Philippians 1:12-18a

July 23, 2006

Ministry as a Prisoner

1:12 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel: 1:13 the whole imperial guard and everyone else knows that I am in prison for the sake of Christ, 1:14 and most of the brothers and sisters, having confidence in the Lord because of my imprisonment, now more than ever dare to speak the word fearlessly.

1:15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. 1:16 The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel. 1:17 The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment. 1:18 What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

If I was in prison because of being identified as one who believes in Christ, I wonder if I would see it as an opportunity to witness to my jailers, let alone rejoice in the opportunity. Pauls’s words are reason for hope, because he provides one more of a long line of instances of God’s provision in the circumstances of life.

What God did for Paul, he can do for me should the need arise.

It’s also illuminating how Paul’s experience gives others the courage to be forthright about their faith in a hostile environment. I can be sure that my life-witness impacts the lives of other, for good or for bad. -sdg-

Posted by Dave | Filed Under Bible 

Comments

One Response to “Philippians 1:12-18a”

  1. Daniel "Orlop" Severa on July 24th, 2006 5:43 pm

    Good Evening, dear Orlop!
    I’m sorry I write this message as a comment, but I haven’t found any email adress of yours.
    You know, I’m not really interested in Bible or sailing, not even economics and fish stories, but if you look at my name, you should know my question. There isn’t too much people in this world who call themselves “Orlop”. Could you, please, write me an e-mail message, where did you got this nick?
    I would appreciate you tou contant me because I’m curious and this is not just normal ^__^

    See you, Orlop

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