I invite you to turn with me once again to Philippians chapter 1 as we continue our consideration of the book of Philippians finishing tonight with chapter 1, or finishing chapter 1 I should say, not finishing the series, there's three more chapters to go. But tonight we do consider the last few verses of that chapter. Now, Paul begins this particular section, which began in verse 12. He begins this section by rejoicing in his chains, because those chains pointed to Christ. And now he closes this section and the chapter by encouraging the Christian community into their daily life, and that whatever might happen to them in their daily life, that it too would point to and give glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. But also this section serves to introduce what's to come after it in chapter 2, and that is we have an introduction to the theme of unity in these particular verses. In these verses in particular, talking about unity in the face of oppression. And then moving on in the first part of chapter 2, as we'll consider at a later date, unity through humility. And we want to read in connection with this as well, 1 Peter 2, verses 1-12. 1 Peter 2, verses 1-12, which we will read first, and then turn back and read our text, Philippians 1, verses 27-30. 1 Peter 2, beginning at verse 1, as we hear now the Word of God. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious to Him, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says, See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Now, to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, the stone the builders rejected has become the capstone. and a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they disobey the message which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. Our text for this evening, Philippians 1, verses 27 to 30. Paul had just talked about not knowing whether he would be able to come to be with them again or not. And then he says in verse 27, Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel, without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved, and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had and now hear that I still have. Beloved in Christ the Lord, we live in a melting pot. And I trust most of you know what I'm talking about by that. Our country is, and even many cities, we call a melting pot. Boys and girls, some of you have already begun to learn in school, in your history classes, what that means. That our country, for example, has been settled by people from various cultures and ethnic backgrounds from different lands. And we know, too, that there are many of these people who work hard to hold on to their heritage. And it's easy at times to identify people of different cultures and different backgrounds and different languages. Sometimes we still get called in the church office, Are you the Dutch church? We still hear that once in a while. And there are subcultures even within cities and they have names called Chinatown or Little Italy or things like that. And many of the different people who make up that melting pot want to maintain their distinctiveness. They want to represent their homeland in this place. Do you, as a Christian, represent your heritage well? Are you easily identified with your homeland? And I trust you, I'm not talking about the other country you may have come from or your ancestors may have come from, but as a believer, I'm talking about your homeland called heaven. You see, Paul now goes as he often does. He goes from what we must know. He has talked about the comfort that believers have in Christ Jesus, comfort for life and comfort in death. And he moves on to what we must do with what we must know. How that must transform our lives. He says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come. And that means that if I claim Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord, then I must live as one with a new nature. A new nature that has a different outlook, different taste, different desires, different interests, a different way of life than this world. As Peter says, to rid myself of malice and all those things that are associated with the old life, and to crave that pure spiritual milk, that nourishment, which as well helps to build me up as one of those chosen people, that royal priesthood. And all of this is true for God's people individually, but not just individually, but together with all true believers. Paul is talking here about unity, unity as the body of Christ. He knew that the unity was threatened in the Philippian congregation, not because of some heresy that had infiltrated necessarily, not because of some schism of some sort, but because of bickering, because of selfish ambition and vain conceit, because people in the congregation were posturing, they were trying to get a greater position than someone else. And their unity because of that was threatened, and therefore the gospel of Jesus Christ was threatened. And we know that Christ and Christ preached was Paul's passion. Because Jesus Christ had united His people with His Father through His death and resurrection. And because of that, then, Paul points out that God's people must live in a particular way. Again, he says, you know, whether I come to you or not, I'm not sure. He says, whatever happens, is to say, in the meantime, in this life, until that judgment day comes that we heard about this morning, you as God's people are to desire. You are to seek. You are to work for unity through Christian conduct. Now, in some ways, this text seems so easy. Verse 27, whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. At first sight, it might seem like we read that and it simply says, watch how you live. Live like Christ would call you to live. And it certainly says that. But there's so much more here to this text than meets the eye. unity through Christian conduct, which serves as a genuine testimony, which stands against unbelieving opposition, and which is secured by God's design. First of all, unity through Christian conduct as a genuine testimony. Paul says, no matter what happens, he says, I will know. He points out that there should be no mistake about the believer's citizenship. Unity through Christian conduct as a genuine testimony of heavenly citizenship. He begins verse 27, Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Now from the English translation, it's hard to see exactly what he's getting at here, But Paul is pointing the Philippian believers and he's pointing you and me toward our true homeland. He's not just talking in those words about how we are to live. He's not simply talking about the believer's behavior, but he's going deeper than that and he's talking about the reason behind it. He's talking about the motivation behind it and that motivation is our citizenship. In fact, the word for conduct that Paul uses has the idea of duties that one has as a citizen of a particular place. And we know that citizens of a country have duties to support that country, to obey the laws of that country, to defend and preserve and represent and to be proud of that country. Sadly, we don't see much of that reported in our news media today, do we? With the war that's going on and so forth, it seems like we're being shown more those who are hating this country that we live in. This country in which they have the freedom to speak their mind and they're speaking against this country. It wasn't so in the Greco-Roman world. Philippi, we know, was a Roman colony. People who lived in Philippi belonged to Rome. They had Roman citizenship and they enjoyed all the rights and privileges of Roman citizenship and they were expected to obey the Roman laws and they were expected to observe the Roman system of religion and they adopted Roman customs. And we know that they were proud of their citizenship. In Acts 16, after Paul and Silas had cast the evil spirit out of that slave girl, her owners got angry. They drugged Paul and Silas before the magistrate and they said, These men are Jews. First of all, they don't belong here. They're Jews. And they are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice. They're trying to undermine what we believe as Roman citizens. And Paul knew that the Philippian citizens were proud of their earthly citizenship. A citizenship that not only determined the laws of the city, but also determined the social customs by which their daily conduct was carried out. And that means that you could tell simply by looking at them, by observing them, by listening to them, that they were Roman citizens. It was that obvious. And therefore, Paul challenges the believers in Philippi. He challenges them with regard to their dual citizenship. You and I have a dual citizenship. An earthly citizenship, but also a heavenly citizenship. And Paul makes it clear here that one has priority over the other. The heavenly has priority over the earthly. Just as Philippi was a colony of Rome in Macedonia, so the church was a colony of heaven in Philippi on earth. The church continues to be a colony wherever she is located on this earth. And although our citizenship, beloved, is in heaven, We are to live in Philippi or in Escondido or wherever as citizens representing our heavenly homeland, living by the laws and customs of that citizenship, which are to govern and rule and control you and me. You've heard the saying, no doubt, that when in Rome, do as the Romans do. But Paul is teaching here that for believers, when in Rome or when in Escondido or when in the North Pole or when wherever you are, Live, do, as the citizens of heaven are called to do. And that heavenly citizenship, beloved, has a governing principle, as Paul makes clear. Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Conduct yourselves in this way. The content of our Christian conduct is Christ Jesus and His saving work that transforms our hearts and lives. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has an ethical content that shapes and directs our living. And that means that you and I are to have a single focus as believers and as a family of God, a single focus that flows from our number one relationship and that relationship shapes our entire existence. And that's our relationship with Jesus Christ. And it's that relationship that shapes our worship. It shapes our marriages. It shapes our work ethic. It shapes our public behavior. It shapes our private life. It shapes our language. It shapes our life in a world over which Satan is a prince. It shapes our entire existence so that our conduct then has a worthy character. Heavenly citizens are called to live in harmony with the truth of Jesus Christ. And that means as God's people, we are to recognize and understand such a great salvation. And then we are called to live as those who have that salvation and know it. Our conduct, beloved, is to match what we claim to have. Our conduct is to match who you and I claim to be in Christ Jesus with no contradiction. Heavenly citizens reflect the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Giving obedience and honor to Him. Striving to be holy even as He is holy. A heavenly citizen is to have every thought and every motive beneath his control and considers what is pleasing to him and points to Jesus Christ in every decision and every action and every task. And this is played out in a practical way as someone has beautifully said in this way, if you believe in the fact of sin, show that you hate it. If you believe in the death of Christ, then demonstrate it. If you believe in the rebirth and power of the Holy Spirit, let it be evident to all that this is a fact. If you really say you believe in that glory that is to come, be setting your affection there, not here. Be gazing on those things. Be hasting onto it and purifying yourself and doing your utmost to be ready for it. People of God, Christian conduct is a genuine testimony of a heavenly citizenship as well as unity with Christ through His death and resurrection. But it is also a genuine testimony of unity with the Holy Spirit. Paul says in the second part of verse 27, Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one Spirit. Now, once again, the NIV does not really help us here and help us to see exactly what Paul is talking about. His focus here is on the Holy Spirit. I don't believe he's talking about the human spirit or a common mind or a common attitude or a common outlook. That comes in the next phrase and he speaks about that in other places. Paul never uses these words to mean a common spirit or a common attitude in that way. but he's talking here about standing in the sphere of the Holy Spirit. He's pointing to the one Holy Spirit by whom all believers are incorporated into Christ Jesus. He's talking about that one Holy Spirit who gives us the mind of Christ. He's talking about that third person of the Blessed Trinity who unites all true believers with one Lord through one faith and one baptism. He's talking about that one Spirit who equips and empowers those to whom he gives new birth to put off the ways and the practices of the old man and to put on, to practice, and to exercise the ways of the new man so that we might heed Paul's command here to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He's talking about standing firm in that one Spirit who gives us courage to stand firm for the truth against those who love Satan's lie. He's talking about that one Holy Spirit who moves believers then toward a unity of purpose. That purpose is also part of this genuine testimony, he says, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel. Now Paul uses a wonderful athletic analogy here, that of a team sport that would not have been lost in the Greek world of that day. That athletic analogy is of a team sport working together. It takes all the members of that team to carry out a well-practiced play. And as heavenly citizens, God's people are to present a united front, both defensively and offensively. Defensively defending the faith against attacks, which we'll talk about in just a moment. But offensively promoting that faith. Promoting that faith in Jesus Christ to a world living in the darkness of despair and hopelessness, ignorant to the judgment that is to come upon them as we were reminded this morning. God's people as heavenly citizens are to promote the faith, preaching of and pointing to the only hope for anyone, Jesus Christ. As one commentator says of the Philippian believers, they were a heavenly people with a heavenly origin, a heavenly citizenship, a heavenly destiny to live heavenly lives in a foreign land, telling others of a heavenly Father who offered them salvation through faith in His Son. And beloved, just as that was true for the Philippian congregation, that is true for you and me as citizens of the kingdom of heaven. This is our calling, this is our privilege, to represent the kingdom of heaven here on this earth. But there's also a warning embedded in here. Just as Paul knew that the unity was threatened among the Philippian believers and therefore he calls for unity among them, there's a warning for you and me that we are to find encouragement with each other and in each other and we are not to tear each other apart. We are to unite together in putting our strength and our energy together to work against Satan and evil rather than using our strength and energy against one another living in conflict with fellow believers. All that does is cast shame on our heavenly citizenship. It casts shame on our testimony for Jesus Christ. Beloved Christian conduct demonstrates a genuine testimony for Jesus Christ. But it also, in the second place, provides unity against unbelieving opposition. He goes on in verse 28 to pick it up again in verse 27. He says, Then whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, and here's the positive, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel, and in the negative, without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This Christian conduct stands against unbelieving opposition. Those who are united to Jesus Christ by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit can stand against unbelieving opposition without being overcome, Paul says. We are not to be frightened. But there's a clear reminder here, on the one hand, that there is opposition. Life for you and me is not simply to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. It's not always grand in this world. There is opposition. As someone has said, wherever Christians will live as they ought to live in this world, where they will live righteous lives and aggressively seek to spread the gospel in that place, there will be persecution. Wherever God's people will live as they ought in this world, there will be persecution. There will be opposition. Now we ought to take a few moments just to stop and reflect on our lives with regard to that truth and the opposition and the persecution that you and I might face in this world. In Philippi, in the church there, there was opposition. And that opposition most likely, mostly consisted of the Roman citizens of Philippi who were loyal to emperor worship, who called him Lord, who honored him above all else. And no doubt it was these people, these emperor worshipers, who pressured and persecuted the Christians whose allegiance may at one time have been with the emperor, but in Christ Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, their allegiance shifted to another Lord, the only true Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And in the same way, the church today faces opposition, all kinds of opposition. From science, the claims to have proven that the historical facts of the Bible are wrong. From human reason, that says what the Bible says does not make sense. So much of what we find in the Bible simply does not make sense. And you know, we have brains as human beings. We can figure this stuff out and it doesn't make sense, so it must not be true. On a broad scale from the wicked world, the wicked world causes believers at times to second guess their faith and their salvation and to ask the question that Satan asked Eve, did God really say? The church faces opposition as Christianity is harmful, is considered to be harmful to humanity and to the welfare of people. Just this past week on the radio news, I heard the Speaker of the House in Washington say something to the effect of these words, that the American people, the majority of the American people, favor embryonic stem cell research, and therefore we have a moral duty to participate in that field. To do the research, to do whatever it takes to bring the benefits to the people. We have a moral duty, in other words, to do what the majority of the people want. Beloved, the church faces opposition. You and I face opposition as people in the workplace curse intentionally just to see how we will react in many ways. And the world tries to take advantage of God's people and the church, the believers are ostracized in the workplace. The world tries to take the benefits away from God's people and the church. For example, tax benefits. It's a very real possibility that one day our charitable giving will not be tax deductible. If that happens, will you still faithfully support the work of God's kingdom in the church? In so many ways, Christianity faces opposition, But those who are in Christ, who is my undoubted strength in life and who is my only hope in death, for those who are in Christ, we are to have the confidence that if God is for us, who can be against us? All those who would oppose us cannot eternally separate us from our God. For those who are in Christ Jesus, we can say in confidence with the psalmist in Psalm 46, Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. We will not fear. We will not be frightened. We will not be terrified. Beloved, those for whom to die is gain because of Christ Jesus will not be overcome. But Christian conduct, Christian conduct that is exercised in the face of unbelieving opposition serves as a visible proof, Paul says, of something powerful. He says in the second part of verse 28, this is a sign. That is, without being frightened, standing firm, contending as one man for the faith, without being frightened, this is a sign to them, to the opposers, that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved, and that by God. When Paul talks about a sign here, he's talking about something that is a reality. Something that gives a powerful message. What he is saying is that those who are able to stand firm by the power of the Holy Spirit in the face of opposition. They give proof of a power and a strength that's not human, but supernatural. And the message that that preaches is twofold to the unbeliever. On the one hand, it preaches the message that believers, no matter how bloodied, no matter how battered, no matter how beat up they may look by the world, they are more than conquerors. And that they cannot and they will not be overcome. But the second part of that message is about the unbeliever himself. That the unbeliever does not have that supernatural power because the unbeliever does not believe in Jesus Christ because he does not have the Holy Spirit. And therefore, he does not have salvation or eternal life. He has no gain in death. Beloved, Christian conduct sends a powerful message. Christian conduct sends a powerful message. But guess what? So does compromising conduct. Compromising conduct also sends a life and a death message. It sends a powerful message that Jesus Christ is not worth it all. And therefore I ask you and I ask myself tonight, what message are you sending? What message am I sending? Unity through Christian conduct. Finally then, and its results are all by God's design. Paul closes out this chapter with these words, For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him. Since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. For it has been granted to you. When Paul says that, he is talking about a gracious granting. A gracious giving of two things. You see, it's by God's design, first of all, for faith. Now that's not hard for us to understand. He says it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe. But what he's saying there, that it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ to believe. Now that's not hard for us to understand that for the sake of Christ and His work, God in His grace has brought us to true saving faith in Him. We rejoice in that, that God has not left us in the dark, but He has brought us into the light of the sun He loves. He's given us a true faith. But the second part is a little bit more difficult. It's also God's design for affliction. Those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and show it will suffer for Jesus' sake. And it is also by God's gracious appointment. Indeed, we know as believers that when we suffer for Jesus' sake, we suffer as those who are victorious in Jesus Christ. But yet, doesn't it seem strange? A strange way for God to show His favor upon you and me. We might be tempted to ask, why doesn't God just keep us from suffering? Why can't our lives in this world be healthy and wealthy and wise with no problems as so many people preach? Well, very simply, beloved, because Christian conduct cannot go unnoticed in the world of sin. It will not go unnoticed in the world of sin. Living for Jesus, who is the light of the world, living as the light of Jesus Christ, reveals as light does. It drives away the darkness. It reveals and brings into the open the sin of the world. And the world hates that. The world doesn't want to be told that they're living in sin. They don't want to be told they're doing wrong. You and I don't like to be told when we're doing wrong, right? Well, the world hates it to be shown their sin. And they try to stop you and I from living righteously, which shows them their sin. Christian conduct cannot go unnoticed in the world, but also through suffering for Jesus' sake, God does a wonderful thing for you and me. He draws us closer to Himself. And He gives an amazing assurance of something so wonderful. And it's this. God has granted you and me the high privilege of suffering for Christ. The high privilege of suffering for Christ. And that suffering for Christ, that's the qualifier, is a sure sign that He loves you. It's a sure sign that He will protect you eternally. Because this only happens to Christians. Suffering for Jesus' sake, beloved, is proof of salvation. And it also is a way to point the world to the only one who can save them. And as Paul makes clear in Romans 8, verse 18, it is worth it. He says our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Our present suffering for Jesus' sake is a blessed assurance that the glory that God has promised us in Christ Jesus will indeed be mine one day. Beloved, Paul's concern was always and only for the gospel and the glory of Jesus Christ. Always. Even in this text. And he knew that that gospel and the glory of Jesus Christ was promoted by Christian living. By Christian conduct. And whatever that Christian conduct might result in. But Paul also knew that because of sin, heavenly citizens are prone to wander. We are prone to leave the God we profess to love from time to time just to survive in the world. He knew that God's people need encouragement to stand firm for Jesus and to live openly for Him today as a small foretaste of living with Him in eternal glory. He knew that as God's people, we need encouragement to live as proud citizens of heaven on earth so that the world might see God's grace in us. And what he says here is somewhat of the ideal. Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And if you do, then I will know that you stand firm in the one Holy Spirit, that I will know that you are contending for the faith. I will know that you will not be frightened as you face opposition. That is the ideal. And I'm not sure about you, but I look at that and I kind of shake my head because I think, that doesn't seem to be so in my life. We must confess, beloved, that our suffering is not so bad, is it? In fact, in many respects, we don't suffer at all. And if we're not suffering in some way, because we ought to be suffering. I'm not saying facing death. I'm not saying being beat up physically. But we ought to be suffering in some way. People ought to be laughing at us behind our backs because of the jokes we won't tell. People ought to be snarling at us because of our work ethic. People ought to be making fun of us because we go to church on the Lord's Day. If we are not suffering in any even little way, then we must ask ourselves, are we standing firm in the one Holy Spirit? Are we contending for the one true faith or have we watered it down? Are we not being intimidated? Or are we terrified? Are we terrified of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul? You see, beloved, we must focus not on the suffering which will only make us afraid if we are called upon to suffer, but we are to focus on the reason for that suffering because it's for the sake of Jesus Christ and that is to give us such great joy. But at the same time, we must confess that we fail each and every day. We don't fight evil as we ought to. We don't challenge evil as God calls us to do. We do turn our head, we turn our back, we let our Lord be cursed and made fun of. We let men frighten us. We don't want to be noticed as Christians because we're afraid of what they might say to us. We want to blend in with the world instead of standing out. The sad truth, beloved, is that we don't represent our homeland very well. Yet our God does not leave us without comfort. And that is because our Lord Jesus Christ represented us perfectly. He lived that perfectly righteous life in our place and He died that death enduring the wrath of God in our place that only He could do. And because of that, we have hope. And therefore, beloved, we must pray. As we consider a text like this and we see how fall short we fall, we must pray for a growing courage more and more every day that just as Christ faced the shame and the curse of the cross for us, that we might recognize there's no greater prize than salvation. and it is worth giving our all. And may it be that God would work through us to preach a powerful message to the world. Beloved, God has graciously brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. He has made us citizens of heaven without an immigration fee, without having to fulfill all kinds of requirements, jumping through all kinds of hoops to become citizens. He has freely given us that citizenship without end. And therefore, in this melting pot called the world, may we as true believers and as the church of Jesus Christ, may we stand out. May we be seen by the world as distinctive and may we be counted for Christ. And may we represent our homeland and her King for all to see and may the name of the Lord be praised. Beloved, our lives individually and as a people of God are to tell a story. it's to be a living sermon and may that sermon be of Jesus and His everlasting love let's pray together our great God and Heavenly Father at the close of this day we praise your name again for this your word even as we were reminded this morning of that day of judgment. That judgment that will fall upon unbelievers so deadly, so drastically, so destructively. At the very same time, beloved, it will be a day of wonders for your people. As all will see that indeed Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And the faith that you had given to us was indeed, is indeed true. And Father, we pray that in this life we might as Your people, as those who have that heavenly citizenship, we might live in such a way that that citizenship may be clear for all to see. That in some small way we might be used of You to influence this world with the culture of the glory of heaven. Father, we know that we struggle with this day by day. But we praise You, Lord, that we do not struggle in vain. And for indeed, Jesus Christ has done it all for us in our place. And therefore we pray, Father, that you would be praised by our living for you in this life. That you would be pleased to use it if it is your will to bring others to the saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we ask that you would hear our prayer not because we deserve that you should hear us, but for Jesus' sake and in His name alone. Amen. Thank you.