Philippians 28-1:27 NIVUK
[27] Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel [28] without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved – and that by God. https://bible.com/bible/113/php.1.27.NIVUK
One Saturday night, I was in our local bus station, picking my daughter up from her evening job in a Chinese restaurant. What I saw in that bus station made me very glad I was there.
There were around twenty to twenty-five young people, drinking neat vodka from a bottle, running around aimlessly, picking fights with each other, generally out of control. It was quite a combustible situation. I almost considered calling the police. There was a large man next to me. He seemed menacing at first. However, I quickly realised that he was so blind drunk that as he sat on a seat waiting on his bus, he was almost falling asleep.
Thankfully, by the time my daughter’s bus arrived, most of the young people had dispersed.
But while the chaos was unfolding around me, I had earpods on and was listening to music by the American Christian alt-rock band Switchfoot, and trying hard to stay out of the melee.
The lyric that was playing in my head above the noise was: ‘We were meant to live for so much more.’ (see an accoustic version of the song here)
It had never been more true.
When I was a teenager and in my early twenties, Glasgow had a vibrant music scene that was producing bands which made a dent on the music charts. One of them was a rock band called Gun. On their breakout album, ‘Taking On The World’, they had a song with this lyric: ‘Why can’t you be someone worthwhile?’
And that is just the question. Nowadays we are surrounded by so many people whose lives are empty and useless.
So we have to ask ourselves this question: ‘How can I live a worthwhile life?’
And that question is not just for the young. It is not just for those who have their whole lives in front of them and have plenty of time to live it.
It is also a question for those who are middle-aged and seem burdened with responsibility. How can they make their life count and be worth something?
It is also for those at the other end of the age spectrum. How can they make the best use of the ever-shortening time they have left?
The question is for all of us.
And neither is it just for those with a carefree life, money in the bank and plenty of time to spare: those whose life is comparatively easy-breezy while the rest of us struggle and strain. We need to remember where Paul was when he wrote this letter: he was in prison, in Rome, where the persecution against Christians was at its most virulent and violent, and in the capital of a nation ruled by the most capricious anti-Christian Emperor, Nero.
So if he is able to live a worthwhile life while awaiting the executioner’s call, what excuse do we have?
There are four traits of a worthy life we see in this passage that enable us to see why this was Paul’s focus, even in the midst of awful circumstances.
Firstly, we see that a worthy life is A Deliberate Life:
Philippians 20-1:19 NIVUK
[19] for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. [20] I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. https://bible.com/bible/113/php.1.19.NIVUK
I want you to see something very important here. Paul had decided to follow Jesus, way back in those heady days of his conversion on the Damascus Road and the days of prayer that followed (Acts 9:1-19).
Despite the supernatural nature of God’s spectacular intervention in Paul’s life, he did not immediately turn around and become an international evangelist. No, it took time: three days in Damascus (Acts 9:9), followed by a trip to Arabia (Galatians 1:17). It took Paul a further three years to take the step of going to Jerusalem to receive the Apostles’ stamp of approval to serve God as a recognised preacher (Galatians 1:18).
In other words, Paul sought God and considered carefully what God wanted him to do. In doing so, he did what Jesus said we should do:
Luke 33-14:28 NIVUK
[28] ‘Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? [29] For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, [30] saying, “This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.” [31] ‘Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? [32] If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. [33] In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
God does not want people who decide quickly that they will follow Him, who then, just as quickly, disappear as soon as the going gets tough (Matthew 13:20-21), or whose focus is disturbed by the treasures and worries of this world (Matthew 13:22). God wants people who listen to Him, obey, and keep obeying, no matter what.
That is what I mean by a ‘Deliberate Life’ – someone who is not ill-considered or thoughtless, but who thinks about things, particularly spiritual things, and takes a well reasoned-out decision.
I’m not a golfer. Golf on TV bores me. But there is one thing I know about golf. To hit a good shot, it is not enough just to strike the ball well. The moment of contact between club and ball is not the be-all and end-all. The quality of your shot is also affected by your follow-through: by the movement of your arms and the club after the club has struck the ball.
Far too many Evangelical Christians focus simply on that moment when the club strikes the ball: when people hear the Gospel and respond. That is not enough. For a life well-lived, for a truly worthy, worthwhile life, we must have a strong follow-through on every commitment we made to God.
Paul’s was strong. There can be no doubt in that. He was an elderly man imprisoned for his faith and likely facing execution, yet this man believes that he will ‘in no way be ashamed’ of his life, but lives every day so that ‘Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death’.
That ought to give us chills.
Paul has decided, with a carefully considered decision, to live so that Christ might be ‘exalted’.
But what does that mean?
In some older translations, the word is translated as ‘magnified’. However, it seems to me that both ‘exalted’ and ‘magnified’ don’t quite carry the correct inference.
Jesus already has the highest place and the Name above every name (Philippians 2:9). How can He be raised up, or exalted any higher?
Jesus already is great – the greatest, in fact (Philippians 2:10-11). How can He be magnified, or made bigger?
An alternate Greek translation might help us here. The word megalyno can also mean ‘to make conspicuous’ or ‘to declare great’ or ‘to esteem highly, to extoll, laud, celebrate’.
In other words, Paul is living his life, and potentially losing it, so that other people might see just how great God is through Him and be led to worship Him and follow Him too.
It is his decision to ‘follow through’ on this desire that has got him where he is, but he is absolutely not ashamed of it:
Romans 1:16 NIVUK
[16] For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. https://bible.com/bible/113/rom.1.16.NIVUK
So we see that a life lived well, a worthy life, is firstly a deliberate life – one where we take a carefully considered decision and follow it through to the end. The single greatest decision we can make is to follow Jesus.
The second trait of a life lived well is that it is A Detached Life:
Philippians 1:21 NIVUK
[21] For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. https://bible.com/bible/113/php.1.21.NIVUK
For me, this verse is something extraordinary .
Let me explain why.
Paul is in prison, awaiting a verdict that may well cost him his life. Those deciding his fate are notoriously capricious and corrupt, not to mention heavily biased against Christians. Any hope he has of receiving a fair trial has long gone.
He is facing a literal life or death decision.
Yet Paul sees his seemingly impossible situation as ‘win-win’, meaning that whether he lives or dies, he wins either way.
That conclusion ought to stun us. I sincerely doubt if too many of us would perceive it in the same way had we been in his position.
And yet Paul has strong reasons for believing this. And the reason why is that Paul has already followed the advice he gave to others:
1 Corinthians 25-9:24 NIVUK
[24] Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. [25] Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last for ever.
2 Timothy 7-2:3 NIVUK
[3] Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. [4] No-one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. [5] Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. [6] The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. [7] Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
And without doubt, the writer of the Hebrews echoes this sentiment:
Hebrews 3-12:1 NIVUK
[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, [2] fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. [3] Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. https://bible.com/bible/113/heb.12.1.NIVUK
The idea of ‘setting aside’ came from the fact that the ancients wore long, flowing robes that were resplendent, but hideously impractical if you needed to run fast. This is why, in the ancient Olympics, the runners shed their robes and ran the races buck naked. They shed everything and anything that could impede their speed, whatever the cost.
The writer of the Hebrews fits these into two categories:
· Everything that hinders – things that may not be morally questionable, but that prevent us from following Christ as we should
· The sin that so easily entangles – anything we know is morally wrong that we must lay aside
Paul has reached this point in his life where even giving up his very life does not make him afraid because, as we will see in chapter 3, he has already gone through this shedding process. He has already got rid of both things that hinder and sins that entangle. He can stare down suffering knowing that he has absolutely nothing to lose, because he is clinging on to nothing but Christ.
And that is what makes the difference.
One of my favourite songs by Christian alternative rock band Switchfoot, a song written from the perspective of a man staring out a hurricane, has these formidable words:
‘Everything I have I count as loss
Everything I have is stripped away
Before I started building
I counted up these costs
There’s nothing left for you to take away’
(listen to the song here)
And that is precisely the point.
The mark of idolatry is not what temple we worship in or which statue we bow down to, but it’s what we would rather cling to instead of Jesus Christ.
Hearing that might be like antiseptic on a cut: it stings and brings tears to our eyes because there is an infection, there is a wound, there is a problem, and the solution hurts.
Paul has reached this point because he is clinging onto nothing – not even his own life – more than Jesus Christ. He has nothing to lose: if he lives, he lives for the glory of God; if he dies, God is glorified.
Whichever way things turn out, Paul’s life ambition will be fulfilled.
No wonder he is such a happy man.
If we aim at anything less, if we cling onto anything else, than the glory of God, then we place ourselves on the fast track to disappointment and existential despair.
Everything in life can be snatched from us in a moment: our job, our house, our car, our position, our health, our family, our friends, even our church. We know that. We’ve lived through it. We saw it happen during the Covid pandemic.
So if we know these things can be taken from us in the blink of an eye, why do we depend on them? Why not cling to Christ?
Why was Paul’s life so well-lived, so worthy, despite severe and unrelenting deprivation? Because, as well as being a deliberate life, it was also a detached life – detached from dependency on anything in life that could prevent him from fulfilling his purpose.
Thirdly, it was also A Decreased Life:
Philippians 26-1:22 NIVUK
[22] If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! [23] I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; [24] but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. [25] Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, [26] so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
At first, this might sound a little strange. Why would Paul say that it’s more necessary for the Philippians that he remain alive?
The answer is simple: he sees serving them, and the wider church, as a key part of his life’s purpose. He is not ‘in this’ for the money, the fame and the respect – if he was, then spending his days in a Roman prison would never have been part of his plan.
No, Paul’s purpose is not to ‘lord it over’ anyone, but to serve them (2 Corinthians 1:24; see also Matthew 20:25; Mark 10:42; Luke 22:25).
Lording it over people wasn’t even part of the Lord Jesus’ plan (Matthew 10:26-29; Mark 10:45). Jesus even carried out the role of the lowliest possible slave and washed His disciples’ feet, before telling His disciples to do the same (John 13:1-17). This could not have been more startlingly counter-cultural.
Paul even wrote these words to the competitive and fractions Corinthian church:
1 Corinthians 14:12 NIVUK
[12] Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. https://bible.com/bible/113/1co.14.12.NIVUK
And to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 13-4:11 NIVUK
[11] So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, [12] to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up [13] until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. https://bible.com/bible/113/eph.4.11.NIVUK
So Paul saw his calling, and that of every believer without exception, to use their gifts and abilities, given to them by God, to build up and strengthen the church – first and foremost, above all.
In other words, to serve God and other people.
A key trait of any worthy life, of any life well lived, is that serving other people is a huge part of it. People who truly live effectively do not live for themselves – for their own benefit, reputation or cause.
No, they live for God and for others.
They follow the rule laid down by John the Baptist:
John 3:30 NIVUK
[30] He must become greater; I must become less.’ https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.3.30.NIVUK
Our job is to serve and glorify God, not us, until He tells us to stop.
That might be difficult to hear. We live in a world where, both professionally and online, the people who shout loudest get the most attention. However, I once heard a little maxim that had remained with me ever since: ‘Life is like a swimming pool: most of the noise comes from the shallow end’.
Jesus calls us, not to a life of boisterous bossing, but a life of silent service (Matthew 6:1-4), so that He gets the glory. Let others see and acclaim you – you be busy with what God has called you to do.
So we have seen three traits of a life well lived, a worthy life. We have seen that it is a deliberate life, a detached life and a decreasing life.
Lastly, we see that it is also A Determined Life:
Philippians 30-1:27 NIVUK
[27] Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel [28] without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved – and that by God. [29] For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, [30] since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. https://bible.com/bible/113/php.1.27.NIVUK
The first two words of the English translation sum up these verses: ‘whatever happens’. In other words, regardless of what is going around you, this is what you must do. These are your orders, your requirements, your rules.
There is an interesting use of words here. Where it says, ‘conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ’, Paul is doing something very clever that is not visible in the English translations.
As we saw earlier, Paul and Silas were arrested because they, as far as their accusers were concerned, were enticing Philippians to act in ways that were unbecoming of their status as Roman citizens (Acts 16:20-21).
Now Paul is flipping this on its head. He is saying that the Philippian Christians should conduct themselves in a way that is becoming of their citizenship of the Gospel of Christ. His message here is that their loyalties lie elsewhere now. They are Christians. They should be who they claim to be.
And he outlines how they can do this.
Firstly, they should stand firm in one spirit. The word ‘spirit’ here can be understood to be the Holy Spirit. However, it can also refer to our rationality, our feelings, our emotions, our desires, our ability to make decisions.
In other words, everything that makes us unique.
Paul is telling the Philippians to leave aside their petty and unimportant differences and seek to be unified at deeper level.
What’s more, he goes on to pray for this unity (Philippians 2:2), because, as he taught the Ephesians, there is one spirit (Ephesians 4:4).
Secondly, they should strive together for the faith of the Gospel. Instead of turning inwards against each other, they should use their energies to defend their unity and contend for the cause of Jesus Christ.
The Greek word for ‘striving’ is ‘athleo’, from where we get our word ‘athlete’.
But this is more. Paul adds to this word the prefix ‘syn’, to make a word that means ‘striving together’. So the Philippians are not to see each other as competition. Instead, they are to strive and to compete side by side as a team against their enemy.
And his last command for them is to not be terrified – the inference being that they should not flee or run away, like a soldier under attack abandoning his guard post.
Everyone of these requires grit. They require determination. Determination not to let petty issues upset us. Determination to see others as our fellow soldiers and not as enemies. Determination to stand our ground and not be afraid.
Because, you see, this is rather the point: everything worthwhile comes through struggle.
If we get everything in life easily and cheaply, we will not value it.
But if we have to fight and give our utmost to achieve it, then it will be important to us. Then we will truly value it.
So we see that Paul sets out for us four traits of a worthwhile life – traits he himself is showing while imprisoned with a potential death sentence hanging over his head. These four traits are: a deliberate life, a detached life, a decreased life and a determined life.
I would like you to imagine, for a moment, that you are an Olympic athlete. I know – for some of us this will take a lot more imagination than for others. I'd like you to imagine that after four years of relentless training and competing you have reached the pinnacle of sporting achievement and are about to compete in a race in front of a packed crowd. Your family are in the grandstand, their hearts bursting with pride in you. Your friends are at home, watching with snacks around their TV sets, willing you to do well. Your coaches are anxiously waiting to see if all their efforts have finally come to fruition.
You wait at the starting line. Your muscles are poised ready to explode with pace and power. The starting pistol fires. And you’re off...
... straight to the crowd to take a selfie with your family. They look at you and yell, ‘What are you doing? Get in the race!’
A little annoyed at them, you jog a little further, until you see a TV camera, which you stand in front of and start to blow kisses, before launching into a speech about how grateful you are for your coaching team.
When the camera crew try to shoo you back onto the track, you jog over to a TV gantry, where you surprise the commentators on the race and try to get an interview on how hard you worked in the lead-up to the race.
They, rather abruptly, tell you that the race is still in progress and you should join it, but instead, annoyed by their reaction, you jog down to the track, grab a flag and do a lap of honour...
...for a race you did not compete in.
That would be absurd, right? There is no athlete in the world who would do that. Surely not.
But there are millions of people who want to reap the rewards of a full and worthwhile life without actually living it. They boast on TV, in magazines and on social media about who they are and what they’ve done and where they’ve been and their plans for the year, but everything is empty. It is all vacuous. There is absolutely zero substance behind it. To quote an old saying, they are empty vessels who are making a lot of noise.
The sad thing is that these people, who are all façade and no reality, have cleverly convinced our people – particularly our young people – that they are living a worthwhile life, but our people are not, with the specific aim of selling to them, exploiting their aspirations and making money from them.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
There is only one way that you can live a worthwhile life, a worthy life, a life truly worth living. And it isn’t copying some empty-headed wannabee on social media. It isn’t following the latest fad or wearing the latest clothes or doing what some pseudo-famous person tells you to do.
That is nonsense. It will only lead you to disappointment, despair and doom.
It is in following Jesus that you truly live a worthwhile, life. This is what Jesus Himself said:
John 10:10 NIVUK
[10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
He died that we might truly live – whatever our situation.
Paul’s focus, even in prison and awaiting a death sentence, was to live a life truly worthy of the Gospel message he believed in and preached.
What’s yours?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I truly want to live a worthwhile life, worthy of the Gospel I believe. Help me to not be distracted by the attractions of this vain and empty life, nor by circumstances. Help me to focus on living life to the fullest. Amen.
Questions
1. How does Paul’s teaching on what makes a life worthwhile differ from the values of the world around you? Which do you believe is correct and why?
2. What are the four traits of a worthwhile life in this passage? Does your life show any of these?
3. Are you living a worthwhile life? If not, how do you intend to put this right?
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