Worthy Citizens Part 2: One Team One Fight! Philippians 1:27b-30

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MPS: The Church is one team fighting for one purpose, which is the glory of Christ.

What is the purpose of the Church? Some treat the local church in the same way they treat their Country Club membership. You pay your dues, you attend the events as much or as little as you like, and volunteering to serve for the betterment of the club is optional. The golf club is there to serve you. Likewise, many Christians believe that the Church’s purpose is to serve their felt needs.

I recently had a conversation about softball and all that is entailed in travel teams. Today there are teams that go away for a day or so and compete. Instead of playing to win the game, their main purpose is to showcase individual talent. This way scouts and coaches can evaluate talent in order to sign these players to their teams.

Traditionally teams sports have had one purpose in mind; to win a game. Each player has a singular focus, which is to play their part or role on the team so that they can defeat their opponent. If you are on this kind of team their is no room for jealousy, strife, or selfishness. A team that is competing to win a game, league, or championship can easily be derailed by its team members seeking their own glory.

However, the team that gathers together to showcase team member’s individual talent can celebrate with one another as each one has an opportunity to showcase their skills with the intent of earning a spot on another team.

We will discover today that the Church has a singular purpose, which is to band together as a team, fighting for the faith of the Gospel. We are not the showcase team event though many Christians today think that we are. We are not the Country Club where you pay your dues and you play when you want to; serving when it’s convenient. 

We are an army, having been drafted by God; soldiers serving the Kingdom of God to further the Gospel. This enlistment has no expiration but comes to fulfilment at Christ’s return as we will worship Him for eternity in the New Heavens and New Earth.

The Church’s singular purpose is to fight for the Gospel. (27b)

with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, : we are competing together as a team to preserve the Gospel and spread it throughout our community. “The team effort supplied by the church would present the gospel to the world. Together the members also would explore the implications of the gospel in each other’s lives.” (Melick)

The goal or purpose of the Church collectively is the same individually, which is the spread and proclamation of the Gospel. We are to collectively and individually explore the foundations of the Gospel and its implications. The Philippians weren’t supposed to be on autopilot from the time that Paul had left them until now. They were to zealously encourage their teammates on in the faith, growing in knowledge and holiness. They were to team up in spreading the Good News of Christ throughout Philippi.

The goal of the Church is not to advocate for or inculcate traditions, political issues, or nationalism. For the believers in Philippi these would have been expected as citizens of their city. As a Roman city they were expected to worship the Emperor, uphold Roman values, and Roman traditions. Yet the more they grew as followers of Jesus the less Roman they became.

They rejected paganism, they rejected the worship of the Emperor, and rejected putting their country before their Savior. This is what brought on persecution of the church in Philippi; they simply followed Jesus. Now how does that play out for the Church today? I’m afraid that for many of our brothers and sisters in Christ that they have forgotten these lessons.

Christians should not worship their President or elected officials. However we are called to pray for those that God has appointed over us,  “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” (1Tm. 2:1-2)

Likewise, Christians should not give greater precedence to societal values over the Gospel. Instead we should study the cultural values and seek to influence them with the Gospel. Our culture embraces things like abortion, same-sex marriage, and rejects the idea that there is only one true way to God. Paul exhorts us is Romans 12:2 to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

As a team our singular purpose is to glorify Christ through our proclamation of the Gospel and building up of one another. We can do this in three ways:

• We must first collectively recognize that we are on the same team and that we are bound together by the blood of Christ. “This is the strongest bond of concord, when we have to fight together under the same banner, for this has often been the occasion of reconciling even the greatest enemies… the Philippians… are fellow-soldiers, who, having a common enemy and a common warfare, ought to have their minds united together in a holy agreement.” (Calvin)
• We preserve the Gospel as we share a confession, creed, or statement of faith. This shared faith seeks to reject false teaching and false gospels. As the Philippians received the faith from Paul, they were called to explore the implications of the Gospel and its doctrines.
• We spread the Gospel by going into our community and proclaiming the glory and work of Christ with our neighbors.

Have you been treating the Church as a Country Club or an Army? Have you been careless in how you have treated your fellow soldiers, or have you valued them? Have you cared for your fellow soldiers so that they might better serve in the army of the Lord?

Our unity only comes through the Spirit’s work in calling us to faith and repentance. We are bound by the blood of Christ. When we fail to care for the treasure that is Christ, when we put our needs before others, when we fail to proclaim the Gospel to our neighbors; we are called to repent and take joy in knowing that we are forgiven.