Joy in the
Furtherance of the Gospel
Book of Philippians
1:1-17
The Church at
Philippi had been established by the Apostle Paul on his second
missionary journey and it was the first Christian church established
in Europe.
We should not forget
it was from Europe that the "Gospel" found its way to these
United States to form a nation where the people could freely worship
the Lord Jesus Christ, the God of the Bible!
We offer the freedom
to worship but, the Constitution declares the freedom to worship the
Lord Jesus Christ which at that time was being denied to those in
Europe.
This is the Church
that was established in the house of Lydia. This was a place of great
poverty yet, this was first New Testament church to provide financial
aid to Paul for the furtherance of the "Gospel" wherever he
was.
So, as we study
these epistles, we should consider that Paul was writing first to the
Church itself (the Body of Christ) and secondarily to the Pastors and
the church leaders.
*****Php 1:1 Paul
and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in
Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
Paul did not
introduce himself as an Apostle to this church, they already
understood this to be true. The greatest title any Christian can have
is "Servant"!
God did not save us
to be His servants, God saved us to be an integral part of His
family. As part of the family of God we are to be servants to and of
the Church and each other.
This is the task our
Savior chose for us all to follow!
Luk 22:25 And he
said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over
them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called
benefactors.
Luk 22:26 But ye
shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the
younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.
Luk 22:27 For
whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is
not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.
To be a Holy Ghost
filled servant to the Church in the ways of Jesus Christ, is the only
way to Sainthood. All other ways are fake!
It is the Saint that
is eternal, the offices of bishop and deacon are only temporary and
of this earth!
The Word of God
never uses the word "Saint" to refer to just a select group
of people!
Heb 10:10 By the
which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all.
BUT, a "Saint"
can only be sanctified by holding to the truth of God's Word!
Joh 17:16 They are
not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:17 Sanctify
them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Joh 17:18 As thou
hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the
world.
The term "Bishop"
is used throughout Paul's epistles an elder of the church. This is a
person that in some way has oversight in the functioning of the
church and it is the entire Body of Christ that is to appoint such
persons.
In fact, Jesus
Christ said He was the Bishop of our souls, because it is only Jesus
that has oversight over our souls and is the Chief Shepherd of the
Church!
1Pe 2:25 For ye
were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd
and Bishop of your souls.
1Pe 5:4 And when
the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory
that fadeth not away.
Also, a fulfillment
of the Old Testament Scriptures:
Psa 23:1 A Psalm of
David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psa 23:2 He maketh
me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still
waters.
Psa 23:3 He
restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for
his name's sake.
The Deacon is the
servant inside the Church to help meet the needs of the Body of
Christ. They can also be messengers, or even runners.
What did Peter say?
Act_6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto
them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of
God, "and serve tables".
This is the reason
that the first deacons were elected and again they were elected by
the "Body of Christ", not the apostles, for a specific
purpose and it was never to try to dictate the ways of the Church.
Peter said to "wait
on tables" a servant to the Body of Christ.
It is the Pastor who
is to lead the Church in the ways of Christ Jesus and it is the "Body
of Christ" that is to approve all church leaders and deacons".
Of course, the Pastor must be involved in all these things!
1Co_14:40 Let all
things be done decently and in order.
It is by God's Grace
that the Church has been given this opportunity or better said, "the
privilege" to take on the work that the Lord Jesus Christ has
given us to do, until He returns.
It should clear to
us all, we live in the time of God's "Grace"!
*****Php 1:2 Grace
be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus
Christ.
The Church has three
main functions:
1) Assemble as the
Holy Ghost filled Body of Christ to worship our Father in Heaven,
Jehovah God, in spirit and truth.
2) To instruct,
"born again" believers in the truth of the Word of God.
Makes "babes in Christ" to be "mature Christians".
3) Make disciples of
the mature Christians, to take the Word of God and the "Gospel
of Jesus Christ" out into the highways and byways and the
uttermost parts of this earth!
There is no doubt
that Paul had Timothy with him to instruct a young preacher boy in
the ways of the Church.
After all these
things are working as directed, then and only then can the Church be
a real help to the communities and to our nation!
All these things
come by the "Grace of God"!
It is only the "Born
Again" child of God that can be at peace with God, our Father,
and that peace only through and by the Lord Jesus Christ!
It is because of
God's "Grace" that we have been given this privilege!
*****Php 1:3 I
thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
The true Church has
delight in all things that the "Gospel" brings. This cannot
happen in any place where the Word of God is not accepted for the
complete truth.
God is a loving God
but he is also very serious about the words He has given to us!
Rev 22:18 For I
testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this
book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him
the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19 And if
any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy,
God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the
holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
How can anyone
ignore what God says at the risk of their name being removed from the
Book of Life?
Rev 20:15 And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire.
It is only because
they are servants of Satan!
If the entire body
of Christ would quit giving in to society and politicians and this
lost world, then there could truly still be a furtherance of the
Gospel even in our time which is fast coming to an end!
We must remain
steadfast to the truth of the Scriptures, no matter what others say!
We are already on
the winning side, it is the enemy that must change their ways!
God being who He is,
simply cannot fail and He certainly cannot be defeated!
We as Christians
sometimes get downhearted and weary in well doing but we must never
think we are the only ones in the battle.
Paul thanked God
because Paul knew that this Church in Philippi was in this battle
with Him!
I hope the
missionaries supported by our Church always feel that we will be with
them and supportive of them!
When we cannot help
them financially we can certainly help them with our prayers of
"faith"!
*****Php 1:4 Always
in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
We are wrong if we
do not pray for our church every day! Not just our local church but
for all the "Bride of Christ"!
If you love the Lord
Jesus Christ enough to trust Him with your soul, then we are all in
the family of God, living for Christ and sharing Christ with those
that cross our path and if none cross our path then we need to seek
them out.
Remember Christ died
for His enemies!
We sometimes make
Christianity to be a burden when Christianity is all about the Joy of
the Lord!
We are to pray for
those that we know and even for those we do not know!
The "fruit of
the Spirit is joy"
Gal_5:22 But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith,
Eph_5:9 (For the
fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
The Holy Spirit does
not give one-person Joy and another "truth"
When the Holy Spirit
moves in, He brings all His fruit with Him and shares all that fruit
with us.
It is a privilege to
be filled with the Holy Spirit and He will never leave us but we
still need a refilling every day.
It is also a great
and sometimes misunderstood privilege to go into the throne room of
God with our request!
When prayer becomes
a duty rather than a privilege how can we ever expect an answer to
our request?
A prayer of duty is
a prayer that lacks "faith" and without "faith",
we simply cannot please God!
If we cannot please
our Father in Heaven, then we have wasted the blood of Jesus that has
washed us from our sin!
Heb 11:6 But
without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.
We simply cannot
allow our mood to interfere with our relationship with the Lord! The
Lord is always the same, He never changes, a great example for each
child of God!
The Apostle Paul was
in fellowship with all the churches that he had planted. We should
still be in fellowship with all these apostles and we do that when we
follow the Apostles Doctrine and not something altered by some other
human.
Act 2:41 Then they
that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there
were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Act 2:42 And they
continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in
breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Why the Apostles
Doctrine? The Lord chose these men to start the New Testament church!
Anyone who teaches
you that we are to depart from the Apostles Doctrine is telling you a
lie!
We need to accept
the Apostles Doctrine in the Church and accept the Prophets of God as
the voice of God!
What are the
doctrines of the Church? (The Church, all those who have accepted the
Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior)
The entire Word of
God rightly divided and in context!
These are the true
things of the Church in the days of the Apostles and these things are
still the truth today!
These things bring
joy to the Church and a joyful church will hold a people who are in
complete fellowship with one another!
*****Php 1:5 For
your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
Php 1:6 Being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in
you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
The mark of
fellowship is a partnership. We are all (the Body of Christ) in this
thing together!
Denominations are a
man-made obstacle to decrease the strength of the Church!
What is the key to
our fellowship?
The "Gospel"
of the Lord Jesus Christ! The salvation plan of the Lord!
There are so many
places that have rejected the truth of God that there is very little
fellowship in the Church of today.
The one thing that
brought the church together to begin with was the work of Jesus
Christ!
1Co 15:1 Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1Co 15:2 By which
also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless ye have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4 And that
he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the
scriptures:
The Church must
never be ashamed of the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ! (It seems
that the modern-day Church has become ashamed of the only Savior of
this evil world) They have forgotten that our Savior, is also our
Redeemer, the One who has "Justified" us before our Father
in Heaven!
Rom 1:16 For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to
the Greek.
Rom 1:17 For
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as
it is written, The just shall live by faith.
You cannot be a true
Church and be ashamed of any part of the "Gospel of Jesus
Christ"!
There is no
justification to those who reject the Word of God and the Gospel of
Jesus Christ!
Christian fellowship
begins with a Spiritual bond with our Father in Heaven and His Dear
Son!
All these things
must hold true to be called "The Church"!
If we cannot commit
our faith and our lives to the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ
there will never be fellowship in the Church!
The Church is in
fellowship when we all live the same kind of life, doing the same
kind of things, living, serving, bearing witness to the truth of the
"Gospel"!
Why is the Church so
weak in this world today? We have lost fellowship with the Holy
Spirit because we have lost fellowship with each other!
The modern-day
church has rejected the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ and teach
some other man-made doctrine of humanity!
God says the only
New Age Movement that will bring salvation, is the Old Age Movement
of Jesus Christ!
Jer 6:16 Thus saith
the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths,
where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for
your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
Jer 6:17 Also I set
watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But
they said, We will not hearken.
Jer 6:18 Therefore
hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.
Jer 6:19 Hear, O
earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of
their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to
my law, but rejected it.
Why do so many think
God has changed, when it is impossible for God to change.
Mal_3:6 For I am
the LORD, I change not;
It is also
impossible for God to lie!
Heb_6:18 That by
two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we
might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold
upon the hope set before us:
How can any
so-called body of believers, believe that God has some new salvation
plan that will include those who refuse to give up their sin?
It has never been
this way.
This is the lie of
all false religion which all such things.
Not happening!
As believers, we
must be confident in the truth of the Scriptures!
Once saved, God
fills and seals us with His Holy Spirit!
2Co_1:22 Who hath
also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
Eph_1:13 In whom ye
also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed
with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph_4:30 And grieve
not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of
redemption.
The Holy Spirit will
never leave us and He will remain in us, even when the Lord Jesus
returns to take us all home.
The Lord Jesus
causes us to be "justified" and the Holy Spirit will begin
to "sanctify" us and that work will not be complete until
the Lord returns to "Glorify" us!
This the truth of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who once begins His work in us, will
perform it until He returns!
We should clearly
understand God will never begin a work within us and then quit
because some of us, (as I am), hard to work with!
It is always we that
quit on God and not God that quits on us!
Therefore, it is
called "Grace"! God's Riches At Christ Expense.
*****Php 1:7 Even
as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in
my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and
confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
We must remember
what the Lord has said!
2Co_12:9 And he
said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is
made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory
in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
As the Saints of
God, we must persevere under all conditions! We must persevere in the
truth of God's Word, there is no other way!
What had God said of
the Apostle Paul?
Act 9:15 But the
Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to
bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of
Israel:
Act 9:16 For I will
shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
Was it our God that
caused the pain and affliction of the Apostle Paul? That answer is
no. It was this world that hates the truth that caused Paul to suffer
so very much.
The Lord just knew
this would be true!
The entire church
will share in the afflictions of the Apostle Paul when we share the
truth of the "Gospel of Jesus Christ"!
So many so-called
places of worship are giving in to the world and refuse to believe
that the "Grace" of God is still sufficient to meet the
needs of the Church.
Any body of
believers who cannot or refuse to persevere in the truth of the
"Gospel" are set for doom and failure and they will be held
accountable for those, they take with them!
The same Saints who
can persevere in these times, are the same Saints who are sealed in
victory!
The entire "Body
of Christ" must be closely bound to the Word of God and the
Doctrines of the Apostles, including the Apostle Paul.
We must remain in
"harmony" with the truth of God!
God does not change
and neither should we. "We are to always hate sin"! Every
"Born Again" child of God must repent of their old
lifestyle!
A drunk cannot
remain a drunk.
A murderer cannot
kill.
A gay person must
adhere to the Word of God.
The gender those
were born in will remain their gender until the day they die.
No doubt those who
cling to the truth will suffer in this world but if we suffer
together, we can bear one another's burdens.
Gal 6:2 Bear ye one
another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Yes, the law of
Christ is love but salvation cannot come to those who refuse to
repent their personal sins!
We cannot love
someone into Heaven, they each have to deal with God in a personal
manner and then obey what God has said!
We must remain
partners in the "Gospel" and not some altered version or
some perversion of the Word of God!
When our Church
leaders are imprisoned and mistreated, it is not time to abandon the
"Gospel"!
It's pass the time
to buckle on the "armor of God" and go to war!
God says this:
Rom_12:18 If it be
possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
This means that it
may not always be possible!
If we cannot defend
the Lord Jesus Christ, then how can we say we love Him?
We must take the
"great commission" of the Lord seriously!
Mar 16:15 And he
said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not
shall be damned.
It is those who
refuse to believe they are damned, who will be the true enemy of the
Christian Soldier!
We must remain
partners in Christ!
We must remain
partners in "Grace".
We must remain
partners in the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ!
We must remain
partners in the Love of God!
*****Php 1:8 For
God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of
Jesus Christ.
Php 1:9 And this I
pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in
all judgment;
We must clearly
understand the love of God.
Joh 3:16 For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the
world through him might be saved.
There is no
salvation to anyone who rejects the Lord Jesus Christ!
To accept the Lord
Jesus Christ is to accept that He is certainly God in the flesh!
This "faith"
will bring this same love that we are to show to one another.
We must also clearly
understand that "love" in the Scriptures is never about
feelings!
Love in the
Scriptures is about acknowledging the Love of Christ!
Love in the
Scriptures is about the knowledge of one another.
Those we love are
those we want to know in a personal relationship.
God has intended,
from the time of Adam and Eve to work toward a personal relationship
with each of His created human beings.
That work was
completed by the Lord Jesus Christ and those who believe in the "work
that the Lord has accomplished" (for our personal relationship
with our Creator) will spend eternity with Him!
Those that reject
the work of Jesus Christ will spend eternity in the only other place
that exists and that is the "burning Lake of Fire", for
this world we live in now, will not exist forever!
If we strive for
that personal relationship with our Creator, then we would be very
foolish not to try to please Him!
The more we love the
Lord, the more we will try to please Him!
The more we love
each other, the more we will encourage each other in the Lord.
It is only by that
love that we can become pure and pure means: cleansed from sin,
unstained by the ways of this world, with our eyes focused on the
Lord Jesus Christ!
Another way to
remain close to each other is to pray for one another!
Love grows in
prayer!
God's love, embraced
with "faith" is the power behind the Christian life and the
power behind our prayers!
This is the love
that will be evident to the world!
Many will accept
what they see but many will reject this love as a fallacy, and
nothingness, but we must never be discouraged.
True "faith"
cannot exist without love!
The Scriptures are
our pathway to the knowledge of the truth, doctrinal and even
practical.
Judgment in this
verse means perception. We must be able to discern good from evil.
We must understand
the sin of immorality and that it has no place in society and
certainly not in the Church.
Judgment here is
discernment! Discernment is the act of distinguishing the truth from
those things that are false, according to the Word of God.
It is love, based
upon our "faith" in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, that
we can obtain the knowledge and the judgment of the Christian life!
*****Php 1:10 That
ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and
without offence till the day of Christ;
Php 1:11 Being
filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ,
unto the glory and praise of God.
Discernment is the
power within us to perceive the differences of things and ideas and
their relationship to our daily walk with the Lord.
Some ideas may seem
worthy of our time, until we test them and find they are not worthy
of the Lord.
Things that are
excellent are the things that go beyond our own thoughts of good.
Things that are of
great value can be used in our own mission for the Lord.
Things that are
complete are without the aid of other things in the sense of being
Christ like.
Anything that could
become a stumbling block to another brother or sister in Christ must
be avoided!
Rom 12:2 And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God.
True discernment
means we will choose only those things that are acceptable to the
Lord!
Eph 5:10 Proving
what is acceptable unto the Lord.
There are no fruits
of righteousness that do not come through the Lord Jesus Christ!
What is expected of
the Christian life?
1) The Christian
must bear fruit.
Gal 5:22 But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law.
2) We must bear the
fruits of righteousness.
Jas_3:18 And the
fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
3) We must bear
inward and outward holiness.
Eph_4:24 And that
ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness
and true holiness.
Heb_12:14 Follow
peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the
Lord:
We must also
understand that not every bad thing that happens to Christians is a
hindrance to the Gospel!
*****Php 1:12 But I
would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened
unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
Php 1:13 So that my
bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other
places;
Php 1:14 And many
of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much
more bold to speak the word without fear.
We should understand
it was the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ who had led Paul to
go to Rome.
Act_19:21 After
these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had
passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying,
After I have been there, I must also see Rome.
Act_23:11 And the
night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer,
Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou
bear witness also at Rome.
God will never begin
a mission just to end it suddenly!
All God ask is we
lead the Christian life and discern good from evil!
The imprisonment of
Paul which first seemed to defend his Roman citizenship had become
known as connected to Jesus Christ because it was!
Paul was no ordinary
prisoner; his own captivity was a witness for Jesus Christ!
Sometimes our
circumstance can overwhelm us when the Lord's intent was for these
things be for His benefit!
We cannot allow
ourselves to be defeated! A defeated Christian is useless to the Lord
and a banner to display for our enemy.
The Apostle Paul
could not claim to be innocent as was Christ Jesus but Paul was
certainly imprisoned without having committed a crime!
His crime was
preaching the salvation plan of the Lord!
Can you just imagine
being a soldier chained to the Apostle Paul with each soldier being
constantly relieved and another to take his place? The ones the Paul
witnessed to, could not escape to get away from him.
It was not very long
before the work of Christ to die for our sins was broadcast
throughout the military of Rome.
Paul was then housed
in his own house under guard and could receive all those who would
hear the "Gospel".
It would not be long
before Paul would stand before the supreme court of Rome and teach
them the "Gospel".
Paul spent 2 years
under these conditions.
Paul did never
grumble or complain.
Paul did never
question God and wonder why.
Paul did not become
defeated and fall to pieces.
Paul did not ever
curse God nor give up his "faith" in Christ.
Paul remained
confident even in bondage.
Paul took this
opportunity to spread the "Gospel"!
These things even
encouraged the many who came to visit Paul to boldly preach the
Gospel.
The truth is
Christian persecution has never been able to stop the "Gospel"
of Jesus Christ!
2Ti 2:9 Wherein I
suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God
is not bound.
2Ti 2:10 Therefore
I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain
the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
When we allow our
circumstances to interfere with the spread of the "Gospel"
of Jesus Christ, we are causing our own selves harm along with those
who have not had the opportunity to meet and know the Lord!
The name of Jesus,
the Messiah, was being mentioned in all of Rome.
*****Php 1:15 Some
indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good
will:
What is the truth?
The motives of all those who preached and taught the Word of God were
not all pure!
Some preached about
Jesus Christ only because they are envious of those who preached the
truth.
Some were even
envious of those who twisted the Word of God and tickled the ears and
had a massive following.
Even in bondage the
Apostle Paul was preaching in places that reached even into the
government of Rome and envy ruled some of the other preachers, even
for this thing.
Many of those
preached to undermine the influence of the Apostle Paul on the
Christian Church!
Gal 1:6 I marvel
that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace
of Christ unto another gospel:
Gal 1:7 Which is
not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert
the gospel of Christ.
Gal 1:8 But though
we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than
that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:9 As we said
before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto
you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:10 For do I
now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet
pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
But there were also
those who became bold enough to come out of their closet and preach
because of the love of Christ!
*****Php 1:16 The
one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add
affliction to my bonds:
Php 1:17 But the
other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
There are still
those today who preach the Word of God only out of concern for their
own pocketbooks. They have no love for Christ and they have no love
for those lost souls.
Some still refuse to
deliver the sincere milk of the Word of God and still deliver the
baby's formula!
1Pe_2:2 As newborn
babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
Many of them may
preached the truth, but not with a pure heart!
The Word of God
preached with anything other than a pure heart has evil intentions!
It was because Paul
was in bondage that these men were bold enough to come out in the
open, yet they would twist these things around to say that Paul must
be in bondage for some reason other than preaching the "Gospel".
They made Paul out
to be the leader of some new sect that went against the truth of God!
Without a doubt, the
true Christian of today is seen as some religious sect that go
against the reality of a peaceful society.
What is the truth of
God? We have the ministry of truth!
2Co 4:1 Therefore
seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint
not;
2Co 4:2 But have
renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness,
nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the
truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of
God.
2Co 4:3 But if our
gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
2Co 4:4 In whom the
god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them.
2Co 4:5 For we
preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your
servants for Jesus' sake.
What is the truth of
preaching the "Gospel" out of envy? The "Gospel"
is never to be about earthly riches.
(We must always
support the truth)
1Co 9:16 For though
I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is
laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
1Co 9:17 For if I
do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a
dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
1Co 9:18 What is my
reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the
gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the
gospel.
1Co 9:19 For though
I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that
I might gain the more.
We must preach and
the teach the truth of the "Gospel" without ever feeling
ashamed at what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for each of us!
Rom 1:16 For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to
the Greek.
Rom 1:17 For
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as
it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Anything other than
"faith" in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ will not
satisfy our Holy God!
Amen
