We’ll either hang together or hang separately from the gallows.

Steve Brown:
We’ll either hang together or hang separately from the gallows. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was Steve Brown and this is Key Life. We’re dedicated to the teaching that the only people who get any better are those who know that if they don’t get any better, God will still love them anyway. Steve is an author, seminary professor, and our teacher on Key Life.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you’ve been with us this week and part of last week, we’re looking at Philippians 1:27 through 30 as a part of our study in the Book of Philippians. And in Philippians 1:27 through 30, you don’t at first recognize it, but if you study it, you begin to see that Paul is talking about citizenship. Now, in the third chapter, he refers to that specifically, but he uses a Greek word in this particular text that means citizenship. And so, he’s in Rome, he’s in prison, not hard prison, but he’s in prison. And he’s looking of this gigantic city, its power and its influence. And that’s in his mind. And so, when he writes the Christians in Philippi, he’s saying, you’re citizens. And this is what a citizen of the kingdom does. And what we’re doing is going through that particular text, verses 27 through 30 of the first chapter, talking about what it means to be a citizen. We have noted the security of citizenship, Philippians 1:29, and you can flip over to John 1:12. And then secondly, we noted the steadfastness of citizenship, Philippians 1:27b, you just don’t leave. I mean, you want to, there are times you can’t be silent forever. That’s why I don’t yell so much at people who have been intimidated into silence, because if they are Christians, eventually you just can’t be silent anymore. And that’s beginning to happen in this country and in Canada. We’re beginning to stand up, but thirdly, let me show you something else Paul says. I would have you note not only the security and steadfastness of citizenship. I want you to see the solidarity of citizenship, Philippians 1:27c.

I will know that you stand firm

and here it comes sports fans

in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel.

Have I ever told you the story about Ed Tenney? He was a dentist in a church I served in the Boston area for a number of years. He was a good man. He was an elder in that church, and he stood by me in some very difficult situations. And if I have told you, it’s worth telling again, I’d been invited to speak at the annual dinner for the big men’s club on the South Shore. They had heard that I told good jokes, and I was a pretty good speaker, and they asked me to come. And I said to the president when he asked me, look, I want you to know, since you heard my reputation, I’ve gotten really serious about Jesus and I don’t go any place without talking about him. And if you want to go back and ask your board the second time and you decide you don’t want me, then I’ll understand. He said, well, I’ll get back to you. And he called the next day and he said, I checked with the board and we want you to come and you can say whatever you want to say. He said the vote was six to five. So, I went to this dinner to speak and I was sitting at the head table and it was a fun evening and people were feeling no pain. There was a lot of booze and a lot of laughter. A lot of shock the reverend with the actions and as I was sitting at that head table, you know what I thought? I thought, you know, I think what I had prepared to say was too strong. I’m going to back off. I’m going to tell a few jokes and say nice things about religion and then everybody will feel good and we’ll go home and I’ll feel better about it. And I just about decided that when I noticed Ed Tenney, about whom I spoke before, coming down the side of this auditorium. He walked up behind me, and he leaned over, put his hand on my shoulder, and said in my ear, Brown, don’t you back off one bit. I’m praying for you. You say, what’d you do? I didn’t back off, I’ll tell you that, because when others stand with you and tell you don’t you back off, you don’t back off. It’s called solidarity. It’s why Paul could say.

I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel.

In the Camus story, The Fall, if you read that in college, you’ll remember or maybe in high school, you’ll remember that it was the story of a Parisian lawyer, an atheist who tells his story to anyone who will listen. He did things right until one night a woman drowns in a river and no one was there. And Jean Baptiste refuses to help her. The story analyzes the guilt of that particular lawyer. You know, there’s a good chance that I could be just like that lawyer. But the difference between me and him is that I have brothers and sisters who will stand with me and say, Brown, don’t you back off one bit. The reason I stand, the reason I haven’t backed off, the reason nobody can intimidate me into silence is first because I’m old and I don’t give a rip. I spoke at my granddaughter’s graduation at Belhaven University. And I said to those students, you’re fortunate to have me. And that’s not because I’m smart, it’s because I’m old. If you want to know the truth, ask an old man or an old lady because they don’t care what you think, and they’ll tell you the truth. So, that’s a part of it, and I grant that, but I’ve been this way all my life. You know why? Because I’ve got brothers and sisters who love me enough to come up behind me and say, Don’t you back off one bit. Do you know of Martin Luther when he nailed the 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg, and that was the beginning of the Reformation? If you came to my home, you would see a copy of those 95 theses hanging up in our family room. It was given to me by a friend who visited Germany, and I have loved it ever since. I can picture Martin Luther standing alone, walking up to the door, the church door, getting a nail out of his back pocket, and standing by himself for Jesus Christ. But it didn’t happen that way. If you read this story, if you’ve read Eric Metaxas’ book on Luther, or you’ve done any research, you know that he didn’t do that alone. He was scared to death. This was something really stupid to do, I mean, he could be executed for what he was doing. He was not at the church door at Wittenberg by himself, the entire faculty at the Wittenberg University stood with him. We live in a culture where it’s hard to stand. Used to be politicians got votes because they were a part of the church, sometimes now they lose them. We used to live in a place where people looked up to you if you said you were a Christian. Now, in some places, they look down on you. We live in a culture that’s really changed. Used to be you simply spoke the gospel. Now, it’s so easy just to remain silent, unless you have brothers and sisters who will stand with you. Calvin didn’t stand alone in Geneva. He had Farel to stand with him. Solidarity of the citizen is important, and that is the reason we stand. When archbishops Latimer and Ridley were burned at the stake under Bloody Mary, Ridley backed off. Latimer cried out to him, Be of good comfort, master. Master Ridley, we shall this day light a candle by God’s grace in England, and I trust it shall never be put out. Don’t know if he’d said that if he’d been by himself. But when you’ve got others who are willing to stand with you, and that’s what we’re called to do, and they say, don’t you back off one bit. It changes everything. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thank you Steve. Hope you’re enjoying this series on Philippians as much as we are, and we sure appreciate you joining us. And hey, do join us tomorrow for Friday Q&A tomorrow, Steve and Pete will answer this question. Why did God turn up his nose at Cain’s offering? So, confession time. Decades ago when my wife and I got married, we got this beautiful ornate ceramic basket. Well, cut to me carrying it into our house when I tripped and the basket goes flying and smashed. Well, you may know that feeling. Your kid is in trouble, there’s financial problems, you’ve been betrayed. You’re suffering and it feels like you’re a thousand pieces that will never be whole again. Well, Jesus said that we would suffer, but he also promised that he would be with us in our suffering. Steve wrote about this in a very candid mini-book called Suffering: When Life Falls Apart. And we’d like to send it to you for free. So, call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that mini-book. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Just ask for your absolutely free copy of the mini-book called Suffering: When Life Falls Apart. And finally, would you consider supporting key life financially? Giving is easy. Just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can now give safely and securely through text. Just text Key Life to 28950 and then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. Both of those organizations assure financial accountability. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.