Scripture Reference: Philippians 1:12-25
God Can Use Our Problems to Encourage Others
Read Philippians 1:14-18 for insight into this section.
Roman persecution of the Christians had not yet become severe or widespread. Ominous signs did foretell its coming, but Nero hadn’t yet launched his wholesale attack upon the followers of Christ.
However, Paul’s presence in Rome, although as a prisoner, was still a valuable source of encouragement to the believers there. His boldness in preaching the gospel, and his witnessing to his Roman captors and visitors, gave courage to the Roman believers.
Paul’s courageous example was encouraging; “most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
There are always those who play it safe and then there are the risk takers. The same is true in the Christian life. In Rome, there were some courageous believers who faithfully shared the gospel without concern for their safety, but there were also those who were timid and withdrawn, fearing they would be found out if they said too much.
But Paul’s brave preaching and witnessing had encouraged “most of the brethren.” It was “most of the brethren” that constituted that inner circle of believers, the one’s that dare to do things for Christ while the rest hang back. Paul was encouraged by the Holy Spirit to have won a majority to this scale of activity. It is usually the minority of Christians who put energy into the work while the majority drift along or criticize what the minority do.
Paul’s courage had shamed those who were timid into greater boldness, and it had encouraged the bold ones to witness with greater conviction and joy.
Some, never eloquent before, now find “tongues of angels” as they catch the spirit of Paul. The bolder spirits were rendered “much more bold to speak” than they were before. These cast caution to the winds and are overwhelming daring in their championship of Jesus.
God was at work and Satan would not defeat the eternal purposes of God. He would even use Paul’s imprisonment to hasten the spread of the gospel. Paul’s problems would produce sweet fruit!
The apostle’s courageous testimony had stirred some of the believers up to “preach Christ even from envy and strife.” It had stirred others up to preach Christ “also from goodwill.”
One group preached because it was envious of Paul’s success. These may have been, as suggested, “old teachers of the church in Rome who did not relish Paul’s leadership since it displaces them, a form of jealousy that one sees only too often even in this modern age.”
Or, these may have been the Jews, as others have suggested, who preached that conformance to Moses’s law was the door to Christianity. Their real goal was to advance Judaism, not the gospel of the Galilean.
To Paul it didn’t matter which group was preaching Christ. Certainly, it mattered to him that the full and clear message of Jesus was not being declared by some, but Paul lays that aside to rejoice in the fact “that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached.” He found joy in knowing that Jesus is preached.
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 