In Philippians 1, after Paul reminds his readers of his heart (For me, living is Christ and dying is gain), he reminds them of how they are to live their life.
“Just one thing: Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith that comes from the gospel, not being frightened in any way by your opponents.” [vs 27-28 CSB]
We are to live our lives worthy of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, for that is the Gospel. We are to stand firmly in unity. We are to work side by side with each other for the faith. Then Paul adds, we are not to be “frightened in any way by [our] opponents.”
When we live worthy of the Gospel, stand in unity and work together for the faith, we are going to ruffle the feathers of those who hate God, those who pretend to serve God but have their own agenda, those who teach a gospel that is not a true Gospel. We are going to generate opposition … it has been that way down through history and it will be that way going forward in this nation.
As a nation, we have enjoyed an unusual acceptance of “religious freedom” guaranteed by our Constitution. We have gone about our work for God with little backlash, but that has changed. There are factions that seek to overcome the freedom we have to worship and share the Good News. They want us silenced, made irrelevant, or eliminated.
Paul who was in prison because his preaching of the Gospel created that same opposition in his day, now warns us to stand bravely and courageously and not be “frightened in any way by [our] opponents.”