Courage in Christ
Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20)
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost is the epistle reading Philippians 1. We certainly admire people who have courage. To have courage means to do what is right even if you are uncomfortable or afraid to do it. Paul speaks about courage in our text for today. He talks about being bold in speaking the Word of God. Paul is certainly an example of boldness and courage. Christ called him to be an apostle. He traveled around the Roman world preaching and teaching the Word of God and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God worked through Paul and many came to faith in the Lord. But he also made several enemies along the way. Paul was beaten and imprisoned many times during his ministry. He was in prison when he wrote this letter to the Philippians. Paul had not committed a crime. Yet, he was confined because he proclaimed the Gospel. Paul continued to do the work of the Lord even if it led to jail. Paul certainly showed a lot of courage and boldness during his ministry.
In our reading Paul tells us that the source of his courage is Christ Jesus the Lord. Even though he was under arrest Christ was still with him. Paul wanted the church to know that God was still working through his imprisonment. While Paul was in prison many people came to him and heard the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel message of Jesus started to then spread to others. Not only was the Gospel spreading throughout the Roman empire but Paul’s time in prison gave him the opportunity to write to various churches and people. Paul wrote Philippians along with Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon while he was in jail. The letters written by Paul have been read by millions of people for thousands of years. To this day we are able to read those letters written by Paul and inspired by the Holy Spirit in the Bible. God worked through Paul’s imprisonment to reach many people including us.
In our text Paul encourages all of us to have courage and to boldly speak the truth even if it leads to suffering. He then tells us that the source of our courage is Christ Jesus. He reminds us that the Lord is always with us and that the Lord works though us. We certainly do admire people who demonstrate courage like Paul. But we also know that demonstrating courage is difficult. It is hard to do what is right when it is uncomfortable to do so. It is difficult to speak the truth when we are afraid to do so.
There was a test conducted by a university where 10 students were placed in a room. Three lines of varying length were drawn on a card. The students were told to raise their hands when the instructor pointed to the longest line on the card. Nine of the students had been instructed beforehand to raise their hands when the instructor pointed to the second longest line. The experiment was designed to see what the one student would do. The usual reaction of that one student was to put their hand up when the instructor pointed to the longest line but then as they looked around and realized that they were alone they would pull their hand back down again. This happened 75 % of the time, with students from grade school through high school. The researchers concluded that many would rather go along with the crowd than give the right answer. We see in this study that many young people think that going along with the crowd is more important than speaking the truth. It can be the same for adults.
Paul encourages us to speak the truth and do what is right in the sight of God. He encourages us to be courageous and bold. Of course we know that being courageous is a hard thing. It is difficult to do what is right especially if it makes us uncomfortable. It is difficult to speak the truth when we are afraid. But Paul does more than encourage us to be courageous because he tells us where our courage comes from. The source of our courage is Jesus Christ the Lord.
In our Old Testament reading Isiah tells us to seek the Lord for He is near us. He later tells us that the God who is near us is the same God who sits above the heavens. It is an amazing passage if you think about it. The all-knowing, all-powerful God who is bigger and more powerful than the entire universe is also near us. It is a wonderful thing that God is near us because God is gracious to us. God is near us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus our Lord has given us the gift of salvation through His death and resurrection. Through Christ we have been renewed, given the gift of faith, and have received eternal life. The Lord is near us. He forgives our sins. He gives us the assurance of His presence. He hears our prayers. He is the one who has opened up the gates of heaven for us so that we can stand in the full presence of God. Jesus Christ who has blessed us beyond measure is also the source of our courage.
By God’s grace we are saved. As redeemed children of God, the Holy Spirit now moves us forward to live a life of courage and boldness. There will be many times in our life where courage will be needed. It takes courage for us to be the first to reach out and reconcile with another who we are in conflict with. It takes courage to be the first one who asks for forgiveness during an argument or to be the first one to offer forgiveness when you have been sinned against. It takes courage to speak the truth in love to an erring friend, relative or member of the church. It takes courage to do what is moral and right in our place of employment when others around us do not. It takes courage to resist negative peer pressure in school and live according to the way of Christ. It takes courage to confess the truth about Jesus and share with others the Word of God. It takes courage to get out of our comfort zone by serving in the church. It takes courage to be willing to suffer for the name of Christ. It takes courage to go up stream when the fallen world is hostile to God. It takes courage to keep on going when things are not going well in our life. It takes courage to face sickness and death. Yet we are not alone for the Lord is with us.
So we look to the Lord Jesus our Savior. We look to His life, death, and resurrection. We look to Him knowing that He has lived a perfect life in our place. We look to Him knowing that He has wiped away our sins and defeated death for us. We look to Him knowing that He has given us everlasting life. As we look to the Lord, we are then able to see the callings that He has given to us. Indeed the Lord has placed us in our various vocations to love and serve each other. We see that in Christ Jesus our life has purpose. We also see that this life is short and that we will soon be with the Lord forever. It is a win – win situation. God works through us to produce the fruits of love in this life and then when the time is right, He brings us to be with Him in heaven. Paul describes this win- win situation in our epistle reading. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means faithful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.” In other words we are here in this life to love each other, confess the truth and suffer knowing that the Gospel will continue to go forward. It is a fruitful life. We also know that we will be with the Lord when we die or when Christ returns, which ever comes first. To be with the Lord forever is something we all look forward to.
Paul encourages us to be bold and courageous in our life. But He also tells us that the source of our courage is Jesus Christ. The all-knowing, all-powerful God who created the heavens and earth is near us. It is good that the Lord is near because the Lord is gracious to us. God is indeed near us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus has given to us life and salvation. He has opened the kingdom of heaven so that we can stand in the presence of God forever. He given us the assurance that He is always with us. He gives us the assurance that He works through us and that He will never leave us or forsake us. He gives us the assurance that He has overcome the world and that we have nothing to fear. Paul encourages us to be bold and courageous in our life. But then he goes on to tell us something even more important. He tells us that the source of our courage is Jesus Christ. Amen.