Text: Philippians 3:17–4:1
Theme: Stand firm in the faith
Other Lessons: Jeremiah 26:8–15; Psalm 4; Luke 13:31–35
A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The Epistle reading serves as our sermon text for this morning.
C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God the heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
D. Memory verse!
Philippians 4:1 (NASB95)
1 Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in
this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.
E. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
660 Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
Text and tune: Public domain
Introduction
A. We live in a world where the pursuit of pleasure is seen as a human
right and where instant gratification is regarded as a necessity.
1. It is hard to imagine that suffering for the sake of the Gospel would be
seen as a positive thing.
2. A soldier who suffers for his country is only a hero if people love
their country and understand the grave dangers of losing the war.
3. A suffering Christian is only a hero if Christians love their heavenly
country and understand the dangers of losing the Gospel.
B. The apostle Paul in our text for this morning is calling upon all
Christians to love the free and unmerited grace of God:
1. the gift of Christ’s righteousness
2. so much that we remain discerning and steadfast in the faith when faced
with false teachers and false gospels who present real dangers to our faith
3. even if it means suffering or forfeiting certain worldly pleasures.
4. In order that we stand firm, Paul calls upon us to model our lives after
true servants of the Gospel of our Lord who have remained steadfast and
unmoved in their faith.
5. In our evil, pleasure-seeking day especially, this is critical.
C. Christians Need to Stand Firm, Steadfast, in Their Devotion to the
Gospel of Jesus and His Grace.
(1) It will be difficult to stand firm, steadfast, in the faith.
A. Our standing firm, steadfast, is endangered by weak faith when it is
faced with tribulations on account of God’s Word and with life’s worries
and wealth.
1. Recall the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9,18-23)
a. Some hear the Word with joy but have no root, so when trouble or
persecution comes because of the Word, they fall away.
b. Others hear the Word, but worries of this life and wealth choke it.
2. We rejoice in God’s Word:
a. for it assures us that Jesus has earned heaven for us by His death and
resurrection.
3. But we also worry, and material things are always tempting.
a. Having enough money to pay the bills.
b. Will I ever feel normal again after being sick?
c. We need to be careful!:
1. These are dangerous to our faith!
2. They take our eyes off of who we need to focus on.
B. Our standing firm, steadfast, is also is in danger by false teachers who
pridefully promote obedience to the Law as a way of meriting heaven
(3:18–19).
1. Paul had every reason to boast in his past spiritual life, he had a very
impressive list of credentials:
a. his circumcision,
b. his lineage,
c. a model Hebrew,
d. a Pharisee’s zeal for the law,
e. even persecuting those he thought opposed it (3:4–6).
2. But he found something far greater:
a. Christ!
b. Everything else he counted as loss, even garbage, compared to knowing
Jesus and the righteousness he gives through faith.
c. Paul was willing to share Jesus’ sufferings, even death, in order to
share in Jesus’ resurrection (3:7–11).
3. Many were the teachers of the law who hated Paul for robbing them of
their so-called glory.
4. Many are the false teachers today who boast:
a. in their own works and deeds and spiritual accomplishments,
b. always seeking disciples to emulate them and follow their example.
c. Theirs is no more than a pretense of holiness that is not acceptable to
God.
5. Therefore, we should not allow the Gospel to be confused with their
teachings of works-righteousness, and we should not compromise the Gospel
for the sake of peace.
C. Our standing firm, steadfast, is also in danger by false teachers who
promote sexual deviance and immorality as Christian liberty (3:19).
1. The Philippians faced false teachers who promised to give them the
liberty of indulging their sinful natures, whether it was in the form of
materialism and greed or being seduced to give into our fleshly desires.
2. Times have not changed.
a. Today we see many denominations claiming to be Christian literally
advocating for deviant sexuality, as they are indifferent to all other
violations of the commandments of God.
1. It’s okay to be a homosexual, because that is the “way” God made me.
2. It’s okay to have an affair as long as no one gets hurt.
3. It’s okay to covet someone else’s spouse, for the Lord truly wants you
to happy.
3. We must not allow ourselves to be drawn into their web, for by keeping
faith in Christ, we have eternal salvation.
a. but if we allow any of these dangers to destroy our faith, we lose
eternal life.
b. we need to keep the first things first!
(II) The good news is that our standing firm, steadfast, in the faith is
God overcoming each of the dangers (4:1).
A. When faith stands firm in the face of tribulation for the sake of the
Gospel, God makes weak faith stronger and deeper.
A. We see that other things we’ve been depending on:
a. our smarts,
b. our goodness,
c. our possessions
d. they can’t help us!
B. All we can do is count on that Jesus’ cross has made us God’s children
again
a. with all the promises that come from being His.
C. It’s like the seed planted in good soil with roots down deep into the
soil of God’s Word.
a. What happened to that seed?
Matthew 13:8 (NASB95)
8 “And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold,
some sixty, and some thirty.
Matthew 13:23 (NASB95)
23 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who
hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth,
some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
B. When faith stands firmly on the righteousness of Christ, God is showing
us the error of teachers of works-righteousness, and how to avoid them.
A. Jesus’ perfect life and sinless death:
a. this is a righteousness that is not our own but a gift given to us,
b. it is the only truth by which we can be saved.
B. Confidence in this righteousness of Christ saves us from sin and death.
C. Any teacher who sends us looking:
a. to our works for assurance of salvation
b. or doubt that our salvation is in Christ
c. is a false teacher and ought not to be trusted.
C. When faith in Christ stands firm, God is leading us to grasp and
appreciate this thought:
Philippians 3:20–21 (NASB95)
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the
body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject
all things to Himself.
A. We are citizens of an eternal city and kingdom, far greater than
anything this world has to offer.
B. Just as Paul was given the gift of Roman citizenship, we have received
citizenship in the eternal kingdom of Christ.
C. Knowing this helps us to reject life’s temptations that are
(III) Why not, then, model our lives after our Lord and those who stood
firm, steadfast, on behalf of the Gos¬pel (3:17)? What they received we
also will receive!
A. Why not model after the steadfastness of Jesus, who was rejected by men?
Hebrews 12:1–3 (NASB95)
1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily
entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the
joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down
at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against
Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
A. Jesus left the joy of heaven and endured the cross with all its shame.
B. But then He was seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
C. He is our greatest encouragement not to grow weary and lose heart.
B. Why not model after the courage and perseverance of the apostle Paul and
his fellow missionaries as they sacrificed everything for the sake of the
pure Gospel?
2 Timothy 4:2–8 (NASB95)
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke,
exhort, with great patience and instruction.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but
wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves
teachers in accordance to their own desires,
4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to
myths.
5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an
evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my
departure has come.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the
faith;
8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which
the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only
to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
A. Paul preached the Word:
a. pure doctrine,
b. in and out of season,
c. with great patience,
d. even to those whose itching ears wanted something entirely different.
B. He endured hardship and eventually was poured out like a drink offering
and lost his life for the sake of the Gospel.
C. Yet he:
a. fought the good fight,
b. finished the race,
c. kept the faith,
d. and finally received the crown of righteousness that was promised to him.
D. That crown is for us too:
a. for all who love the Lord’s appearing.
C. Why not model our life after those in our own history and in our present
world who have remained steadfast in the Christian faith?
A. Saints:
a. of the early church,
1. Stephen
2. Ambrose
3. John Chrysostom
b. of the Reformation,
1. Luther
2. Melanchthon
3. Bugenhagen
c. and even today face persecution on account of Christ.
B. We may not think that what we do matters:
a. but when we are steadfast in Christ even in the face of suffering or
persecution,
b. even in the smallest of ways,
c. we will be models for those who are around us and those who will come
after us.
Conclusion
A. There is a true story about a man who demonstrated incredible fortitude,
which resembles the fortitude of a Christian refusing to be captured by a
false gospel.
B. The story takes place during World War II.
A. After escaping from Nazi-occupied Norway, a Norwegian commando named
Jan Sigurd Baalsrud is sent from England back to Norway in a covert
operation of twelve soldiers.
B. When their boat is attacked by the Germans, one solder is killed and ten
others are arrested.
C. Only Baalsrud escapes.
D. Thereafter begins a story of horrific suffering.
a. He’s shot in the foot.
b. He escapes by swimming across a subfreezing fjord.
c. He endures avalanches, performing surgery on himself,
d. fever,
e. and hallucinations,
f. all the while being pursued by the Nazis.
g. He hides under a rock for ten days with nothing but a sleeping bag.
E. Eventually, over the course of sixty-three days of brutal pain and
suffering, constantly on the run, he finally escapes to the neutral country
of Sweden.
F. And all this for what reason?
a. To defy the enemy of his people,
b. to set his people free
c. Through his perseverance, he becomes a hero, a model, an example for all
in any country who would be willing to carry on and sacrifice for their
country and its freedom.
d. This true story was made into a movie and it exemplifies what
steadfastness and grit look like.
e. The movie is called The 12th Man.
C. As Christians, we are called to remain steadfast in the faith as we must
be willing to endure hardship for the sake of the Gospel.
A. We are called upon to be the 12th man!
B. There are many times when our citizenship in the kingdom of God calls
upon us to endure hardship and suffering.
C. Suffering for the sake of the Gospel is a noble thing when it is
intended to liberate us from all who would rob us of the freedom and faith
Christ Jesus has given us.
D. Heroes are those who serve as models, as examples, of such steadfastness
in the face of suffering.
E. We are all called by God to imitate those who have endured such
hardships for the sake of the Gospel.
F. Stand firm in the faith, dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
G. Stand firm in the faith of Christ our Lord. Amen.
D. Let us pray:
660 Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
Text and tune: Public domain
E. Philippians 4:7 (NASB95)
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
F. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly.
All of us are waiting and none of us will be disappointed.
The Lord continue to bless us,
shine His face on us,
be gracious to us,
that He lift His countenance upon us,
and give us His peace.
G. In the Name of the Father…Amen.