I. To act as becometh Christian citizens.—“Only let your conversation be as becometh the gospel of Christ” (ver. 27). Whether the apostle is able to visit them again or not, he exhorts the Philippians to attend diligently to present duties, and act in all things with the dignity and fidelity becoming members of the heavenly commonwealth. The Christian finding himself living for a time in this world as in a dark place, where other gods are worshipped, where men sell themselves for gain, where he is tempted to do as others do, and is asked to coquette with the world, to mind earthly things, should at once take his stand and say: “I cannot; I am a citizen of heaven, my affections are set on things above; I cannot come down to your level, I have come out from the world and may not touch the unclean thing; I have formed other tastes, have other pleasures; other rules regulate my conduct; I cannot live as you live, nor do as you do.”
1. Be united in spiritual steadfastness.—“That ye stand fast in one spirit” (ver. 27). The Spirit inspires the highest courage, and helps all who partake of His influence to stand fast in their integrity. “For God hath given us not the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
2. Earnestly and unitedly maintain the faith.—“With one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (ver. 27). With one soul, penetrated by the same Spirit, unitedly strive to maintain the Gospel in its purity, as it was committed unto them. Every true believer should be a valiant champion for the truth. Men who have no settled faith are like those birds that frequent the Golden Horn, and are to be seen from Constantinople, of which it is said they are always on the wing and never rest. No one ever saw them alight on the water or on the land; they are for ever poised in mid-air. The natives call them lost souls, seeking rest and finding none. To lose our hold of the Gospel is to be doomed to unrest and misery. To attempt to stand alone is to court defeat. Union is strength.
3. Remember the interest of your religious teachers in your endeavours.—“That whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs” (ver. 27). That anxious minister is ever deeply concerned in the welfare of his people. He rejoices in their faithfulness and progress; he mourns over their laxity and defeat; he encourages them in their labours and struggles in the spread of the truth. Our defection from the Gospel is not only a loss to ourselves, but a disappointment and sorrow to others.
II. To act with fearlessness in the midst of oppression.—“And in nothing terrified by your adversaries” (ver. 28). Opposition should nerve to more resolute resistance. The enemies of the good are the enemies of God, and the good man, with God on his side, need not fear either their numbers or their ferocity. One of their ancient kings said, “The Lacedæmonians seldom inquire the number of their enemies, but the place where they could be found.” When a certain captain rushed in haste to his general and said, “The enemy is coming in such vast numbers, it will be useless to resist,” the general replied, “Our duty is not to count our enemies, but to conquer them.” And conquer them they did.
1. This fearlessness a proof of the inevitable punishment of their opponents.—“Which is to them an evident token of perdition” (ver. 28). In contending hopelessly against you they are only rushing on to their own destruction. Your bravery in the contest, and their own consciousness of the weakness of their own cause, will strike terror into their hearts, so that they will be easily routed.
2. This fearlessness a proof of the salvation of the steadfast.—“But to you of salvation, and that of God” (ver. 28). God who gives courage to the steadfast and helps them in the conflict, ensures to them the victory. We are not saved because we are brave for God and truth, but the courageous soul will not fail of salvation.
III. To accept suffering for the truth as a privilege and a discipline.—1. It is suffering for Christ. “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (ver. 29). Suffering is no evidence of the Divine displeasure, but is often a signal proof of the Divine regard. There is no virtue in the mere endurance of suffering, but in the Christ-like spirit with which it is borne. There lived in a village near Burnley a girl who was persecuted in her own home because she was a Christian. She struggled on bravely, seeking strength from God, and rejoicing that she was a partaker of Christ’s sufferings. The struggle was too much for her; but He willed it so, and at length her sufferings were ended. When they came to take off the clothes from her poor dead body, they found a piece of paper sewn inside her dress, and on it was written, “He opened not His mouth.”
2. It is suffering which the best of men have endured.—“Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me” (ver. 30). Suffering for the truth links us with Paul and his contemporaries, and with the noble army of martyrs in all ages. Christ has taught us how to suffer, and for His sake we can bear pain and calumny without complaining and without retaliation. Mrs. Sherwood relates that, pained at seeing Henry Martyn completely prostrate by his tormentor, Sabat, the apostate, she exclaimed, “Why subject yourself to all this? Rid yourself of this Sabat at once.” He replied, “Not if his spirit was ten times more acrimonious and exasperating.” Then smiling in his gentle, winning manner, he pointed upwards and whispered in low and earnest tones, “For Him!”
Lessons.—1. The Christian spirit inspires loftiest heroism. 2. To strive to be good excites the opposition of the wicked. 3. One true Christian hero is an encouragement to many.