Standing Firm Fearlessly
“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 the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.”
Conduct Yourselves
Not a lot of people know this but I was in a Men’s chorale throughout all of college. We were about a hundred men strong and I absolutely loved it. Our director was this incredible singer, with a deep voice that had a lot of resonance to it. When he would conduct us at concerts he never conducted us with anything less than pure passion. He knew instinctively, and logically, that in order to get the best result he needed to conduct the chorale with more than just hitting the right cues. He conducted with passion, zeal, and excellence—he did this not just on stage but off stage as well.
The sense of friendship and brotherhood that was cultivated in that group by him was readily apparent to everyone. We were incredibly intentional with how we conducted ourselves on campus because we knew that we were representing something more than just ourselves.
How do you conduct yourself?
When Paul writes to the Philippian church he mentions this idea. The manner by which you live—let it be worthy of the gospel of Christ. He states,
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” - Philippians 1:27a
What is a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ?
Standing Firm Fearlessly
We conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ when we stand firm fearlessly. What does that mean? It means holding to the gospel as if our lives depend on it—because they do. It means absolute trust despite what the world throws at us.
The fears are real, but they lose their sting in the face of the gospel.
The beautiful thing about the good news of Jesus is that it disarms the fears we would normally experience from these. We do not need to fear Prison (Paul himself is in prison and yet maintains a greater level of freedom), Loss, even Death. He even writes and says,
“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” - Philippians 1:21
Christ has made even death into a gain for us.
We do not yearn to experience these things but in the gospel they are not fearful any more. And we may still experience fear but its an echo of our former way of living. The death rattle of a lie that we had bought for so long and the enemy continues to peddle to us. Standing firm in the gospel is crucial to how we conduct ourselves.
The Mold You Use
Why is it so crucial for us to stand firm in the gospel? I like to think about how rings are made. For a gold ring to be crafted you have to first melt the gold down and purify it. That means you need to raise the temperature to at least 1948 degrees, about as hot as an average day in July in Sacramento! After this you pour it into a mold and then tighten up the mold so that the Liquid Metal can cool and be formed into something beautiful. However, if the mold has a crack in it or some other imperfection, it can be exposed to outside influences which will corrupt what’s inside and the whole thing must start over from scratch.
The same is true with our lives. To live in a manner worthy of the gospel means to stand firm in the gospel, trusting it with our very lives above all else. The pressure of life then becomes something that empowers us. Pressure and difficulties are not the things that break us in life. All of us go through tough times, all experience heart ache and difficulty. It’s not about how much heat you experience, or what is poured into the mold. It’s all about the mold you’re using.
If the mold you use in life is your happiness and contentment, your going to discover cracks in the mold, and when the heat turns up, and the pressure comes, it’s going to fall apart. If you stand firm in the gospel, and that is the mold you use, you’ll find that the difficulties and pressure won’t break you—even more—you’ll discover that they can be repurposed for good! (See Romans 8:28). The trauma, the heartache, that broken dream, that unmet expectation, all of these things can turn out for good for those who love the Lord! God may not have authored the suffering—but In His mercy and love, he can repurpose it for your good.
Live in a manner worthy of the gospel, by trusting the gospel. Stand firm fearlessly because Jesus has all authority and He will not forsake us! I hope you are blessed by this encouragement.
