216 Philippians: Deliverance of Another Kind

When Paul wrote his letter to his Philippian friends, he was under house arrest in Rome, chained constantly to a Roman guard. But Paul saw this as an opportunity for the gospel. He had a captive audience! As a result, members of the palace guard were coming to Christ and taking their new-found faith with them to the far reaches of the empire.

God was at work!  Paul was aware that God was using his imprisonment to advance the gospel.

His mindset is reflected in a theory by Albert Ellis called The ABC’s of Emotional Life.  

• A = Antecedent. The starting point is the situation you find yourself in.

• C = Conclusion. This is the way I respond to the situation and the conclusions I draw.

But the thing that gets us from A to C is:

• B = Beliefs. It’s my beliefs about what happened to me (the antecedent) that ultimately determine the way I feel. That’s why two people can go through the exact same situation and have polar opposite responses. Their beliefs are different.

Here are Paul’s antecedents: He is in chains. He’d rather be out preaching the gospel, but instead, he’s in prison with a good chance of being executed.

If Paul’s beliefs had been, “I’ve failed; my life is over,” you’d expect them to lead to negative emotions like despair or fear.

But Paul believed that God was still in control. He believed that even what appeared to be bad would end up being used for good.

This unshakable belief brought him to this conclusion: “…because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.” (Phil. 1:18)

The ABC’s of Paul’s emotional life were:

• Antecedent: Life is difficult.

• Belief: Jesus is Lord.

• Conclusion: I will rejoice.

You find this mindset throughout Scripture. The OT character of Joseph captured it perfectly when he said: “What you intended for evil, God used for good.” (Gen. 50:20)

You could say that Paul’s perspective was this: “I have given up trying to get God to engineer the circumstances I want. Rather, I’m devoting my life to partner with God in the circumstances He’s allowed.”

In his letter, Paul goes on to ask the Philippians to pray that the things that had happened to him would result in his deliverance. But he is not saying, “Please pray that I will be released.” Rather, he is saying, “Pray that no matter how difficult this gets, I will not dishonor God. Pray not that I will be delivered from my circumstances. Pray that I will be delivered in my circumstances.” 

Text: Philippians 1:11-20 

Originally recorded on June 29, 2008, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN