Philippians 1:3I thank my God upon all my remembrance of you, 4always in every supplication of mine on behalf of you all making my supplication with joy, 5for your fellowship in furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now; 6being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Pressure has been building from the process of secularization. Secularization refers to the processes that squeeze religion to the periphery of life. The result is not that we abandon religion or banish the gospel. Instead, religion is marginalized and privatized, and the gospel is rendered unimportance. The evidence for this is best seen if you ask and answer just one question,

What do people talk about in the USA?

The answer, of course, is almost everything but the gospel: economics, politics, entertainment, sports, sleaze, who’s in, who’s out, government. There is relatively little moral discourse and almost none that has to do with eternal perspectives, how to live in the light of death and the final judgment.

The sapping influences of self indulgence throughout the Western church flex their muscle. For many confessing Christians, it has become more important to be comfortable and secure than it is to be self sacrificing and bold.

We are witnessing an epidemic of philosophical pluralism.

Philosophical pluralism is the subtle stance that insists in the areas of human knowledge, knowledge of objective truth is just flat out impossible. Because it is impossible, it is wrong and perhaps immoral to claim any ideology or religion is the truth.

If it suggests one that contradicts another is wrong, that is the one wrong thing. The sole heresy is the view there is heresy. The ideal that real truth exists is commonly written off at best, as, nineteenth century, and at worst, as benighted bigotry.

Os Guinness writes, We have reached the stage in pluralization where choice is not just a state of affairs, it is a state of mind. Choice has become a value in itself, even a priority. To be modern is to be addicted to choice and change. Change becomes the very essence of life.

The modern motto is, “The great thing about our society is that you can have your opinion and I can have mine.”

In 1940 Mortimer J. Adler published his justly famous work, How to Read a Book.

He said, I think that knowledge can be communicated and that discussion can result in learning. If knowledge, not opinion, is at stake, then either disagreements are apparent only, to be removed by coming to terms and a meeting of minds; or, if they are real, then the genuine issues can always be resolved, in the long run, of course, by appeals to fact and reason.…

Adler says, to compare historian with historian, in order to “discover the interpretation a writer places on the facts” this is a distinction no philosophical pluralist will allow. “You may even get interested enough to look into the original documents from which the historian gathered evidence”

Paul recognized the insidious evil of rather similar pressures in the Roman Empire in his day.

Like modern Western culture, the Roman Empire had begun to decay. Like ours, it was prepared to use religion for political ends, for social ends, but quite unwilling to be tamed by it, settling slowly into cultured self indulgence, proud of the diversity of the empire, straining to keep it together by the demand for unhesitating loyalty to the emperor. Pluralism of several kinds made it unpopular to say there was only one way of salvation.

The Roman Empire itself arranged god swaps. That is Paul’s world when he writes to the Philippians. He hand founded the church in the city in AD 51 or 52, and he had visited it at least twice since then.

At this point, however, at the time of writing, he pens things from prison, probably in Rome, probably about 61. So the church at Philippi, at this point, is not more than 10 years old. Paul perceives a variety of pressures lurking in the wings, pressures that could damage this fledgling church.

Now what a person says while unjustly incarcerated and facing the possibility of death is likely to be given a little more weight than someone who speaks from a carefree ministry
What, then, is his burden as he addresses the Philippians?

What is God telling us by his Spirit as he addresses us through these same words 2,000 years later? The first thing this book says is put the gospel first. That’s the burden of the first chapter: put the gospel first.

Put the fellowship of the gospel at the center of your relationships with believers.

Verses 3 8. Now as often in his letters, Paul begins with a warm exposition, an expression of thanks to God for something in the lives of his readers.

“I thank my God every time I remember you,” v3. But other translations offer, “I thank my God every time you remember me,” or something similar, the original tongue here is ambiguous. It could be read either way. I think Paul is referring to their remembrance of him. That is certainly his point in chapter 4, when he reverts to this theme.

“In all my prayers for you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” He is saying they are both invested in the same thing.
In the twentieth century, the term fellowship has been somewhat debased.

In the first century, the term fellowship or partnership was, in the first instance, a commercial term. It meant they both had a vested interest. It would be like two people putting money in a business that they start, they are committed to.

What lies at the center of all his ties with them, doubtless including meals and discussion, is this passion for gospel, this partnership in the gospel.

God Will Finish What He Starts if We are His

It is nothing less than God’s continuing work in their lives. In verse 3 he begins, “I thank my God …” And now adds (verse 6), “… being confidant of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

This is almost a definition of what a real Christian is. The New Testament gives many examples of people who made professions of faith that were spurious. They didn’t stick, they didn’t stay with it.

John Piper says, “A tremendous stability comes into your life when you let the Bible define who you are in relation to God rather than letting the world define who you are in relation to things and groups and your body. To know where you’ve come from in relation to God, and where you are heading in relation to God, and where you stand now in relation to God, will make you a free agent”

For example, John 2, many people saw the miracles Jesus was performing, and they put their faith in him. But Jesus did not entrust himself to them because he knew what was in them and he knew they weren’t genuine. It’s not uncommon, a few chapters later Jesus says, “If you hold to my teaching, if you continue in my teaching, you are my disciples indeed.” Genuine believers, by definition, stick.

John 3:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. 24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.Oh, there may be hiccups and so on along the line. Christian maturity is not necessarily all in a straight level line , but it perseveres.

Hebrews 3:14 for we are become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end: 15while it is said, To day if ye shall hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the rebellion.

The scriptures say, Speedily they receive the Word; speedily they fall away. They don’t really count. They don’t produce fruit. But not so the Philippians. Paul is convinced they will persevere, he says (verse 6), and the reason is God is preserving them. Paul gives thanks to God because he is entirely confidant, as he has observed the Philippians, God did, indeed, begin a good work in them and he will pursue it right to the end.