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Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to the book of Philippians as we work our way through Paul's 
letter to the church in Philippi. Our focus tonight will be verses 
27 to 30, but I'll read beginning in verse 19. Philippians chapter one, beginning 
in verse 19, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance 
through your prayer and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ. 
According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall 
be ashamed, but with all boldness as always, so now also Christ 
will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I 
live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit for my labor. Yet 
what I shall choose I cannot tell, for I am hard-pressed between 
the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is 
far better. Nevertheless, to remain in the 
flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, 
I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your 
progress and joy of faith, that your rejoicing for me may be 
more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again. Only 
let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that 
whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your 
affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind 
striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any 
way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, 
but to you of salvation and that from God. 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 here is in me. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
this time that we can gather together for corporate worship. 
We thank you that you have saved us by your grace. You have shown 
us the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. You have granted us the 
graces of faith and repentance. And with Paul, we are confident 
that you, who began this good work in us, will complete it 
unto that day of our beloved Savior. We look forward to His 
return again and glory to judge the living and the dead. We pray, 
Father, for all those that we know and love that are outside 
of Christ, that they, by grace, would believe on Him, that they 
would be cleansed in His blood and clothed in His righteousness 
and ready to meet Him on that day. Look with favor upon us, 
strengthen us, cause us to take seriously what our brother writes 
in this particular epistle. May we receive these things with 
thanksgiving and with a desire to give all glory to you in the 
lives that we live. Forgive us now for all of our 
sins. Cleanse us in the blood of the 
Lamb and send forth your Holy Spirit. And we pray in the name 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, as we have seen thus 
far in our studies in the book of Philippians, we see an introduction 
in chapter 1, verses 1 to 2, the gratitude of the apostle 
expressed in verses 3 to 8, and then the content of his intercessory 
prayer for the church in Philippi in verses 9 to 11. In verses 
12 to 18, he gives something of a progress report. He is presently, 
at the time of his writing, in a prison in Rome. We see that 
in the book of Acts, Acts 28, the years AD 60 to 62. He writes the prison epistles, 
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. So that progress 
report in verses 12 to 18 is Paul's present situation. He 
says that the things that have happened to me have actually 
turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. In that, I am 
able to share the truth with those in the palace guard, and 
as well, the church who has gotten wind of this are more bold now 
to stand fast in the face of the opposition. He then moves 
to his future prospect. He understands that he could 
die. under Nero at that particular time as he's in that prison cell. 
He's confident of that in 2 Timothy. Here it's possible. The weight 
on the balance seems to go with the idea that he's going to be 
released. But the future prospect is summarized in verses 19 to 
26. Now he comes to exhort the people of God in Philippi very 
specifically, and that will pretty much sustain throughout chapters 
1, 2, 3, and 4. So tonight we'll look at the 
conduct of the believer in verse 27, just a general conduct, and 
then secondly, the courage of the believer in verses 28 to 
30. But note first, with reference to the conduct of the believer 
in verse 27, only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. We notice something of the comprehensiveness 
of this. Notice he says, only. And I think 
the idea is, is that if you get this down, if you receive this 
exhortation, if you march according to what the apostle writes here, 
it will have an effect upon every part of your life, both individually 
and corporately. It covers all other specific 
areas of the Christian life. So it's sort of a general overarching 
exhortation. Only let your conduct be worthy 
of the gospel of Christ. The specific word that he uses 
here is citizenship. Its definition is to be a citizen, 
to have one's citizenship or home, to conduct one's life, 
to live, to lead one's life. You see a similar use in chapter 
3 at verse 20, where he says, for our citizenship is in heaven, 
from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus 
Christ. So he uses it here to encourage 
them While citizens in the temporal sphere of the Roman Empire, in 
the colony or the city rather of Philippi, they are to maintain 
faithfulness as citizens of that heavenly kingdom. They're to 
live as citizens of God's kingdom while you live as citizens in 
this Roman Empire. Now, of course, the biggest and 
the bestest of that citizenship is the kingdom of God, to be 
sure. And simply what he means is your 
manner of life, your walk, or as the King James has it, your 
conversation. We've seen this. Go back with 
me to chapter four of the book of Ephesians in our study in 
the book of Ephesians. Notice in chapter four, practical 
section of the epistle begins. And in verse one, he says, I, 
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy 
of the calling with which you were called. There had been a 
radical shift, there had been a fundamental change, there had 
been a transition with reference to the believers in Ephesus. 
If you go back to chapter 2, specifically at verse 1, he says, in which you once walked according 
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the 
power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of 
disobedience, your conversation, your conduct, your manner of 
life, the life that you live, the way that you express who 
you are. So the radical change had come 
as a result of chapter 2, verses 8 to 10, which is predicated 
on chapter 1, verses 3 to 14. So in 4.1, he says, walk in a 
manner that is consistent with your new life in our Lord Jesus. Notice in 4.17, this I say therefore 
and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk as 
the rest of the Gentiles walk. Chapter 5, verse 2, and walk 
in love. Chapter 5, verse 8, walk as children 
of light. Chapter 5, verse 15, walk circumspectly, 
not as fools, but as wise. So the same sense obtains here 
in Philippians chapter 1 and verse 27. It's not confined here. You see it in Colossians 1, 10, 
1 Thessalonians 2, 12, 1 Peter 4, 3, and of course 3 John 4. The apostle there writes, my 
little children walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to 
hear that my children walk in the truth. And so that's Paul's 
emphasis with reference to this statement. Let your conduct, 
let your life be worthy of the gospel. And by worthy of the 
gospel, I think he means as a consequence to justification by faith. God, 
in his grace, chose you unto salvation. Christ came, assumed 
our humanity, lived, died, and was raised again. The Spirit 
has granted you new life, granted the graces of faith and repentance. 
You have closed with Christ. Now, in light of that blessedness, 
let your conduct be worthy of that saving power of God that 
has been manifested in your life. And then notice the constancy 
involved. He goes on in verse 27 to say, 
so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear 
of your affairs. And then we'll continue on in 
just a moment. Should have stopped there a little bit more naturally. 
So that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear 
of your affairs. So the emphasis there is on accountability. And I don't think Paul is trying 
to frame himself as an ecclesiastical big brother. They didn't have 
posters of Paul in the churches in Philippi that said, big brother 
is watching you. No, the idea of accountability 
is good, but you see the gist of what he's saying. So that 
whether I come and see you, which is a real possibility based on 
verses 24 to 27, or am absent, I may hear of your affairs. In other words, I may know that 
by the grace of God, your conduct is worthy of the gospel. Paul 
was not an ecclesiastical big brother. In fact, turn back to 
the book of 2 Corinthians in chapter 1. Pastors are not supposed 
to be ecclesiastical big brothers. Now, by that, I'm referring to 
George Orwell's novel. We are big brothers. If we happen 
to be a bit heavier or a bit taller, we could be assumed to 
be big brothers. I mean the Orwellian version 
of being under some sort of a scrutiny. Notice the Apostle Paul in 2 
Corinthians 1 at verse 23. Moreover, I call God as witness 
against my soul, that to spare you, I came no more to Corinth. 
Not that we have dominion over your faith. Not that we are lords 
of your conscience, not that we are your ecclesiastical Orwellian 
big brother and all the nightmare that that entails. Notice, but 
our fellow workers for your joy, for by faith you stand. That's 
the function of an effective pastoral ministry. Fellow workers 
for your joy, not domineering, not lords, I love our confession 
at chapter 21, paragraph 2. It's of Christian liberty and 
liberty of conscience. Christian liberty is in paragraph 
1, what we've been freed from by the power of God's grace through 
faith in Jesus, and then liberty of conscience. And the confession 
stresses that God alone is Lord of the conscience. He has left 
it free from the commandments of men. those things that would 
bind you, whether it be religious do-goodery and legalism, or whether 
it be civil tyranny, both of which those brothers had to contend 
with in their particular historical context. So back to our text, 
Paul is not suggesting that I'm always watching you and I'm going 
to drop the hammer on you should you get out of line. I think 
the overarching concern in that portion of the verse is constancy. It's on constancy. This is always 
to be the case, that your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. They're not supposed to get notice 
that Paul is freed from prison, that he's going to make a special 
trip to Philippi and then say, let's get busy, let's shape up, 
the apostle is going to come and he's going to scrutinize 
us. No, the idea being is that you are, by the grace of God 
and the presence of the Spirit, to pursue this as a manner of 
life. This is your consequence, or 
rather the consequence of justification, namely sanctification. He'll 
later say in chapter 2, work out your own salvation with fear 
and trembling. For it is God who is at work 
in you, both to will and to do according to his good pleasure." 
And in that statement, we can only work out what God has graciously 
put in. He's not suggesting that we work 
for our salvation, but rather in the life of sanctification, 
pursue those things that are pleasing to the Most High. So 
that's the general exhortation in verse 27. But in the second 
part of verse 27, he gives a concrete application of it in corporate 
life. in corporate conduct. We might 
say, with reference to the individual, let your conduct be worthy of 
the gospel of Christ. Make sure you're reading your 
Bible. Make sure you're praying. Make sure you're attending to 
the corporate means of grace. Make sure you're resisting sexual 
sin. Make sure you're pursuing those things that are pleasing. 
All those are legit. All those are in the New Testament. 
But here the emphasis is upon the church in Philippi, and notice 
what he says. That you stand fast in one spirit, 
with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. 
This is going to be a recurring theme in this epistle. Notice 
in chapter 2, verses 1 to 5a, the emphasis there is on selflessness. giving vent to others and their 
particular situation. Note the summary statement in 
verse 4, let each of you look out not only for his own interests 
but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you 
which was also in Christ Jesus. And he gives this glorious, wondrous 
bit of Christology as the impetus or as an example, not a lot of 
exemplary passages relative to the cross. I've often said we 
preach Christ and Him crucified, not Him as an example so that 
you can dig down deep and just be a better you. But here there 
is an example of our Lord, again, lofty, glorious Christology, 
but for the good of the conscience of the people, that they would 
imbibe that mindset of verse four. Let each of you look out 
not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of 
others. I think Timothy functions as an example in verses 19 to 
23. Notice Paul in verse 20, for 
I have no one like-minded who will sincerely care for your 
state. I believe Epaphroditus functions 
in a like manner as an example to bring home that point that 
unity with reference to the church is absolutely crucial. Notice 
in 4.2, one of the issues that are present in the church, Paul 
addresses. He wouldn't have implored them 
if they were already of the same mind. There was a breach with 
these two particulars and Paul addresses it. So when we come 
to this section in 27b, that I may hear of your affairs, that 
you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together 
for the faith of the gospel. The conduct worthy of the gospel 
or the conduct consequent to justification by faith is expressed 
or seen in corporate unity. As well, the conduct worthy of 
the gospel, it's not uniformity in everything, right? We can 
think our own thoughts. We must think our own thoughts, 
but it is solidarity in the main things. We need to be on board 
with reference to the nature of God. We need to be on board 
with justification by faith. We need to be on board with those 
things most surely believed among us, and lo and behold, we have 
a helpful summary document that gives Venter expression to that. 
So again, it's not absolute uniformity that's in view. I think a healthy 
church has some place for dispute and debate, not dispute, you 
know, to blows. If so, I'm going to hide behind 
my fellow Elder Cam, and let's you and him go ahead and fight. 
But it's not uniformity, but it is solidarity. As well, the 
conduct worthy of the gospel is prayed for by our Lord Jesus 
Christ. We enter into 2025. We're going 
to move out of the upper room discourse, which, I've got to 
confess, of pains me. I've really enjoyed going through 
that upper room discourse. It's sort of an inner sanctum 
in John's gospel, which is an inner sanctum in the Bible. But we're going to get into the 
high priestly prayer. And in 1711 and in 1720 to 1723, 
what do you think Jesus is praying for? I want them to be divided. 
I want chaos. I want all kinds of division. No, I want unity, is what our 
Lord prayed for. The conduct worthy of the gospel 
is demonstrated by the early church. Acts 1-14, Acts 4-32, 
Acts 5-12. You'll see them continuing in 
one accord. Again, not uniformity, but solidarity 
in those things most surely believed among us. It's not confined there. We see it in Romans 12-16, 1 
Corinthians 1-10. 2 Corinthians 13.11 and 1 Peter 
3.8. So this emphasis on unity. In 
fact, go back again to Ephesians 4. See a very similar pattern 
between Ephesians and Philippians. After his statement or the exhortation 
to walk worthy of the calling with which you are called, 4.1 
in Ephesians, He then highlights, with all lowliness and gentleness, 
with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring 
to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. I think 
the emphasis is simple. It's hard to preach the gospel, 
hard to minister to the flock when the flock is at odds with 
the flock. presence of chaos and disorderliness 
and disunity and all manner of division makes the ministry of 
the gospel a very difficult thing. And it certainly cannot please 
God when the Lord Jesus taught us when we get to the altar and 
we remember there that our brother has aught with us to first go 
be reconciled with our brother and then present our offering 
to God. How can we worship the God of heaven and earth when 
there's disunity in our midst? And again, not on our eschatology, 
not on some of the particulars that everybody likes to fight 
over. But if there's division undealt with, it makes it a very 
difficult situation to maintain the unity of the spirit and the 
bond of peace. Notice the theological grounding 
that he gives to that admonition. Verse 4, there is one body and 
one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling, 
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who 
is above all and through all and in you all. So back to Philippians, 
the same emphasis. So stand fast in one spirit with 
one mind. So that would be the emphasis 
on unity, but note the expression on unity as we look at this application 
a bit further. He says, striving together for 
the faith of the gospel. The unity of the church is seen 
in their conduct that is consequential of the gospel, and it has to 
do with that gospel. Striving together. That means 
what it says. It doesn't mean lay on the couch. 
I'm not saying Paul would be mad at you to lay on your couch. 
I plan on laying on my couch tonight, God willing. The church 
corporately needs to be striving, needs to be fighting, not physically, 
not armed to the teeth as church. but with reference to the activity 
of the people of God. The unity of the church is seen 
in their propagation of the gospel. Note again that you stand fast 
in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith 
of the gospel. Now, I doubt that means your 
subjective grasp on Jesus. I think rather it means the objective 
content of Christianity. Striving for the faith of the 
gospel. So that's going to be demonstrated 
in the proclamation of that message. It's going to be demonstrated 
in our prayer lives corporately. What are we praying for? It's 
good to pray for the salvation of sinners. It's good to pray 
that our blessed Savior from the right hand of the Father 
would send the Spirit in such a way as to bring conviction 
so that sinners can hear and sinners by grace can live. But 
as well, the unity of the church is seen in their defense of the 
gospel. So in this particular instance, 
we're gonna note in just a moment, they had adversaries. Who are 
those adversaries? We'll deal with that question 
in a moment. The presence of adversaries and the confirmation 
of Paul that or by Paul that in verse 29, they had had some 
conflict. What's a temptation or a tendency 
during conflict? It's to go along, to get along. It's to say, well, you know, 
I didn't sign up for that. I like this Jesus religion insofar 
as I come to church and I don't get any effect or pressure from 
the civil government or unbelieving Jews. I quite like it when, you 
know, there's no harm, no foul. But now that the persecution's 
here, I'm not sure that that's what I've signed up for. The 
unity of the church is seen in their defense of the gospel, 
propagation of, or proclamation of, and its defense. Remember 
Jude 3? Brethren, contend earnestly for 
the faith, again, not your subjective hold on Christ, but the objective 
content of the gospel of Jesus. Contend earnestly for the faith, 
which was once for all delivered to the saints. Listen to John 
Gill on that passage, and just be alert. It's a bit lengthy, 
but note, he speaks of even being willing to die. He says, and 
this contention, he's commenting on Jude 3, I think it's appropriate 
here, includes a care and solicitude for it, to have it, own it, and 
hold it fast, and adorn it. So the first operating principle 
is that you believe this. You're not going to strive together 
with one mind and unity for something you're not invested in, for something 
that you have no saving interest in. If that's true of you, if 
you hear this and you say, well, I don't think I want to strive 
for the gospel. I don't want to have that much 
skin in the game. Then your first order of business 
is to look on to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Look unto 
him, the one in whom alone there is forgiveness and a righteousness 
that avails with God." That's the first priority. So Paul's 
assuming that the audience to whom he's writing, the church 
in Philippi, is blood-bought. They have a vested interest in 
it already. The exhortation is to let your 
conduct be worthy of it. And here, specifically, striving 
together for the faith of the gospel. So back to Gil, this 
contention includes a care and solicitude for it, to have it, 
own it, and hold it fast, and adorn it, and for the preservation 
of it, and for the spread of it, and that it might be transmitted 
to posterity. I love that emphasis, right? It's not just about us. We got 
children. We got grandchildren. God willing, 
they're going to have grandchildren. And we want a church that's bound 
by and committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that they 
can bring up their families in the training and admonition of 
the Lord, schlepping them to Free Grace Baptist every Sunday. 
He goes on to say, and it denotes a conflict, this contend earnestly 
for the faith, as does striving together here, it denotes a conflict, 
a combat, or a fighting for it, a striving even to an agony. 
The persons to be contended with on account of it are such who 
deny or depreciate any of the persons in the Godhead, the assertors 
of the purity and power of human nature, and the deniers of sovereign, 
efficacious, and persevering grace. The persons who are to 
contend with them are all the saints in general." That's specific 
in Jude 3. Brethren. Not pastors, not elders, 
not deacons, not seminary professors, but brethren. He says, "...to 
whom it is delivered, which they may do by bearing an experimental 
testimony to it, by praying for the continuance and success of 
it, by standing fast in one spirit in it, and by dying for it, and 
particularly the ministers of the gospel, by preaching it boldly, 
openly, fully, and faithfully, by disputing for it, and writing 
in the defense of it, and by laying down their lives when 
called for." That's what New Covenant Christianity is supposed 
to look like. And when you look at the book 
of Acts, you see that Jesus was not kidding. In John 16, verses 
1 to 4, he says, there's a time coming when they're going to 
put you out of the synagogue. There's a time coming when they're 
going to kill you thinking they're doing service for God. You trace 
the 20 centuries of Christ's power from the right hand of 
the Father, and you look at the church, it has not been without 
trial, without tribulation, without affliction, without hardship, 
and without difficulty. It's common for Paul to refer 
to ministerial companions as soldier. It's very commonplace 
for him to invoke martial language because of the nature of the 
warfare. In fact, he tells Timothy, wage the good warfare. Samuel Miller, he lived in the 
1800s, he taught at Princeton, he was a Presbyterian. He says, 
the church has to fight for every inch of ground, and whenever 
she ceases to contend for the truth, she ceases to advance. No stagnation, should be no moss 
growing on us. No stagnation, that's no bueno. 
The church has to fight for every inch of ground, and whenever 
she ceases to contend for the truth, she ceases to advance. 
Wise Presbyterian minister that he was makes this observation. 
She may contend with an improper spirit. Guilty, right? We may contend with an improper 
spirit. We can be jerks for Jesus. I 
can, I shouldn't speak for all of you. But if the shoe fits, 
then put it on with me and we'll confess it to God and ask for 
grace not to be jerks for Jesus. He says, she may contend with 
an improper spirit. If she does this, it is her mistake 
and her sin. But to contend no more is to 
disregard the command of her master in heaven and betray his 
cause to the enemy. I think that's powerful, and 
I think it's Jude 3, and I think it's Philippians 1.27, striving 
together for the faith of the gospel. And that brings us to 
the courage of the believer in verses 28 to 30. I mean, I think 
that's a very good follow-up after saying to the corporate 
body of Christ, you need to be striving together for the faith 
of the gospel. That seems to underscore some 
degree of resistance to the furtherance of the gospel. It seems to underscore 
something of the present situation of the Apostle Paul sitting in 
a Roman prison because unbelieving Israel gave him up to them. It says something about the nature 
of the combat that there will be enemies. How are we to face 
that? So that's the courage of the 
believer in verses 28 to 30. First, there's an exhortation. 
And then secondly, there's an assumption. Note the exhortation. There is a necessity of courage, 
verse 28a, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries. not in any way terrified by your 
adversaries. If we ask the question, who are 
their adversaries? Certainly Judaizers would be 
an adversary. Paul addresses that in Philippians 
3 verses 1 to 11. But when Paul first arrives in 
Philippi, there's not a synagogue. Or if there is, the text is silent. 
They go by the riverside and they meet a group of women there. 
Remember the Lord opened Lydia's heart there at the riverside. So the supposition is there wasn't 
a huge Jewish population there in Philippi. So probably pagan 
religionists. Probably a garden variety worldling 
that was opposed to the God of heaven and earth and to his Christ. 
About AD 60 to 62, there's increasing tension. 64, that Rome burns, 
and that's when Nero blames the Christians. So there's sort of 
a buildup going on. And so the adversaries would 
be pagans, heathens, religious pagans, religious heathen, whatever 
the case may be. So that's the identification. 
But as well, note verse 28, and not in any way terrified by your 
adversaries. Why do you think he gives this 
admonition? For the same reason the entirety of the Bible, God 
tells us not to fear. Do not fear, do not fear, do 
not fear. What do you think that means? 
God knows our frame, he pities us, he knows we're but dust, 
and he knows this proclivity or tendency to fear. And this 
whole idea of striving for the faith of the gospel in the presence 
of enemies, especially enemies that have a real axe to grind 
against us, may promote or may provoke fear in our hearts. So 
Paul's going to head that off at the pass. I want you to strive, 
and I want you to strive for the gospel in terms of its propagation 
and in terms of its defense. But I want to make sure that 
you're in no way terrified by those adversaries. I think he 
addresses it because it's the tendency toward fear. I think 
he addresses it because the tendency, as I mentioned before, to go 
along to get along. We may not be terrified by the 
adversaries, but we might just go along with the adversaries 
to sort of relieve the heat. Turn back to the book of Judges, 
Judges chapter 13. It's a passage most of you here 
are familiar with. Judges 13. If you're familiar 
with the book of Judges, you know that it cycles, it's cyclical. There's God's, the sin of the 
people. God sends oppressors for nations 
to oppress the people. They call out for deliverance, 
and then God raises up a judge and delivers them. Now, in a 
lot of the places, we see that cycle obtained, and they do. 
They cry out for relief. They're not crying out in repentance. They're not crying out, God, 
be merciful to us, the sinner. They're crying out because it 
hurts. The circumstances are hard, so they cry out. And God, 
infinitely gracious, even answers those prayers by raising up judges 
and sending them. But by the time you get to Judges 
13, which begins the Samson narrative, Notice in verse one, and again, 
or again, the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the 
Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines 
for 40 years. There's no mention that they 
cry out. Now, if you say, well, that's an argument by silence, 
I believe it's a very loud argument by silence, especially when we 
compare chapter 15. Look at Judges 15. Remember the 
scene? Philistines want Samson. Philistines 
want to destroy Samson. Samson has made an impact upon 
the Philistine economy. He has made an impact upon the 
Philistine army. And as far as they're concerned, 
there's only one good thing that we can do with Samson, and that's 
to rid the world of him. So notice 15.9, now the Philistines 
went up and camped in Judah and deployed themselves against Lehi. 
And the men of Judah said, why have you come up against us? 
So they answered, we have come up to arrest Samson to do to 
him as he has done to us. Then 3000 men of Judah, they knew something of what they 
were dealing with. If I knew there was some foe 
down the road, I'd probably grab the biggest and the strongest 
among us. Three or four, not 3,000. But notice it's the men 
of Judah. Then 3,000 men of Judah went 
down to the cleft of the Rock of Edom and said to Samson, Not, 
make sure you're ready to go because the Philistines are here 
and we want to win this exchange. That should have been the response 
from Judah. Had they been striving together 
for the faith of the old covenant, that would have been their response. 
Samson, the Philistines are here and we want to beat them. But 
that's not what they say. Do you not know that the Philistines 
rule over us? What is this you have done to 
us? Not only do they not cry out 
because of the oppression, they embrace the oppressors. Now, 
we know how the story goes. Samson ends up killing a thousand 
Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, and then he piles 
them in an ass. It is a most glorious story with 
reference to the spirit of the Lord coming mightily upon him. 
But note the cowardice, note the lacklusterness of Judah. Judges begins with Judah as the 
first tribe going about conquering. By the time we get to chapter 
13, they're lackluster Nancy boys that want nothing to do 
with defending their leader, Samson, over and against the 
Philistine invaders. Now, all that to say, brethren, 
not in any way terrified by your adversaries. We may not run and 
hide in a closet, but if we go along to get along, well, we're 
not going to preach against the sins of the day because we don't 
want to get in any trouble. You know, the modern prevailing 
opinion is, is that you can't speak against homosexuality because 
after all, it's just an alternate lifestyle. Brethren, the Bible 
says it's wrong for a man to lie with a man. Do we skip those 
passages? Do we skip those passages that 
say God made man, male and female? Do we skip those passages which 
insist upon righteous rule on the part of civil government? 
Well, you don't want to upset the apple cart. Brethren, I don't 
think we're supposed to go out and necessarily entice and invite, 
you know, pressure, but we should never be restrained from proclamation 
of the truth, the whole counsel of God. So Paul says that we 
need to displace fear with courage. I think that's Jesus' emphasis 
in Matthew 10, when he sends the disciples to the lost sheep 
of the house of Israel, do not fear men. What does he suppose? The tendency is in your heart 
to fear men. He says in 1028, don't fear those 
who can kill the body, but rather fear him who can kill both body 
and soul in hell. In other words, displace the 
fear of man with the fear of God. That's a thoroughly biblical 
concept. There needs to be a recovery 
of what the old boys spoke of in terms of the church militant. 
Again, militant doesn't mean we arm up and we saddle up and 
we go downtown and start shooting government officials or start 
shooting the bad guys. That's not what it means. It's 
not what it means. We're not supposed to be terrified 
of the adversaries and reduced to whining babies. or reduced 
to cowards that do not step into the fray, cry aloud, spare not, 
lift up their voice like a trumpet and make Jerusalem know her sins. Brethren, that's what Paul is 
saying here. Not in any way terrified by your 
adversaries. The necessity for the church 
to embrace this, a wartime mindset. Again, wage the good warfare, 
Paul tells Timothy. Not physical, but spiritual. 
Paul says in 2 Corinthians, the weapons of our warfare are not 
carnal, but they're mighty for the pulling down of strongholds. 
So then note, he gives us this sort of result of not being terrified 
by our adversaries. and not in any way terrified 
by your adversaries. Notice what he goes on to say, 
which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation and that 
from God. The proof is to them, but it's 
not necessarily recognized by them. In other words, when you 
withstand the adversary and you're not terrified, it's not an automatic 
equation that they're gonna be convicted and then they're gonna 
repent. No, their action, Their conduct against the Lord's people 
is a proof of perdition. It's similar to what Paul says 
in 2 Thessalonians 1, you can turn there. 2 Thessalonians 1, 
the rightness of our God to punish those who mess with the people 
of God. 2 Thessalonians 1 verse 6, since 
it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation 
those who trouble you and to give you who are troubled rest 
with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his 
mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who 
do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with 
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and 
from the glory of his power. Paul says it's a right thing. 
It is a just thing. It is a legit thing for God to 
punish those who have troubled His church. Revelation 6, you've 
got those souls under the altar crying out to the Lord Most High, 
how long to you avenge our blood and the blood of the prophets? 
Notice that God doesn't say, how dare you take up such a petition 
before me? That's not the response at all. 
Or Paul in Romans chapter 12, give place or, brethren, do not 
avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. Notice he 
doesn't say, don't avenge yourselves because vengeance is terrible. 
No, vengeance in the hand of the individual believer is not 
his thing. But giving place to wrath is 
to give it to God. You see that all throughout the 
Psalter, the invocation of God's wrath and curse upon his enemies. 
You see it even in the New Covenant in 1 Corinthians 16. If anyone 
does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, 
Paul says. That makes the Psalms of David, 
the imprecations of David look like a walk in the park. Or what 
about 2 Timothy 4, Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm, 
may the Lord repay him. I am not talking about some person 
that cut you off on Wellington Avenue. God pour out your wrath 
and fury upon that Ford. That's not the point. But there 
are persons in this world that are so opposed to the most high 
and his Christ, that they will do anything in their power to 
exterminate the church of the living God. Is it wrong to pray 
and wrong to give place to wrath and to invoke God to bring that 
to bear upon his enemies? If it's wrong, then you gotta 
get rid of the Bible. Because you see, godly men do 
that very thing throughout scripture. We need to embrace that we're 
in a warfare. Notice back in our passage. So 
the proof is to them, but not necessarily recognized by them. 
The conduct of the adversaries is a proof of their judgment 
to come. Now, brethren, just by way of a practical application 
at this point, we're gonna be closed soon. Notice, not in any 
way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition. 
What if you are terrified by your adversaries? What if you 
don't do what Paul tells you as he's writing under the inspiration 
of the Holy Spirit? What if you are a coward? What 
if you are like Judah? What if you are saying to Samson, 
you know what? We're not going to kill you, Samson. We wouldn't 
do that. We're just going to tie you up and hand you over 
to the Philistines. Oh, wow. Well, that's much better. You 
know that mob of men that really do want to kill you? If we allow 
the adversaries to terrify us, guess what it will do to the 
adversaries? It will embolden them. They will conclude that 
these people have no guts. These people are not like, not 
their master, what he commanded, but like one of the greater examples 
in their religion. Paul says in Philippians 121, 
fortune me to live is Christ, And to die is gain. He's in a 
prison. He's ready. Either way, if I 
live on, there's gonna be fruit from the ministry, I get Christ. 
But if I die at the hands of the civil state, I get more Christ. I get to enter into his presence, 
absent from the body, present with the Lord. See, we emboldened 
the adversaries of the Christian church when we don't function 
like the Christian church. We embolden the enemies of the 
Lord of glory when we just passively take everything they throw at 
us. And again, I'm not suggesting Bradley tanks surrounding the 
building, you know, M60 machine gun nests. I'm suggesting a degree 
of courage and boldness to hold forth the word of God most high, 
to defend it to the death if necessary, because that's what 
Paul is saying. This isn't ethereal or theoretical 
for the apostle. He wants us to put up. Notice 
with reference to the believer, not in any way terrified by your 
adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to 
you of salvation and that from God. Is that saying, if you're 
not terrified by adversaries, then you will be saved? No, this 
not being terrified by adversaries is a demonstrable proof that 
you're saved and that from God. So note that connection. The 
saved man, the saved woman has a degree of courage? Has a degree 
of bravery? Please let me qualify this. I'm 
not telling you fly to Ottawa, stand up right before whatever 
it is they do or wherever they are, and just start proclaiming 
the gospel to them. That's not the point. Brethren, 
why are we afraid to bow our heads and pray in public? People think we're weird. Do 
you really fear what this world thinks is weird? They can't define 
what a woman is. Honestly, I don't care if they 
think I'm weird. And you shouldn't either. They 
think it's okay to murder babies, 100,000 of them a year in Canada. 
They think it's okay to murder old people. They think it's okay 
to murder sick people in a country of 40 million people with a huge 
landmass that is built by God with great natural resources. This ain't no time to be thinning 
the herd. Be fruitful and multiply. Drill, baby, drill, and let's 
enjoy the riches of God's bounty. Why are we afraid of what these 
people think? Now, I'm not saying don't be 
courteous. I'm not saying don't be gentle 
the way the Lord mandates. I'm not saying be a jerk for 
Jesus, but don't be terrified by the adversaries. This is a 
proof that God has conquered your soul, that you've been washed 
in the blood, that you have a robe of righteousness, that you're 
ready to contend for, you're ready to defend, you're ready 
to die for the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. For 
the adversaries, it's proof of their perdition. But when you're 
not terrified by those adversaries, it's a demonstration of justification 
by faith alone, that God has saved you. And notice, it's God 
that saves you, and that from God. Paul will never let you 
think that you came into this relationship on your own. It 
doesn't depend upon him who wills or upon him who runs, but upon 
God who shows mercy, Romans 9, 16. God who began this work in 
you, Philippians 1. Here that salvation is from God. Philippians 2, God at work in 
you, both to will and to do for his good pleasure. Philippians 
chapter 3, verses 1 to 11, the anti-Judaizer declaration by 
Paul in terms of his own religious background. It's never the case 
that the apostle Paul will think that you made a decision for 
Jesus unaided by sovereign grace. You walked an aisle, you signed 
a card, you raised your hand when every eye was closed and 
every head was bowed. No, that's salvation from God. And then note the assumption, 
the assumption in verses 29 to 30. He assumes the sovereignty 
of God and he assumes their knowledge of Paul. Note the sovereignty 
of God in verse 29. For to you it has been granted, 
again, the word means to give freely as a favor, to give graciously. I don't think any of us as Calvinists 
or reformed people struggle with the first part. For to you it 
has been granted, it has been graciously or given graciously 
to believe, not only to believe in Him. Now, you know the famous 
parallel passage, Ephesians 2, 8-10. But you see it in the book 
of Acts, all those appointed to eternal life believed. The 
Lord opened Lydia's heart to receive the things that were 
spoken by the apostle Paul. Faith is a gift. Dead sinners 
don't exercise lively faith in the Savior. We must be born again. We must be granted the graces 
of faith and repentance. But that same word that give 
graciously governs not only the faith, but the suffering. God 
graciously gives us suffering? Yeah, He does. Now, the merit 
or the benefit isn't suffering as suffering. I mean, there's 
no religion in just suffering. You know, you meet somebody that's 
a real sufferer. Well, that doesn't mean they're 
holy. It doesn't mean they're righteous. It doesn't mean they're 
heaven-bound. The suffering that Paul is speaking 
of in terms of God's gift to his children is that suffering 
that brings us further into conformity to our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
Lord Jesus who assumed our humanity and learned obedience through 
what? Through suffering, Hebrews 5.8. 
So there's no merit in, you know, let's hurt ourselves. You know, 
let me hit my head on the wall 10 times in a row so I can suffer 
because that's godly. That's not the point of the giving 
graciously suffering. It's the good for me that I was 
afflicted suffering of the psalmist in Psalm 119. It's the Acts 541, 
after they're beaten, and they leave from that place, and they're 
rejoicing, because they were counted worthy to suffer shame 
for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's that suffering that 
you see at the end of the Beatitudes. Blessed are you when men persecute 
you, when men say, oh, men are of evil against you, for my name's 
sake. See, it's not just, they spoke 
evil against me. Man, I must be godly. No, for 
my name's sake. Peter deals with that in 1 Peter 
4. In fact, in verse 19, he tells us we're to entrust our souls 
to the faithful creator who gave us this suffering. So Paul says 
to the people of God, acknowledging their suffering, strive, and 
do it with one mind. Do it that unity, because that 
is what is worthy of the gospel. So notice, with reference to 
the conclusion, In verse 30, he says, having the same conflict, 
he's acknowledging that there's problems in Philippi, not just 
Syntyche and Iodia. There's problems external. There's 
some pressure, there's some hardship, there's some hurt, there's some 
affliction. He wouldn't write this if there was nothing going 
on. He's writing this and is appealing 
to this because there's something going on. Having the same conflict, 
notice which you saw in me. They saw it at the founding of 
the church in Philippians, excuse me, Acts chapter 16. Remember 
Paul and here's the Macedonian call, responds to that, goes 
to Philippi. And what happens there? Riverside, 
heart open with Lydia, and then that demon-possessed girl that 
had that python spirit, Paul casts it out. What happens? Her masters turn her over to 
the civil state. What does the civil state do? 
They beat him. They hurt him. They put him in jail. That's 
what they did. So that's what Paul means, having 
the same conflict which you saw in me, and now here is in me. How do they hear it? Philippians 
1, verses 12 to 18. His emphasis is upon the brethren 
in Philippi to live in such a way that their conduct is worthy 
of their high calling in God through Christ. And that is to 
be expressed in the unity marked by the church. It is to be expressed 
in this contending for and striving for the faith of the gospel, 
which certainly includes proclamation and it includes defense. And 
it includes up to death, if necessary, so that we're not terrified by 
our adversaries, further emboldening them to go out and terrify others. We need to stand fast. We need 
to withstand the tendency of the Judahites there in Judges 
13 and 15 to go along to get along. What's your problem with 
us, Samson? Don't you know we've got it pretty 
good? It's an amazing thing, that slave mentality. We're seeing 
it in the book of Numbers. In Numbers, whenever there's 
a little hard pinch to their flesh, what do they do? Oh, we 
want to go back to Egypt. We want to go back to Egypt where 
we ate freely. But you were slaves. You don't get that? You don't 
want to be free men, listening, faithfully observing what God 
has called you to? You want to go back to Egypt 
and the gods of Pharaoh, and you want to subject yourselves 
to that so that you can get three hots and a cod? Brethren, we 
need to make sure by God's grace, we're taking seriously admonitions 
like these and pursue unity, strive for the faith of the gospel. 
That means knowing it, preaching it and defending it. Courage 
to stand fast before the adversaries and an appreciation for God's 
providence. Whatever my God ordains is right, 
we sing in the hymn. Whatever happens to us, we know 
in Romans 8, 28, that all these things work together for good 
to those who love God and to those who are the called according 
to his purpose. And then I would suggest the 
recognition of the value of the gospel. Only let your conduct 
be worthy of the gospel of Christ. You've heard me say, even if 
you have to die for it, striving for it, there might be that sort 
of inkling in your heart, is it worth it? Ask those brothers 
in Acts 5.41. When they left there rejoicing 
because they'd been counted worthy to suffer shame for the name, 
if you would have said to them, you know, brother, was it worth 
it? What do you mean, was it worth it? Of course it was worth 
it. We had to suffer shame for the name of Jesus. What about 
if we ask Paul? Is it worth it? For to me to 
live is Christ and to die is gain. Yes, it's worth it. Remember those letters to the 
churches in Asia Minor. Every one of the seven ends with 
an admonition or an exhortation to He who overcomes. He who overcomes. He who overcomes. We can do this 
seven times. So when you get to Revelation 
21.8, and you see those in the lake of fire, Typically, we understand 
sexually immoral, lake of fire. Murderers, lake of fire. Liars, lake of fire. Idolaters, 
lake of fire. The cowardly, lake of fire. because they didn't overcome. It's not cowardly because they 
were afraid of heights. It's not cowardly because they 
had a problem with spiders. It was cowardly because they 
did not overcome. Brethren, may the Lord God Most 
High fortify and strengthen us and fill us with the Spirit so 
that our conduct would be worthy of the gospel, expressed in unity 
and expressed in striving for the faith of the gospel. Well, 
let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth and 
for the blessed privilege that we have to receive these things. 
We ask that You would indeed bring these things to pass in 
our hearts, Bring this to pass in our own congregation. May 
we all endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
peace. And in this, may we glorify the God of peace. Go with us 
now, watch over us in this coming week. Be with all our brothers 
and sisters who are having struggles and hardships and difficulties. 
We commend them to you and to the word of your grace. And we 
pray in Jesus' name, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation.