Philippians 1:18 NIVUK
[18] But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.
Like most men who work with or in technology, I have a box at home that contains a lot of cables. Over time, if my wife ever asked me to clean it out, I forget what the cables were for or did. And what happens with cables with a long forgotten purpose?
They are thrown out.
What is your life’s purpose? What do you live to achieve?
Those without a purpose live aimlessly, like a ship with no anchor or mooring, simply bobbing about on the waves, heading unknowingly for disaster.
Those with an unachievable purpose doom themselves to a life of frustration and despair.
Those whose purpose is too easy to achieve quickly get there and then feel empty or disappointed.
Here we have a situation where Paul is in prison, awaiting a final decision on his untimely demise. Most people would view this as a tragedy, an injustice, a shame.
Yet even behind bars, Paul is still living with a purpose. Paul is still living with focus and drive and enthusiasm.
Why?
Because every day his purpose, his focus, is renewed.
And what is that purpose?
To make Christ known.
There are three elements – two of which appear to be in sharp and clear opposition to Paul’s purpose – that work to make Christ known through him.
The first is a surprising one - captivity:
Philippians 14-1:12 NIVUK
[12] Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. [13] As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. [14] And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
Leaders like Paul were arrested for three reasons: to satiate their opponents (like the Jewish leaders), to silence men like Paul and to scare the Christian community into falling in line.
As far as Paul sees things, that purpose has failed and has failed badly.
Why?
Because even in prison, Paul has not failed to make Christ known. As he asked the Ephesians to pray:
Ephesians 20-6:19 NIVUK
[19] Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, [20] for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
This is absolutely the case. Paul’s declarations of the Gospel have even reached the ears of the Palace guard. And so the message of encouragement Joseph gave to his terrified brothers once they realise who he was is true also of Paul:
Genesis 50:20 NIVUK
[20] You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
So the very action the Roman authorities had taken to try to silence Paul and stifle the Gospel had actually had precisely the opposite affect!
I once had the privilege of hearing the Romanian Christian leader Iosif Țon speak. He related the story of how, during Communism, he was arrested and dragged into an office of the Romanian secret police – the Securitate – who made all kinds of threats of detention, even death, to silence him.
But Țon was not intimidated.
‘You can jail me or even kill me, if you want.’ He told them. ‘But if you do, know this: my sermons are on cassette tapes. If you do anything to me, they will be copied and will spread further and faster than before. So you can do what you want to me, but the Word of God will not be stopped.’
They left him alone after that.
Paul’s imprisonment served to encourage others. They looked on and saw how God was with him, how God was encouraging him, how God was even using him behind bars, and they realised God could do the same for them.
So captivity just didn’t work – it didn’t work at all.
But what about rivalry?
Philippians 18-1:15 NIVUK
[15] It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. [16] The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defence of the gospel. [17] The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. [18] But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.
But not all Christians see it this way.
I once went to see a great preacher from New York, Tony Campolo, preach in a youth meeting in Glasgow. He told the story of how he went to a church meeting where he was one of several speakers. As he sat there on the stage, he saw it as a competition. The first group of preachers stood up and did their thing. Tony wasn’t so impressed. Then he stood up and preached the best sermon he possibly could, before sitting down and smiling smugly to himself, ‘I’ve got this. I’ve won. I'm the best.’
He felt even more smug when the last preacher was an elderly African-American pastor.
But the smile left his face as soon as the elderly black preacher began his sermon.
He talked of how life is difficult and we struggle sometimes and then he said, ‘It’s Friday night, but Sunday’s coming.’
Again and again and again he did it, each section of the Sermon rising in intensity, until the whole congregation was on their feet, whooping and hollering and clapping and weeping.
Pastor Campolo admitted defeat.
Let’s be honest: Christians, specifically across the denominations, don’t always see each other as part of the same body. Often we see each other as competition, or as rivals. And that is so sad.
Paul had more reasons to do so than most. He was in jail, and while he was there, ill-intentioned men were trying to stir up strife for him, seeking to take his place. They were not interested in the Gospel. They were more interested in their own prestige, their own honour, their own glory – not God’s.
That would hurt any of us who really care about the ministry.
It didn’t hurt Paul.
Why?
Philippians 1:18 NIVUK
[18] But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.
Paul’s focus was on the fact that, whatever the motivation of these preachers, Christ was being preached. The Gospel was moving forward. Maybe not because of them. Maybe in spite of them. But for Paul, the communication of the message was what was of first importance, not the means.
But why was that?
I believe it was for one very simple reason: Paul was not responsible or accountable before God for these men.
As Ezekiel established centuries earlier:
Ezekiel 18:4 NIVUK
[4] The one who sins is the one who will die.
So if these men are preaching the Gospel with ill-intent, that is their issue. God will deal with them for that. Paul’s focus is that the Word of God is preached, whatever the means.
I have been in enough churches to know that this is an issue. It is a huge issue. With pathetic and ridiculous immaturity, we assume that someone who is not exactly the same as us, who doesn’t dress like us or talk like us or like the same music as us or read the same version of the Bible as us, cannot be a Christian.
That is nonsense. Complete and utter nonsense.
Let me tell you what counts more than anything else: that the Gospel is preached.
Everything else – and I do mean everything else – is secondary.
So Paul’s message ought to have been stopped by captivity and rivalry, but it was not.
But there were also those who preached the Gospel with sincerity:
Philippians 1:16 NIVUK
[16] The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defence of the gospel. https://bible.com/bible/113/php.1.16.NIVUK
In other words, as Paul explains, they were not out to overtake or usurp Paul because he wasn’t in prison. They weren’t on some perverse power trip. They preached the Gospel – the same Gospel as Paul – because He could not. They saw themselves as part of the same body as him (1 Corinthians 12). To borrow from an old advertising slogan, they reached the parts he could not. And they did it, not for the attention or the glory or the fame, but just to make sure that the Gospel was preached.
Recently, the film ‘Oppenheimer’ became a huge hit. Robert Oppenheimer was the inventor of a crucial piece of technology – the nuclear bomb. He knew what would it would be used for, but did not stop: he invented it anyway. When the nuclear bomb testing was successful, he famously uttered the words from the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita ‘I am become death, the destroyer of worlds’.
He created something he knew was destructive, but unleashed it nevertheless.
Paul has unleashed something. But the thing he has unleashed will not destroy the world.
No, it saves souls. And the thing he has unleashed spreads like wildfire from one person to another and another. Every dictator, every abuser, every persecutor, every low-down, dirty criminal who tries to stand in the way of it will find that it cannot be stopped. Ever.
Two thousand years have passed and still that message is spreading. Still it is growing. Still it is advancing. Don’t believe the media. Don’t believe the atheist hype. Don’t believe the negativity. The Gospel is still being preached. People are still believing it.
God is not dead. The Gospel is not silent.
And there, in his prison cell, Paul could reflect on what he had done and smile.
He had done his part. He had played his role. The unstoppable Gospel was unleashed and nothing could stand in its way.
That is why he could endure every deprivation they threw at him. That is why he could never be broken.
Tell me, Christian, is that true of you?
Or do you love the things that have been taken from you more?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I am so sorry when my focus is driven into minor details that just don’t count. Help me to not focus on how other people are not doing things the way I want them done. Help me to focus instead with wonder that, two thousand years on, the Gospel is still being preached and the church is still growing. Amen.
Questions
1. What are two things that could have upset Paul when he was imprisoned? What was the thing that thrilled him the most?
2. How does this make a difference to your opinions of other people and other ministries?
3. When you meet a Christian who is different from you, what do you focus on? Is that what Paul would have done?
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