Memory – Philippians 1.20-21 … it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Paul is writing this letter to the church at Philippi from prison and while the years of persecution and suffering that Paul has endured now continues while he awaits his trial in Rome. Yet there is no undercurrent of sadness or regret any place within the letter. Rather, there is a sense of gratitude for their empathy and partnership in propagating the gospel. Consequently, Paul is writing to encourage the Philippians to continue to live pure and exemplary lives devoted to prayer and righteous living. It is obviously counterintuitive that his many hardships in fulfilling his calling to be an apostle to the Gentiles (2 Corinthians 11.16 – 12.10) should prove to be a means for advancing the gospel, but that is precisely the case. Now, after a long and arduous trip to Rome shackled to his jailer the suffering continues. Ironically, some who “preach Christ” are, for some undisclosed reason, at odds with Paul and wish to add injury to injury. Others are partners whose hearts align with Paul’s and preach Christ from good will. For Paul’s part Christ is proclaimed and in that he finds joy.
Christians too often underestimate the power of the gospel. They fail to recognize the way God works to reconcile a lost world to himself and he does this without the help of sinners. Salvation is solely God’s work, from first to last. Of this gospel Paul writes in Romans 1.16 that he is not ashamed. However, that is not to say that he was not often humiliated and often suffered because of the gospel. Indeed, there is an extensive theology of suffering associated with faith in Christ (cf. Luke 9.23-27; 14.27), and more particularly with the life and ministry of Paul (Acts 9.15-16). I have frequently heard people tell me that they just try to live by the principles of the beatitudes from the sermon on the mount, but here is the irony of that naivety when we read what Jesus said: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God [that sounds good but here is the kicker]. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5.9-12). So, then, it ought not to be surprising that Paul encourages his readers to join with him to advance the gospel, even if it means suffering: 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, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have (Philippians 1.29-30).
It was a red flag day at camp Lejune North Carolina; the humidity was in the nineties, and the temperature matched it. We were on a two-week training exercise and there was nothing comfortable about living in swamp like conditions; one Marine had already been killed in a tragic accident, and you might think that anyone who could divorce himself from such “life-experiences” would do so in a heartbeat. A captain friend of mine who had already served on active duty and was ABD (all but dissertation for his PhD) and whose wife was a medical doctor was taking a short breather before heading out on an assignment. I asked Captain B why he was still serving in the Marine Corps reserves. “Clearly” I said, “you’ve fulfilled your service requirements, you don't need the money, and you have a brilliant academic career ahead of you; so, why are you here?” His answer was one that struck a chord with me: “chaplain, there is no fellowship like the fellowship of suffering.” In that same unit (surprisingly, a cold weather unit) I was 125 miles north of the arctic circle in the winter doing a NATO war exercise and I asked my tent mate, a physician assigned to the reserve unit, a similar question. He was a neurosurgeon (BS, MD and 7 years neurosurgical residency) plus he had an additional PhD and was doing seminal research in neuron regeneration. His response was similar. They were attached to a sacrificial calling and bound themselves to it. We are attached to the One who sacrificed himself for our eternal calling.
Suffering for the gospel was a way of life for Paul, a way of life that he encouraged others to join: Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which has now been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the God, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me (2 Timothy 1.8-12).
Christians too often underestimate the power of the gospel. They fail to recognize the way God works to reconcile a lost world to himself and he does this without the help of sinners. Salvation is solely God’s work, from first to last. Of this gospel Paul writes in Romans 1.16 that he is not ashamed. However, that is not to say that he was not often humiliated and often suffered because of the gospel. Indeed, there is an extensive theology of suffering associated with faith in Christ (cf. Luke 9.23-27; 14.27), and more particularly with the life and ministry of Paul (Acts 9.15-16). I have frequently heard people tell me that they just try to live by the principles of the beatitudes from the sermon on the mount, but here is the irony of that naivety when we read what Jesus said: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God [that sounds good but here is the kicker]. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5.9-12). So, then, it ought not to be surprising that Paul encourages his readers to join with him to advance the gospel, even if it means suffering: 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, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have (Philippians 1.29-30).
It was a red flag day at camp Lejune North Carolina; the humidity was in the nineties, and the temperature matched it. We were on a two-week training exercise and there was nothing comfortable about living in swamp like conditions; one Marine had already been killed in a tragic accident, and you might think that anyone who could divorce himself from such “life-experiences” would do so in a heartbeat. A captain friend of mine who had already served on active duty and was ABD (all but dissertation for his PhD) and whose wife was a medical doctor was taking a short breather before heading out on an assignment. I asked Captain B why he was still serving in the Marine Corps reserves. “Clearly” I said, “you’ve fulfilled your service requirements, you don't need the money, and you have a brilliant academic career ahead of you; so, why are you here?” His answer was one that struck a chord with me: “chaplain, there is no fellowship like the fellowship of suffering.” In that same unit (surprisingly, a cold weather unit) I was 125 miles north of the arctic circle in the winter doing a NATO war exercise and I asked my tent mate, a physician assigned to the reserve unit, a similar question. He was a neurosurgeon (BS, MD and 7 years neurosurgical residency) plus he had an additional PhD and was doing seminal research in neuron regeneration. His response was similar. They were attached to a sacrificial calling and bound themselves to it. We are attached to the One who sacrificed himself for our eternal calling.
Suffering for the gospel was a way of life for Paul, a way of life that he encouraged others to join: Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which has now been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the God, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me (2 Timothy 1.8-12).
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