Paul’s pattern of ministry was such that constantly followed up on the state of the different congregations God had raised through him; driven by only one desire as expressed in 2 Corinthians 11:2 (KJV) –

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

– in full acknowledgement of the singular desire of the Lord expressed in Colossians 1:21-22 (KJV) –

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.

 And to fulfil the instruction of the Lord in John 15:16 (KJV) –

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Such was the undertone of this letter to the Philippians saints that he wrote while in prison about 62AD probably in Rome or Ephesus. In Philippians 1:27-30 (TPT), Paul states –

Whatever happens, keep living your lives based on the reality of the gospel of Christ. Then when I come to see you, or hear good reports of you, I’ll know that you stand united in one Spirit and one passion—celebrating together as conquerors in the faith of the gospel. And then you will never be shaken or intimidated by the opposition that rises up against us. Your courage will prove to be a sure sign from God of their coming destruction. For God has graciously given you the privilege not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for him. For you have been called by him to endure the conflict in the same way I have endured it—for you know I’m not giving up.

The charge to this church to keep living their lives based on the reality of the gospel of Christ that is the subject we are exploring over the next three sessions. What does the reality of the gospel of Christ translate to in your life as a believer? If we fail to understand this, we risk becoming those that have a form of godliness but denying the power thereof!

The first reality of the gospel of Christ is victory over sin. Consider what Christ wrought for me and for you as declared in Romans 8:1,2 (MSG)

With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death. We are no longer debtors to sin to continue to be its slave! But this victory is dependent on your willingness to say no to the appeal of or resist the compulsion of King Sin! as expressed in Romans 6:12-14 (MSG)

That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.

First there must be the willing co-operation of yielding your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Then comes the assured protection of God – 1 John 5:18 (TPT) –

We are convinced that everyone fathered by God does not make sinning a way of life, because the Son of God protects (guards) the child of God, and the Evil One cannot touch him.

This is an affirmation of what the Lord Jesus Christ said in John 17:11-12, 15 (KJV)

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep [guard] through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept [guarded] them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled…  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep [guard] them from the evil.

So, if you are still living in sin and giving all kinds of excuses for failures, dear friend, you are not living the reality of the gospel. Be careful that you do not fall under the sure hammer of Romans 8:5-7 (TLB)

Those who let themselves be controlled by their lower natures live only to please themselves, but those who follow after the Holy Spirit find themselves doing those things that please God.  Following after the Holy Spirit leads to life and peace but following after the old nature leads to death because the old sinful nature within us is against God. It never did obey God’s laws and it never will.

Beloved friend, the end of all things is at hand, look in the mirror of the word and remember the charge today, live your life based on this reality that you live wholly subject to the spirit of God, sin-free. Selah