A, Post-Pentecost 17 Proper 20 - Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30 Acts 16:11-40 "To Live Is Christ"

Philippians 1:12–14, 19–30  (ESV) I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.   …for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Paul writes to the church in Philippi.  This town was a Roman colony populated by Roman soldiers, and it ranked above all the other towns in the region and was given privileges equal to Rome.  It was a likely place of retired soldiers who had faithfully served Caesar. The area was abundant with wealth due to gold mines located nearby.

Philippi is a town of ruins that today is in modern-day Greece. In Paul’s day it was in Macedonia, so Philippi is the first European location in which Paul preached the gospel.

When Paul first went to Philippi, there was no Jewish synagogue in the town, so he sought out a likely place of prayer outside the town at the local river where Jews might meet. There he met Lydia. She was a trader in purple fabric, which, because of the dye used, was an expensive fabric. Lydia was not a local, but was from a town in Asia Minor, Thyatira. We can assume that she travelled there along the Egnatian Way, the major road that connected the east to the west, Asia to Europe, around the top of the Aegean Sea between Constantinople and Rome.

The Holy Spirit opened the heart of Lydia, a worshipper of God. She was baptised with her family and encouraged Paul and his fellow workers to stay with her and her family.

Each day Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke went to the river, the place of prayer, but Paul and Silas were arrested after Paul became tired of a fortune-teller proclaiming Paul and his companions as servants of the Most High God.

What she proclaimed was true, but this was not of the Holy Spirit, but rather another spirit, which Paul cast out. We might assume that he did this because this fortune-teller was grandstanding and using the truth of what Paul, Silas, and the others were doing for God to make a profit for her owner. Because Paul ended her fortune-telling ability when he cast out the spirit, her owner had him and Silas arrested, and they were subsequently jailed overnight.

It was at midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, that the Holy Spirit shook the place with an earthquake, opening the gates of the prison and releasing their shackles. It is through this event that Paul baptised the jailer and his family after saving him from killing himself, assuming that the prisoners had escaped.

The jailer knew it was his life for the life of any escaped prisoners, but the extraordinary event and the lack of escapees led him to fall at Silas and Paul’s feet and plead, “‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptised at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.” (Acts 16:30–34 ESV)

When the magistrates of the town called for their release, they found out that Paul and his companions were Roman citizens. The authorities feared that they had unlawfully held them captive and politely asked Paul and his companions to leave Philippi.

It is folk like the jailer and his family that Paul fondly held dear to his heart and now wrote to in Philippi. His letter to the Philippians was a letter to his fellow Romans, and he addressed suffering, citizenship, imprisonment as an ambassador in chains, and referred to Epaphroditus as a fellow soldier in Christ. Paul, who once was imprisoned in Philippi, wrote from prison in Rome to the church in Philippi. He signed off his letter to the congregation of expat Romans at Philippi, saying, “All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.” (Philippians 4:22 ESV)

Paul and Silas’ singing of hymns and seismic release from their chains likely left an indelible mark on the memories of those in Philippi, especially the household of the jailer who became Paul’s first Roman converts after his near-suicidal death. Since Philippi was a Roman town held in high esteem by Rome and a place of privilege for retired soldiers from Caesar’s guard, it’s possible that Roman converts like the jailer had connections with some in the imperial guard or with some who had retired to Philippi. Through the jailer and his contemporaries, it is possible that those of the imperial guard in Rome would have heard favourable news about Paul from those at Philippi.

This is what the greeting from Caesar’s house seems to imply, but more so the sense of duty to which Paul appealed as he suffered for Christ in the advancement of the gospel. This sense of duty was not lost on at least one at Philippi: the jailer, who was within a whisker of taking his own life through his sense of failed duty if prisoners had indeed escaped after the Holy Spirit-induced earthquake.

Paul’s call for the Philippians to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ is encouragement for these Romans and others, like Lydia from Thyatira in Asia Minor, to focus not so much on whether they have Roman citizenship or not, but on the citizenship they have in heaven through Jesus Christ’s suffering and death, who makes them one to suffer for the gospel, as they saw Paul suffer when jailed in Philippi and are encouraged as he is once again imprisoned in Rome for the sake of Jesus Christ and the gospel.

This is also encouragement for you, as many of you too have been through suffering, and you have witnessed your pastors go through various trials in recent times, especially those who have taken their stand and have been dishonoured for the sake of the gospel.

Like Paul and the apostles, we do not know if we will be placed in a situation where we will be called to die for the sake of the gospel, or whether we will be called to carry on living as suffering servants, to carry on the duty of, calling some to Christ, or calling some to return to Christ, at the eleventh hour.

What we see is not as God sees.  Where we see suffering, ruins, and an end, through the history of salvation He constantly shows that things are allowed to die beyond human repair so He alone might breathe new life into them, not by the will of man, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Rather than seeing the writing on the wall, so to speak, we’re called to hear the Word of God, His writing on the page! We’re called to see His power despite the weakness within in which we live and the power without in which we live.

Rather than focusing on the fracturing of Christianity that seems to be occurring around us today, through the humiliation of the church and the growth of human ideologies and idolatries that are increasingly forced on us and which we’re deceived into accepting, we’re called to a sense of duty that sees our citizenship in heaven and that to live is Christ and to die is gain. This especially means putting to death within us the idolatries and ideologies that make us deaf to what Jesus forewarns about the increased persecution of the true one hidden church, now and continuing till eternity is finally revealed.

We’re called to be emboldened like the apostles who after being flogged and told not to preach in the name of Jesus Christ, left “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the name.” (Acts 5:41 ESV)

Today we hear the first of four readings from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It would be fruitful labour for you to read Paul’s brief letter to the Philippians and its context from Acts 16:11-40, and ponder your citizenship in heaven: what you are called to suffer for the sake of the gospel!  Be it what you’re called to endure from others or what you’re called to suffer by sacrificing things within that might be tempting you away from the duty and works that God has set for you in advance.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, renew me with Your Holy Spirit so I believe that I shall look upon Your goodness in the land of the living, to dwell with You, both now and eternally. In my weakness, help me wait on You as Jesus waited on You; to be strong only in Your strength, and to let my heart take courage as I wait for Your kingdom to come, as You dismantle my kingdoms of death. Amen.

Sermon Summary
Paul’s letter to the Philippians speaks from prison into a congregation shaped by suffering, duty, citizenship, and the power of the gospel. Philippi, a proud Roman colony, was also the place where the Holy Spirit opened Lydia’s heart, shook open the prison doors, and brought the jailer and his household to faith in Jesus Christ. These beginnings help us hear Paul’s encouragement: the gospel advances even through suffering, imprisonment, humiliation, and apparent weakness.

Paul calls the Philippians, and us, to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Our highest citizenship is not earthly but heavenly, won through Jesus Christ’s suffering and death. Therefore, Christians are called not to fear opposition or be distracted by the fracturing and humiliation of the church, but to stand firm in one spirit, trusting that God brings life where human eyes see only decline, ruins, and death.

You are invited to take courage in suffering, to put to death the idolatries and ideologies that draw you away from Christ, and to be emboldened by the Holy Spirit to confess the gospel. For to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Reflection Questions

1. Where do I see weakness, ruin, or decline in the church or in my own life, and how might God be calling me to trust His power there?
2. What does it mean for me to live as a citizen of heaven rather than being defined primarily by earthly identity, status, or security?
3. How does Paul’s imprisonment help me understand suffering not as failure, but as a place where the gospel may still advance?
4. What idolatries or ideologies might be making me deaf to the Word of God and hesitant to confess Christ?
5. In what ways am I being called to stand firm with other Christians in one spirit and one mind for the faith of the gospel?
6. How does the witness of Lydia, the jailer, Paul, and Silas encourage me to pray, suffer, serve, and speak without fear?