#DailyDevotions Be Emboldened By The Martyrdom Of Your Fellow Christians

Phil. 1¹²I want you to know, my fellow Christians, that what happened to me actually helped spread the good news ¹³so that the whole palace guard and all the others have found out I’m in chains for Christ. ¹⁴And so my chains have given most of our friends the confidence in the Lord to speak God’s Word more boldly and fearlessly than ever.

Paul has been imprisoned. This most likely after his appeal to Caesar when he was arrested in Jerusalem. It’s kind of ironic that he is writing from prison to the Philippians in that he was imprisoned in Philippi when he was preaching there.

Now Paul is being more than positive or he is doing more than positive thinking when he is penning his words here in verses twelve to fourteen. Paul is being faithful the promises he had received in Christ Jesus.  Being positive is trying to find the silver lining with no promise of one being there. Being faithful is having a good outlook on things because we have promises from God to trust. God promised Paul to work through him to convert the Gentiles to faith in Jesus.

So even though Paul is imprisoned, he sees God’s promises coming to pass through him in his circumstances. His imprisonment, instead of impeding Paul’s evangelism, actually helped spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Whosever palace is imprisoned at (probably Caesar’s at this point) the whole palace guard and others found out Paul is in chains for Christ. No doubt Paul is given witness to the free gift of forgiveness of sins and of eternal life there is in Jesus Christ. The message of eternal life in Jesus Christ must have resonated with those prisoners who were facing death like Paul was. Roman guards were not immune to death. Their job put them in peril’s way all the time. That there is a free gift of eternal life through faith in Christ Jesus no doubt resonated with their hearts as well.

Not only was the good news spreading throughout the palace but the friends of Paul, instead of becoming meek in preaching the good news of Jesus Christ for fear of arrest instead became emboldened to speak God’s word more boldly and fearlessly than ever. Paul faced death with face in Christ. He rescued others from the snares of death also. They also worked hard trusting they had eternal life and they were rescuing others from the peril of eternal death.

We too should be emboldened to spread the good news by Paul’s and the early church’s fearless proclamation in our age. We should be embolden by the witness of our brothers and sisters in Christ who hold fast to their confession of faith despite being sold into slavery, torture, imprisonment and death across the world even to this day for their faith in Jesus Christ. We must not let the world and the devil who is behind the world to curb our witness to the free gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life for all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. When you are made to feel meek about your faith by the devil’s working in your life, remember Paul, the early church and your fellow Christians suffering around the world today for their witness and get courage again to be bold and fearless about your faith. You are going to live forever in Christ Jesus. They can only hurt you for a while and made your body dead temporarily. In Jesus you have his kingdom forever.

Heavenly Father, grant us such faith as all the martyrs had in Christ Jesus so that when the world causes us to be meek about our faith we may be emboldened to witness about the good news of Jesus Christ to those around us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.