Philippians 1:15-18 (ESV)
[15] Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good
will. [16] The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the
defense of the gospel. [17] The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition,
not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. [18] What then?
Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed,
and in that I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice,
I always find this passage curious.
I have a hard time hearing some of our well know evangelical preachers saying
this. The idea of separation is too engrained in our Christian culture even to
the extent of two degrees of separation. For example, I once heard John
McArthur criticized because their church was next door to a pagan organization,
as if proximity equals heresy. I have heard of preachers attacked not because
of their theology but because of the theology of someone they visited with. Yet
here in Philippians Paul not only is unconcerned about separation; he is also
unconcerned about motivation. To him it matters little whether the preachers of
the gospel have godly motives, only that the message of the gospel is proclaimed.
In fact, verse 27 is a call to unity.
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,
Paul is talking about respecting
one another in our differences for the sake of the gospel. The one spirit and
one mind that he is referring to is not unanimity of thoughts, ideas, or gifts.
It is unanimity around the gospel. It makes me wonder whether a little less
separation and a little more unity around the gospel isn’t warranted. This
Sunday I visited a little church near my home. In their prayer time they prayed
for the other pastors. That is refreshing to hear. Too often I hear pastors
telling their flocks what to be afraid of from other pastors whose theology is
slightly different from theirs. Paul says that he rejoices that the gospel is
being proclaimed “whether in pretense or in truth.” What if we prayed for one
another more and attacked one another less. How might that affect our
proclamation of the gospel to a very broken world?
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