Philippians 1.18

For some time now I have been absolutely amazed by the statement that Paul makes in Philippians 1.18 regarding some individuals who were sharing the gospel but doing so out of selfish ambition and a desire to do Paul harm. Evidently those people were not too fond of Paul and they shared the gospel in such a way as to elevate themselves and debase him. What I find so amazing is that Paul did not confront, criticize or condemn those individuals, rather, his attitude was that as long as the true gospel was being shared he did not care if part of the motivation behind the sharing of the gospel was this desire to inflict harm to him. Paul’s concern was only that the true gospel was what was being shared. Had his enemies been proclaiming a false gospel, Paul, no doubt, would have confronted them just as strongly as he confronted the Judaizers in his letter to the Galatians. The situation in Philippi was not that a false gospel was being proclaimed, but that unscrupulous characters were proclaiming the true gospel. Even though they did so in order to hurt Paul, he refused to take offense at the personal attacks leveled at him.

It seems to me that what we see here is Paul putting in practice what Peter put into words in 1 Peter 4.8:

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

Paul was unwilling to take personal offense at what was happening. He was willing to allow love to cover the sins being committed against him. Certainly, that does not mean that Paul approved of the tactics of his enemies. Nor does it mean that Paul viewed their sin as no big deal. Rather, it means that he simply refused to take offense and instead demonstrated a willingness to extend forgiveness. Paul was content to let God handle the matter.

How often do we take the opposite approach? How often are we so easily offended at even the most minute or subtle of perceived slights? How often do we find ourselves at odds with others over a glance or word or action that could just as easily be overlooked? How often do we elevate self to the place that any personal offense becomes the worse crime ever committed and we will have our revenge on the offending party? Such attitudes are not what Paul exhibited. They are not what Peter called for in his first epistle. They are not the kinds of attitudes that please and honor God. As Christians, we must be quick to forgive [even when forgiveness is not sought] and slow to anger.

Some may object and say that if we readily and quickly grant forgiveness to those who offend us, we are guilty of giving tacit approval to their sin. Not so. At no point in this post have I even remotely suggested that we react or respond to the sin of others in such a way as to encourage more sin from them. It is possible and, I would add, Biblically necessary, that we not only grant forgiveness to those who sin against us, but that we also go to the offending party and make them aware of their sin. But we must absolutely sure that we do this in the manner prescribed by Scripture [see Matthew 18.15-20; Galatians 6.1]. Sin must be lovingly confronted. We are obligated by God to do that. We are also obligated by God to allow love to cover a multitude of sins [refuse to take personal offense at every perceived wrong]. Those truths go together; they are not in conflict with one another; they are not mutually exclusive. The Biblical precept is that we go to the offending party in this way: "I want you to know that I am aware that you have sinned against me by ____________. I also want you to know that on the basis of 1 Peter 4.8 I have fully forgiven you. However, you need to understand that the Word of God says that what you did was sin and God instructs us to turn from our sin." By dealing with others in this way, you have not taken personal offense at their actions as 1 Peter 4.8 says, and you have pointed out to them their sin as Galatians 6.1 says to do.

As we return to Philippians 1.8, what we clearly see is that Paul exposed the sin of those who sought to do him harm. He said they were motivated by selfish ambition. They were doing what they were doing because they sought to elevate self. But at the same time, notice that Paul refused to take personal offense at the personal attacks being leveled against him. He was quick to forgive and slow to take offense. Oh that there was much more of that sort of spirit in our churches today!

Beloved, how do you respond to those who sin against you, whether that sin is intentional or unintentional? Are you quick to forgive and slow to take offense? Is it true in your life that love covers a multitude of sins?