September
17th
18:
What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in
truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will
rejoice. 19: For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through
your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20:
According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I
shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also
Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by
death. 21: For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22: But
if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I
shall choose I wot not. 23: For I am in a strait betwixt two, having
a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: 24:
Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. 25: And
having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with
you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; 26: That your
rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to
you again. 27: Only let your conversation be as it becometh the
gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent,
I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with
one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28: And in
nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident
token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. 29: For
unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on
him, but also to suffer for his sake; 30: Having the same conflict
which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
Paul
is confident that as a result of their prayers and the help of the
Holy Spirit he would be released from prison. (This did in fact
happen). Our prayers for other people are heard and God acts on our
behalf when we ask him. Paul was expecting and was sure that when the
time came to testify to Christ he would not be afraid and that the
Lord would give him sufficient courage to face either life or death.
We may not be required to stand before Kings of Caesars but we have
to stand up and be counted for Christ too. Paul says that his life is
dedicated to Christ but that if he does die then that is not a
disaster in fact it means that it will be the greatest gain that he
has ever known. He will be immediately in the presence of God. Paul
was torn between to options. He wanted to die to meet Christ. That
would be far better. However he was still needed here and while he
was still needed here he was glad to stay even though it would mean
more suffering. Paul is convinced that for now he will remain and
will work with the Believers so that their spiritual lives will
progress and that they might have the joy of faith. And he believes
that he will at this time be released and meet them again. Note. It
is almost certain that he was released and that he visited France,
Spain, Greece and Macedonia. There were assemblies in France that
maintained that they were never participants in the Roman church and
when the reformation broke over Europe they were happy to be
associated with them. In this passage we have the only hint at a rule
that is applied to christians. Paul says that believers are to
conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.
Christians are to have a dignity about them. They are not to be found
having off days or acting in a manner unworthy of the name of Christ.
It’s interesting that Paul does not give ten rules as an example of
what he means. That would be legalism. No he states that we are to
walk (Live) worthily. In other words we are to live in a manner that
is befitting of the high calling that we are in Christ. Not in a
superior attitude but in humility and a godly manner. Of course every
christian is different and every conscience is different too.
Therefore every believer is to seek to live under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit in a way that brings honour to Christ. Paul may have been
alluding to the Roman and Greek practise of linking shields together
to become an impenetrable wall. The wall is only effective if the
soldiers stand shoulder to shoulder and work in harmony. No Soldier
is more important than another, their strength is in their
determination to work as one whole unit. This means understanding
each other, supporting each other and being strong for each other.
The Roman legion fought as one huge man. Unity was their strength.
That is what we are to be, supportive and protective of each other.
Confidence in the face of persecution is a sign to the persecutors
that the persecuted are saved and of the persecutors eternal doom. So
let us not be afraid but let us come with confidence before God. Paul
is at pains to point out that suffering for Christ is part of the
christian life. It’s a part as night is to day. We may be surprised
when opposition comes but we must learn that persecution and the
suffering that comes in its train is something that comes because of
a faithful witness. In fact the word witness means martyr. We are to
stand up boldly for Christ and never be afraid. Of course there will
be times to face the mob and there are times to be let down in a
basket. When we suffer, if it’s for Christ and his testimony, then
we stand sure but if it is mindless men who seek an excuse to destroy
us for fun! We call the police or run away. We must remember that
those who will live godly will suffer persecution. Do you suffer? If
not ask yourself, Am l living a godly life?
No comments:
Post a Comment