Last week we began our study titled, “Philippians: Partners in the Gospel”, and we looked at the relationship Paul had with the Philippian believers. That relationship was a partnership – and Paul describes it as such in verse 5 of chapter 1 when he says, “…I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel…” And we looked at the 7 virtues of that partnership as found in the letter because they are necessary features of any church that is partnered in the gospel.
You’ll remember that Paul’s circumstances while writing this letter – he was under house arrest with a guard chained to him 24/7 and was waiting to stand trial before Caesar himself. Although he was unable to leave the house he rented, people could come and see him. And final words of Acts say, “For two whole years Paul stayed there [in Rome] in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul is under arrest because of the gospel, and yet through his circumstances the gospel is advancing. This is why Paul had great joy in writing to the Philippians. They shared the same faith in the same gospel and that gospel was being advanced despite the bad circumstances of Paul’s life.
I want to make a statement: Unless you are here today and are under arrest, you do not know freedom. Unless you are in your seat right now, and have been arrested, you are a prisoner. What I mean is that for you to know true freedom you have to be arrested by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, you are a prisoner to your sin.
What does it mean to be arrested? It means that you are taken into custody by a power greater than yourself. Someone with authority greater than you has taken away your freedom, and you are now under their control.
This is what Paul means when he calls himself a bond-servant of Jesus Christ in his letters. A bond-servant is the Greek word “doulos”. It means one who is bonded to another. It means being under the complete control of someone else.
The Law that God had given through Moses allowed for a servant who loved his master to become a permanent slave to his master. In Exodus 21:6 God says that if a servant loves his master and does not want to go free, “then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.”
It is an issue of ownership – Paul had relinquished ownership of himself to Jesus Christ (“you are not your own, you were bought at a price” 1 Cor 6) and he handed over to Jesus Christ any of his so-called “rights” and “entitlements”. All that he was was at the complete disposal of his new Master.
David, in the Messianic Psalm 40, referred to the custom of having his ear pierced, and in the context spoke of desiring to do the will of God. He says, “Sacrifice and burnt offerings you did not desire, by my ears you have pierced, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, ‘Here I am, I have come - … I desire to do your will.” He was saying to God, “You own me. You are my Master. I choose you to be over me and whatever you desire, that is what I desire. Whatever you command, I will obey. This I do out of love for you.”
That’s what it means to be a doulos, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ. That’s how Paul saw himself in relation to Jesus Christ. And that’s why even though he had been arrested by men, he was truly free because he had been arrested by Jesus Christ. He saw Jesus Christ as the One who now owned him. How do you see yourself towards Christ?
People like to think they are free and independent and that they call the shots for their own lives. “I do what I want to do” “No one is going to tell me what to do” “I’m my own man” “I do what I think is right” “Nobody owns me”. If you are here today and you believe that – you are wrong. You need to understand what sin is. It is your master, and you are under the complete authority of your sinful desires. Sin creates evil desires and thoughts that result in sinful actions.
Let me say it this way: Sin is the power and authority over you that is greater than you and it holds you in its custody and you are an arrested prisoner to it. You say, “I do what I want”. Granted, you are allowed to do what you want - but sin tells you what you want. Then you get to do it. Paul says this in Ephesians 2:3, “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.”
James speaks further on this when he says, “but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
My father in law was showing me his IPod the other day and all the applications that it had and how it could do way more than so many other gadgets. As he cruised through the different functions it was really cool to see all the things that this pocket sized thing could perform. And he gets all excited over all the capabilities of this thing and all it could do. But, as cool as this thing was, it didn’t do all these things on its own. Sure it functioned much more sophisticated than the other gadgets, but, it only functioned according to what it was told to do. Whatever my father in law wanted, that’s what it did.
We are like that IPod. We are capable of so much. We are very sophisticated in our beings – so much so that it astounds me that someone can say we exist by accident or evolution. We are the most sophisticated gadgets on the planet – yet we don’t operate on our own, so to speak. We do what we want and what we want is determined by the sinful nature inside of us.
This is because the Word of God says we are all born under the authority of sin, “…all are under sin…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin…everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (Romans 3:9,23; Gal. 3:22; John 8:34), and we are powerless against it, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).
The point here is that a man is either arrested by the power of sin, or, he is arrested by the power of Jesus Christ. No man is his own master. Either Jesus Christ is your Master, or sin is your master. Either you follow Christ, or, you follow your sinful instincts.
The gospel that arrested Paul was advancing despite Paul being imprisoned. Paul said in 2 Timothy chapter 2, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead … this is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.”
Know this: Man cannot arrest the gospel. It is the gospel that arrests men. When a man is arrested by the gospel of Jesus Christ, it brings freedom. I’m not talking about free from jail, or free from human persecution, or financial freedom like so many liars on TV.
I’m talking about the freedom that Jesus Christ is talking about – eternal, ever-lasting, and forever freedom. It is freedom from the power of sin and freedom from the coming judgment of God on sin. Once you have that, you no longer have death, but, you have life! Jesus said in John 8, “If you hold to my teachings you really are my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
The apostle Paul was a man who had been arrested by Jesus Christ and so then all of life’s circumstances became a platform to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. He no longer was his ‘own man’ calling the shots for his own life.
You’ll remember that Paul’s circumstances while writing this letter – he was under house arrest with a guard chained to him 24/7 and was waiting to stand trial before Caesar himself. Although he was unable to leave the house he rented, people could come and see him. And final words of Acts say, “For two whole years Paul stayed there [in Rome] in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul is under arrest because of the gospel, and yet through his circumstances the gospel is advancing. This is why Paul had great joy in writing to the Philippians. They shared the same faith in the same gospel and that gospel was being advanced despite the bad circumstances of Paul’s life.
I want to make a statement: Unless you are here today and are under arrest, you do not know freedom. Unless you are in your seat right now, and have been arrested, you are a prisoner. What I mean is that for you to know true freedom you have to be arrested by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, you are a prisoner to your sin.
What does it mean to be arrested? It means that you are taken into custody by a power greater than yourself. Someone with authority greater than you has taken away your freedom, and you are now under their control.
This is what Paul means when he calls himself a bond-servant of Jesus Christ in his letters. A bond-servant is the Greek word “doulos”. It means one who is bonded to another. It means being under the complete control of someone else.
The Law that God had given through Moses allowed for a servant who loved his master to become a permanent slave to his master. In Exodus 21:6 God says that if a servant loves his master and does not want to go free, “then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.”
It is an issue of ownership – Paul had relinquished ownership of himself to Jesus Christ (“you are not your own, you were bought at a price” 1 Cor 6) and he handed over to Jesus Christ any of his so-called “rights” and “entitlements”. All that he was was at the complete disposal of his new Master.
David, in the Messianic Psalm 40, referred to the custom of having his ear pierced, and in the context spoke of desiring to do the will of God. He says, “Sacrifice and burnt offerings you did not desire, by my ears you have pierced, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, ‘Here I am, I have come - … I desire to do your will.” He was saying to God, “You own me. You are my Master. I choose you to be over me and whatever you desire, that is what I desire. Whatever you command, I will obey. This I do out of love for you.”
That’s what it means to be a doulos, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ. That’s how Paul saw himself in relation to Jesus Christ. And that’s why even though he had been arrested by men, he was truly free because he had been arrested by Jesus Christ. He saw Jesus Christ as the One who now owned him. How do you see yourself towards Christ?
People like to think they are free and independent and that they call the shots for their own lives. “I do what I want to do” “No one is going to tell me what to do” “I’m my own man” “I do what I think is right” “Nobody owns me”. If you are here today and you believe that – you are wrong. You need to understand what sin is. It is your master, and you are under the complete authority of your sinful desires. Sin creates evil desires and thoughts that result in sinful actions.
Let me say it this way: Sin is the power and authority over you that is greater than you and it holds you in its custody and you are an arrested prisoner to it. You say, “I do what I want”. Granted, you are allowed to do what you want - but sin tells you what you want. Then you get to do it. Paul says this in Ephesians 2:3, “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.”
James speaks further on this when he says, “but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
My father in law was showing me his IPod the other day and all the applications that it had and how it could do way more than so many other gadgets. As he cruised through the different functions it was really cool to see all the things that this pocket sized thing could perform. And he gets all excited over all the capabilities of this thing and all it could do. But, as cool as this thing was, it didn’t do all these things on its own. Sure it functioned much more sophisticated than the other gadgets, but, it only functioned according to what it was told to do. Whatever my father in law wanted, that’s what it did.
We are like that IPod. We are capable of so much. We are very sophisticated in our beings – so much so that it astounds me that someone can say we exist by accident or evolution. We are the most sophisticated gadgets on the planet – yet we don’t operate on our own, so to speak. We do what we want and what we want is determined by the sinful nature inside of us.
This is because the Word of God says we are all born under the authority of sin, “…all are under sin…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin…everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (Romans 3:9,23; Gal. 3:22; John 8:34), and we are powerless against it, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).
The point here is that a man is either arrested by the power of sin, or, he is arrested by the power of Jesus Christ. No man is his own master. Either Jesus Christ is your Master, or sin is your master. Either you follow Christ, or, you follow your sinful instincts.
The gospel that arrested Paul was advancing despite Paul being imprisoned. Paul said in 2 Timothy chapter 2, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead … this is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.”
Know this: Man cannot arrest the gospel. It is the gospel that arrests men. When a man is arrested by the gospel of Jesus Christ, it brings freedom. I’m not talking about free from jail, or free from human persecution, or financial freedom like so many liars on TV.
I’m talking about the freedom that Jesus Christ is talking about – eternal, ever-lasting, and forever freedom. It is freedom from the power of sin and freedom from the coming judgment of God on sin. Once you have that, you no longer have death, but, you have life! Jesus said in John 8, “If you hold to my teachings you really are my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
The apostle Paul was a man who had been arrested by Jesus Christ and so then all of life’s circumstances became a platform to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. He no longer was his ‘own man’ calling the shots for his own life.
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