We are continuing our first series in Philippians, and it is great to have you to join us.  

Background 

This episode is entitled ‘The Kingdom Advances Under Pressure’. This is a very important biblical theme. The Church always faces difficulties. There can be economic problems, internal divisions, persecution or you can live in a war-torn country. There are all sorts of problems but particularly the pressure of persecution and opposition is in mind here. This second half of Philippians 1 encourages us if our situation as a Christian, or a church, is difficult. All over the world, there are tremendous difficulties that the Church faces, which we should not underestimate.There are many countries in which it is illegal to practice the Christian faith or to have public worship; some of you will be worshipping in private, house church environments. In many countries there can be issues of terrorism, violence, or direct opposition to the gospel in your community and yet the Kingdom advances under pressure. This is Paul's testimony. This passage builds up our faith if we are facing difficult circumstances.  

When Paul wrote this, he had spent five years in great difficulty.  He had been in prison in Judea, in the Roman military headquarters of Caesarea for two years. He had had a very hazardous and difficult journey by sea from Judea to Italy, and to Rome. Then he had spent a period under house arrest, which was at least two years from what we hear in the book of Acts. In the last five years, Paul spent all the time under guard - either in prison, in house arrest, or on board a ship where the Roman military guards were with him all the way. The ship nearly sank at one point, which would have ended his life, and it was shipwrecked onto the island of Malta. These were times of real pressure that Paul faced. Now he was in Rome and was facing difficulties there. We discussed last time that he had financial problems; he had to pay the rent on the house. He was under house arrest, which probably meant that he was chained, with a long chain, within the house so that he could only walk around the area of the house; he couldn't go any further than that.He was literally chained to the building. Paul wasn't having an easy life. He had not been able to travel anywhere for about five years; Paul loved to travel and to visit the churches. He simply couldn't get back to the churches that he had planted in Asia Minor, in Macedonia and the main part of Greece.  He was also under pressure because there was the risk that he could be executed when he was brought before the court, which could happen at any time. 

 This is the context in which Paul speaks. The faith and confidence he had in hard times is amazing. I want to give you some of that confidence through the help of the Holy Spirit, by interpreting this passage in a way that encourages you, if you have faced significant difficulties in your walk of faith. Maybe you face the difficulties of persecution, separation from loved ones, imprisonment, isolation and losing your job - all sorts of things can happen. 

House Arrest – An Opportunity for the Gospel 

This is very interesting passage. There are several occasions in my teaching on Paul that I refer to these circumstances that took place while Paul was under house arrest. I want to do that again now because in Rome, the military presence was largely the imperial guard - a special regiment in the Roman army whose job was to guard the emperor and the palace. They were called the Praetorian Guard. Their barracks, where they lived, was just outside the city and their presence was always there in the city. They took up military duties for anything that the emperor needed in the city, including guarding his personal prisoners. Paul was one of those personal prisoners because he had, when he was in prison in Judea, appealed to Caesar, the emperor. He wanted to be judged by the court in Rome, not by a court in Judea. The soldiers who were with Paul, day and night on a rotation basis, all came from this elite regiment. The imperial guard had access to the emperor’s palace. The Roman emperor at this time was the most powerful man in the known world with an enormous empire and a vast army. Isn't it interesting that Paul being imprisoned in Rome meant that the emperor's guards are the same people who are guarding Paul? He is fearless in witnessing to them. They would say, “Why are you here? What is your charge?” and then he would quickly say, “I am here on behalf of Jesus Christ, my Saviour the Messiah from Judea, who came to save Gentiles like you.” He would start to explain the gospel to them. So, all the soldiers heard the good news. Soldier after soldier, guard after guard heard the same message from Paul. Week after week, he would tell them more and more of his story. Paul began to realise that the gospel was advancing because the gospel was getting to the very heart of the Roman Empire, to the highest point in the Roman Empire. The gospel message was being discussed in the Imperial Court because he was in prison, and the soldiers were talking to other palace officials. Maybe even the emperor himself, heard about Paul. The emperor at this time was a man called Nero, who disliked the Christian Church and at one point did something very drastic against the Church. Famously, there was a fire in Rome, and everyone was trying to work out why this fire had destroyed whole sections of the city. Nero chose to blame the Christians and had many of them executed. That was the sort of man he was; Paul was getting the gospel message through to the emperor, Nero. His imprisonment served to advance the gospel. 

 Any setback that we have in life can advance the gospel if we can work out what God is doing. You may have had a health setback, a financial setback, or some other problem in your life, but God can use your present circumstances to advance the gospel. Paul is encouraging us to think creatively, even about very difficult circumstances. He had had five years of difficult circumstances and still he was positive and sharing his faith. He noticed also that the brothers and sisters in Rome, verse 14, in the church nearby, had gained confidence because they had heard that Paul was still preaching even though he was under house-arrest and chained. That encouraged Paul. Evangelists encourage other people. Paul was an evangelist, and he encouraged other people to share their faith when they heard the stories of how he shared his faith. 

Motives for Preaching the Gospel 

This passage shows that, in the Roman church, there was a division. There were people who supported Paul and people who were against him. They might have even been meeting in different church communities at this time - we don't know the full story, but we do know that there were tensions in the church in Rome which we find in Paul's letter to the Romans. Some people were preaching and sharing their faith because they were friends of Paul, and they were encouraged by his testimony. But some people were doing it out of a false motive; they did not support Paul. Perhaps they were a different Christian community, and they were pulling people away from loyalty to Paul. But notice Paul's attitude here. He said that whatever people's motives in preaching Christ were, the most important thing is that Christ himself is preached to the unbelievers.  

This kind of situation happens in the modern church. There is often rivalry and tension between churches in a particular location. Sometimes people set up churches to draw people away from other churches. You may have had that experience yourself. Sometimes it happens accidentally; sometimes people do it deliberately and they begin to ask members of one church to join in their church community. This is the kind of rivalry that Paul had in mind when he was talking about the tension amongst the Christian believers in Rome. I take a lot of encouragement from Paul's attitude here. He said that the only thing that matters is that the gospel is preached. 

In my experience, as a pastor over 20 years, I remember two occasions when people set up churches in the same town and area that our church was located. I could see that they were consciously and deliberately inviting members of our church to join their newly formed churches. When that happened, I came to this passage and thought about how to respond. It could be seen as a threat; it could be something that becomes very confrontational. But I met with the pastors, and we had discussion about different things, but I didn't try and stop them doing what they were doing. We just allowed the situation to progress. Paul took a very gracious attitude to people who were fellow Christians evangelising but not in close relationship with him. We should take that same attitude. The most important thing is that the gospel message advances, and more and more people hear about Christ. 

 Help in Time of Trouble 

In this remarkable passage, Paul is talking about the possibility, even the likelihood, of his imminent death. Paul wrote this letter towards the end of his life.  He had been an Apostle working in the mission field for 25 to 30 years and had been in prison between four and five years in total, including the voyage from Judea to Rome in that time. He knew that the judicial decision, the decision of the Imperial Court, could go against him. He knew his punishment would almost certainly be execution. So, he was thinking about his life and about how to approach these incredible threats to his life. The human challenge is enormous for people in that situation, and Paul was no exception. 

There were resources he had to help him. One was the prayers of other people. He appreciated the prayers of the Philippians, which were upholding him and strengthening him at the time when he was confined and in danger of losing his life. He was also so grateful for the work of the Holy Spirit in his life. The Holy Spirit helps us to deal with such difficult situations. 

Let me tell you a story as an example. The famous Romanian pastor Richard Wurmbrand, from the 1970s and the 1980s, was imprisoned by the evil communist regime in the country of Romania. For three years he was in solitary confinement. His cell was four metres underground - dark, and for the most part totally silent. He was completely cut off from the outside world. His food was brought to him and his cell was cleaned occasionally, but otherwise, he was absolutely on his own for three years. He had the resource of people praying for him, like Paul, but he also had the work of the Holy Spirit within him. The Holy Spirit led him to do something quite extraordinary, which was to prepare and to preach sermons every day to the wall of the cell! Sermons in solitary confinement! Later, he wrote many of them down and published them. The Holy Spirit renewed his faith in the incredibly difficult and oppressive circumstances where he faced complete and total isolation.  

He had no idea what was happening to his wife, his family, or his church or anything else that was going on outside. But he had the Holy Spirit with him. He had the prayers of others and, like Paul in this passage, he had what Paul described as ‘sufficient courage’. If you are praying for people who are persecuted, or in prison, this is the one thing to pray for. Pray for them to have sufficient courage to face the darkness, the difficulty and the pain of their situation. Paul needed sufficient courage, and God gave him that. God gave Richard Wurmbrand that sufficient courage and even Jesus, when he faced the cross, prayed in a similar way. He needed, humanly speaking, sufficient courage to go through with the last events of his life. He went to Gethsemane with his disciples on that Friday evening after the last supper. He was waiting to be arrested through the actions of Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples who betrayed him and he prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will but yours be done.” He was, in effect, praying for sufficient courage in that dark place. That is exactly what Paul was doing in this situation. 

Paul was also helped by another factor - his perspective on death, which comes out very clearly in this passage, verse 21: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” This perspective on death is the most transforming aspect of Christian discipleship, when we are facing opposition, because we know that death is not the end of our life. It is the beginning of our eternal life with Christ. Paul knew that he would gain, he would be in a better situation because he knew that he had nothing to fear from death. Verse 23: “I desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is better by far.” He knew that to die was better for him. He would have no more suffering, no more persecution, no more frustrations of this life, and he would be in the presence of Christ for eternity. If we have this kind of a perspective, then we can cope with the intense pressure of persecution and suffering. Paul knew that Jesus' words were true when he said to the criminal on the cross, who had faith at the last minute, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Paul knew that as soon as he died, he would be with Christ in paradise. He was sure of his eternal destiny. But why did he want to carry on living? - to help the other Christians. He was motivated, not for himself, but for them. He wanted to encourage others. 

Willingness to Suffer  

Paul concludes this discussion by saying to the Philippians to be consistent and united, and not to be afraid of their opponents but be willing to suffer. This is very profound. Some Christians have not calculated that part of our discipleship journey is a willingness to suffer for our faith. It was always taught by Jesus that this was likely to happen. He told his disciples, “Pick up your cross to follow me.” He said in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5: 11 and 12: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” From the very beginning, Jesus had warned that suffering was a possibility for Christians. We need to calculate it and not to be intimidated by it. We need to have our vision on eternity with Christ. We need to have our satisfaction in obeying him, and the joy of being his servants. Some Christians testify in a quite extraordinary way, like Pastor Richard Wurmbrand and many others, that there was a joy in suffering - a joy in being considered worthy to suffer for the gospel, in identifying with Jesus Christ. 

Reflections 

First, let Paul's example be an inspiration to you and secondly, renew your confidence in your eternal future. If you have been born again and the Holy Spirit lives within you and you are following Christ, your future is secure, you are his - in life or death. 

Finally, a comment about supporting persecuted Christians, because this story is about the Philippian church supporting Paul in his persecution. You will remember from the first episode, I explained how they sent money to him, and they sent one of their church members, Epaphroditus, to be with Paul for a long period of time, to support and help him. One of our callings as Christians is to support persecuted Christians. There are many in the world today, notably in different parts of Africa, in the Middle East, in countries like North Korea, in China, and in other Asian countries where opposition to true faith is strong. Jesus once told a famous parable in Matthew 25, of the sheep and the goats, saying that, on the day of judgment, humanity will be divided up into two communities like a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. The sheep are the ones who are going to be saved, who are going to inherit the Kingdom. They ask, “Why are we inheriting the Kingdom?” And in verse 35, Jesus says, “For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger, and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.”  Many people interpret this passage as caring for the poor in general. But, as I explain in the episode on this parable, in the Collection on ‘The Life of Jesus’, this is not actually the case.  ‘The righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did you see a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” The King will reply, “Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” 

The ‘brothers and sisters’ of Jesus in the gospel, especially in Matthew's Gospel, always refers to fellow believers, in every instance that the word is used. So, that parable teaches us that there is a special blessing on Christians who support fellow believers who are persecuted. It is a sign of true faith that you have reached out to them. That is exactly what the Philippians did to Paul; they reached out to him in his time of suffering by sending him finance, by praying for him, and by sending a man called Epaphroditus to be his companion and helper. This is an amazing insight into Christian fellowship in times of suffering, and I hope that it is a help to you in your context. 

Do join us again for our next episode as we move to Philippians chapter 2.