Live a Life Worthy of the Gospel of Christ
Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30
It seems that
everyday when you hear the national and international news there is something
being reported about radical terrorist groups that in one way or another try to
send a message that they want to take over the world. Some of this comes from a religious zeal to
eliminate Christianity that goes back to the middle ages and before. It shouldn’t be surprising to us that the
Christian faith has been under attack because the devil would like nothing
better than to persuade Christians to give up their faith in Jesus and turn
instead to human ideas of finding eternal peace and happiness. In that way, the devil will have
control. That same kind of opposition to
the Gospel of Christ was active from the very beginning of the Christian
faith. Jesus faced that opposition and
it led to His death on the cross. The early
Christians faced opposition from the Jews and later the Romans and others who
saw Christianity as a challenge to their pagan beliefs. Religious persecution is nothing new. The issue for us today is how do we respond
to opposition to our faith. In our
Epistle lesson for today, Paul calls the Philippian Christians and Christians
of all time including us today to “Let your manner of life be worthy of the
Gospel of Christ.” As we think about
what that means for our lives today, may we be strengthened and encouraged as
we face increased opposition in a hostile world.
When you are
faced with opposition to what you believe and hold dear, there are a number of
ways that you can respond. Often your
human nature will kick in and you rely only on the instinct to survive. You might even panic and struggle with what
you are going to do. Sometimes you just
live in fear. You become afraid to do
anything because you are afraid of what someone might say. You are afraid that you might lose something
if you stand up for your beliefs. All of
that fear simply indicates a lack of trust in the Lord to be with you. As much as you hear how the Lord watches over
you and will give His angels charge over you, when panic sets in, the first
thing that your human nature does is try to figure out how you will get
yourself out of this problem. You forget
God’s promises.
Another coping
mechanism that human nature encourages is to simply go along with the
flow. It’s the safe thing to do. You see how others are prospering because
they have adopted the ways of the world and it seems like the logical thing to
go along as well. This is probably one
of the most common responses to opposition to the faith. It happens all the time. We have all fallen victim to this subtle
trick of the devil. In the end, this
happens because of a lack of conviction.
You know the facts of the faith but you have a hard time putting your
faith into action, especially in the face of opposition.
A third kind of
strategy that flows from human thinking is to compromise. After all, in our world today, compromise is
seen as solution in many areas of life.
It’s what politics is all about.
Two opposing view points ultimately compromise to get anything
accomplished in the government.
Compromise is necessary in order to come to some settlement on contract
disputes. Compromise even helps to bring
peace in families. Compromise is seen to
be the best solution when there are opposing points of view. But can you compromise the truth of God’s
Word? Can you compromise the truth of
the Gospel of Christ? Some churches have
done that as they attempted to be more responsive to society. But to compromise on the truth of God’s word
shows a lack of trust in God’s wisdom. When
you believe and trust that God’s Word is the truth, there can be no compromise.
For those sins of
lack of trust in God’s promises, lack of conviction in what you claim to
believe and teach, and lack of trust in God’s wisdom, you need to come often to
God and confess your sins and seek His forgiveness in the name of Jesus. If you are going to live in a manner that is
worthy of the Gospel of Christ, you must begin with an acknowledgement of these
sins and all the others that plague you daily.
That is one of the reasons that regular time for worship and personal devotion
are so important for those who want to live a life worthy of the Gospel of
Christ. As you come in all humility, you
are assured of the grace of God, His undeserved love for you, and the
forgiveness that has been won for you by Jesus.
It is that forgiveness then that strengthens you for your daily
walk.
When you stay
close to your sources of spiritual strength, the Means of Grace, the Word and
the Sacraments, you are reminded that you are committed to serve Christ. You are not here simply to serve yourself and
to try and make it through life without anything unpleasant ever happening to
you. A life that is worthy of the Gospel
of Christ is a life that remembers that Jesus suffered and died for you. Out of love for that great sacrifice, you
want to respond with a life that is devoted to serving the One who gave His
life so that you could be reconciled to God and be assured of spending eternity
in heaven in His presence.
You serve the One
who not only died for you but also rose again to demonstrate His victory over
sin and death and the power of the devil, those same powers of evil that bring
opposition and persecution into your life.
He has won the victory over them.
They can not defeat you. Think of
what a shot of courage it is to know that the war has already been won. You may have to fight in the battles but the
ultimate victory has been won by the One you serve. The Gospel of Christ is victorious over the
lies and tricks of the devil.
The One you
serve also has empowered you to stand firm in the face of persecution and
suffering. He has not simply sent you
out on the battle field without armor and weapons. He has placed you in His Church where you are
prepared for battle by His Word and the Sacraments. By the water of Holy Baptism you became a
part of God’s family and you were given the blessings of the forgiveness of
sins that frees you to live a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ. You have the blessing of being able to
receive the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Sacrament of the Altar for the
forgiveness of sins and strength for your life.
You are encouraged by your brothers and sisters in Christ as you
struggle together against the forces that would try to destroy you. Together you can live a life that is worthy
of the Gospel of Christ which Paul called a clear sign of the destruction of
your enemies as well as a sign of your salvation.
Paul calls us to
stand firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving for the faith of the
Gospel. A united stand for the Gospel sends
a clear message to the world that we stand for the truth. No fear, no giving in, no compromise of the
truth. The Gospel of Christ, that
message of repentance and forgiveness through the life, death and resurrection
of Jesus, is more powerful than any other message that is out there.
Paul also wanted
you to know that until the time when Jesus comes again for the final judgment,
there will still be struggles. We have
seen down through history that the devil is still active and will try all kinds
of evil tricks and subtle strategies to get God’s people to become discouraged
and fall away. Paul presents himself as
an example of the kinds of opposition and persecution that can happen when you
stand up for the truth, when your manner of life is worthy of the Gospel of
Christ. But that did not deter him. He was writing to the Christians in Philippi
from a prison in Rome . Yet he was filled with encouragement for his
fellow believers. As Paul also said,
“The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that
is to be revealed to us.” The glory of
eternity in heaven far outweighs the momentary troubles of this life. While we are still here, may you use all of the
blessings that God provides for His people to be strengthened and encouraged to
let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Amen.
Rev. Gerald Matzke
Zion Lutheran Church
Painesville, OH
Pentecost 15
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