Standing Firm in the Faith
03/09/08
Reading: Philippians 1:21-28
Introduction
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul expresses his desire that they “stand firm” in working together for the faith. Philippians 1:27 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”
Standing firm translates the single Greek verb stēkō, which refers to steadfastly holding one’s ground regardless of danger or opposition. The word was used of a soldier who defended his position at all costs, even to the point of sacrificing their own life. Figuratively, it refers to holding fast to a belief, conviction, or principle without compromise, regardless of personal cost. Being firmly fixed in matters of biblical truth and holy living is included in this injunction.
Standing firm is both positive and negative. It is to stand for God and against Satan, to stand for truth and against falsehood, to stand for righteousness and against sin. Using an imperative form of the same verb, Paul makes a similar exhortation later in the letter:
Philippians 4:1 “Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.
In the verses which follow, Paul provides the manner in which we may stand firm in the faith of the gospel.
I.Caring Support (4:1-2)
A.Standing firm includes support from within.
1.Little is known about Euodia and Syntyche, but we are told and can deduce some keys facts.
a.First, they were church members, not troublemakers from outside the congregation. Paul identifies them as fellow workers.
Second, their dispute was evidently not over a doctrinal issue. If it had been, Paul would have resolved it by siding with the one that was correct and rebuking the one who was in error.
b.Paul calls upon the church to support them in settling their dispute.
2.The fellowship and support of the body of Christ is an important factor in developing and maintaining spiritual stability.
a.The general strength of the fellowship becomes the strength of each individual. The more isolated a believer is from other Christians, the more spiritually unstable they are likely to be.
The church should be a place where people support each other, hold each other accountable, and care for each other.
It should be a communion of life in which believers restore those who have fallen into sin (Galatians 6:1) and bear each other’s burdens (v. 2). The church is to “admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone” (1 Thessalonians 5:14).
[The loving support of our Christian family provides a strong foundation for our striving to stand firm. Paul next adds to this outer support an inner requirement to standing firm in the faith…]
II.Constant Rejoicing (4:3-5)
A.Joy is such a vitally important factor in believers’ spiritual stability that Paul repeats his command for emphasis: “again I will say, rejoice!”
1.This repetition presupposes the reality that it was not easy to be joyful. The Philippians faced the same challenges to their faith as we do today, persecutions without, divisions within but Paul challenges all to rise above their circumstances and rejoice!
It is true that believers often cannot find reason to rejoice in their specific circumstances. Certainly the general wickedness, sorrow, misery, and death in the world evoke no joy. Nor are people a reliable source of joy, since they can change, hurt, and disappoint. The only sure, reliable, unwavering, unchanging source of joy is God. That is why Paul commands believers to rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 3:1.)
Don’t presume that Paul’s command to rejoice is intended to produce mere emotional joy. The joy we are to experience is not merely a feeling; it is the deep-down confidence that God is in control of everything for our own good and His own glory, and knowing all is well no matter what the circumstances.
B.Knowledge of God is the key to rejoicing.
1.Those who know the great truths about God find it easy to rejoice; those with little knowledge of Him find it difficult to rejoice.
a.God gave the Psalms to Israel in poetic form so they could be easily memorized and set to music. The first three verses of the book of Psalms promise blessings to those who meditate on Scripture:
Psalm 1:1–3 “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.”
It is from that knowledge of God, His nature and attributes that a believers’ joy flows. So deep was the apostles’ knowledge of God’s character and purposes that even suffering for Jesus Christ was a cause of joy: “So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41)
Moses’ father-in-law Jethro “rejoiced over all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, in delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians” (Exodus 18:9; cf. Deuteronomy 26:11). After the dedication of the temple, Solomon “sent the people to their tents, rejoicing and happy of heart because of the goodness that the Lord had shown to David and to Solomon and to His people Israel” (2 Chronicles 7:10).
C.Believers rejoice in the contemplation of God’s redemption.
1.In 1 Samuel 2:1, “Hannah prayed and said, ‘My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord, my mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.’”
In Psalm 13:5 David confidently asserted, “I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation”.
As Christians we need to constantly remember that our names are written in the Book of Life (Philippians 4:3). Let me ask you an honest question: "How long since you just rejoiced and praised and thanked God for your eternal salvation?"
Read 1 Peter 1:3-9
D.Another reason for believers to rejoice is that God has promised to supply all their needs.
1.Paul reminded the Philippians, “God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
a.In the Old Testament counterpart to that promise, the psalmist wrote, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).
In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus Christ made God’s promise to provide for believers’ needs unmistakably clear: Read Matthew 6:28-33
2.Paul rejoiced because of the privilege of serving God. To Timothy he wrote, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service” (1 Timothy 1:12).
He also rejoiced when God’s truth was proclaimed (Philippians. 1:18). Paul’s declaration to the Philippians earlier in this epistle, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (1:21), reveals that even the prospect of death could not quench his joy.
The confidence “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39) produces both deep-seated joy and the inner support to stand firm in the faith.
[The next tool Paul provides us to aid in standing firm in the faith…]
III.Continuous Prayer (Phil. 4:6-7)
A.Do not be Anxious.
1.This is God’s solution for worry (Verse 6). The word "anxious" means "to be care-worn". We use the word "worry". God does not want His children worrying.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
1 Peter 5:7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
2.Those verses use the exact same Greek word as the word "careful" in Phil. 4:6. Anything that causes us to worry or be "care-worn" should be carried to the Lord and "cast" or "deposited in His account."
B.Pray With Gratitude
1.Paul prompts the Philippians to worship instead of worry. Praying with thanksgiving involves trusting God.
a.Prayer (proseuchē) describes a believer’s approach to God, a general term meaning worshipful conversation with God.
Supplication (deēsei) emphasizes requesting an answer to a specific need, refers to a prayer with a sense of need.
Thanksgiving (eucharistias) is an attitude of heart which should always accompany one’s prayers, focuses on the attitude of one’s heart in approaching God.
2.1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.” Remember the example of Christ in the garden. As he faced crucifixion he prayed according to the will of the Father.
3.Anything a Christian needs or thinks he needs should be carried to God in prayer (Verse 7). This is how "the peace of God" can keep our hearts and minds. The word "guard" refers to a standing constant watch. Every time we are tempted to worry or have a need, we should cry out to God.
IV.Careful Meditation (Phil. 4:8)
A.Proper thinking is not an option if we are to stand firm in the faith.
1.There is not one negative thing in this verse. God does not want us thinking on negative things. It is from the heart that the issues and words of life come forth.
a.Jesus makes that clear: Matthew 15:18-20a “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man;”
Proverbs 23:7 declares, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.”
As Paul declared in 2 Corinthians 10:5b “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…”
2.Colossians 3:1-2 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
[Having captured our thoughts we must move to our actions in standing firm in the faith]
V.Committed Practice (Phil. 4:9)
A.Practice means to do.
Read James 1:21-25.
1.We cannot do what we do not know Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
B.Practice What Has Been Preached
1.Godly thinking cannot be divorced from behavior.
Philippians 4:9 “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
a.Practice refers to repetition or continuous action. The English word can have the same connotation. We speak of a lawyer or a doctor as having a practice, because their profession maintains a normal routine. Someone practices a musical instrument to improve a skill.
b.Christians are to make it their practice to lead godly, obedient lives.
2.Paul refers them to his conduct; to all that they had seen, and known, and heard of him, as that which it was proper for them to imitate.
a.Paul challenged the Philippians to pursue Christlikeness by imitating his own example and the examples of others whose lives were based on his (“mature” believers in 3:15).
Philippians 3:17 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.”
1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”
VI.Considered Contentment (Phil. 4:11-12)
A.This contentment is something which must be learned (Vs 11).
1.It does not come naturally. It comes by realizing that God knows our needs even before we ask as Jesus said in Matthew. 6:8, 32. It comes by knowing that God will supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19).
Contentment is a highly prized, but elusive virtue. Though it comes only from being rightly related to God and trusting His sovereign, loving, purposeful providence, people continue to seek it where it cannot be found - in money, possessions, power, prestige, relationships, jobs, or freedom from difficulties. But by that definition, contentment is unattainable, for it is impossible in this fallen world to be completely free from problems.
The Bible has much to say about contentment:
a.For example, John the Baptist said to some soldiers who asked him how to manifest genuine repentance, “Be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14).
To Timothy Paul wrote, “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6:8), a thought echoed by the writer of Hebrews: “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have” (Hebrews 13:5).
Paul was even “well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake” (2 Corinthians 12:10), because he knew that the “godliness” produced by those trials “actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment” (1 Timothy 6:6).
2.The Bible not only identifies contentment as a virtue, but also prescribes it as a command.
[Being content in all circumstances provides solid footing for standing firm in the faith and leads to…]
VII.Complete Strength Through Christ (4:13)
A.God will provide the strength to stand.
1.How do you feel in your spiritual walk? Do you feel spiritually drained or defeated in trying to do the work of the Lord?
a.If so, are you attempting your work through your own strength instead of His?
This verse does not say "That I can do all things." This verse says: a Christian can do all things through Christ and His strength in us."
The word "strengthen" is a word which means "to empower". It is resting in the knowledge that He "has all power in heaven and in earth" (Matt. 28 18).
Paul was strong enough to endure anything through Him who strengthen[ed] him. Paul does not mean that he could physically survive indefinitely without food, water, sleep, or shelter. What he is saying is that when he reached the limit of his resources and strength, even to the point of death, he was infused with the strength of Christ. He could overcome the direst physical difficulties because of the inner, spiritual strength God had given him.
In the words of Isaiah 40:29–31 “He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”
2.We can rest in the knowledge that God will always be with us and will be working in every detail of our lives. Philippians 1:6 “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
God’s power will bring strength to those who have no strength of their own, but only if they have been living righteously. God’s power comes only to those who are His own, it does not come from counselors, therapy, or self-help formulas, but only from consistent godly living
Conclusion:
Are you ready to stand firm in the faith of our Lord? We can:
With joy and freedom from worry, with peace in our hearts and minds and contentment in whatever state we are in, knowing our needs will be met, having the ability to do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
Invitation
