Scripture Introduction
Nostalgia means “sentimental reflection,” mixed feelings of happiness, sadness, and longing when recalling the past. Nostalgia can create more than warm feelings, however; it can determine our expectations. Probably all of us have either thought it ourselves, or heard others speak wistfully of the early church. “Would it not be splendid,” we say, “if the church today could be like it was in the first centuries?” But our problems will not be solved by a sentimental vision of a perfect church in times past.
As a matter of fact, today’s difficulties existed in the early church also: division, conflicts, selfishness, sinful desires and fickle hearts. All were there, because all are part of the human condition. The Bible does not gloss over these: Paul tells us straight up that church people sought his hurt. Petty rivalry prompted ugly behavior, but even so, the apostle rejoices. Let us consider how God would have us rise above such sin as we consider Philippians 1.15-18.
[Read Philippians 1.15-18. Pray.]
Introduction
I have mentioned before Dr. Joseph Tson, who pastored in Romania during Ceausescu’s Communist era. The government arrested and tortured him to stop the spread of the Gospel. During one imprisonment, a military officer threatened his death. Tson responded: “Sir, your supreme weapon is killing, but my supreme weapon is dying. Sir, you know my sermons are all over the country on tapes now. If you kill me, I will be sprinkling them with my blood. Whoever listens to them after that will say, ‘I’d better listen. This man sealed it with his blood.’ They will speak ten times louder than before. So, go on and kill me. I win the supreme victory then.”
Tson understood well Hebrews 13.6: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” These light momentary afflictions prepare for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, and this unseen reality renewed Joseph Tson’s inner self day by day (cf. 2Corinthians 4.17-18).
I heard him speak a few years ago. What especially moved me was not so much his courage while mistreated, though that was astounding. What stuck with me was the hardest part of the suffering. After arresting him, the communists went into the churches and convinced Christians that Tson betrayed his county. Then they led him through the streets of Romania. Tson knew nothing of the slander of their propaganda campaign, so he expected a hero’s welcome. After all, he had dared to be a Daniel; he stood up for Jesus. But members of the church derided him, and this was the hardest stroke. He could take the abuse of communists, but when fellow believers mocked and criticized him, he almost broke.
It hurts to be misunderstood and mistreated by those we most expect to love and value us! Paul knew that feeling. The chains on his ankle hurt; but what really stung was the slap in the face from fellow believers. How do we remain unhurt when criticized by sisters and brothers? How do we rise above petty rivalry and selfish behaviors? To move towards a solution, please note three things from this text.
1. We Must Recognize the Power of Indwelling Sin In Order To Rise Above Rivalry (Philippians 1.15)
I am shocked by this statement: “Some preach Christ from envy and rivalry.” “Envy and rivalry”? How can this be?
• Maybe they could mock Paul from envy and rivalry.
• Or preach themselves from envy and rivalry.
• Or preach the anti-Christ from envy and rivalry.
But how could a Christian preach Jesus with such an ungodly motive? This idea seems so out of place that some Bible scholars throw up their hands and say, “Surely those to whom Paul refers were not believers! No truly born-again Christian could hurt an apostle in that way!”
Yet what shocks us hardly surprises Paul. He is not amazed by their behavior because he knows that sin remains in their hearts. But we suppose such would not happen today, even though studies and surveys find pastors facing similar pressures and problems in the church. Here are some alarming statistics:
• Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout or contention in their churches.
• Four thousand new churches begin each year, but over seven thousand churches close.
• Fifty percent of pastors’ marriages end in divorce.
• More pastors than not say they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
• Ninety percent said the hardest thing about ministry is dealing with uncooperative people.
• The majority of pastor’s wives surveyed believe that the ministry has been destructive to their marriage and family; eighty percent wish their spouse could enter another profession.
I do not tell you these things solely for you to feel sorry for me and help me. That is part of the reason. We must realize that success in the work which God has placed before us will not happen when the pastor is perfected, but when we, together, take responsibility for encouraging and bearing one another’s burdens. The ministry very depends on it’s being our ministry.
At the same time, the main reason I tell you these things is that you will not be caught unaware when conflict rises in the church. Nostalgia creates expectations that cannot be met and yield greater disappointments. But as the British Royal Observer Core motto states, “Forewarned Is Forearmed.” So here are four ways this verse warns and arms us.
1) We will have conflict in the church. Let us not be naïve about the continuing effects of sin, assuming that our congregation will not be hurt by selfishness, pride, arrogance, envy and strife. The church is not for good people; it is for sinners who need a savior. Real ministry is messy.
2) We get to handle conflict differently in Christ. Faithful churches are not marked by the absence of strife, but by how we handle it. Those who are secure in Jesus move with forgiveness even toward those with bad motives.
3) We must beware our hearts. God warns of this in both the Old and New Testaments. 1Chronicles 28.9: “The LORD examines all minds and understands every motive of one’s thoughts.” 1Corinthians 4.5: When “the Lord comes, he will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the motives of hearts.” God would have us examine our own hearts for sin before accusing others. This is especially true because...
4) We are prone to self-deceit. What do you these opponents of Paul would respond if we asked, “Could your motives be tainted by rivalry and envy?” They would be shocked by the suggestion. But Jeremiah told us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17.9).
A school teacher lost her life savings in a business scam; afterward she went to the Better Business Bureau. The official there asked, “Why didn’t you come to us first? Did not you know of our services?” “Oh, yes, I knew,” said the lady sadly. “I did not call you because I was afraid you would tell me not to do it.”
Let us recognize the power of indwelling sin so that we are quick to repent, slow to anger, slow to speak, and always aware of our own entangling motives. Then we will be humble toward ourselves and gracious toward others.
2. We Must Distinguish Between Kinds of Conflicts In Order to Rise Above Rivalry (Philippians 1.16-17)
This verse describes two groups: those who love Paul and support him, and those who envy him. Elsewhere the New Testament tells us of a different kind of opposition.
Galatians 1.8: But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
2Corinthians 11.13: Paul warns us about false apostles, deceitful workmen.
Titus 3.10-11: As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
Philippians 3.2: Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. Here is a critical distinction: when conflict threatens the core of the Gospel of grace, Paul fights with all his strength; when it comes from ambitions and hurt feelings, Paul overlooks every offense.
We must draw the same distinctions. Obviously, we love and appreciate those who minister from goodwill. And, we must oppose those who would turn people away from Biblical truth and the gospel of God’s grace. But this text speaks of a third group, those who (v. 17): “think to afflict.” “Think” is an acceptable translation, but other versions may get closer to the idea with the word, “suppose.” They suppose they can stir up trouble for Paul. Not that they do, for Paul is safe and secure in the hands of the sovereign God. But they imagine their success will shame Paul into abandoning some of his less attractive behaviors. Pastor, how in the world do we apply this? We make every effort to support those who promote the gospel, even if they do so with poor motives or less than perfect theology. I am in no way ashamed of the fact that I understand the Bible to teach Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints. At the same time, the only “J.C.” I want people to bow the knee to is Jesus Christ, not John Calvin. I am not so insecure in my understanding of the truth that I need either to promote a party spirit or to lash out against those who do. I know that many hate Calvinism and call it an abomination. They think to afflict me in my beliefs. But such pettiness does not control my heart or ministry.
3. We Must Rejoice In the Advancement of God’s Kingdom to Rise Above Rivalry (Philippians 1.18)
If you seek to be a godly husband or wife, there will be times when your spouse is angry that you are more concerned with what God thinks than with what they think. If you strive to be a godly parent, your children will not always appreciate what you do for them. If you seek to follow Jesus at work, you will likely be mocked, maybe even fired. If you honor Christ as Lord in your heart, and respond to others with gentleness and respect, people will slander and revile you. If you witness faithfully, you will be persecuted. How do we rejoice in such circumstances?
We rejoice when what matters most to us is the advancement of God’s kingdom. Because Jesus suffered for me, I can suffer so that his grace is magnified. Because Jesus saved me, I can suffer so that his salvation is seen. Because Jesus sanctifies me, I can suffer so that his holiness is valued.
A clay pot sitting in the sun remains a clay pot. When it goes through the white heat of the furnace it becomes porcelain. Paul was a porcelain Christian; he rejoiced that Christ was proclaimed, whether from good will or bad. Rejoicing comes to those who care so much about the kingdom of God that their own hurt feelings and bruised egos are insignificant when compared to the advancement of the gospel of grace.
Puritan Pastor Jeremiah Burroughs wrote a great book on healing the divisions between God’s people. In chapter 31 he lists some principles which can bring us together.
1) Live in peace and love despite differences: “Away with that vain conceit that has been the great disturber in our churches in all ages: if men differ in their judgment and practices in matters of religion, though it is in things that are but the weakness of godly men, yet there must be heart-burning and division.
2) Never seek to get by strife what can be gotten by love and peace: “If there is any way in the world whereby it is possible we may have our desires satisfied with peace, let us try this and another way, a third, a fourth, yea, a hundred ways, if they life between us and the way of strife.”
3) Realize it better to do good than to receive good: “If this principle were in men’s hearts, they would study to do all the good they could to one another, and so gain upon one another’s hearts. And the more good we do to any, the more will our hearts be inclined to love them.”
4) Know that the good of others is my good as well as theirs.
5) Realize our best good is obtained in the public good: “It is because we have such private spirits that there are such contentions among us. Were we more public-spirited, our contentions would vanish.”
6) Endeavor to do the good to others we would have them do to us.
7) Seek the greater honor of yielding our wills rather than overcoming others with our wills: “Many men desire to get even with another. But I will tell you a way you may be above him: forgive him. By yielding, pardoning, and putting up with the wrong, you show you have power over yourself, and this is a greater thing than to have power over another.”
8) Do not meddle with any strife that does not have peace as its end and aim.
9) Have no enemies who are not more their own enemies or God’s enemies.
10) Suffer great evil rather than do the least.
11) Labor to do good to all, but provoke none.
12) Err by too much gentleness and mildness than by too much rigor and severity.
13) Remember that peace is never bought too dearly, except by sin and baseness: “The peace that we purchase by the grace of God enabling us to rule over our own spirits, suffering much in our names and the loss of many comforts, does not cost us too dearly.”
4. Conclusion
The revival in Scotland in the late 1830s began in Robert McCheyne’s church when he was absent on a long trip to investigate a missionary work on behalf of the Church of Scotland. William Burns was the interim preacher and it was under his ministry that the Holy Spirit started this new work. As you might expect, some in McCheyne’s church wanted Burns to be the new pastor. When McCheyne heard the news, he agreed, he wanted William Burns to replace him as the pastor since his preaching had been so powerfully blessed by God. But Burns would havenone of that. He was determined to put pastor and people back together again.
Today no one remembers those who complained and called for McCheyne’s ouster. History remembers too great men – men who refused to be drawn into petty rivalry, men who loved Christ more than their own praise, men who were spiritually great. Burns and McCheyne, as the old writers used to say, gloried in the ruins of their own righteousness, and, as a result Christ was honored, and they rejoiced to see envy and rivalry die. Like Paul, they ministered from goodwill.
Let us set our hearts and minds on things above, where our lives can be hidden with Christ.
