Faith Bible Church of Lake Charles
Pioneers Wanted - Part 2
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      • Pioneers Wanted - Part 2

        We all have them. What do we do with them? Some are productive. Some semi-constructive. And some… are downright depressing and annoying. Do you know what I’m talking about? You don’t? I think you do. They’re our critics. We all have some people in our lives who are critical of us, the way we do things, our success.
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        They may have different motives. Some are jealous. Some resentful of our success, or popularity. The bottom line… Our critics can either be a burden or a catalyst. We can either dwell on their negativity or have a positive attitude and thank God for what He is doing in our lives. And not let our critics hold us down.
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        Paul wanted to go to Rome as a preacher, but he ended up going as a prisoner. Some would consider that a failure. But Paul, with his single-minded desire to spread the Gospel all over the known world, views this inconvenience as a positive. He says that not only did it not hamper the spread of the Gospel, it actually served to help it spread even faster. It’s all in our attitude.
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        Last week we talked about Paul’s chains. We saw that his chains gave him contact with the lost. He was chained to a Roman soldier twenty-four hours a day. He got to speak to the Roman authorities. The government was having to study the doctrines of the Christian faith in order to be able to properly rule on his case. Paul had contact with people he would have not had to opportunity with had he not been in this situation.
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        We learned last week that our chains may not be as dramatic or difficult, but there is no reason why God cannot use us in the same way. We concluded with the next steps of:
        Learn how to rejoice at what God is going to do instead of complaining about what God did not do.
        Being willing to let God use our hard times to further the Gospel.
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        This week we move on to Paul’s critics in verses 15-18.
        Philippians 1:15–18 NKJV
        15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: 16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.
        The people who were emboldened to speak God’s Word were of two kinds. Some preached Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others preached Him out of good will.

        Some Serve With Selfish Motives

        Philippians 1:15–16 NKJV
        15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: 16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains;
        It is hard to believe that anyone would oppose Paul, but there were believers in Rome doing just that. The churches there were divided. Some preached Christ sincerely, wanting to see people saved. Some preached Christ insincerely, wanting to make the situation more difficult for Paul. The latter group was using the Gospel to further their own selfish purposes. Perhaps they belonged to the “legalistic” wing of the church that opposed Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles and his emphasis on the grace of God as opposed to obedience to the Jewish Law. Envy and strife go together, just as love and unity go together.
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        Paul will mention envy and strife several times in this epistle. There must have been quite a few who were preaching the gospel in that way, envious of the apostle Paul, jealous because they didn’t have the results that Paul had.
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        Motives are critical!
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        An elderly man on the beach found a magic lamp. He picked it up and a genie appeared. "Because you have freed me," the genie said, "I will grant you a wish." The man thought for a moment and then responded, "My brother and I had a fight 30 years ago and he hasn’t spoken to me since. I wish that he’ll finally forgive me."
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        There was a thunderclap, and the genie declared, "Your wish has been granted.
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        You know," the genie continued, "most men would have asked for wealth or fame.
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        But you only wanted the love of your brother. Is it because you are old and dying?"
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        "No way!" the man cried. "But my brother is, and he’s worth about $60 million."
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        Paul uses an interesting word in Philippians 1:16—contention. It means “to canvass for office, to get people to support you.” Paul’s aim was to glorify Christ and get people to follow Him; his critics’ aim was to promote themselves and win a following of their own. Instead of asking, “Have you trusted Christ?” they asked, “Whose side are you on—ours or Paul’s?” Unfortunately, this kind of “religious politics” is still seen today. And the people who practice it need to realize that they are only hurting themselves.
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        Paul’s critics were jealous and quarrelsome. They were envious of Paul’s success.
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        One of the solutions to this problem of envy is for every Christian to recognize that he has a gift. We do not all have the same gift. The body could not function if we did. The problem is that some men who have one gift are envious of a man who has a different gift. You will remember that Paul told the Corinthians that the gifts are to be exercised in love. Every gift is to be exercised in love. My friend, if you will exercise your gift in love, you will not envy someone else. “… Love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up” (1 Cor. 13:4). Envy says, “I don’t think much of you,” and pride says, “What do you think of me?” That is the difference between envy and pride, and the believer is warned against both of them. Paul put it very bluntly when he wrote, “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7).

        Some Serve With the Proper Motives

        Philippians 1:17 NKJV
        17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.
        Those who preached out of good will did so in love (v. 16) knowing that Paul was in chains because of his defense of the Gospel. The word “defense” apologia is also used in verse 7.
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        These were preaching Christ out of “good will” or with the right intention.

        To Paul, Even His Critics Helped Advance the Gospel

        Philippians 1:18–19 NKJV
        18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. 19 For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
        When you have the single mind, you look on your critics as another opportunity for the furtherance of the Gospel. Like a faithful soldier, Paul was “set [appointed] for the defense of the Gospel” (Phil. 1:17). He was able to rejoice, not in the selfishness of his critics, but in the fact that Christ was being preached! There was no envy in Paul’s heart. It mattered not that some were for him and some were against him. All that mattered was the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
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        It is a matter of historic record that the two great English evangelists, John Wesley and George Whitefield, disagreed on doctrinal matters. Both of them were very successful, preaching to thousands of people and seeing multitudes come to Christ. It is reported that somebody asked Wesley if he expected to see Whitefield in heaven, and the evangelist replied, “No, I do not.”
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        “Then you do not think Whitefield is a converted man?”
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        “Of course he is a converted man!” Wesley said. “But I do not expect to see him in heaven—because he will be so close to the throne of God and I so far away that I will not be able to see him!” Though he differed with his brother in some matters, Wesley did not have any envy in his heart, nor did he seek to oppose Whitefield’s ministry.
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        Paul shared in the pioneer advance of the Gospel in Rome through his chains and his critics; but he had a third tool that he used.

          • Philippians 1:15–18NKJV

          • Philippians 1:15–16NKJV

          • Philippians 1:17NKJV

          • Philippians 1:18–19NKJV

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              Faith Bible Church of Lake Charles
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