THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE GOSPEL

Phil 1:12-18

It’s all about the gospel! The two greatest results of advancing the gospel is that people are hearing the gospel and that people are preaching the gospel. Advancement doesn’t come by smiling and moral excellence. Though they are great qualities to have as believers. But! The advancement of the gospel comes by speaking truth into the hearts of sinners. As Paul said “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Rom 10:8-17

I cringe every time I hear people quote this statement “Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” The advancement of the gospel comes by God using you and me to speak His truth into the hearts of those who will listen. Why? Because our greatest joy is to see people come into the Kingdom of God. It’s this wonderful truth that couldn’t steal the joy that Paul had for Christ and the gospel advancement.

Here is a man who has and is going though….. Difficult, Unpleasant, Painful, even life threatening situations. And despite all that! None of these could rob him of his joy and freedom he had in Christ. But rather it caused his joy to increase all the more. No other New Testament writer understood that truth better than Apostle Paul. Paul was a prime example of a man of God whose joy was never clouded by his present hardships. Paul resisted anything that threatened to come between him and his intimate fellowship with the LORD. Paul was once a man who was nothing more than a religious zealot seeking to stop Christianity; but was transformed by the gospel into a ministry of joy, because Christ got a hold of his heart. It’s the joy of the gospel that Paul was able to write “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Rom 12:12. He also said “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.” 2 Cor 6:10

Paul said these words in afflictions and hardships “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Rom 5:1-5. Paul lived according to what Samuel Chadwick said "Spirit filled souls are ablaze for God. They love with a love that glows. They serve with a faith that kindles. They serve with a devotion that consumes. They hate sin with fierceness that burns. They rejoice with a joy that radiates. Love is perfected in the fire of God." 

Think About This For A Minute

Has your life ever had that effect on other Christian’s or lost people? 

Do you take every situation that the Lord gives you to display His sovereign work in your life? 

Do people see the hope or the joy that is in you, as we continue in a world of despair? 

Did Joseph abandon his love for God in a Egyptian prison cell?

Did suffering drive Job further away from God? 

Did David hate God after losing his first son? 

Did Hosea lose heart after being told to marry a prostitute? 

Did life circumstances cause Paul to throw in the towel, when times got tough?

What keep them all going? It was God’s mercy and grace as they lived life for His glory, despite the road bumps along the way. See! It’s through living life, that God uses to advance the gospel, despite our present and future circumstances. God can use us at any time and in situation, we need to be obedient to that truth and calling as His disciples. God has different purposes in permitting suffering to come into our lives for the advancement of the gospel.

It’s Part Of God’s Plan For The Advancement Of The Gospel. “Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”1 Peter 4:19

Suffering Should Be Expected In The Advancement Of The Gospel. “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” 2 Tim 3:12

Paul’s suffering was not a determinate, or an excuse, not to preach the gospel. It fueled him all the more to preach the good news of Christ. 

Why? So that the wonderful Gospel might be spread throughout the whole palace guard. Look at v12-v13. As Ravi Zacharias said "The single most important thread in working through your disappointments is that your heart and mind ponder and grasp what the cross of Jesus Christ is all about. There is no pattern without the cross. There is no Good News without it. That is what the gospel is all about." For Paul he saw this as an opportunity, because the Cross is worth more, than his present suffering, even in his chains.

Let me ask you! If you were arrested today, would you view that as a setback in your life? Or as an opportunity for the advancement of the gospel? We already know Paul’s answer! Paul found his imprisonment to a joy! What do I mean by that? The message of the Gospel was reaching a group that was almost impossible at times to reach. For the first time there was no escaping the message Paul was proclaiming. Think about this! Paul would have been supervised in four-hour shifts by different members of the imperial guard. The Apostle was chained directly to these soldiers thoughout his imprisonment. This would give him ample time and opportunity to share the gospel with his guards. God took a situation that seems inhuman and cruel by our standards, to use his circumstance for the furtherance of the Gospel. While Paul was preaching bound with chains to an imperial guard, it served to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The Gospel was advancing throughout the imperial guard, men who were body guards to the Emperor, High ranking military officer’s. Men in high places that influence the people in the city of Rome, and Paul gets to share the gospel with each and every one of them. And all that it would take to spark the conversation would be for the guard to ask on simple question “So what are in here for?”

  

See we have to realize that God can use every situation to advance the gospel for His glory. Whether it’s a dying loved one, a loss of a child, the loss of a limb, cancer, a broken marriage or family dysfunction or imprisonment. God can use anyone of these and more for the advancement of the gospel. Your story and situation in life is very important!! He is using your life to display and share the wonderful joy found only in Christ!!

The question you need to ask yourself is......... Am I, using this time, this situation in my life to display that Christ is everything to me despite what the world thinks about that same situation that they are in?

This is why Paul could say with confidence that the reason I’m restrained is for this purpose?

For the “furtherance “advancement” of the Gospel” (v12)  “Furtherance” means: a progress, or to advance. For example… it’s like a explorer who hacks a path through dense trees and underbrush. It’s moving ahead with considerable effort to make a way for others. Prime example is found in John the Baptist; or better yet our greatest example Jesus Christ. “So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:6-8. Jesus paved the way for the advancement of the Gospel. Nothing was more important to Paul than Jesus’ message to the World. It was so important he cared more about lost souls than he did his own freedom. (v12)

Spurgeon felt the same way when he said “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our toils, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”

Paul is in prison, but he doesn’t view it as a setback, instead he sees it as a beautiful opportunity to share the gospel with lost sinners. It was though this passion and boldness of Paul that became infectious throughout the region.

Paul’s imprisonment encouraged other believers to share the gospel more boldly. (v14)

Our joy in the Lord despite circumstances births boldness like no other. A boldness to proclaim the most controversial message throughout all generations, the precious Gospel (v14) An unashamed attitude and courage, and a deep seated passion for Christ. A boldness that gives you a sense of protection to proclaim His message. “without fear” As Paul said “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.” Rom 1:16 See! Paul’s strength became their strength! Again looking back to (v5) Paul's imprisonment gave the Christians around him (those who were not imprisoned) a greater confidence and boldness.

What gave them such boldness and courage? They saw that Paul had joy in the midst persecution. They saw that God was taking care of him in his chains. They saw that God was using him even when he was imprisoned. This was a growing boldness for the gospel because they loved God and wanted people to hear the good news of the gospel before it’s too late. And fear of the opposition didn’t seem as threating, because Paul was leading the way in his imprisonment. As Luke said at the beginning of His Gospel “that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,” Luke 1:74. The effects of Paul’s imprisonment lead these dear believers to increase in their gospel witness and increase in their boldness in gospel witness. Not only were they sharing Christ more often they were doing with boldness as well.

Why is this important for us to know? It takes courage to speak about Christ in a world of hostility.Why? The world is opposed to the one true God, they are opposed to biblical Jesus and the revelation of Scripture found in the one true God. The world hates when you say “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Acts 4:12 says “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Paul’s imprisonment had a wonderful effect on these people and because of that; the gospel was advancing into the city with a boldness and love for sinners to seek Christ and live. True joy of the gospel comes from the proclamation of the doctrines of grace. This is all that mattered to Paul, even when he heard that some were not sharing Christ from pure motives. As some were trying to stir up trouble for Paul where others were trying to be faithful stewards for the advancement of the gospel. This didn’t distress or diminish Paul’s joy……Why?

The advancement of the gospel was more important Paul even if it was done with wrong motives. (v15-v18)

  

Nothing is more beautiful in the Heaven’s to see people being saved by His marvellous grace.

Jesus said “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:10. With gospel joy, come gospel opposition though! With gospel fruit-making, comes gospel jealousy. Paul had his fair share of detractors, hecklers....which most of them being Jewish and pagan religionists. But here, some were doing it for other reasons and other motives, to show up Paul or to cause him more grief in his chains. Who were these people Paul was talking about? Where they charlatans or demon spirits, where they haters of God? NO!

We need to understand ….. 

They were not heretics like the Judaizers.

They were not heralding “A Different Gospel”.

They were not false apostles.

They were not deceitful workers disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

See the Problem wasn’t there theology, but their MOTIVES. It wasn’t what they were preaching, but why they preached it! Out of envy and strife! 

“Envy” deprives others of what is rightfully theirs; it’s someone who is jealous.

“Strife” is contention, quarrelsome, controversy, a spirit of hostility associated with envy and jealousy.

  

These men Paul spoke about where men who envied… 

Paul’s giftedness.

Paul’s intellect.

Paul’s effectiveness in ministry.

Paul being highly respected and beloved in the church. 

These men resented that, in Paul! It would be like me wanting to be John MacArthur, John Piper, Charles Spurgeon, Richard Baxter, Kevin DeYoung or David Platt. Sadly this happens a lot in Evangelical church, especially amoung pastors. God created each and every one of us as an original copy; so be you, so that God gets the most glory out of your life. It’s important for us to understand that God uses us (all) for His glory. We are not in completion with each other as Paul said to the church in Corinth. “What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? He answers the question in (v17) “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” 1 Cor 1:12-17. We are in this together and we need to be Kingdom-minded and not self-centered. The advancement of the gospel is not about us, but about a great and mighty God who saves selfish sinners for His glory.

These men didn’t preach with a sincere love of the gospel, but with a spirit of contention for Paul. (v15) While preaching, they sought to undermine Paul's influence. This was the result! These men were preaching out of dissension and conflict trying to discredit Paul. (v17) Plain and simply they were jealous of Paul and his boldness and joy in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Do you struggle with envy and strife,

comparing yourself to other Christians?

As Paul said we all are partners in the advancement of the gospel and we are not to be outplaying or getting bitter over someone ministry. We are not in competition with other churches and ministries; we are in this together for the gospel and the glory of His holy name. This is not an individual sport; we are a team of servants, being used for the advancement of the gospel. As Paul said “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.” 2 Cor 4:5

But all things aside, Paul says something here that should humble each and every one of us despite the jealousy of some. (v18) 

The advancement of the gospel means more to Paul than popularity or the jealousy of some. Nothing brought more joy to Paul then the gospel being heard and preached to a sinner who needs saving. The advancement of the gospel is more important than Paul’s freedom, popularity, and unpopularity. And that truth should be the same for each and every one of here this morning. That the gospel is clearly presented for sinners to hear the truth about God’s love for sinners. This is amazing grace and the greatest miracle of God, He send His Son to die for you and me.

As one Canadian Apologist said in his message “you know what the Bible says? God Breathed the universe into existence. He spoke and it was so. He breathed it into existence. You know, if you're sitting here and your saved today do you know what God did not do for your salvation? He didn't breathe it, he died for it. The salvation of one person is a greater miracle then the creation of the universe. Talk about THAT God when you defend your faith! Amen!”

Paul’s joy in his chains is far greater and more satisfying than any earthy happiness.

Can you say the same? This pure joy comes not because of circumstances, but in spite of them and through them. With and for, the sole purpose to glorify God and for the gospel to advance for Kingdom building. God wants to use your present life circumstances as a platform to advance the gospel. Nothing is more important than advancing the gospel. Nothing is more important to the church than this mandate. For sinners hear the good news of the gospel unto eternal life. As David Platt said “The church is God's plan A. There is no plan B." Why? As the Apostle Paul said “For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.” 1 Cor 3:9-10. So, let us be faithful in sharing the gospel together and let us do it faithfully before a holy God, who loves to save sinners, like you and me.