Philippians 1:27-30 - Fearless
Have you ever felt threatened or intimidated for your faith? What led to that experience, and how did it end?
Read Phil 1:27. In v27 Paul commands, “Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel.” In the original language, the phrase “let your manner of life be” carried the connotation, “live as a citizen.” What comes to mind when you think about citizenship? What does Paul mean to communicate with this command?
Read Phil 1:28. According to this verse, one component of kingdom citizenship is being ‘not frightened in anything by your opponents.’ Here, the word used for ‘frightened’ comes from the equestrian world, describing what happens when a horse is ‘spooked’ or startled. Why is this an important part of kingdom citizenship? Why might Christians find this sort of unflinching faith difficult to achieve?
In what way is fearlessness a ‘sign’? Can you think of an example of this verse in action? How do we embody this posture of fearlessness as we ‘engage in the same conflict’ (v30) of spiritual warfare in our context?
Read Phil 1:29. According to this verse, why does God allow Christians suffer? How does this verse help us in the midst of our own suffering?
Today we read in Act 16 about the gospel moving as Christians stayed anchored in Christ in the aftermath of an earthquake. Take time now to pray for Rich & Lori Felder and the many believers who are serving Turkish & Syrian earthquake survivors in Jesus’ name.