141005 Sharing in Grace

Philippians 1:3-7  I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶ And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

Paul is thinking of the partnership he has with the Philippian believers. He is sure that God will finish what He has started in their lives. And he rejoices in the Philippians’ involvement with him in the gospel. In the book of Ecclesiastes there is a verse that is often used in regard to marriage. It goes like this: And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. This truth applies to all our endeavors. We need someone to stand beside us in our efforts and then God is the third cord making it not easily broken.

Everything we do should be based on our faith relationship with God. I’m not saying everything should be church related I am saying that everything is spiritual -- no matter how simple it is. This introductory passage to the Philippians is reflected in several other of Paul’s books. He often begins with a prayer that shows his concern for the church he is writing to. We need to remember that our God is concerned about all areas of our life and that…

God is faithful. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 1:4-9. This passage is Paul’s prayer for the Corinthians. Listen while I read. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— ⁶ even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We need to remember that the God we serve will sustain us and care for us. The apostle Paul himself is an illustration of how faithful God is. His own account of what he had gone through in serving Christ is found in 2 Corinthians 11:24-27. He said that he was whipped five times with thirty-nine lashes and beaten with rods on three different occasions. He was shipwrecked three times and lived his life in constant danger. And yet in the midst of it all, knowing that God is faithful, he can say without question that he could do all things through Christ who gives him the strength. He was able to accept poverty or plenty; health or illness; acceptance or rejection; hard labor or rest. He could do all these things because he knew without a doubt that the God who had called him into the fellowship of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, would meet all his needs according to His riches. But what do we do when it seems that we are facing more than we can bear?

Now let’s turn to chapter 10 verse 13.  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

No matter how hard our trials and temptations might be they are not unique to ourselves. All of us face common temptations. They are not necessarily the kind of testing that Paul had gone through they are just day-to-day irritations. Such temptations are sometimes harder to endure than the big challenge to deny the Lord. We are tempted to forget whose we are. We are tempted to trust ourselves rather than God. Remember, God will always provide a way of escape with the temptation. Nothing we encounter is a surprise to our God. He knew it was going to happen and he already had a plan ready for us to escape it. Look for that escape hatch, it will always be there! The God we serve is faithful and he has called us into a fellowship with Himself. Giving us salvation also gives us…

Partners in grace. Turn with me to Ephesians 2:8-10. Grace is the basis of our salvation and the continuing source of our growth in Christ. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Those of you who have listened to me for very long know that this is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. It is God’s grace that saves us through the faith that He gives us. It is all of God and none of us. Our coming to salvation has nothing to do with any works of righteousness on our part! Faith is not something we decide to have — it is a gift of God. And since it is of grace, it is a gift we do not deserve.

When God begins to move in a person’s life He begins to plant seeds of faith. In the beginning they are just tiny simple thoughts, or feelings, that grow into trees of righteousness. Our salvation by grace through faith is part of the evidence that God is faithful.

God not only saves us by grace He puts us into a local fellowship of grace. We are part of a local church filled with people that have been brought to salvation in the same manner. This church is a tiny part of the worldwide fellowship of grace that is the Christian Church. Yes, God is faithful who puts us into a partnership of grace. Paul was grateful to the church at Philippi because they were not only partners in grace they were also his…

Partners in prison. As we look further into the book of Philippians we find a part of Paul’s testimony to their partnership. Turn with me to Philippians 4:14-15 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. ¹⁵ And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.

When Paul left Philippi they continued to provide financial support for him. No other church was so loving and kind. Now that Paul was in prison the Philippians continued to support him financially. They were his partners in prison! There is a need today for many similar partnerships. Across the world we live in there are many Christians who are imprisoned for their faith. Perhaps the most prominent is Pastor Saeed in Iran. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and is now past his second year. He is slowly being beaten to death by his captors. He is suffering from internal bleeding. Recently, he was taken to a hospital that turned him away refusing to treat him. He said that he was taken back to the prison and beaten again. Yet, he is only one of many. All across the Muslim world there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Christians being held in prison, or worse. We cannot know all of them but God does and we need to pray for them.

In Nigeria hundreds of homes have been destroyed by Islamic radicals in an attempt to force Christians out of their area. The list goes on, and on, and on.

We need to be partners in prison and…

Partners in the gospel. Turn with me to Romans 1:11-17. The letter to the Romans was written quite a while before Paul was able to visit there. See what he says to them. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— ¹² that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. ¹⁴ I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵ So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. ¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

When Paul wrote this letter that we are studying he was imprisoned in Rome. It may be that he was in his final imprisonment and that he only left that prison by being beheaded. But we do have a record of Paul’s intentions when he came to Rome. Paul had written to Rome some two or three years before he was taken there in chains. I am sure Paul had planned to travel through there on his way to Spain. His desire was to give them spiritual strength and to encourage them in their faith. He could not have known at that time that he would be arrested and imprisoned. Paul wanted to be sure that everyone in Rome — and across the Roman Empire – would have the opportunity to put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ! He was eager to preach the gospel there! He didn’t realize at the time he wrote the book of Romans that he would be transported to Rome by the government. He could go on God’s journey with the devil paying the bill.

Paul was not ashamed of the gospel! He had found throughout his life that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation for everyone.

When the Philippian church assisted Paul by sending him financial support they were partnering with him in getting the gospel into the capital city of the Roman Empire.

We should be grateful to God that our church has had the opportunity to share the gospel all over the world through our missions giving. Aside from the money we give to The Baptist Convention New York and the Central New York Baptist Association, we provide monthly support to the Bendlins in Italy, to Zim Kids in Zimbabwe, and at home, to the Maryland Baptist Church as well as Peter Eklund, and his campus ministry in Oneonta. We have also from time to time supported other mission endeavors. Throughout the year we promote Operation Christmas Child which helps to open the door to the gospel around the world.

With the support of the Philippian church Paul was able to maintain himself in Rome. Listen while I read Acts 28:30-31. He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, ³¹ proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

It seems strange to say that Paul was preaching the gospel without hindrance while he was in chains. Yes, he was under physical restraint but part of that condition was that he was chained to a Roman soldier who was part of the household of Caesar. As a Roman citizen Paul had appealed his case to the highest court — Caesar himself! Now, he was an ambassador in chains. Yet at the same time he was able to have visitors who heard him talk about the kingdom of God and teach about the Lord Jesus Christ. All the while a Roman soldier was hearing the old, old story again and again! The result of that was that, when he wrote to the Philippians, part of his closing statement was, “All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.” Those Roman soldiers were coming to faith in Christ while being a part of Caesar’s personal bodyguard.

The Philippian church, located in one of the poorest provinces of the Roman Empire, was able to have a missionary outreach into the throne room of Nero. God is faithful all the time and never lets us face anything that he is not prepared for.

Philippians is a challenge to every individual church. Every church should be a body of believers that recognize continually that God is faithful. Every church should recognize, and teach, that the Bible reveals to us that we have received from Christ grace upon grace. The Christian life is being saved by grace and grown to maturity by grace. Each church should be concerned for those in prison, especially those who are there because of their faith. And, every church should be partnering with many Christian ministries that proclaim the gospel around the world. I pray that the gospel has entered your heart and brought you to salvation and security in Christ.

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.