“Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.

Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭27-‭29‬ ‭NLT‬

Standing…fighting…struggling together…this doesn’t sound like an easy ride. God’s children were never meant to be pushovers. There is a resolve built into their spirit that refuses to give way under pressure. 

There is a stark contrast between the Christian’s inner life and the outer struggle. Where grace and peace are operating inside, striving, struggling, and contending are the inevitable on the outside because we live in a fallen world which is anyways out to get us. 

This resolve… and, with it, the stubborn resistance that refuses to move from its firm foundation…that is, citizenship in God’s kingdom…is what keeps God’s children steadfast in the face of mortal danger. Later in this letter, Paul gives his readers the rope that ties us to God and pulls us towards the future. 

“Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Cling to what is indestructible and eternal…the word of life. We don’t hold on to “airy fairy” theories, or human philosophies, or people’s fanciful inventions about God and life. We hold on to the anchor that is attached and secured in heaven itself…the truth that Jesus Himself has revealed to us. 

“So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What is it that anchors our souls to the eternal realities that hold us steady in the fiercest of battles? Our hope lies in a person and in God’s promises and His oath about that person, Jesus…according to Hebrews…that cannot fail because these words are secured in heaven itself, in the Most Holy place, where God is enthroned. 

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.”

Here’s the strategy… and we must note this carefully…

In the Old Covenant, the hub and focus of the covenant was loving God wholly and completely…and obedience to God’s laws, the evidence of that love… which His people found impossible to obey. 

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭6‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Although Jesus echoed this commandment in response to a question, He did not demand obedience to it as a condition for salvation. Instead, He gave us another condition for entry into His kingdom…”trusting in Christ”. 

“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭10‬ NIV

Throughout the New Testament, the emphasis is on faith in Jesus, not loving Him, that leads to salvation. Loving Jesus is the evidence of, not the condition for salvation. Our life of obedience to Jesus in the kingdom of God is our response to His love for us. 

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…We love because he first loved us.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬, ‭19‬ ‭NIV‬

Jesus’ requirement is never to love Him perfectly but to live out His love in us towards His people by  trusting in and identifying with Him in what we say and do…no matter the consequences. This, which Paul explains, is a privilege rather than an obligation. 

A privilege to believe…and a privilege to suffer! Whoever thought that suffering was a privilege? Peter fleshed this thought out for us. 

“For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The greatest of all privileges, strangely enough, is not sitting with Jesus in the heavenly realm, but suffering with Him through refusing to retaliate to the same kind of injustice He suffered…obeying the Lord, no matter the consequences, because this is the right thing to do…

“Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When we view suffering for doing right as a privilege rather than a punishment, our attitude changes…resentment to rejoicing!

“But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬, ‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What s strange way to respond to suffering! 

“The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭5‬:‭41‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is something the world can never understand…a transformation inside so radical that it turns persecution into a privilege. If we are armed with this conviction, there is nothing the world can ever do to God’s people that can crush or destroy such a spirit. 

How else can we reveal to the world that God is our supreme authority and that we trust and fear nothing outside of Him?

To be continued

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