more from Philippians

This week we returned to Paul's letter to the Philippians 1:12-18. We focused on Paul's attitude towards those who were preaching the gospel out of insincere motives. We cannot be sure who these people were and why on earth they would have wanted to bring Paul hurt, especially while he was in prison. Assuming a Roman imprisonment, some have suggested that these insincere preachers were from the church at Rome. Paul had, after all, unsettled a few apple carts because of the letter that he had written them. Much of the letter to the Romans focused on getting Jewish Christians to be sensitive to Gentiles and vice-versa. Showing charity, patience, and open-mindedness when it came to cultural customs and food laws were no little things and Paul probably made some people mad. Maybe those who were irritated with him were stepping up their preaching of the gospel and putting Paul down in the process since he could not readily defend himself. This theory is plausible but not provable. What we do know is how Paul responds.

Essentially Paul says of these people, "I am not going to worry about it. The gospel is being preached and that is more important to me". Wow, is the first word that comes to my mind. I don't know if I could have said that. I really might have been more inclined to say my Philippian friends, "hey, can't you do something to shut these people up!?" They are driving me crazy and the gospel should not be preached by people who are motivated in this way." This raises an interesting point. Is Paul some kind of super-Christian who can do things this way because of a hidden super-power? I fear that sometimes we approach statements like this one in the New Testament and push them into that super-Christian category which make them not something for us to do much with except admire the super-power and perhaps wish that maybe, just maybe, we will have the super-power one day. One way that people do this is by saying, "look, Paul is a minister and he is to be expected to say things like this - these are the sorts of things ministers say." I think this is the wrong approach.

A better approach understands that Paul's life, like our lives, was a life filled with struggles, temptations, suffering, confusion, joy, etc. His ability to write the words, "What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice", comes from a life where one learns slowly but surely that the gospel is more important than the things that we often place so much importance in. In other words, Paul was able to write such words of grace and truth for the same reason a married couple seeks reconciliation rather than truce or separation - because the gospel has taken hold of their lives and enabled them to see that forgiveness is what God desires; or, for the same reason why someone struggling with a recurring sin knows that the only and life come from the gospel. In other words, I find it more plausible to understand Paul's view of the preaching of his adversaries within the context of a life shaped by the gospel - the same kind of life you and I can live, where we find ourselves believing the gospel in spite of ourselves, sometimes when we have painted ourselves into a corner and have come to see that the gospel really is more important than the passions and beliefs we often place in front of it.

Questions for discussion:

1. Do you find yourself thinking of categories of Christians - really good Christians who are saints and then you and the rest of everyone? What is the difference between thinking in that way and simply acknowledging that (a) people are gifted differently from each other and that (b) each person is at a different point of maturity along the way?

2. How does Paul's emphasis on the gospel in this portion help you think about how you should regard Christians who, though they believe the gospel, espouse other theological views you regard as erroneous?

3. Paul, at some level, did not care too much about what people thought of him (in a good way). This passage at hand highlights that uniquely. Do you worry to much about what others think of you? Does this get in the way of your confidence in the gospel? Does this cause you problems in your relationships? How can the gospel help you grow to not care too much about what others think of you?