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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.