Striving together not with each other 06/11/2023

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. ‭‭[Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭27‬-‭28a‬ ‭NIV‬‬]

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

I want to unpack this powerful statement. In my classroom days, I discovered that, if I was having a difficulty teaching a sensitive topic in Personal and Social Education, I started by looking for the exact opposite which was usually very undesirable and then we moved back to the opposite which was desirable. So I am going to try the same tactic in this blog. Paul talks about conducting themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. In his letter to the Romans, Paul is critical of the Jews for their hypocrisy. He demonstrates that, by their conduct they caused those who did not know God, the Gentiles, to blaspheme the name of God.

17] But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God [18] and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; [19] and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, [20] an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—[21] you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? [22] You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? [23] You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. [24] For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” [Romans 12:17-24 ESV]

Paul is saying that the Jews should have known better because they knew God and they had the Torah (part of the Old Testament) which showed them what God expected of their lives. Paul points out that when people looked at the kind of lifestyle of some Jews, they reacted by saying that they wanted nothing to do with this God of the Jews. Their lives did not even begin to live up to the claims that they made. They were teaching other people but they had not learned the lessons for themselves. God's Law (the Torah) set such a high moral standard and there was such a huge discrepancy between the claims of the Torah and the reality of the lives the Jews were living. Paul grew up in Tarsus, a city which was mainly Gentile and there were few Jews. He was a devout Jew with a high moral code but he is referring to those who made claims but did not keep the Law. He is speaking of those who regularly broke the ten commandments. They were known to commit adultery although this was clearly condemned in the sixth commandment, "You shall not commit adultery." They were guilty of theft although this was contrary to the seventh commandment, "You shall not steal."

Of course, the Gentiles lived immoral lives but they were not claiming to have a high moral standard but they still liked to criticise these 'religious' Jews. That is often true today when people who live immoral lives find it easy to condemn Christians for not living up to the standard they expect. Whether or not the critics have the right to condemn others, if we are not living the sort of life we should be living, it is harmful to the reputation of Jesus Christ.

But Paul focuses on one aspect of the lives of the Philippians. He is not saying that they were stealing or committing adultery but he challenges them with regard to whether they were 'striving together.' Were they working as a team or were they displaying their disagreements and their conflicts? Sadly in the church at Philippi, there had been a big fall out between two women. You might think that this is to be expected and that it really does not matter very much. Paul is saying that it does matter and he later challenges Euodia and Syntyche to get their disagreements sorted out (Philippians 4:2).

That is a real challenge for me as I write the blog. I have reflected deeply and prayerfully on this challenge this morning. As I think of church circles, I can generally say that most of us would like good upright lives - we would not steal or commit adultery. But there is a big problem with unity. I am ashamed of the recent history of many Christian churches with regard to disagreements and conflicts. I am not going to spell this out in detail but I challenge myself in this regard. As a member of the small church called Dawson Community Church in Falkirk, we pray regularly for unity. This does not mean that we will all be clones of each other. It certainly does not mean that we will interpret all passages of the Bible exactly the same. What it does mean is that we will be united in Christian love and serve the Lord in harmony with each other. The teams who compete in the Oxford and Cambridge boat race on the Thames have to learn to work together and they need to be synchronised and in step with each other. We need to be working together and not pulling in different directions. The secret of the rowers is that there is a coxswain who is in charge and keeps the rowers synchronised. In churches, the problem is very often strong personalities with inflated egos and a dearth of humility and grace. Christ is our coxswain, our captain and when He is in control of the church, there is unity and there is harmony. When we acknowledge the Lordship of Christ and take our orders from Him, we find it easier to strive together as one for the faith of the gospel.

In closing, notice that the verse is written in the context of opposition and persecution. There is much greater unity in the persecuted church than in the pampered, materialistic West.