This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Philippians” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, June 30, 1991.

Our scripture reading this morning begins with the book of Ecclesiastes, the first chapter. Fear the Word of God. This is Ecclesiastes chapter one. The words of the preacher, the son of David, king of Jerusalem, “‘Vanity of vanities,’ saith the preacher, “‘vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’ What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun?

One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh. But the earth provideth forever. The sun also arises. and the sun goeth down and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south and turneth about unto the north. It whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. Unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

All things are full of labor, Man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be, and that which is done is that which shall be done, and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was before. There is no remembrance of former things, neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

I, the preacher, was king over Israel and Jerusalem, and I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven. This sore travail hath God given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith, I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

I communed with my own heart, saying, Lo, I have come to a greater state and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem. Yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge, and I gave my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceive that this also is vexation of spirit, for in much wisdom is much grief. And he that increases knowledge increase of sorrow.

And then, turning over to the New Testament, to Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 1, beginning with verse 21, Philippians 1, 21, “…for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh This is the fruit of my labor, yet what I shall choose I know not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having the desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith, that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

Pray with me now. Our Father, there is a richer meal for us than those meals that we would partake of from this creation. There is that meal that is prepared for us in and from glory. And Lord, by your word and in your spirit, we would partake of that meal and be blessed by it. Help us, our Father, that we may serve you truly, obediently, because we have feasted well upon the word which you have sent. Amen.

I want you to think a little bit this morning about integrity. I don’t simply have in mind the matter of truthfulness. I have in mind as well wholeness, completeness, consistency. So when I speak this morning about integrity, I want you to think of whole matters, complete matters, perfect matters, those things that testify of a consistency. First of all, I want you to think about the consistency of the Apostle Paul. I have pled with you before not to think of this consistency in the Apostle as being something that he has generated because of a particular strong disposition.

He’s an especially determined individual. No, the Apostle Paul is consistent because he is vitally in touch with a world that is absolutely consistent. Have you despaired at times about your own lives? Have you fought often with yourself because you know all too well your own inconsistency? That is, you say one thing, you do something completely the opposite. The Apostle Paul is marvelously consistent because he is well in touch with that absolutely consistent world. Heaven is absolutely consistent. In heaven, your words match your actions perfectly.

Now, here in the first chapter of Philippians, we have Paul coming to the end of what has been called his missionary report, verses 12 through 26. And in this missionary report, he is giving an account of himself to a church in Macedonia that congregates at Philippi, a city there, And Paul is writing to this church in Philippi while in chains in a Roman jail.

He says at the conclusion of this matter, verse 26 to be specific, that he has in view a ministry to these Philippians so that they’re rejoicing, as it is called in the King James, or you might say, so that their boast in Christ may abound through Him. So that their boast in Christ may abound through Him. Now, this language about Their being something in these Philippians that is to abound matches up with what the Apostle has said earlier when he spelled out for them his prayer for them. Verse 9 of this ninth chapter gives us Paul’s prayer, his prayer proper. He says, and this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in true knowledge and all discernment.” So, in his prayer, he is praying for an abundance of their love, and in his ministry, he is laboring so that this boast of theirs in Christ might abound more and more.

And there is absolute consistency between the man’s prayers and his ministry. Do you know the Church of Jesus Christ could be turned around if pastors’ prayers matched their ministries? If people are looking for power in the Church, or ministers are looking for power in their ministries, if they would just take cue from the Apostle Paul and labor with respect to that consistency that is so obviously at work in him, a matching up of words with actions. As the man ministers, so he prays, and vice versa.

With precisely the same objective in view His prayers being for the furtherance of these saints in their love for Christ and His ministry to the same end, that their boast in Christ might excel all the more. What might we say about the content of Paul’s prayers and the content of his ministry?

At the center of both, unmistakably, is the person and the work of Jesus Christ. Isn’t it amazing? that as you read the Apostle Paul, work through his letters, that you never, never, I say, find him preoccupied or concerned about the numerical response to his ministry. Numbers don’t seem to interest the man. What does interest the man is Christ, and how well Christ is received. How well Christ is honored amongst those whom he serves. Well, there is an integrity here for the Apostle Paul, a consistency that is at work, a wholeness.

But I want you also to notice the integrity of his report, the missionary report that he has laid before these Philippians now, verses 12 through 26. Pick up on the language of verse 25 as he concludes this section of his epistle. And convinced of this, he says, I’m reading from the New American Standard, and convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith. Now, that concern about progress and even joy is not introduced at that point in the missionary report. In fact, you can find that very concern at the outset of his words to these Philippians in verse 12, as he gives an account of himself. He says in verse 12, “‘Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel.'” Match up the progress of the gospel mentioned there and the progress now that is mentioned in verse 25, as the Apostle speaks about the progress and joy in the faith for which he labors amongst these Philippians.

As he began, so he concludes. The theme of the report seems to be of a piece, of a common theme. It is related to the whole matter of progress, the progress of the gospel and the progress of the faith amongst those who have embraced it, as Paul would move from Rome to Philippi, the city to which he is presently writing. Now, that progress has run into some barriers or roadblocks, ditches in the road, You know how he gives an account of his circumstances at the opening part of that report, verses 12 through 14.

He says that the gospel is progressing amongst these Roman Christians, even though there are those who oppose the gospel, and have fought that by Paul’s own imprisonment there in Rome, the gospel and its power would be overthrown. Now, it’s important for us at this point to grasp hold of specifically Paul’s point. He is not saying here that the progress of the gospel amongst these Romans working itself out in the development of their faith and their joy is something that is coming about despite the opposition. Rather, it is coming about precisely because of the opposition.

So sovereign is our God that not only do regular circumstances of life work to the progress of His ends and means and gains, but as well, you see, now you have in front of you the fact that these things that men conspire to do actually work out for the progress of the gospel itself. So sovereign is our God. that it is not merely a matter of him circumventing or rising above the wickedness of men, but of literally passing through the ordeal that wickedness brings upon the Church, and in that circumstance, God exploiting the particulars of it to his own glory.

Can there be anything more clear than this when we look at the cross of Christ? Can there be anything more clear than this when we look at the cross of Christ? Men in their wickedness conspiring against the Son of God, but God taking that wickedness and making it the very instrument of trial. So it now works itself out presently for Paul in chains in Rome. His chains no less than the cross. His afflictions no less than Christ’s afflictions.

These, too, shall prove to be for the purpose of God and to the advantage of the gospel. So, the gospel progresses even here at Rome, where men in their opposition to that gospel had conspired against it in hopes of blotting it out. The Romans themselves are making progress in the faith and the joy that belongs to those who own Jesus Christ. And as Paul progresses in his description, it becomes apparent to us that the apostle is not merely concerned for the progress the gospel has made amongst the Romans, but that progress which the gospel has made in his own case.

Yes, there are those who have opposed the truth, who are responsible for Paul’s chains presently. But there are also those in the church at Rome who are especially upset about him and even hostile to him. And they have taken advantage of Paul’s imprisonment now to make matters worse for him by generating dissent with respect to him amongst the Christians that are gathered in that city. That is, Paul overcome Is he distraught because there are those, even within the church, who are taking advantage of his change? Not at all.

Even though there are those who preach out of envy and strife, who are motivated by selfish ambition, he says he will rejoice because Christ is preached, the gospel is proclaimed. And what a work this is affecting within his own life. For Paul here gives testimony to the fact that the gospel is making progress in him as he is trained with respect to the purpose of this life and its end in glory. Does it really matter, in the end, what other people think of me and even what they do to me? What if they do their darndest? What if I am executed for the cause of Christ? For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

That is what he says. In the midst of this, his confidence has been built and strengthened. He is all the more certain with regard to his circumstances. He will be brought through it, and that unmistakably, to an end glorious, for he shall be brought to Christ. He is confident that whether he lives or dies, he will be magnifying Christ in his body.

Therefore, the progress that he has noted amongst the Roman Christians is a progress that is observable in him, and now he is commending that progress to the Philippian saints as he concludes this little mission report to them. It will not be, then, a matter that merely concerns Romans, who are immediately at hand, or he himself personally. It is something, then, that branches out to the Church as a whole, and his hope for them, that they might also progress in the joy that is found alone in faith.

But there is one other matter here. that speaks to us about integrity. Thus we have the integrity of the Apostle as his prayers match his ministry, his words match his actions. There is also the integrity of his report as he moves these Philippians through an account of his present circumstances making it plain how everything is working out for the further progress of the gospel, and that God’s purposes will not be thwarted or overthrown. But on a much grander scale, brought in view here is the marvelous integrity of God’s purpose as a whole.

I don’t want you to be content with the little picture. The little picture would present to you an apostle who was preoccupied with having meaningful tasks in life, a man who was interested in finding something useful to do with his time, to fill up his hours, a worthy pursuit, a profession, something that he could give himself to for a time, looking to a better end, you know, retirement. a seaside villa in Macedonia, maybe, overlooking the Aegean Sea. Something comfortable. That’s the apostle of the little picture. We can thank God that the apostle Paul did not embrace the little picture.

He saw things with a wide-angled lens, the good picture, and the integrity of God’s purpose and intention. How wonderful it comes out in his testimony concerning the development of his faith, which he would hold out to every one of us as a pattern that we are to pursue.

What about the threats? that seek to confound us in life, to confuse us, to throw us off the track. Are you concerned about injustice, injustice with regard to yourself? It simply isn’t fair. It isn’t fair what’s happened to me. Life isn’t turning out the way I expected it.

But in verse 19 of this chapter, the apostle quotes a text from Job, where he says, I know that all of this shall turn out for my salvation. That text is lifted right out of Job 13, verse 16. You know the story of Job. And in this circumstance, the apostle is doing Job one better.

For as grand as Job was, there remained in Job, by the end of that book of Job, a voice of complaint and grumbling, a questioning of the Lord. Now, because of what has transpired in the big picture, Paul will not even allow complaint to enter his vocabulary. If there was any complaint justifiable in the case of Job, that has been completely removed now in the case of the apostle Paul, and he will have none of it. What about the threat of death? as marvelous as the testimony of the Old Testament is with respect to death and the confidence of those Old Testament saints. Still there is a question. Hezekiah the king turns his face to the wall and he weeps when he is told by the prophet Isaiah that his days are numbered. But do you hear the apostle? Do you hear what he says?

For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. There’s no loss for me, even in death. The question that was still there on the pages of the Old Testament has been summarily removed in the New. And that, by virtue of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you have been ushered into a new day. And what about the threat of failure? Does that not stalk the saints of the Old Testament? Repeatedly you hear them crying out in the Psalter, O Lord, do not allow our enemies to put us to shame. That is, don’t allow us to fail.

You hear the Apostle in verse 20 of this chapter saying, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I shall not be put to shame in anything whatsoever. that man simply isn’t threatened by those things that threaten people who are looking for the comfortable life and live within the little picture.

He sees things on a grand scale and in keeping with the integrity of God’s purpose and intention. But there’s something here even more profound, and that is why I read for you this morning the opening chapter of Ecclesiastes. That book that deals with the king, face to face, with the utter futility of life. This is an Old Testament Jew speaking this way. Wouldn’t you expect better from him? Are there any people wandering around in the ancient world that had hope? Certainly it was the Jews. What justification can we give for this man talking like this?

Vanity of vanities, all of them, because he’s short of a resurrection. And because he’s short of a resurrection, there’s still the threat of nothingness that overshadows his existence. Unless Christ is raised, there is no hope. even for an Old Testament Jew. The Old Testament economy then, falling short of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, must express itself as the preacher does.

Vanity of vanity. It’s all vanity. The threat of futility, then. And which one of you, in your integrity, have not faced the futility of life? I can’t get ahead. Nothing I do turns out. It all seems so meaningless. I just get through one ordeal and ten others take its place. I’m a mental wreck. I’m an emotional basket case. I can’t cope. And when I look for meaning and significance, a sense to it all, I’m at a loss.

Do you not then call upon God? Do you not then remember the resurrection, that even though one hung on a cross, it was not in vain, it was not futile? That His act and work and person confers meaning upon the totality of our life and our labor. That’s where you must begin. If the voice of nothingness and futility and emptiness has been raised within your soul, it will find no ultimate answer or resolution apart from Jesus Christ. And it is that specifically now, it is that specifically which the Apostle places before these Philippian saints as he would have them progress in their joy in the faith. Won’t you follow? No answer like it. Insolation against the threat of injustice, the threat of death, the threat of failure, the threat of futility. Let us pray.

O God, we would pray that we would be taken by the Spirit that dwells in the Apostle to our good and your glory. We are praying, our Father, that your mercies may abound for us as we look to you for strength. But, our God, we are asking that before the various threats of life that were well experienced even by the saints in the Old Testament we might live fully in the glories of those benefits that are given to us in the new. And thank you especially for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ by which we are delivered. So now we with confidence, our Father, would face life with such assurances as are found in the Apostle himself. The assurance that we in living, are bringing Christ to expression. And that in dying, we are actually gaining for your glory. These things we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.