by Bishop Mark Shaw
Philippians
1-8
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanksgiving and Prayer I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
It is the ministers duty to defend the gospel, we are not to idly sit by and watch those that would desire to destroy the gospel, do so without so much as a whimper from the ministry. This is our calling. Those that are in the body of Christ need to see this, so that they will not be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. It is the ministers calling to equip the saints for the work of God. By not defending the gospel we, as ministers, would be failing and sinning. Paul said woe is me if I preach not the gospel of God!
It is not wrong to contend for the faith, it may seem like arguing to some, but it is "defending the hope that we all have within us." If we do not, then many that are weak will be lost, many will depart from the faith. Listen, the weak will be out in the everyday world and come against those that try to destroy the gospel, when they have seen the gospel defended successfully, then they will know the truth and be able to stand themselves.
I am reminded of King Saul and the whole army of Israel, they were all gathered against the Philistines, and they were all afraid. You see this huge guy came out of the camp of the Philistines, he started to mock God, now this guy was huge. He taunted them, he would say "is there not one warrior in the army of God that would dare come and face me in battle?" There was none. The whole army was in fear. Every last man was afraid to face this man.
Then, after a few days of this taunting, a young man was delivering food to his "warrior" brothers when he overheard the taunting of this huge Philistine warrior. He was incensed! This young man was called before the king, and he said to the king, "let no man's heart fail on account of this Philistine, I will slay him."
So the king allowed this young man to go against this giant, the young man slew the giant and took his head. Then the army of Israel took great courage and pursued the army of the Philistines and destroyed them. When men who are called of God, defend the gospel, it gives courage to those that would not have tried in the first place, but now they are filled with hope and they too become warriors in God's army. We need more David's with the courage that it takes to take on the armies of hell that seek to lie and distort the truth.
9-11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
You see?!! It is for those of us that need to gain knowledge and depth of insight; that we may know the truth! Those that defend the gospel are doing so on your behalf that you may be presented to Christ lacking nothing. That you may be filled with the fruit of righteousness!! Being able to discern!! How can anyone discern if they know not the truth?
12-16
Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly. It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.
Paul's defense of the gospel gave others the courage to do the same! Paul states that he was put in jail for the defense of the gospel. Are we all of a sudden supposed to lie down and play dead? No!! The word is clear, we are to preach sound doctrine and dispose the false doctrine.
If you are offended by that then you are offended by Christ and what He taught and what many others have laid down their lives for. At what point did Paul refuse to defend the gospel? At what time was he quiet? There is a difference in someone telling me not to preach to them anymore, and someone that is trying to destroy the gospel telling me not to preach to them anymore.
There is a time when it does no good to preach to an individual, but when any individual tries to destroy the gospel then there is no time in which it is right to keep quiet. I am not casting pearls before swine in this instance, I am casting pearls to the saints of God who see the defense of the gospel and gain courage to do the same.
17-26
The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
Paul's love for the body of Christ is the driving force behind his defense of the gospel just as ours is when we defend the gospel, we do so not for our benefit, but for the benefit of Body of Christ. It is our love for you that we take on those that would subvert the gospel. What kind of Shepard allows wolves, and lions among his flock without giving a defense?
27-30
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
This is so important. Do you now see why it is wrong to argue with your brothers and sisters when someone is contending for the faith? By doing so you prove to the atheist and agnostic that they are right, that we are all in a state of delusional confusion. By standing with your brother, or at the very least being quiet, you will all stand firm in one spirit contending as one man for the faith of the gospel!
This is needed in the Body of Christ. If you disagree with the way a brother or sister is ministering, then tell them privately, and wait for them to finish before you do so, in the mean time contend yourself also or pray for the one contending. This unity will be a sign to those that do not believe that they will be destroyed unless they turn from their ways and apply the sacrifice of Christ to their lives as well.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
We have been equipped to fight this battle, we have the necessary armor, the necessary weapons, God's provision is sufficient. But we that contend for the faith should not have to contend with saints at the same time. We should not have to do battle against an enemy and an ally at the same time. This is wrong, God wants us to be unified in the faith, where is our unity?
Of course there are doctrinal differences, but not when it comes to Christ, if there are, then those that do not believe on Him as the only begotten Son of God, the Creator of all things, they are not of the ranks of Christianity. So discussing doctrine among ourselves is fine and we can all argue our position, but when we are dealing with an unbeliever, then we must unite as one man for the faith of the gospel. That means, either contend or pray, but don't argue amongst yourselves. Oh the things that could take place when this happens!
Also, if you feel like your denomination has been attacked and you get upset and try to defend your organization then you are just defending man's works. Put your confidence in Christ! If something is said about your denomination that upsets you, then either keep quite or set the person straight. What I mean by this is if someone calls your denomination a cult, then search for yourself and see if what they say is the truth, then, if it is not, defend it. Just saying that someone is wrong because you think they are is not sufficient evidence that they are wrong. It is your denomination, therefore you should have the necessary resources to investigate their claims.
What disturbs me is that I see the same people that get mad at those that are contending for the faith, do the same thing for their denomination, but then they think we are to be quiet and not defend the faith. Why is it that they put more trust in and are more upset when their denomination is attacked then when Christ is attacked? This ought not be. I say this in all humility, like Paul and every other minister called of God I want to present you complete when Christ comes for you. It is through love that I address this issue, love for you the Church of God and for the lost that they may be saved. I hope this does not fall on deaf ears.
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