn't denounce them. He doesn't anathematize them. This is different than Galatians 1, 6-10 that Cam preached on recently. In Galatians 1, 6-10, you've got people twisting the truth of the gospel. That's not what these bad motive preachers were doing. For whatever was wrong in their hearts, they got the cross right. Again, that's a difficult one to get our minds wrapped around, but Paul's condemnation in Galatians is not issued to these bad motivation preachers here. He acknowledges whether in pretense Christ is preached. Augustine made the observation, the shepherd who teaches for the sake of the truth should be loved. The hireling who teaches for gain should be tolerated. But the one who teaches what is false must be expelled. I think that gets at the sense. These men, as badly motivated as they were, nevertheless preached Christ. The second Helvetic confession, this is done in 1562, there was a revision in 1564. Some of the first part has been debated recently in terms of the legitimacy of it, but just listen to the quote. They say the preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God. Wherefore, when this Word of God is now preached in the church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very Word of God is proclaimed and received by the faithful, and that neither any other Word of God is to be invented, nor is to be expected from heaven. and that now the word itself which is preached is to be regarded, not the minister that preaches. For even if he be evil and a sinner, nevertheless the word of God remains still true and good." Again, a bit of a challenging one because all preachers have a remaining sin in them. There is remaining corruption. And typically when one of these great preachers falls, we ask the question, should we listen to their sermons? Should we read their books? Should we keep them on sermonaudio.com? My answer to that very simply is no, we shouldn't. Now you may differ and that's okay. We're not gonna fight. We're not gonna, you know, I wouldn't fight you. Cam's not here. He's my bodyguard. And it's not because everything they said was wrong. It's not that at all. You might say, well, that's completely contrary to the principle here. Brethren, I think that integrity in the minister is absolutely crucial for his ministry. Now, if the absence of his books or his sermons or his whatever meant no more gospel ever, maybe. But it doesn't mean that. There's plenty of gospel out there. Plenty of other preachers that have maintained their integrity. Plenty of other preachers that have maintained their fidelity. Plenty of other preachers that have maintained their faithfulness. So on the one hand, this tells us, and Second Helvetic Confession tells us, even if he be evil and a sinner, if he gets the word of God right, telling you to believe and repent, then believe and repent. But in terms of practicality, us in our situation, 21st century sermon audio, probably a billion different sermons on there. Yeah, we can sustain the hit. We can take those few books off the shelves. We can, you know, what was the word? Retire those cassette tapes. For those amongst us that don't know, that's what we used to do before streaming, even before CDs. And some of us had eight-track tapes. You really don't know what that's all about. So what Paul says here, though, indicates the hard attitude. So when he goes on, he says, and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. What makes Paul happy in a prison cell? What makes Paul happy is to tell the Praetorian guard who Jesus is. and to hear that the saints of Christ, under a whiff of persecution, have become more emboldened to speak the truth as it is in Jesus. What makes Paul happy and rejoice? It's even when men who have bad motivations and have a rivalry with him nevertheless get the gospel right in their proclamation of the truth. So I would submit, as I did this morning, there is a necessity for good theology. Paul understood God's providence. Those motivated by envy and strife did not. Same fact, different interpretation. Paul's interpretation was God governs all his creatures and all their actions. Paul's interpretation was God works all things for good to those who love him and to those who are the called according to his purpose. These ill-motivated preachers, they didn't interpret it that way. The apostle understood God's power. Those external and internal enemies did not. You're gonna try to add afflictions to my chains and think that somehow that's gonna stop the gospel? You're gonna put me in prison and somehow think that that's gonna stop the gospel? See, theology is very practical when we consider providence and power. As well, the apostle understood God's plan. Those external and internal enemies did not. They thought that God could only advance the kingdom by a straight stick. God takes crooked sticks and makes straight things out of them. The apostle understood Christ's gospel. It gave him joy in the midst of prison to know that it advanced. And then the final sort of practical application. I think the apostle shares this progress report for the encouragement of the church in Philippi, but also Also, for the imitation of Paul by the church. I don't think it's just progress report. Here's what's going on, brethren. Just wanna update you. Do this. Live like this. Interpret providence, power, and plan like this. Now, the first book I preached when I got to Chilliwack in 1997 was Philippians. So I'm pulled out those old notes and thankfully my grammar has gotten a little better. You'll see a specimen of that in just a moment. And this is it, we're gonna be done. But I looked at sort of the application and what I said. And it was August 3rd, 1997. Now, remember, we formally constituted the church as Free Grace Baptist Church in January, 1998. So in the notes and in my reference here, it's RBC, Reformed Baptist Church of Chilliwack. That was sort of the working title before we got Free Grace Baptist. Just a couple of points of application. How then shall we operate at the RBC of Chilliwack? in spite of what other people may say. I think that probably meant we do what we're supposed to do in spite of what other people may say. As well, however these ill-motivated preachers went about their business, it was known by Paul that they were operating from a platform of selfish ambition and envy, et cetera. Knowing my mind, I would have said, look, that's not the way we're supposed to operate. We're supposed to be faithful. And here's the grammatical blunder, I've cleaned it up a bit, but, are you and I willing to be drug, should have been dragged, I know that now, the participle, are you and I willing to be drug through the dirt for the gospel? I think that's a legitimate application of this text. Paul was drug through the dirt for the gospel. and having been drug through the dirt for the gospel, God blessed it. Faithfulness and perseverance to the bitter end. That's what we're supposed to be about as the people of God. Moreover, 1 Corinthians 4-2, it is required of stewards that they be found, what? Faithful, not sensational, not celebrity, not ambitious, but faithful. Look at and study and contemplate and review what Paul says in this passage. This ought to be paradigmatic. This ought to function as the pattern. This ought to be the marching orders for our church in whatever may come our way. Faithfulness to the bitter end. Bless God for the example of the Apostle Paul and bless God for the grace and the spirit supplied by God to the Apostle Paul so that he could rejoice even when men who didn't like Paul nevertheless got the gospel right. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this section. It's such an encouraging to see the apostle in bitter circumstances rejoicing in what you bring out of them. We ask God that you would help each and every one of us as individuals, as families, as a church, to be faithful, to be persevering, and to understand that we need to stand fast on the truth of God's holy word. We ask now that you would go with us again. Bless the ladies as they travel. Watch over them and protect them. May it be a rich and blessed time for each of them, God, and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.