We learned in our study last time that we have a commission from Christ to participate in the gospel. While our participation is not solely dependant on self, we do play an important part. I think the thing that makes it difficult for most people is trying to figure out how they are to participate in the gospel.
Some would tell you that you should seek out people who don't know Christ and witness to them. Others would tell you the way to participate in the gospel is to get involved in some kind of evangelistic ministry. Many ministry leaders will tell you that volunteering, giving money and other resources, are a good way to participate in the gospel.
Church attendance, community service, volunteering in church activities, working in the nursery, teaching a Sunday school class, serving on the board, working in kids church, serving as an usher or greater, and a host of other valid activities qualify as participating in the gospel.
How you participate in these kinds of activities will depend on your personality and what you are interested in. For example, not everyone has the ability or wants to teach a Sunday school class. Often people feel frustrated because they have not found a place to fit in the organized church. They feel inadequate, unqualified, unfulfilled, and often guilty.
However, there is one thing that is more important than all of these things, concerning each person's participation in the gospel. It is found in the title of our study for today, To Live is to Preach. Let's take a look at what Paul has to say.
Philippians 1:12-20 (NASB)
[12] Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,
[13] so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else,
[14] and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.
[15] Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will;
[16] the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;
[17] the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.
[18] What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
[19] for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
[20] according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
In verse 12, Paul says that his circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. Verse 13 tells us that he was talking about his imprisonment and the affect it had on the top ranking soldiers, and every one else for that matter.
Verse 14 says that Paul's circumstances caused most of the brethren to have a more profound trust in the Lord, which gave them courage to speak the Word of God without fear.
If you study the life of Paul and the other followers of Christ in the first century, you will see that it was not just imprisonment or persecution that gave witness to the world. It was the way they lived their lives in every circumstance, which they found themselves.
The title of our study for today, To Live is to Preach, is a simple way to say that the attitude and manner with which we live our daily lives is a message to the world who is watching us.
The circumstances we find ourselves in at this moment in life, must not dictate our reactions, attitudes, or actions. Our lives must be governed by our relationship with God, not our circumstances.
To evaluate our participation in the gospel we must look at the attitude and manner with which we live our daily lives. We will take a look at some New Testament examples of this in a few moments.
The thing that most affects the attitude and manner with which we live our daily lives is the intentions or motivation of our heart.
Paul talks about this a little in verses 15-17. He points out two motives for preaching Christ. One motive flows from envy and strife in a person's life. For example, one might preach Christ to try to get someone else to conform to their lifestyle. This would have a legalistic motive behind it.
The other motive Paul mentions here is a motive that flows out of love. I guess one of the most important motives, for witnessing to others about what God has done for us through Christ, is love. God loves us no matter what. When we experience that love we want to share it with others.
This really sets the stage for our approach to sharing the gospel with others. As we have received kindness, mercy, gentleness, and love from God, so we should naturally approach others with this same kind of kindness, mercy, gentleness, and love. The most effective witness we can give is to tell others what God has done for us.
When we realize how much our relationship with God helps us, we naturally want to share it with others. The greater our realization of the work Christ has done in our personal lives, the the greater priority it will become in our lives.
The circumstances of our lives are handled by the motives of our hearts, and the motives of our hearts reveal the priorities of our lives. In verses 18-20, Paul talks about the priority of preaching the gospel. Paul says that the priority in His life is exalting Christ no matter what.
That priority superseded his comfort in the circumstances of living life. He even went so far as to say that this priority superseded life itself. Later in life, Paul would show that following Christ was his priority in life when the Roman government would cut his head off because of his persistence in proclaiming Christ to the world.
It is important to realize that if we never associate with people who do not know or follow Christ, we have no chance to witness about God's great love for mankind. If you have been here long, you have heard me say these words: "As a Christian, you must have one foot in the church, and one foot in the world."
Take a close look at the life of Jesus and you will discover that one of the frequent complaints that the religious leaders used to condemn Jesus was the fact that he hung out with prostitutes and sinners of all kinds.
Light cannot shine in a place where it is not taken. In order to shine the light of God and His love for mankind, the church must take that light into the darkness. It is never appropriate to participate in the activities of darkness in order to witness, it is only necessary to bring the light of Christ into the world so He can dispel the darkness
Well, all of that is easy to say but does anyone really live like that? The answer is yes, they do. Many did it in the first century, and many do it today.
There are several good examples of this in the New Testament.
Joseph, Jesus' stepfather here on earth is a good example. He found himself making God the priority of his life. He did this out of love and dedication to God and it resulted in his following God in all the good and bad circumstances of his life.
Matthew 1:18-25 (NASB)
[18] Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
[19] And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
Joseph had a very natural reaction to the circumstances he found himself in at this time. Satan likes to tell us that many of the circumstances we find ourselves in, constitutes sin in our life. Don't let Satan scare or condemn you, just turn to God.
[20] But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
[21] "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
God steps in to reveal a different course of action that Joseph should take. As he often does, God asks the unusual and difficult of His followers, so that His greater purpose and will might be carried out. In all of the circumstances of our every day lives, there is potential to do something great for the Kingdom of God.
Many of the things we do for God will never make sense to us until one day we see His greater purpose in those actions.
[22] Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
[23] "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US."
[24] And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
[25] but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
Joseph shows that the priority in his life is God and His will for Joseph and his future family. You many not think of it this way, but Joseph's actions in not divorcing Mary, was a proclamation of the Gospel. Joseph decided He would do God's will and participate in the Gospel.
Think about this for a moment. How many, who were close to Joseph, would have looked down on his actions to marry a girl who was pregnant by someone else? Their culture was very different from our culture today, and most people would have looked down on Joseph for his decision here.
Now, look 30 years into the future. Jesus, the son of Mary, who's Father was unknown, calls Lazarus back to life after he has been lying in his grave dead and stinking for three days. We don't even know if Joseph was alive at this time, but can you imagine how he would have felt to learn about the things that his stepson was doing.
I think Joseph would have been very glad that he had made God a priority in his life and followed God's command that he should go ahead and follow through on his plans to have Mary as his wife. Joseph followed God's bizarre will and participated in the Gospel.
Joseph's actions reveal that God's will was the priority in his life. Regardless of the circumstances that confronted him, Joseph showed his love for God by doing His will. To Live is to Preach. The actions of our lives are a message to the world.
Peter made a commitment to Jesus stating that he was willing to die in order to follow Him. (John 13:37)
He followed through on that commitment when he drew his sword to protect Jesus on the night the mob came to arrest Him in the garden. (John 18:10)
He embarrassed and humiliated himself when he denied that he even knew Jesus at His trial. (John 18:25-26)
A few moments after he denied that he knew Jesus, Peter repented of his denials of Jesus. (Luke 22:61-62)
Tradition tells us that Peter was eventually crucified because of the commitment he had made to follow Jesus.Think about all the different actions of Peter's life. Like all of us, Peter had moments of failure and moments of victory. There were times when he did just what was needed, and then there were times when he did the wrong things.
Every time Peter acted, he was communicating a message about who he was in his relationship with God. Bold statements of commitment were followed by powerful actions to carry out that commitment, followed by cowardly denials, followed by repentance, and then a life totally given over to following Christ.
Peter belonged to God, and he was letting God shape him. His actions revealed his attitude about his circumstances, the motivations of his heart, and his priority in life. To Live is to Preach. The actions of our lives are a message to the world.
Nicodemus, a powerful Jewish leader, came to Jesus seeking the truth, but he came at night in secret. (John 3:1-21) That tells us something about how he dealt with the circumstances of his life. He sees something wonderful in Jesus, but the message Jesus is preaching, will turn his world and his Jewish nation upside down.
Evidently, Nicodemus came to believe in, and follow Jesus. We see him at the foot of the cross anointing Jesus' body just before they bury Him. To Live is to Preach. The actions of our lives are a message to the world.
When the Samaritan woman started her conversation with Jesus, she brought up all the injustices in her life. Racial prejudice, religious prejudice, and gender bias came spewing out of her mouth showing the hurt in her heart. (John 4:4-42)
Before the day was over she would go into the village telling everyone to come out and listen to Jesus. He had touched her heart and she wanted everyone to know. To Live is to Preach. The actions of our lives are a message to the world.
Ten lepers come to Jesus begging for mercy. (Luke 17:11-19) Only one came back to thank Jesus. When he came back to thank Jesus, he fell on his face at Jesus feet. Luke says that this leper was a Samaritan.
He set aside his racial and religious prejudice. He didn't worry about what anyone thought about his actions. He just fell on his face at Jesus feet in worship and thanks. To Live is to Preach. The actions of our lives are a message to the world.
What about you? What has Jesus done for you? How are you expressing your love for Him? To Live is to Preach. The actions of our lives are a message to the world.
Paul shows us three important things that we need to remember about our topic today; To Live is to Preach.
These three things are common to all of us and how we live them out in our daily lives has eternal consequences. These consequences do not concern us alone; they affect those around us as well. That's the point of Christ's great commission to His followers. He wanted them to have an affect on the world around them.
All of us find ourselves in different kinds of good and bad circumstances every day. The attitude and manner with which we handle those circumstances is a witness to the world around us. Reaction to our circumstances, tells the world around us something about who we are and what kind of relationship we have with God.
The motives of our heart eventually come to be known by all. The motives of our heart are a message to the world about our true concern for life, and everything we do in life. On the job, at home, at church, at school, lying in a hospital bed, helping someone with a flat tire, or some grocery money; the love of Christ reveals itself in the motives of our hearts.
The priority of life reveals itself in both our attitude and our actions. I could make a very long list here but time does not permit, and I probably would not list everything that is appropriate for everyone who hears my words today. I think there are three important things that reveal our priority in life.
In each of these important aspects of life, the way we react or take action, is an indication of the priorities that rule our lives. To Live is to Preach. The actions of our lives are a message to the world.
NASB - New American Standard Bible (NASB). Cedar Rapids: Laridian, 2002.
I want to thank my research assistants, Debi Peck and Robyn Harper (HARPER), who do hours of research to provide some of my study resources. I also want to thank Vonda Watson-Bostick and Robyn Harper, who help me with editing.