Odd Outcomes

Scripture Reading: Philippians 1:14

And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

One would think that Paul’s imprisonment would cause other believers to cower in fear and clam up. Instead, contrary to human reasoning and logic, they grew confident, bold, and fearless.

Believing our ease, comfort, and wealth is the best motivating example is an adaptation of worldly wisdom. Human reasoning tells us that people will want to do what we are doing if they see us prosper in it. If our preaching attracts large crowds, gives us financial abundance, and a lot of praise from other people, we expect others will want to preach what we preach. That is not a false assumption. People want to be popular and wealthy and if a certain kind of preaching gets those results they are likely to do that.

But I’m not talking about worldly men doing religious stuff for personal gain. Those people are apostates and false teachers. I am talking about what motivates godly men. It isn’t always what you might think.

Godly men are motivated and inspired by other men who have the kind of convictions and beliefs worth suffering for. Paul believed the gospel with enough conviction he was willing to go to jail and be executed for it.

The effect of that kind of godly manliness on godly men is the opposite of what one might expect. While we would think it would cause others to stop preaching the gospel and retreat in fear, it instead only fosters boldness and confidence. The brothers speak the word without fear when they see a brother fearlessly speak the word.

Be a confident, bold, gospel-proclaimer. Lead the way for others to follow or follow others who are leading this way. Either is fine.