stephen R Harrison

Signage is important.  Disregarding a sign can lead to getting lost and encountering much trouble.  Several years ago, when my wife was pregnant with our son, we were at a checkup appointment with her doctor.  I needed to use the restroom, and the nurse said, “Let me show you the way because it’s pretty confusing, as there are no signs.”  I followed her, and after using the restroom, she led me back to the room…the wrong room.  As I entered the wrong room, I excused myself past a guy I thought was a doctor. I quickly realized I was in the wrong room, and that wasn’t the doctor…it was the husband of the lady whose room I was in.  She was not my wife!  I was so embarrassed, and so was the nurse.  She said, “We do need to get some signage.  Even I got lost!”

In Philippians 1:28, Paul tells the Philippian believers that their fearless living for Christ in the face of opposition was a sign of two things:  their opponents were headed for destruction, and they themselves had eternal salvation.  These, Paul says, are both caused by God.  He is the One who saves and condemns.  Persecution was and is something believers face.  The fact that we face it proves our salvation and that God will deal with those who cause it.  Here is where trust in God comes in:  our salvation and their destruction are ultimately eternal judgments.  Perhaps God could stop the persecution and judge the opposers in this lifetime.  It has happened, but Paul was referring to their eternal judgment.  Likewise, God could save the Philippians from persecution, but Paul referred to their eternal reward in heaven.  This means the Christian must persevere through persecution towards eternity, where God will right those wronged and deliver divine judgment on those who have wronged them.  

Paul didn’t want the Philippians to miss the sign.  That they were being persecuted and stood firm in unity with other believers without fear of their opposers was proof that God would save them and deliver justice.  Both are outcomes from God that we must trust in His provision.  Standing firm without fear under persecution may not be the sign we were looking for, but we must not miss it and end up in the wrong rooms of bitterness, distrust, and disbelief.