2018-03-25 Philippians 1: 7-8 Fellowship In The Gospel (3): A New Commandment

FELLOWSHIP IN THE GOSPEL (3): A NEW COMMANDMENT (Philippians 1:7-8) March 25, 2018 Read Phil 1:7-8 – The night before He died, Jesus told His disciples: Jn 13:34-35: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.” A new commandment. Not optional. A command. And new! But hadn’t love always been a command? Yes! Lev 19:18b: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” So how is it new? Read on: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you.” It’s new in intensity, This raising the bar to a whole new level. Love as Christ loved. Not just any old love. This is love so intense it would give up its life for another. Radical love. This is more than heartfelt affection; this is dying for someone. Are we there? Would you die for me? I’m guessing – honestly now – most of you would say, “I think I’ll take a pass on that one.” Right? I take no offense. I’m no better. I’d willingly give my life for my wife – for my daughter. But the rest of ya’ll? I’d have to think about that. So this command is way beyond natural love. And it’s important. It’s the key to evangelizing a lost world. Jn 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Do we have it? Love like Christ? Would we die for each other? Important! But there’s an even bigger question. Will we live for each other? This whole book is asking that question, from many angles. But today Paul gives us a couple of hints as to how we can do this. What does radical love look like? I. Paul Chose to Love Go back to Jesus for a moment. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.” How can you command someone to love? Love is an emotion, right? You either have it or you don’t. You can’t just work it up. Think of the person in our church you least like. Don’t tell, just think of them. Now consider Jesus’ command – “Love so-and-so.” How do you do that? How do you work up an emotion for someone you don’t even like? The answer lies in the word Jesus uses. We have one word for love. It covers everything from love of ice cream, to family members to the romantic love, to love of God. Context determines meaning! But Greek has a different word for each of those. AND it has one more – the word used consistently in the NT – the word Jesus uses – αγαπη. That’s a different kind of love. Αγαπη isn’t about affection. It is a decision, not an emotion. It is not prompted by the 1 attractiveness of the thing loved, it results from a decision to act loving! Jesus isn’t saying, “Work up an emotion.” He’s saying, “Act loving whether your feel like it or not – whether you’re attract to that person or not – whether the love is deserved or not – just like I did for you! See why this takes things to a whole new level? Obedience requires we act lovingly toward other believers whether we like them or not, and whether they deserve it or not. Love them. Exactly what Paul did. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, bc I hold you in my heart.” He had a natural affection for most of the Philippians. But he’s talking more than natural affection here. He says, “7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all.” To feel this way. Sounds like an emotion, does it not? But it’s not. There’s a better translation. The lexicon definition for φρονεω is “to develop an attitude based on careful thought, be minded or disposed.” It’s not a feeling word – it’s a thought word. Both Holman and KJV translate, “It is right for me to think this way about you all.” Paul’s love for the Philippians resulted from a decision to love them as much as it was a natural affection. That’s why he could say he loved them all! And notice the next phrase: “I hold you in my heart.” That’s a decision. He has a natural attraction for most of them, yes. But he has chosen to αγαπη them all. He holds them all in his heart as a result of a conscious choice to love them. He is obeying Jesus’ command: “8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” He’s not just driven by natural affection. He’s letting Jesus love through him. He loves them with all the love Jesus has for them. That is a powerful. Paul chose to love – like Jesus! That’s the kind of love Paul practiced in all the churches he planted. Let me put this another way. Paul could say to all the Philippians, even those least attractive to him, “If you’re good enough for Jesus to love, you’re good enough for me to love.” That’s radical. But that’s exactly what Jesus expects – what He commands. We can’t say we are obedient to Him if we hold hard feelings against even ONE of His saints. We’re self-deceived. Natural love is easy, right? But all? We have so far to go. We’re not there. We must choose to be different. We must choose to let Jesus love through us. Charles Allen, great Methodist pastor, was grossly mistreated in 4th grade by the principal of his school bc the man disliked Allen’s father. Years passed. Allen was in his first pastorate when he heard the old principal was seeking a job in his area. Allen knew he could influence the board against the man if he shared his story, which he rationalized he ought to do. He says, “I went out to 2 get in my car to go see some of the board members, and suddenly it came over me what I had done. Here I was out trying to represent Him who was nailed to the cross, and me carrying a grudge!” He went back home, asked forgiveness. He says, “That experience was among the best things that ever happened in my life.” Got anything you need to confess and put aside for the sake of love? Αγαπη love is a choice – one that shows Christ working thru us. II. Paul Was Compelled to Love Why compelled? 7b: “for you are all partakers with me of grace.” Grace. God’s unmerited favor on us. Saved by grace alone – a privileged position we have in common with every other believer. No one got in by their money or their good works or their position in life. Pastor, president or murderer – all saved by grace. All believers’ common bond -- saved by grace. But grace isn’t a one-time affair. It’s an ongoing reality. All that is good in our lives is by grace. We have the shared experience of being saved by grace, and we have the shared experience of living a life of grace. So here Paul lists 3 ways the Philippians were continuing partakers together of grace. Partakers = συνκοινηνια = “with me fellowship” or ways we live by grace – three ways we share continued grace in our lives. A. By Fellowship in the Trials of the Gospel – 7c: “in my imprisonment.” That implies 2 strange things. First, it implies Paul considered his imprisonment a gift of grace from God. Second, tho he was in prison and they were running free in Philippi, he considered they were in jail with him! How could imprisonment be an evidence of grace? We have so long been taught that in Christ all our problems are over that we have a skewed concept of grace. God never promised that. Look at 1:29: “For it has been granted [literally graced] to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him [salvation] but also suffer for his sake.” There’s the issue. We see suffering as abnormal – maybe even a sign of God’s displeasure. To Paul, suffering was as great a gift from God as his salvation. He saw imprisonment as a privileged gift, not as a burden – because he had God’s perspective. An old farmer had a weather vane on his barn with the motto: “God is love.” Someone said, “So God is as changeable as the wind?” He replied, “No! It means no matter which way the wind blows, God is love.” How different our lives would be if we got that one principle into our hearts. Suffering is always a gift of grace, even if it’s a discipline. Paul knew that and Paul lived that. 3 But how could he say the Philippians shared his imprisonment. They were not physically there. No – but they were there in spirit. They were there by their prayers, by their concern and their love. They were there in the financial support they sent. And they were there in the messenger they sent to minister to Paul’s needs. Phil 2: 25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need.” They were not in jail with Paul, but they shared the experience in every other way possible. His trial was their trial. That’s why we pray for persecuted Xns, why we support efforts to ease their suffering. It is why we pray for missionaries in hard places, and reach out to those in our own congregation when they are bereaved or suffer loss. We live gracefully by fellowship in other’s trials. Instead of criticizing others, we are to share the grace of their difficulties. Failure to love is a failure of grace. R. C. Sproul tells of a woman whose high school son was arrested on drug charges. She was devastated but began to pray and thank God for bringing her son up short quickly. Asked how she was doing, she replied that she had peace that God was at work. Her friend said, “You shouldn’t be so peaceful. It’s your fault this happened.” And she began to point out all the parenting flaws she thought had led to this tragedy. Beloved – she may have been right. But she was certainly not sharing the common grace of trials. Her criticism left her on the outside looking in at God’s grace. Please, let’s not go there. We must seek every way we can to participate with believers far and near, known and unknown in the grace of trials. Criticism kills; grace brings life. B. By Fellowship in the Defense of the Gospel – 7b: “for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.” Defense -- απολογια – from which we get apologetics – the work of defending the gospel as true. It was a legal term – defense in court. Paul’s about to appear before Nero to defend the charges against him. But he considers what he’ll really be doing is defending the gospel that is the cause of his imprisonment. 16c: “knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.” Paul’s whole life was about presenting and making sense of the gospel that Jesus died, was buried and rose again for the sins of all who believe. Faith wasn’t a leap in the dark, but a commitment justified by the physical evidence of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. So how did the Philippians participate in his defense of the gospel? Two ways. By their prayers on his behalf. And by their own sharing the gospel. Sharing 4 Christ isn’t just for professionals. It’s for everyone. Paul was encouraged to know he was not alone in presenting his faith. Peter stated our responsibility beautifully in I Pet 3:15: “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” Be prepared. How? II Tim 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” The Word of truth – the Bible – every believer is to know it – to diligently study it so that we can give a reason for our hope. Can you do that? We’re not all called to be pastors. God knows that. He needs mechanics and carpenters and farmers and school teachers. But He needs mechanics who can explain and defend their faith – and carpenters and farmers, etc. We all have an obligation to get below the surface. Jude says “3Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” He wasn’t writing to professionals; he was writing to everyday people like you and me advising we must be able to contend for the faith – the gospel. To do that you must be in the Word. Reading, studying, meditating. Two guys were arguing about which knew more about the Bible. One said to the other, “I bet you can’t say the Lord’s Prayer.” The second responded, “I’ll take that bet. ‘Now I lay me down to sleep.’” The first looked at him in amazement and responded, “I’ll be hanged. I was sure you wouldn’t know it!” You get the point. Listen. This is not easy for anyone. We have an enemy who would prefer a beautiful Bible that gathers dust to a well-thumbed Bible that gets used. But we need the Word. We need it worse than we need to know Stock market results, who won the World Series or what the latest style or Hollywood gossip is. We’d all agree to that – but we don’t live like it. Please, Beloved, let’s take a little time every day to fellowship in the defense of the gospel by knowing the Word. Let it be said we are people of the Word. C. By Fellowship in the Confirmation of the Gospel – 7b: “for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.” How do you confirm something? By demonstrating its truthfulness. You hear a story about me and ask, “Is it true.” I confirm to you – “Yes, it’s true.” So how do we confirm the gospel? By living it. Jas 1:22: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” If you know the gospel but don’t live it, you’re nothing but a hypocrite. But when we live in obedience – then we are confirming the gospel. That was the Philippians. God’s grace didn’t just save them; it was 5 sustaining them in lives of faithfulness and obedience -- lives that confirmed the truth that Jesus is Lord. So how are we doing? Are we participants of grace by confirming the gospel with our lives? Conc – So how’s your love life? Young people – are you loving your brothers and sisters in Christ – or do you form cliques and criticize your peers or your adult leaders. This is for you. We are to love one another, not criticize. Our lives will be dramatically affected by how we handle this very issue. Pulling away from other believers is a sure sign that grace is not operating – either because we don’t belong to Jesus or we are not living up to the family name. A man walking along a beach came upon a pitiful sight. Thousands of starfish were washed up by the tide, now drying and dying in the hot sun. The man reached down, picked up one of the poor little guys and flipped it back into the sea. He continued his walk, pausing every so often to thrown another one back. Presently another man came by and asked, “Why are you doing that?” He answered, “I’m trying to save the starfish.” The 2nd man laughed, pointed the thousands of starfish lying on shore and said, “Are you kidding? Why bother? It won’t make any difference.” The man picked up another starfish, tossed it into the ocean and said, “It made a difference for that one.” Now listen, Beloved. There is not a one of us here today that could not make a difference in someone’s life – right in our own church – someone we’ve ignored, or criticized, or treated badly because they hurt us. Will we live for each other? That person you like least? Find one thing to do for them this week! Why not make a difference – at least for that one? Let’s pray. 6