Do Not Be Alarmed

By: Kasey Knowlton

While languishing in a prion somewhere around 61 A.D., the Apostle Paul writes a letter to the church in Philippi, the first church founded by him in Europe.  Throughout the letter, Paul admonishes the people in this body of believers concerning their Christian conduct and reminds them of the expectations they should have related to persecution.  Since all of scripture is God-breathed and relevant to those of us who follow Christ, the experiences of the early church continue to be important to us even in our time, given the rising godlessness and persecution that Christians are facing.

We begin in verse 27, where Paul tells this church to, “…conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ…”  This begs the question: What does “a worthy manner” look like?  There are several verses to help us flesh out what Paul means, including verse 29.  He states, “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake…”.  Suffering is promised to these believers.  It is a promise that extends to us also.  What’s more, it has been “granted” to us, in essence, we are privileged to suffer for His names sake.  Paul expounds on this over in chapter two, verses 5-8.  It reads, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  This adds weight to what conducting ourselves as Christians in a worthy manner looks like.  God Himself, took on the form of a man, dying an excruciating death on our behalf.  We are to give Him our full obedience in humility in return, for we have been bought at a very high price.

Paul goes on in verse 27 to state, “…so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you and that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”  Paul couldn’t be with this church since he was imprisoned at the time of the letter.  He reminds them that regardless of his presence, they should be unified in the faith, keeping the gospel of Christ their primary focus.  What’s extraordinary is that he goes on to say in the next verse, “…in no way alarmed by your opponents - which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.”  I’m sure there would have been plenty of reason for alarm for these early believers.  There was plenty of persecution to go around, from the Roman government to the Jewish religious leaders.  Paul is, after all, writing to them from prison!  As we read this now, nearly 2000 years later, we see rising persecution against the church, even in western countries.  Just north of us in Canada, Pastors have been arrested just for having services.  Some have even been dragged from their cars, fined, and imprisoned.  And Paul is telling us that by not being alarmed, we are acting as “a sign of destruction for them.”  After all, we have the hope of salvation through our Lord, so what can evil really do to us in the end?  Earlier in the letter Paul states, “For to me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.”  Do we believe this to be true, or are we tethered to the here and now in this life?  What a difference it would make for us to remember daily the incredible offer of God, that we have a “hope and a future” (Jer. 29:11).

Lastly, Paul reminds them that they have not only been granted the hope of salvation but have also been granted suffering for His names sake, just as Christ suffered for us, and just as Paul was suffering as he wrote the letter.  “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.”  Let it be repeated friends, you will suffer.  It may be because we now live east of Eden, in a cursed world of sin and death.  It may be due to persecution against us as believers because we follow the One True God.  As darkness grows, so to will our suffering.  I wonder, as Christians living in the luxuries of western culture, are we conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel?  Are we prepared to suffer well in the name of Christ, for the name of Christ?   Or have we let the comforts and conveniences of our time and culture lead us to a false sense of security?  Are we ready for whatever may come, and in no way alarmed by it?  We must prepare our hearts daily in prayer for the possibility of future suffering.  But do not despair.  Remember the words of our Lord from the gospel of John 16:33: “In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering but be courageous; I have overcome the world.”  We need not fear.  There is not cause for alarm.  Our hope and our future are in the hands of the One who has overcome.  As darkness and suffering increase, let us never forget to whom we belong, and that He is coming back for us, and that right soon!