The Philippians were called to live in a Roman colony, a grand city with feverish nationalistic pride, big buildings, a religion of Caesar worship with massive statues and temples, immense wealth, and military power—all completely opposed to Christianity. The church was born with Paul and Silas being beaten with rods and put in prison. Philippi was a small and new church, standing for the gospel in the midst of a great Roman empire that was addicted to Roman culture and philosophy. They must have been worried about how they could survive and grow in this culture, and now their spiritual father, Paul, was in prison. If he died, how could they ever live for and spread the gospel?
We can clearly see that we live in a similar culture. We are a small, new reformed church facing big obstacles in this generation. On one side, the government is determined to establish a Hindu nation with a pride of nationalism and a culture of idolatry, inaugurating big temples as a first step, with plans to do this everywhere. On the other side are the so-called churches that are supposed to stand and boldly preach the true gospel. All the mega-churches today have no truth and no gospel—only entertainment.
I said in a family conference that I recently saw a worship service of one big mega-church in Hebbal. Every week, 25,000 people go there. There’s a 40-minute choir performance, a music band, and a sermon that is 50 minutes long. Maybe only 3 minutes of it are spent talking about a verse, and that is completely twisted, taken out of context, and never explained. It is just used as a way to make a point that we will face hurdles in life. The whole sermon is filled with stories. “I went here and came here. One family arranged a grand garden wedding, but then the rain came, and the girl’s white flowing dress became dirty. Sometimes life is like that. My bike isn’t working, my car isn’t starting. One family came to me and said their neighbor did witchcraft and put turmeric and a banana in front of their house. I prayed. They had one floor, and now they have three floors. Hallelujah! A girl’s marriage boy is missing. They called me at 4 a.m. The girl has a job in London, a house there, and is well-settled. They will take the boy to London if they find one.” The entire sermon is about “hurdles will come,” all told in a laughing, joking way. There is no exposition from God’s word. People don’t learn anything from God’s word from the whole sermon. I listen to see what people are preaching. My blood pressure not only increased, but I also thought these guys are not even fit to be called false prophets. A false prophet is someone who preaches God’s truth so subtly that you have to analyze his deception, but here he is just a clown just rambling, using short stories to make people feel good and laugh, and making them believe they are hearing God’s word. I deeply wondered why thousands—25,000 every week—go to listen to such people. This is the biggest church in Bangalore. This is what most big churches are doing in India: no truth, no gospel, no exposition of the Bible, and no content at all in the message.
We have to understand our generation. All big mega-churches in our day are built on entertainment religion today. It’s all about entertainment. I want to create a video on entertainment religion. Why are people like this? Don’t they have a brain? Don’t they have a Bible in their hands? If they just read it properly for a while, they would know this is such nonsense. Here, we strive not perfectly, but as much as possible, to logically and faithfully teach God’s word. Why don’t they come to our churches? But if you rewind 150 years ago, people would go to listen to Bible-preaching churches in big crowds early in the morning and listen for hours together. Why? What has changed?
One author, Neil, assesses our generation and says this is profoundly due to the mindset of today’s generation. Today’s generation is addictively affected by entertainment on social media, YouTube, Instagram, TV, and OTT platforms. With so much content, the craving for entertainment is intensified, and if people get the shortest spare time, they want to open their mobile for entertainment. With that mindset, they also crave entertainment in church. So these false churches and preachers, instead of doing what Christ told the church to do, they supply the felt demands of people. In the name of church, they provide a rock orchestra band, just a 30 to 40-minute sermon full of histrionics and melodrama to attract attention, make people feel good and emotional, and use punch dialogues and a melodious way of pronouncing words, all with entertaining jokes from beginning to end. Why? This generation is crazy about entertainment. The spirit of a culture craves entertainment.
You can listen to some preachers in big churches. Maybe he says something profound once in thirty minutes. Most of the time, he never says anything useful—it’s all useless babbling. There’s no reasoned rhetoric, no profound logic, and no content—only drama and dialogues. And oh, what crowds gather and enjoy that.
But if you compare these preachers with George Whitefield, Bunyan, Jonathan Edwards, and even John Wesley and Finney from 150 years ago, big crowds came to listen to them early in the morning and listened to a 2- or 3-hour message with no drama, but just the explanation of scripture. Why? Because that generation was not impacted by these millions of images, videos, and entertainment. They had a different mindset. They were a thinking generation. Because they lived in a typographic age, if they wanted to learn anything, the only way they could learn was by reading. They had print materials. You cannot read something and not think. This reading habit created deep thinking, logical thinking, and developed their cognitive abilities. It was an intellectual culture. They were trained to think and so they could listen, reason, and think for hours.
But the generation we live in, after 150 years, has shifted from a typographic society to a photographic and videographic society. People do not want to think anymore. People want everything in photos, videos, and posts in an entertaining way. Those things only make us feel, but not think. When you see a wonderful scene, it makes you feel awe, but it doesn’t make you think deeply. With less and less readers, people don’t think now. That is what has shaped this generation. That is why today’s generation has a crazy emotional entertainment culture. Even worship is something we participate in, but in the name of worship, they are enjoying a performance; they are actually adoring the singers and the melodious music. Music has a magical power to deeply touch our emotions, stop us from thinking, calm our worried minds, or boost our moods. So they feel good, and they think that feeling is worshiping God. Because they like that music, singers, and preachers, they imagine they love God so much. Then preaching comes, full of all these useless, contentless, scripture-less sermons which only appeal to their emotions and never make them think, and they think they are enjoying God’s word. This is the mindset of our day. People do not want to read books, and many of us are like that. They don’t want to think. People are into emotional gratification. They can have that feeling only when they go to a big church with big crowds and a big stage. Whatever the preacher says—babbling nonsense—they will go there. They want to feel; they don’t want to think. A comedy show has replaced Scripture—no context, no content, only entertainment.
In this generation today, you stand up on a simple stage with no lights and give them a logical, reasoned explanation of God’s word. You do a verse-by-verse exposition, and they’re asleep in three minutes because no jokes were made, the preacher did not act like a cartoon character, go here and there making funny gestures with a shining coat and rings on his fingers, there was no music, and no dramatic voice or raising of hands. Oh, they cannot bear to see one preacher explaining the Bible and making us think. They yawn. They can’t deal with it.
The saddest thing is that they don’t realize the devil is taking them to hell through this superficial entertainment religion. It is so stupid. If a school only showed movies and entertained kids, clapping and never making them read or develop, would we send them to that school? What progress would they make? In the same way, these people never develop in any way. After 20 or 30 years of going to such churches, what have you learned? Not one inch of growth in knowledge of the truth. They never become strong or wiser. They do not gain any of God’s wisdom to deal with real problems in life and learn the principles to be blessed by God. The best they get in these churches is to divert their attention from our real needs for a moment and participate in a seemingly glamorous and thrilling performance. There is not one bit of transformation in their life in 30 years; they are the same frauds they were 30 years ago. The worst part is that they don’t even realize the devil is taking them to hell through an entertainment ride.
Why am I saying all this? Whether we like it or not, God has called us to be a reformed church standing for the gospel in this culture. This is a big enemy we face today for the gospel. What can we do? How to react to this? There are two reactions: an unbelief reaction and a faith reaction. Firstly, we can see all this and, in unbelief, be intimidated and put a cloth on our heads and say, “We cannot do anything against these big enemies.” Or we can try to change according to the times and do some of the things they do. Every Sunday we come, we have empty seats in our church. If we just had a lit-up orchestra stage and added a little entertainment, those seats would be full, and more people would come to our church. Or we can become introverts, which is what most of us do, and not care about what is happening outside. We can say, “Let us do what we can here. Whoever wants to come, let them come. The elect will come.” We can be happy that a few people come to church, never reach out, and keep running the horse inside without seeing anything outside, becoming apathetic towards the outside world.
Or, the other reaction is a reaction of faith. Whatever the circumstances, culture, or generation may say, we are called as children of Abraham, whose faith was against all circumstances, even his own body, and he believed God’s promise. Romans 4:20-21 says, “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.” All the heroes of Hebrews 11 triumphed in impossible situations in their generation and overcame their world with faith and glorified God.
Today, you and I stand before such big giants, but what is the promise of Christ to us? Our Lord Jesus Christ won the greatest victory on the cross, and the victory is so complete that He has overcome all our enemies: Satan, the world, the flesh, and even death and hell on the cross. He is an all-victorious Lord. His victory on the cross is so glorious that all enemies have become the slave dogs of this glorified Lord. This all-victorious Lord said, “I will build My church, and the gates of hell will not prevail.” This triumphant Lord said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me; therefore go into the world.” Whether it is the 1st, 15th, or 21st century, in an entertainment-crazy, emotional century, “go make disciples.” We all have this responsibility.
We are called a militant church. We have warriors. We have the responsibility to fight for the truth. Just as Athanasius was called to fight against the heresy of Arianism in the 4th century, Augustine against Pelagianism in the 5th, and the reformers against the Catholic religion in the 16th century, do we realize you and I are called in this generation to fight against this emotional, entertainment-addicted religion? This is a big challenge before us.
On YouTube, there are a lot of memes making fun of this preacher being wrong, and that also gets a lot of views because it is also entertainment. But no one is saying what is right or teaching the truth. That is the work you and I are called to do.
How can we face this generation, and how could the Philippians face that Roman culture? That is what Paul teaches us in Philippians 1:27. We can say this is Paul’s clarion call, a call with a loud trumpet sound. A call is given, given so dramatically, with so much emphasis, that we should never forget it for all our lives; it should be deeply engraved in our hearts like a stone carving. That is how this is given. Verses 27-28 say, “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.”
“You Philippians are called as a church living in a Roman colony, a very difficult culture. You are a small church, and you are worried, ‘Oh, what will happen to me? Will Paul die or live?'” Paul says, “Whatever you do, whatever happens to me, don’t worry about anything else. This is the great thing I want you to focus on.” The language of the text is Paul emphasizing this greatest command. In a way, the whole epistle is an expansion of this command: “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” That is the sum of all our duties. We saw four ways he emphasizes this. The context is “whether I come or not.” “Whether I come or not, whether this government or that government comes, whether it is the 1st or 21st century, only let this be the top priority of your life. This should be the top priority of the church.” The next word is “only” and means “of supreme importance.” Thirdly, he gives it as a divine apostolic imperative command. He gives it as a continuous command, not just for a few weeks after you hear this sermon; no, it should be a lifestyle. “Walk,” or “conduct.” “Let your pattern of life be such as reflects the regulative power of the Gospel.” There is a direct line from every facet of the Gospel of Christ to every single detail of the life of a child of God, church life, family life, and work life. This is a great principle of your life.
He gives this generic command and then, as a wise teacher, he doesn’t stop with that but tells us practically how they have to live worthy of the gospel in that culture as a church. He gives three practical, tailor-made applications for how to live as a church: first, “Stand firm,” second, “Fight,” and third, “Don’t fear.” SFF soldiers. These are three major manifestations of a life worthy of the gospel.
Firstly, “Standing firm in one spirit.” The whole emphasis of the word is one of standing with resolution and with determination. The picture is of a man who has planted his feet and says, “Over my dead body.” 1 Corinthians 16:13 says, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” “Be like brave men, don’t act like spineless, fearful ladies.” It is a manly posture in the Christian faith. Stand firm for the truth.
A great example for this is Martin Luther when he stood before that august assembly of the great ones of the earth, both religious and political leaders, and he was being pressured to back off from the truth of God’s word and follow the church’s tradition, trends, and church councils, or they would cut him to pieces. All commanded him to recant. Luther stood with unshakable firmness and said, “I cannot submit my faith either to the pope or to the councils, because it is clear they are wrong. If I am not convinced by proof from the holy scripture, I neither can nor will retract anything. My conscience is held captive to the word of God. For it cannot be right for a Christian to speak against his own conscience.” Then, turning a look on that assembly before whom he stood and which held in its hand his very life or death, his final words were these: “Here I stand and can say no other. So help me God. Amen.”
When Paul writes to the Philippians and says, “If you have to live your life worthy of the gospel, like Luther, whatever pressures come upon you in the world, however big people may be, though the whole culture is against you, your family, job, churches, even the government, however life-threatening the situations are, you should stand for God’s word and say, ‘Here I stand, I can do no other. So help me God. Amen.'” It is an unshakable determination to stand by God’s word. Whatever the consequences may be, you should determine to stand for God’s word.
He is calling us to stand firm not alone, or only those who have grown in the Christian life. No, every Christian in the church should stand for the truth. This is a command for the entire church to stand as a team. “You stand fast in one spirit.” We cannot fight this alone; we have to be completely united as a church and stand firm as a church. The entire church, to live a lifestyle worthy of the gospel, should have the quality of steadfastness in one spirit, in the unity described by “one spirit.” Notice the kind of unity: not an outward superficial unity. “You stand fast in one spirit.” The next part says, “one soul.” “One spirit” can sometimes be used for the whole being, the whole heart, and the whole mind. So with a full, willing mind and a full heart, we must stand for the truth. This is one spirit of resolute determination to stand for the truth of the gospel at any cost.
It is implied that enemies are attacking the truth, the gospel, the church, and the truths. We are called by God to stand for His truth in this generation. If one or two generations of men do not stand like the reformers, so many future generations can go into darkness. Like Spurgeon, who feared how Arminianism could fill the world and how liberalism is a downward slide, he feared how a church moving away from the truth would become liberal, dead churches. So, he wrote a book, “The Downgrade Controversy.” And how Edwards saw how people could run after emotions and foresaw, as a prophet, a big emotional religion like today’s Pentecostals with animalistic emotions without truth, so he wrote his classic “Religious Affections.” Today, we can see that without truth, a completely entertainment-based religion will take over the next generation, in which children who are always with their mobile devices and don’t think can be blinded. If we don’t stand today and don’t do anything for the truth before we die, because of our failure, we may have to face another 1,000 years of dark ages.
We are called to stand and defend the gospel. We are standing in a tremendous place, just like protecting a king’s fortress, a parliament, or a national stock exchange. If it is attacked, the whole nation is gone. We are called to be guarding soldiers and warriors. We are holding a critical position while under tremendous attack. Like soldiers who will stand firmly and not budge for the gate of a fortress, we must be at our post and not move. This means no compromise with error, no compromise with sin. We will stand with an unshakable testimony for the Word of God. We must “stand firm. Don’t move,” doctrinally, theologically, or in truth. “You’re standing; you’re holding a position under tremendous attack.” So the first practical way we can live worthy of the gospel is to stand firm. This is a defensive position.
Paul doesn’t stop with that; we also have to take an offensive position. Not only “stand firm,” he says you have to “fight.” See verse 27: “striving together for the faith of the gospel.” “Contending [as if in combat].” The word “striving” is a very strong word. The root of this word comes from Grecian athletics, wrestling, and boxing matches. Maybe today some people love WWF wrestling and boxing. Paul used to watch wrestling and boxing matches. He uses those words again and again; in 1 Corinthians 9, he uses the word, “I box my body.” Maybe that was his favorite sport. If you have seen wrestling from those days, it was very intense, a fight with all their strength and efforts. In those days, wrestling wasn’t just about breaking a hand or a nose, but life itself may be lost. You win only when you kill the enemy, so the enemy will fight until the last breath. For that match of a few minutes of boxing, they will train for years. So Paul uses that kind of word. You have to strive and fight with all your life’s breath and strength until the last minute of your life. The idea is that there is a strong and terrible enemy we are facing, with complex, big obstacles. Unless we exert all our strength vigorously, we cannot win. Living a life worthy of the gospel is not just a relaxed “come on Sunday and go” attitude. Paul says that life will have intense athletic vigor, discipline, and effort and a fighting spirit.
Again, he says we have to fight together, not just the pastor or one or two people fighting. He says, “striving together with one mind.” “Working side by side.” We should hold hands and strengthen one another, help one another. This is a fight we have to fight together. That is why we are called as a church. If, as a church, we are living worthy of the gospel, we have to fight this battle with one mind together. Otherwise, the church cannot stand for the gospel. Some fight, while some selfish Christians come on Sunday and go, with no fighting as one mind. They never grow in truth or have a deep knowledge of truth. We will believe whatever Pastor Murali says, and we will believe Mohan C. Lazarus and Paul Thangaiah. What a fight to have with such Christians! The reason the 1st-century church changed the world upside down is found in Acts 4:32: “the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.” When a church determines to stand firm for the truth with one spirit and then fight for that truth with one mind, then we see the manifestation of a life worthy of the gospel in that church.
And what is our battle? For what should we fight? “For the faith of the gospel.” We fight for the faith that the gospel reveals and demands. We fight for the holy truths about God and Christ revealed in the Bible. Only when men believe that will they be truly saved, not by these entertainment preachers’ lies. This is the body of truth revealed in the gospel. Sometimes “faith” is used for our belief, but sometimes the word “faith” is used for the truths of God’s word which we believe. That is how it is used here. This is the gospel revealed in God’s word, the truth of the “once-for-all-delivered-to-the-saints faith” (Jude 3). This is a war for God’s word, for the content of God’s word. The pattern outline, the truths of God’s word, is accurately outlined in 1680. Who is the God of the Bible? His attributes, the depravity of man, what a glorious mediator Christ is, what glorious salvation He gives, the order of salvation, what is an authentic Christian life, and what is an authentic church? We are called as a church to preserve, defend, and spread that truth from God’s word in this generation. We are called to fight for that truth. This is our calling. Paul wakes us up by saying, “What are you thinking? What is your perspective?” If we don’t do our part, terrible generations will be affected in this dark age.
A church lives worthy of the gospel not by coming and going on Sundays but by standing together firmly with one soul, committed to the defense and the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the midst of any kind of enemies or culture. They do it together, united, standing firm with steadfastness and striving with one another in harmonious aggressiveness, with all the vigor and energy of athletes engaged in wrestling and boxing matches. They give their time, energy, and life to see the gospel triumph in their culture and spread to the ends of the earth.
But, Pastor, what about government opposition, a Hindu nation, and these mega false churches? So Paul says next, not only to “Stand firm” and “fight for the gospel,” but “fear not.” In verse 27, he says, “and not in any way terrified by your adversaries.”
The words are fascinating. In verse 28, “in nothing, affrighted by the adversaries.” The word is like a charging horse going fast to battle, and suddenly it sees some opposition or hindrance, gets scared, and rears back with a loud sound. It is startled or is caused to shy or to draw back. Now, Paul says, a life worthy of the gospel is one in which you are standing firm and fighting and moving in the path of the will of God, no matter what you meet, however big the danger, opposition, or enemies are. Never be startled, never be terrified, never draw back in shyness or shame, whatever the consequences.
He says this so strongly that he uses a double negative. If we were to render it literally, it would be, “not affrighted, never by your adversaries.” In other words, under no circumstances, in anything, should your adversaries ever cause you to panic. As you are walking worthy of the gospel, standing firm, and fighting for the advancement of the gospel, enemies will attack you and do things to scare you. Never panic or draw back. Go on with an undaunted courageousness.
Do not fear enemies, and do not fear the enemies of truth, however big like Goliath, however many Baal prophets, however big the mega-churches. However many thousands of views and likes they get, we have to fight for the truth. It’s time for us to stand up and fight that battle. So Paul calls us to live worthy of the gospel by three ways: standing firm with one spirit, fighting for the truth, and not fearing the enemies. SFF soldiers: Stand, Fight, Fear Not.
Why do these three manifest a church living for the gospel? Because firstly, we need to stand firm for the truth. All of God’s enemies—the devil, the world, and the flesh from Genesis to today—their first step to lead us into sin is to lead us away from firmly believing the truth of God. Is this not how he made mankind fall, and from Genesis, is this not his first temptation? He moves away from God’s truth, but if we say the gospel brings us back to the truth, and through the work of Christ, we are reconciled to God, He gives us a new heart with a love and passion for truth. That determination makes them say, “Let the world seduce me, let it threaten me, let the devil tempt me, here I stand in God’s truth, no matter what it costs me, I will not move.”
So, standing firm for the truth shows what the gospel has done in our hearts and is a life worthy of the gospel. Moreover, it is not just an individual standing but a unified steadfastness. Why? Man, by moving away from truth, not only becomes an enemy to God but has become an enemy to one another. There was murder with the first brothers, hating one another, bitterness, envy, pride. From the old days, there was no unity. The world is full of divisions and bitterness against one another, but the gospel not only reconciles us with God but also makes us love and forgive our brothers and live in unity and work for God’s glory in one spirit with our brothers. So we stand in united firmness.
Not only do we stand, but when we see that the gospel, which is our treasure, is attacked—the gospel that saved me, regenerated me, and gave me such great salvation—a believer or a church has a great desire to ensure that the gospel is defended and spread. A church with that passion, in any culture and with any opposition, has the will and determination to fight that and spread the true gospel of God. They will be willing to do anything for the gospel. In fact, Jesus said, “If you’re not losing your life for the gospel, you’re not His.”
Finally, if the gospel has delivered a person, he or she realizes his Lord has triumphed over the world, Satan, the flesh, death, and even hell for him, and that all those are slave dogs. He will not fear anything in the war for truth. So Paul says that if your life is to be a life worthy of the gospel, it has to be a life with undaunted courage. So, a church lives a life worthy of the gospel by standing firm and fighting for the gospel with undaunted courage.
Applications
Paul’s clarion call should wake up all true sleeping Christians. How many churches are like that today, fighting for the truth? I do not know for whatever reason you joined this church, but as a reformed church, our goal is to stand firm in the truth, fight for the truth, and not fear the consequences. We do not fear if people do not come, and we do not worry if no one supports us, even if we become a small church, even if we have to remove some so-called members who are not living worthy of the gospel. This is our goal. Do you see your responsibility as part of this church? If you are a true born-again believer, you will think about what kind of life you are living and what you are doing in these dangerous days.
The gospel is being attacked on every side and is being twisted. A false gospel is flying its flag. The prosperity gospel is deceiving millions of people into believing they are Christians. No gospel is preached in these churches, and people do not know the great salvation Christ has purchased so dearly. In our community, big churches are on one side. The Bethel AG church and Father Varghese did great damage to the gospel in the last 50 years with their intense tongues, curse-breaking ministry, and intense demonic work of 21 days of fasting. How many hundreds of lives have been destroyed and sent to hell in deception? Now his son is preaching a refined Pentecostalism in disguise and is preaching a completely twisted prosperity gospel, deceiving thousands. And on the other side, the Full Gospel Church of Paul Thangaiah is completely built on a man’s charisma, only lies, and now his son has started. In Tamil Nadu, Mohan C. Lazarus, the Dinakarans, and John Jebaraj are not standing for the truth.
“Oh, you should not say their names,” people say. “At least they are doing something, gathering groups.” But we do not realize what damage they are doing to the gospel and the kingdom. It is because of these false preachers that the Holy Spirit is grieved and does not send revivals. In fact, it is God’s judgment that a country is filled with such deceiving preachers and false shepherds. The job of these preachers makes the work of gospel preaching so difficult. In other countries, God is changing the trend a little bit by raising good preachers like Sproul, MacArthur, Paul Washer, and Piper, who exposed these prosperity preachers. In our country, these are unchallenged, and millions are deceived.
The Word of God is being twisted and corrupted before our very eyes. It is handled in such a cheap and mocking way, like a mere garnish. Our blood boils when we see this. All the principles of the Word of God are trampled by these preachers. Not only is the gospel spoiled, but churches have become entertainment clubs. All unbelievers are members, and people who should be in jail are pastors. The worship of God is defiled. No regulative principles are followed, and all kinds of strange fires and idols are brought into the worship of God.
Paul Washer wrote a book, “10 Indictments Against Today’s Modern Church,” and he shows why the Holy Spirit is not working in the churches like in the old days of revival when He brought thousands to the cross.
- A Denial of the Sufficiency of Scripture
- An Ignorance of God
- A Failure to Address the True Malady of Man
- An Ignorance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
- An Un-biblical Gospel Invitation
- An Ignorance Regarding the Nature of the Church
- A Lack of Compassionate Church Discipline
- A Silence on Separation
- A Replacement of the Scriptures Regarding the Family
- Pastors Malnourished in the Word of God
He writes, giving examples of how terrible the state of the church is. This is why there is no revival. What are we doing? We are so careless and even watch memes and laugh. What are we doing as a church, relaxed and with no care? We do not have the right perspective.
This is a great work God has called us to as a reformed church in this generation: standing firm and fighting for the gospel. “You stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” He is calling us to be loyal soldiers for the gospel. Do we have that perspective? Paul’s call should give us a war for truth perspective. Do we see what a war we have before us in this mindless, entertainment-driven, emotional generation? We are a team with a common goal to fight the greatest and toughest battle in this generation. Do we realize that as a church we have this great war before us? If we fail in our responsibility to stand firm and fight for the truth because of our sinful carelessness, thousands of souls in hundreds of years may never hear the truth. Do you see that burden is on you and me? Do you feel that? Until you feel it, you will not move a finger, but will live as a dead Christian who just comes and goes.
See, when a church begins to see itself as an end in itself—gathering every week, singing, listening to a sermon, and going home, with no concern to take the gospel to the outside world—it is a disaster. In a way, it is very dangerous; it is becoming a dead church soon, just dragging along. It is so easy and comfortable to become inwardly focused. A church in this world is called a militant church; once we go to heaven, we become a triumphant church. It is called to wage war for the truth. If we do not realize our warfare, we will become very apathetic and careless, sometimes even lazy and busy with 101 unnecessary things, and even Jesus Christ has to rebuke us like he rebuked some churches in Revelation, “I will spit you out and take away your lampstand.” Oh, may God wake us up.
Can I tell you that all our laziness and lack of initiative as a church (one year has passed, and some of you have not done anything and may not do anything this year or next year), all our lack of seriousness in personal spiritual growth, all our struggles and petty fighting within our churches, and even all kinds of family problems we have, are because we do not have this perspective? When a church gets that perspective, you will see amazing unity and extraordinary efforts.
See, when there is no opponent, with no conflict and no contest, unity will be lost. I will tell you, all your internal problems and individual Christian lives—you come on Sunday, have no fellowship with others, hear and run away to your home, living individually, with a “touch and go” attitude, not supporting one another to grow—are because we do not realize we all have to fight this war together.
It is said that when there is no war, no realization of enemies or dangers, a country or an army will not have any unity, will live their own lives, or even keep fighting among themselves and doing 101 useless things, careless about the country. As soon as they realize there is an enemy and they are in a war, they all come together with extraordinary unity, as one man, and you can see many volunteers when a crisis comes. That’s why shrewd generals and kings throughout the years would constantly remind the country of their enemies. If there was no enemy, they would even erect straw men to get people to fight an artificial enemy rather than have no enemy. Paul says and calls us, “Ladies and gentlemen, realize we are at a real war.” We all need to wake up; we are in a crisis.
The first step is standing firm, and we are lacking. How will we stand firm in one spirit for truth? Some of you have no deep knowledge of truth. The basics of the 1689 confession were learned during membership time years ago, but now all that is forgotten. You do not know. There are three steps for growth in truth. The first step is understanding; you understand the truth thoroughly and see its beauty. The second step is that as you grow, you begin to develop conviction for the truth. The third step is that you start loving the truth; you love it like a treasure. Only when we grow like that will we stand firm, fight, and not be afraid.
Paul says we have to do this with one spirit and one mind, side by side, helping one another to become like this. See, we do not want Christians who just come and go on Sundays for years and never grow in truth. Some of you are like that. As Pastor Bala said, “I feel like removing some of you from membership and re-qualifying you for membership based on your growth in truth.” We all should stop being like that.
What can we do? I do not want you to hear a motivational sermon and then go home and slumber. I was discussing with a few members about a discipleship program this year. If we are to stand firm in unity for the truth, we have to help each other to grow in truth and be accountable. We have to be united in fellowship. I request your willing cooperation and submission to that. Otherwise, years will go by, and we will not do anything for the gospel and will never be a church living worthy of the gospel.
But, Pastor, where do we get this strength and determination to stand firm and fight with courage? It is not in us. We hear this and may forget it. These are the fruits of a life worthy of the gospel. The gospel is that Christ has done everything for us, and He can do everything through us. It can come from the Christ in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, and in Him, we can be made perfect. When we are abiding in Christ, we are drawing from Christ the virtues that are not native to our own hearts.
There’s only one way this can be obeyed. Let your life be governed by the gospel. Let your life soak its strength from the gospel. We may find in Him what is needed for these three tangible expressions of a life worthy of the gospel: this unified steadfastness, this commitment to a wholehearted, cooperative, aggressive effort in the gospel, and this undaunted courageousness. May God grant that we, as a church, may live lives that are indeed worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 