Paul’s Example of Bold Witness and Joy in Christ
Philippians 1:12-18a
Sometimes God’s commands can feel impossible to obey. That’s one reason why God does not just give us commands in the Bible – he also gives us examples of people he has empowered to obey, so we can see how he will also enable us to obey.
Here’s how this works. Near my house there is a mountain bike trail with a steep section of switchbacks. And for a long time I was not able to make it up those switchbacks without stopping. I did not think it could be done.
But one day a mountain biking friend told me that he was able to make it all the way up to the top without stopping. He said “It’s not hard, just be sure to speed up with the turns. Watch me.” So I watched him – and saw that it could be done. Then I tried it. And sure enough, I made it all the way to the top without stopping.
That’s one reason why God gives us examples in the Bible. God gives us examples of people who obey, to show us how God will also enable us to obey. And that’s what Paul does in this next section of Philippians.
Let’s turn to Philippians chapter 1, starting with verse 12. If you need a Bible, please raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Philippians 1 is on page 980 in the Bibles we are passing out. Philippians is a letter which Paul wrote at around the year 62 A.D. while he was in prison in Rome. He wrote it to Christians in the town of Philippi, who were part of the church Paul had planted there 12 years before.
And everything in chapter 1 is leading up to the commands found in verses 27 and 28. Let’s read those verses to see where Paul is going –
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.
So Paul’s main concern is that they would live in unity together, and that they would not be frightened to tell people about Jesus. And so in verses 12-26 Paul explains how he lives in unity with others, and boldly shares the Gospel, so they will see what God will do in them as well.
And today we will focus just on the examples Paul mentions in verses 12 to 18. Look at what Paul says in those verses –
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.
16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.
17 The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice …
Here Paul is talking about what happened in Rome as a result of his being in prison. And his point is to give three examples which will help his readers share the gospel boldly, and live in unity with each other.
First, in verses 12-13, Paul describes how he has boldly shared the gospel. Read verses 12-13 again –
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
Paul was in prison in Rome, because he had been arrested in Jerusalem for sharing the gospel, and had appealed his case to Caesar. This probably meant that Paul was chained to a soldier 24 hours a day. Not only that, Paul knew that he faced the possibility of being put to death for telling people about Jesus.
So what would you have done if you had been arrested for telling people about Jesus, were chained to a Roman soldier 24 hours a day, while waiting for your trial which could sentence you to death because you told people about Jesus? What would you have done?
You know what Paul did? Paul told the soldier chained to him about Jesus. Then Paul told the soldiers who brought him food about Jesus. And Paul told all the soldiers about Jesus.
That’s fearless boldness. While he was in prison for telling people about Jesus, awaiting trial for telling people about Jesus, and knowing that the trial could result in him being put to death for telling people about Jesus, Paul continued telling people about Jesus.
And he did this so much that, as he says in verse 13, the whole imperial guard and all the rest of the soldiers knew that he was in prison for the sake of Jesus Christ.
And Paul wants his example to stir the believers reading this letter to be more bold in telling people about Jesus. And Paul would want us reading his letter today to let his example stir us to be more bold in telling people about Jesus.
So think about Paul’s example. To tell the soldiers about Jesus risked death. So why would he risk his death? One reason is because he loves those soldiers. He knows they will face eternal punishment if they don’t hear the good news of Jesus and trust him. Another reason is because his greatest joy is knowing Christ, and death will bring him even more joy in Christ. So he has nothing to lose, and everything to gain by telling the soldiers about Jesus.
And so do you.
Think about your neighbors, who will face eternal suffering if they don’t hear the good news of Jesus’ love and forgiveness. Think about how your greatest joy in life is knowing Christ, and how any suffering you receive as a result of telling them about Jesus will bring you even more joy in Christ. Paul saw that he had nothing to lose, and everything to gain, and so told everyone about Jesus.
And Paul tells us that so we will know that God will do the same in us.
Second, in verse 14, Paul describes how his example helped the Roman believers share the gospel more boldly. Look at what he says –
14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
If you have an ESV Bible you can see in the notes that when Paul uses the word “brothers” he’s not referring just to men. This is usually a generic term referring to brothers and sisters in Christ.
So he is talking about the whole church in Rome. And he says that because of his imprisonment, most of them became much more bold in telling people about Jesus.
So how did Paul’s imprisonment stir them to be more bold in telling people about Jesus? It’s just like when I watched my friend ride his bike up the switchbacks. Up to that point I thought all I could do was just stop lots of times on the way up. But then I saw him make it all the way to the top, so I knew it could be done, and I wanted to do it.
In the same way up to this point of these believers who were part of the church in Rome did not tell people about Jesus because they were afraid. They went to the marketplace, but didn’t talk to anybody about Jesus. They chatted with their neighbors, but never shared the good news of Jesus. They had lunch with people at work, never talked about Jesus. Because they were afraid.
But then Paul was brought to Rome and put in prison. And they hear that he is talking to all the soldiers about Jesus. And everyone who has been born again by the Spirit of God would have felt in his or her heart – That’s beautiful. That’s right. That’s glorifying to Christ. That’s loving to the soldiers. And as a result they would have felt -- That’s how I want to live. And Paul’s example would have showed them -- That’s how I CAN live.
That’s what happened to the church at Rome. But why does Paul write about this to the church in Philippi? It’s because, as we saw in verse 28, they had become frightened at the risk of persecution. So he tells them how the church in Rome became more bold because of his example, so the church in Philippi would be gripped by the example of the church in Rome, so they themselves would become more bold because of Paul’s example. And Paul would want the same to happen to us today.
So look at the church of Rome before they heard about Paul sharing the gospel while in prison. They did not speak boldly about Jesus, because they were afraid. But then they heard about Paul’s bold witness while in prison. They were stunned as they heard that Paul risked his life to tell soldiers about Jesus. They were convicted of their fearfulness. And they were encouraged as they saw how much boldness God was able to give Paul.
And then watch them, pray and ask God to do this in them. Watch them fight to see Christ as their Treasure. Watch their boldness grow. And then watch them talk to their neighbors about Jesus, talk to those at the market about Jesus, talk to their friends about Jesus. That’s what Paul wanted the Philippian church to do. And that’s what Paul would want us to do.
Because Paul’s example shows that this is what God can enable all of us to do.
And there’s one last example in this section. Remember that Paul was also concerned about their lack of unity -- how they had let divisions crop up between them. And that’s the point of this last example, where Paul describes how joy in Christ helped him not take hurts personally.
You can see that in verses 15-18. He has said that his example had stirred the church at Rome to tell more people about Jesus. But not all of them were doing this from good motives. Look at what he says –
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.
16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.
17 The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice …
So according to verse 17 some were telling people about Jesus as a way to afflict Paul in his imprisonment. How would that have afflicted Paul? We aren’t sure. My guess is that they were jealous of Paul. They were jealous of how well-known Paul was among the believers in Rome. And so they were telling people about Jesus as a way to become well-known themselves and maybe thinking this would make Paul jealous, or frustrated.
So imagine that you are Paul. You are in prison for the sake of Christ, chained to a Roman prisoner, facing the possibility of death. And some in the church don’t like you. They are jealous of you. And so they tell people about Jesus because they want to make you jealous and frustrated.
So how did Paul respond? Think of the old, sinful way that we would have responded before Jesus saved us. We would have responded with hurt, with anger, with bitterness. And that would have produced all kinds of division in the body of Christ.
Now there certainly would be a place for helping them see the wrong of what they’re doing. But that’s not Paul’s point here.
Paul’s point is to help the church at Philippi see how joy in Christ helps us love and forgive those who hurt us. You can see that clearly in verse 18 –
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Picture Paul chained to a soldier, facing the possibility of death. And he hears that some in the church are jealous of him and want to hurt him. Watch his face become troubled as he feels great concern for their souls. But then watch as he sets his heart on his Lord, his friend, his Savior Jesus. Watch him as the Lord Jesus fills him, and satisfies him, so much that Paul has no personal anger toward these people – but is filled with joy in Christ.
As this book unfolds we will see that it’s joy in Christ that overcomes hurts, overcomes division, and enables us to live in unity with each other. And here Paul gives himself as an example of how powerfully God can do that.
Questions?
So what does this mean for us? Here we see Paul as an example of bold witness for Christ, no matter what the risk, and as an example of such joy in Christ, that he does not take hurts personally and can forgive.
The Holy Spirit is stirring you in one of these two areas – bold witness for Christ, or freedom from anger through joy in Christ.
Paul’s example shows that this is what God can do in each of our hearts. So let’s pray for his help, trust him to work, and step out in obedience.