I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. (ESV)
If you are new to this reading plan, follow the instructions on the right side of this page or click here to read the "Why Just One Letter" introduction article.
Throughout each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of understanding regarding our text (see the archive links on the lower right of this page for review). Today we will discuss how...
Guarding Against Confusion Guards Against Sin
One of the most tragic events in history is recorded for us in Genesis 3:6.
Despite having the clear truth proclaimed from God Himself, Eve and Adam tried to become like God by eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. We can all look back to that moment and see the starting point for everything that is wrong in our universe.
Why are there wars, natural disasters, divorce, child abuse, greed, illness of every sort? Why is there death?
Because of The Fall.
The brokenness all around us - and the brokenness within us - is the consequence of that first rebellion and the billions of sins in our own hearts that have followed since then.
And it all started with confusion. Even before telling Eve a bold face lie in Genesis 3:4, Satan used his other powerful weapon of CONFUSION against her in Genesis 3:1:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (ESV)
It was almost as though Satan used confusion to till the soil of Eve's heart, so that the seed of his lie would be able to take root. If some stranger comes up and starts disrespecting God, you might easily dismiss him without any danger to your heart. However, if one comes slyly twisting the Word of God, you might be drawn in - even if at first, it is just to correct his mistake.
Eve was quick to correct the serpent, "No, not ANY TREE. Just that ONE TREE." But then she confuses the issue on her own by adding to God's command - "We can't Eat from that one" (God's command), "Or even touch it, lest we die" (Extra Human Religious Burden).
Once the command was confused by Satan and then again by Eve, her heart was ready to buy the lie. And that lie bore the fruit of Pain, Regret, Shame, and the like.
So, with confusion and deceit being at the core of our problem between Us and God, between Ourselves and Others and even internally, between Us and our own heart - With Confusion and Deceit at the ROOT of all of that, it is no wonder that Paul has already spent so much effort trying to keep our eyes on the facts.
We looked at verse 6 last month and saw how Paul wanted us to be sure of our salvation so that we could have the stamina and confidence to see this life through to the end with faith.
Today we read Paul's first words in this passage and we see that, again he wants to clear away any confusion and dispel any lies with the facts.
"I want you to KNOW...," Paul says.
In other words, we see here - and in many of Paul's letters - a message for all Christians everywhere:
I don't want you to fall for any lies or half-truths. I don't want you to fall away and start listening to those "ear-ticklers" who only tell you what you want to hear. I want you to stand firm in the truth found in the Scriptures - The Bible is the one unmovable, unchanging authority that God has established for our teaching, reproof, correction and training for righteousness.
We will explore what Paul wanted them to KNOW throughout this month, but in summary:
Paul was imprisoned and some so-called church leaders were against Paul and they were doing what they could to promote themselves by putting him down. Things looked bad on the surface. Paul wanted the Philippians to KNOW that reality, even though it was a hard reality.
But, Paul also wanted the Philippians to KNOW that the imprisonment was being used to continue God's mission. Hard to reach people groups like the imperial guard were learning about Jesus. Formerly shy Christians were now fearlessly and boldly sharing the Good News. And, even those who were leading as a way to degrade Paul were still being used by God to make Jesus known.
One has to wonder if Paul was thinking back to the time God used Joseph in a similar way. The hard reality was that his brothers degraded Joseph (sold him into slavery) in order to elevate themselves. The hard fact was that Joseph ended up going to prison for standing up against temptation. And yet, God used what others meant for evil to accomplish His own good purposes (Genesis 37-50).
So what does this have to do with you? Today?
One pastor and writer named Tim Chester says that nearly every sin that you or I commit is because of a lie that we are believing about God. For further study on this idea, please read Chester's book You Can Change.
As I wrote above, if someone comes to you declaring some blatant falsehood, it is easy to dismiss. There is hardly an argument that our atheist friends have used to try to rail against God or to disprove God that doesn't break down pretty quickly if you have any apologetics training whatsoever.
However, we see more people fall away after someone quietly begins whispering in the ear, posting questions on social media or asking in a seemingly innocent way, "Did God really say_________?"
In our day, and among many cultural Christians, that kind of question comes up time and again with issues like sexual ethics, the reality of Hell, and the inerrancy of the Bible.
Did God really say that two men or two women cannot marry?
Did a loving God actually say He would send people to Hell forever?
Did God really say that some ancient book should be trusted - even now, after all this time? Even though the culture has changed so much?
But we also have more subtle voices of confusion in the faith community. They are the wellsprings of the Prosperity Gospel, the Works based religions, and more.
Would God really want you to go through suffering?
Wouldn't God want you to have that nicer house, car, etc.?
Wouldn't God keep you from sickness, poverty, etc.?
Do you really think you can get to Heaven by faith alone? Why not add some works, just in case?
Would God really be so restrictive of whom He wants to shepherd His church here on earth?
Can't you just worship God on your own terms without having to gather without all those messed up church people?
Do you really need the Word? Can't you just listen to the Spirit? Can't you just follow your heart?
I could go on all day. What can we do to guard against this confusion?
The answer is on your bookshelf, or on your coffee table, or on an app on your cell phone - It's the Word of God. Pick it up. Read it. Talk to other Christians about it. Pray through and about what you are reading.
And, if you look at information like food, then make sure that your three main meals are Bible and leave the rest, (from books, film, internet, news, talk radio, podcasts, etc.) to snack time.
You may think that is legalistic non-sense. But, if we block more confusion feeders from our brains, we will block more lies from reaching our hearts. And if we replace the confusion with the truth of God's Word, we will reap all the blessings He has promised us.
Try it. Some people began fasting for Lent a few weeks ago, maybe you could start fasting from one (or all) of your confusion feeders (T.V., Internet, non-Christian literature) from today through Easter and replace it (them) with Bible reading. Someone could tell you you're silly for doing so, but this isn't between you and them. It's between you and God.
I want you to know - If you guard against confusion, you will guard against sin.
