How do you sign off your letters? My business letters are signed: Sincerely. To fellow Christians I might sign, “Your Fellow Servant, Pastor Bob”; To one of my kids, “Love ya, Dad”; to my wife, well, I’m not going to tell you. That’s between her and me.
Much of the New Testament is made up of the Apostle Paul’s letters. Philippians of one of the “Prison Epistles”—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon—were all written while Paul was a prisoner in Rome (Acts 28:17ff). And all were personally signed by Paul.
At the close of Paul’s letter to the Philippian church is a bright gem of Christian encouragement. Paul asks the leaders of the church in Philippi, to whom the letter was sent, to say hello to other Christians for him. And he sends greetings from Christians in Rome to the Philippians.
Philippians 4:21-22. 21Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send greetings. 22All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household.
Perhaps one of the worst things about being in prison is loneliness. Paul could have given in to despair and doubt. Yet even there he was not alone.
One of our joys and strengths is that we are not alone. The simple fact there are other Christians helps us to live out our Christian lives. We all like potluck meals and fellowships. Why? For one thing we like to eat, and potluck is some of the best.
But the biggest reason is because we spend some time with one another. Normally we come to worship and Bible study; we see each other in the hall, then we’re off.
But at a potluck there is more time to talk. We talk about our kids, our jobs, our health, and so on, and learn a little bit more about one another; we bond.
In the places I’ve gone to in the world—Hong Kong, Philippines, Japan, Viet Nam—there have been Christians—not always Baptist Christians, but Christians whom I felt I could turn to if necessary. Just knowing they were there helped me to be a Christian.
My brother is also a pastor. At his first church, in the same building were a black church, a Korean church, and a white church.
They worked their schedules, S.S. and worship, so all could meet and worship and study there. Once a month all three congregations met together for worship . . . the pastors would take turns preaching.
After the service all three congregations would have a potluck dinner together – Koreans, blacks, whites. That was some good food! But most importantly, the three ethnic groups bonded together.
The members of the other two congregations called my brother, Pastor John. He was their pastor too. These were diverse Christians who loved and cared for one another.
Look at those two verses again (read again). Too often we read right past these verses thinking this is just Paul’s normal, personal remarks made to friends at the close of one of his letters. But look a little bit closer with me at what is happening.
Brothers and saints. Twice he write, “all the saints.” The uniqueness of Christianity is that we are not alone. It doesn’t matter what color your skin is, what language you speak, or what country you are from. We are all bound together by the shed blood of our Savior.
A second thing these verses tell us is that we should be encouraging other Christians. Paul was in a Roman prison when he wrote this letter. He was facing a great ordeal. He wasn’t at all sure that he would be released from prison.
There was the possibility he would be executed. Yet, even in chains he was encouraged by the “brothers” who were with him, and he was able to encourage others.
I wonder who the brothers were? Who encouraged Paul? Timothy was there. Maybe Epaphroditus, a member of the Philippian church. Maybe Tychicus who carried Paul’s letters to the different churches. A long-time companion named Aristarchus could have been there. The runaway slave might have been one of the “brothers.” Of course, Mark and Luke could have been with Paul.
But who else would Paul call a brother? I think it was the slaves who prepared his food, brought him water, and cleaned the sewage. Paul would have taken every opportunity to tell them about Jesus.
And some of them became believers and encouragers to Paul. They sent greetings to the believers in Philippi. They were encouragers. Christ doesn’t care who or what you are, or your circumstances. He can make you an encourager.
Who else? Read 1:13. …it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.
Is it possible that Roman soldiers assigned to Paul were accepting Christ—becoming believers? Though they were Paul’s guards they became his brothers in Christ.
One of the most difficult places to find God is in the military. Christian witnesses are sometimes far between in the ranks. There is something very special when a soldier becomes a Christian—so much potential to touch fellow soldiers.
And there were other prisoners whom Paul was constantly talking to about Jesus. They were a captive audience. Some of them became Christians.
Another group was those of Caesar’s household. Look at v. 22 again. All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.
Paul was imprisoned near the imperial palace in Rome. Nero was in power. Remember your history books about him? He was one of the cruelest of all emperors anytime, anywhere.
Not one, not twice, but several times he tried to murder his own mother. Finally he just had her executed. When a large slum district in Rome burned to the ground, historians believe he ordered it done to get rid of the eyesore. But Nero blamed Christians for the fire.
This incited cruel persecutions against Christians. Christians were wrapped in animal skins so that wild animals would tear them apart limb by limb. Pitch was poured over Christians and they would be set afire at night as illumination during Nero’s wild parties.
This is what makes this verse so amazing. There were Christians actually living in Nero’s own house. Most likely they were slaves and servants since there is no evidence that any royal family were Christians until in the 2nd century.
Paul calls special attention to them because these Christian brothers and sisters had asked him to send a message from them to their fellow Christians in Philippi. In spite of their circumstances they wanted to be encouragers.
It took courage to be a Christian in Nero’s world. Nero was torturing and killing Christians simply because they were believers in Christ. He used them to provide grisly entertainment. Christians had to be careful. They developed ways of knowing one another.
The symbol of a fish (ICHTHUS) was one of those ways. When two men met on the street and one was a Christian, he might idly draw with his foot a figure of a fish in the sand. If the other man responded in kind then they both knew they were safe.
Christians took the ichthus letters and used them to mean, “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. I can’t imagine anything more difficult than being a Christian in the house of Nero.
Every once in a while it becomes “popular” to say you are a Christian. Maybe a famous athlete or entertainer claims to be a Christian, or a president talks about his faith.
Maybe a youth group is going great guns and other kids want to be a part of it, or perhaps a favorite teacher is a Christian, so kids want him or her to think they are Christians. Zack Johnson, the winner of this year’s Master’s Tournament became visibly choked up when he talked about his faith in Jesus. I think he was genuine.
Jesus said that if we wanted to be His followers, every day we must be willing to bear the responsibility of walking the Christian walk. Jesus said to count the cost before deciding to follow Him.
We are certainly not being persecuted like Christians of ancient days were. What is it that keeps us from living for Jesus today? Maybe it’s because we are not persecuted. Maybe it’s all about our culture—it is so enticing that we don’t see the hidden dangers.
It’s like the river I grew up next to. On a hot summer day it looks so inviting. I was born and raised next to the Arkansas River in Colorado. When I was young and dumb I played in that river, I swam in that river, and I floated in that river long before anyone ever thought about white-water rafting. I have no interest in white-water rafting that is so popular now.
I know how numbingly cold that water is, it was snow just a few hours before. When you get in it, it sends shock waves through your body. In a little bit you whole body turns numb. Soon hypothermia sets in followed by death.
I also know how dangerously swift the current is. It will snatch your feet right out from beneath you. It can take your body, slam it against a rock, and hold you under the water with tons of pressure. I really have no desire to get back in the river.
The things the world offers us are like that river. It is incredibly appealing to all of us. We don’t even realize the dangers that lurk under the surface. We have become numbed to sin.
We no longer see through the eyes of God. We no longer recognize sin as sin. We are spiritual cowards, afraid and unwilling to make a stand for God. How would you make it in Caesar’s palace?
It takes courage to be a Christian. Doing what is right doesn’t always win you friends. Doing what is right isn’t always going to be popular with your friends and family.
Courage isn’t something you have when everyone is on your side and in agreement with you. Courage is what you do when the crowd is wrong, and your friends make fun of you, and your family doesn’t understand.
You have all the power, strength, direction, and courage of Jesus Christ Himself available to you. He is the only sensible decision and direction for you to make. Will you be like these brothers and sisters of the early church? Will you?