THE FORMER PROCLAIM CHRIST OUT OF SELFISH AMBITION RATHER THAN FROM PURE MOTIVES: hoi de ex eritheias ton Christon kataggellousin, (3PPAI) ouch hagnos :  (2Co2:17)

"The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely" (NIV),

"but the other proclaim Christ of faction, not sincerely" (ASV), "But those are preaching Christ in a spirit of competition" (BBE)

"but those out of contention, announce the Christ, not purely" (Darby)

"There are others who are proclaiming Christ out of jealousy, not in sincerity" (NJB)

"Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely" (NLT)

"the former proclaim Christ out of partisanship, not sincerely" (RSV), "But others preach about Christ because they are selfish. Their reason for preaching is wrong." (ICB)

" but others out of a partisan self-seeking spirit are announcing Christ, not with pure unmixed motives, but insincerely" (Wuest)

"But the others are insincere. They tell the message about Christ out of selfish ambition" (GWT),  "But the former preach Christ out of a party spirit, insincerely [out of no pure motive, but thinking to annoy me]" (Amp)

"The motive of the former is questionable - they preach in a partisan spirit" (Phillips)

Proclaim  (2605) (kataggello [word study]) was used in secular Greek in honor of the emperors as the proclamation of imperial rule & meaning especially to announce or declare publicly, as in 1Co 11:26, where partaking of the Lord’s Supper is spoken of as a proclamation of His death until He comes again. Paul later wrote that the faith of the Roman saints was being openly & publicly declared (Ro 1:8 same verb kataggello cf uses in 1Co 2:1,1Co 9:14, Col 1:28)

Selfish ambition (2052) (eritheia [word study]) originally meant to work for hire but came to be applied in a negative sense toward those who sought solely to benefit themselves--to advance themselves by acquiring wealth and prestige. It was often used of those who promote themselves in the course of running for government office. It was also used of the ruthlessly ambitious--those who sought to elevate themselves at all costs. Paul's imprisonment provided the perfect opportunity for such types to enhance their personal prestige and lessen his (or so they thought). Paul’s detractors used his incarceration as an opportunity to promote their own prestige possibly by accusing Paul of being so sinful the Lord had chastened or disciplined him by this imprisonment. In contrast to the love that characterized Paul's supporters, his detractors were motivated by selfish ambition--the most wicked of all motives. They were far removed from the principles of Php 2:3:

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves

The Philippians were not to behave like Paul's detractors in Rome. While the message of Paul's detractors was right, their motive was wrong. Selfishness comes in many forms. Peter warned against seeking after sordid gain (1Pe 5:2) and dominating others (1Pe 5:3). The apostle John spoke against seeking to be first (3Jn 1:9). Selfishness can show itself in any of those ways.

Pure (motives) (53) (hagnos [word study]) means means freedom from defilements or impurities. So not with pure motives means their motives were mixed and impure, with duplicity. This group proclaimed Christ with but had underlying selfish motives. The preached with "dissimulation" which means they hid their motives under a false appearance. Do we ever do this among the brethren?

THINKING TO CAUSE ME DISTRESS IN MY IMPRISONMENT: hoiomenoi (PMPMPN) thlipsin egeirein (PAN) tois desmois mou:.

To make my chains gall me (Lightfoot)

supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. (NIV)

thinking to raise up affliction for me in my bonds (ASV)

but with the purpose of giving me pain in my prison (BBE)

supposing to arouse tribulation for my bonds (Darby)

meaning to add to the weight of my chains (NJB)

intending to make my chains more painful to me. (NLT)

hoping to make my chains even more galling than they would otherwise be (Phillips)

intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. (NRSV)

They want to make trouble for me in prison. (ICB)

thinking to make my chain gall me (Wuest)

in order to stir up trouble for me while I'm in prison. (GWT)

supposing they are making my bondage more bitter and my chains more galling (Amp)

Thinking (Hoiomai) according to BDAG means "to consider something to be true but with a component of tentativeness." The present tense describes this as a continual way of thinking.

Distress (2347) (thlipsis [word study]) means tribulation (distress or suffering resulting from oppression or persecution), trouble, affliction and is derived from thlíbo which means to crush, press, compress, squeeze, which in turn is from thláo meaning to break. It is interesting to note the etymology of our English "tribulation" derives from the Latin tribulum which was the drag used in threshing grain, separating the wheat and the chaff. Is that not the eternal purpose of trials God allows in to our life? (Jas 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5) When Paul was "crushed" or "pressed", what came out of him was what continually filled him, the fruit of the Spirit of Christ. What comes out of me when I am squeezed out of my comfort zone?

Cause (1453)(egeiro) means to "raise up" and is a vivid metaphor of the detractors thinking they could "raise up affliction" with their desired goal being

"to annoy the apostle by seeking to achieve success in gospel work in a spirit of rivalry against him, glorying in the fact that he was in chains." (Vine)

Thus we see the vivid picture of what Paul's detractors desired to do to him! And surely the malicious behavior of these envious detractors added to the physical chaffing of the shackles. Far from exalting Christ, protecting the church, evangelizing the lost, or defending the Word of God, their goal was to irritate Paul.  Paul's words serve as a warning to us and we should not to be surprised by similar impious malicious behavior in the church today. If it happened to Paul, it will happen to all who "retain the standard of sound words" (2Ti 1:13).

Many times the NT warns against envy, strife, selfish ambition, and impure motives (Php 2:3;1Co 3:3 3:4; 13:3; 2Co 12:20; Gal 2:4; Jas 4:5 4:6) which are to be assiduously avoided now as much as they ought to have been then.

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F B Meyer...
 

THE FURTHERANCE
OF THE GOSPEL
Phil. 1:12-18
 

Man's Purpose and God's Power.

In Psalm 75, breathing courage and confidence, which exalts the mighty Sovereign of all and magnifies His mighty power, the Psalmist tells us that the wrath of man shall be made to praise God. The wicked may plot against God, seeking to injure His servants and obstruct the progress of His truth, and within certain limits they may appear to succeed; but when they expect to reap the harvest of their evil machinations, they suddenly find themselves put to the worse, and God takes all that they had meant for the suppression of the Gospel, to promote its progress and triumph. There are few instances establishing this fact more striking than the story of the Apostle, for the misfortunes which befell his human life, and the difficulties over which he was compelled to make progress, were used by God to promote the highest interests of that very Gospel which was so dear to his heart, and for which he suffered so much.

St. Paul's yearning for Rome.

How eagerly he set his heart upon reaching Rome! In the Epistle to the Roman Christians, he tells them that he hopes presently that he may see Rome, not only that he may comfort them and be comforted by them, but because Rome was the metropolis of the world. From the golden mile-stone that stood in the Forum the mighty roads emanated to the far East and West. What Jerusalem was during the one week of the Passover, Rome was always. The statesmen who filled her Senate would be commissioned to all parts of the known world as consuls and praetors; the soldiers who gathered in her barracks might be despatched to the far Euphrates on the one hand, or the white cliffs of Britain on the other. To reach Rome seemed like standing in some telephonic centre, from which a whisper would reverberate to the ends of the world.

The Apostle Paul was a great strategist.

He knew the value of cities; they were the head of waters, into which if seed were dropped the current would carry it everywhere. Therefore, as he had spoken in Jerusalem, the heart of Palestine; at Antioch, the heart of Syria; at Ephesus, the heart of Asia Minor; and at Athens, the heart of Greece, he was desirous of preaching at Rome also, the heart of the empire of the world. No doubt he expected to get there as to other places, paying his own passage, going freely, and being welcomed by the little Churches of the saints, which were beginning to shed their light amid the surrounding gloom. But it was not thus that Paul accomplished his life-purpose. He came to Rome a prisoner, his passage paid as a convict by the Roman Government; and the hatred of his enemies was the breath of the Almighty that wafted him to his chosen destination.

Thus, constantly, God allows men to rage madly against His Gospel up to a certain point, which may cause annoyance, inconvenience, and pain, but there is always a "thus far and no further," and the Gospel proceeds upon the very lines which God from all eternity had determined.

This wonderful truth, which is capable of almost endless application, meets with three very remarkable illustrations in this paragraph.

Paul's Imprisonment in its Effect upon the Soldiers.

"My bonds became manifest in Christ throughout the whole praetorian guard, and to all the rest" (Phil. 1:13). It would be better translated--to the whole circle of the imperial lifeguards. We are all familiar with the fact that the Apostle was chained to a Roman soldier during the entire term of his two years' imprisonment, the soldier being changed every six hours. What an exquisite torture this must have been to a sensitive nature like his! Bad enough never to be alone, but still worse to have to spend the long hours always in company with a man chosen from the Roman guard.

In the Epistles of Ignatius, the good bishop of Antioch, who was entrusted to such guards to bring him from his see at Antioch to be thrown to the wild beasts, describes himself as fighting day and night with ten leopards, who, the more kindness was shown them, waxed worse and worse. Though we may well imagine that some of the soldiers chained to the Apostle may have been quiet and wistful men, eager to know the truth, yet, quite as likely, others would fill the room with ribald songs and jokes, and turn into blasphemous ridicule the words they heard the Apostle speak to those who came to visit him.

At times the hired room would be thronged with people, to whom the Apostle spoke words of life; and after they withdrew the sentry would sit beside him, filled with many questionings as to the meaning of the words which this strange prisoner spoke. At other times, when all had gone, and especially at night, when the moonlight shone on the distant slopes of Soracte, soldier and Apostle would be left to talk, and in those dark, lonely hours the Apostle would tell soldier after soldier the story of his own proud career in early life, of his opposition to Christ, and his ultimate conversion, and would make it clear that he was there as a prisoner, not for any crime, not because he had raised rebellion or revolt, but because he believed that He whom the Roman soldiers had crucified, under Pilate, was the Son of God and the Saviour of men. As these tidings spread, and the soldiers talked them over with one another, the whole guard would become influenced in sympathy with the meek and gentle Apostle, who always showed himself so kindly to the men as they shared, however involuntarily, his imprisonment.

The Witness of the Consistent Life.

How absolutely consistent the Apostle must have been! If there had been the least divergence, day or night, from the high standard which he upheld, his soldier-companion would have caught at it, and passed it on to others. The fact that so many became earnest Christians, and that the Word of Jesus was known far and wide throughout the praetorian guard, indicates how absolutely consistent the Apostle's life was. Do you not see how this applies to your own life? You may be bound to unsympathetic companions, as the Apostle to his soldier, as Ignatius to his ten leopards, or as Nicholas Ridley, afterwards Bishop and martyr, to the bigoted Roman Catholic Mayor of Oxford; but by your meek consistency and purity of life you may win these for God, and what might therefore have appeared an obstacle to your growth in grace, and to the progress of the Gospel, may turn out just the opposite. See to it that you so live and speak that it may be so.

The Imprisonment: its Effect upon the Brethren.

"Most of the brethren in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear" (Phil. 1:14). That is, courage was supplied them by the striking example of this noble man. Many who realised that, notwithstanding his chains and bonds, he was as enthusiastic in spreading the Gospel as he had been when his life was at his own disposal, and that, in spite of every difficulty and obstacle, he was still doing so much for the Gospel he loved, were rebuked for their lack of zeal and said: "If the Apostle is so strong and brave and energetic, when there is every reason for him to slacken and mitigate his energy, how much more reason there is for us, who have unrestrained liberty of action, to be unceasing in our endeavours for that Gospel for which he suffers."

The man who works for Christ when everything is against him stirs those up who have no such difficulties; just as he who makes confession for truth and righteousness, when there are many reasons for him to hush his voice, incites others to break forth in confession of Jesus Christ. They who dare to speak for God, even to death, are the means of stirring others to heroic defence of the Gospel. Think, for instance, of one of the greatest men that ever lived in England--a man whose name is almost forgotten now, but who is immortally associated with the cadence and splendid diction of the Bible--William Tyndale. It was his avowed purpose that every plough-boy in England should be able to know as much of the Bible as the priests. To accomplish this he appealed to the Bishop of London, but received no sympathy, and sorrowfully discovered that England could not hold the translator of the Bible. He was compelled to flee from England to Hamburg, from Hamburg to Cologne, from Cologne to Worms, and finally to Antwerp, where he was executed as a martyr; but not before he had put his imprimatur upon the magnificent English of the Bible, and had invested the Scriptures with priceless interest for the minds and hearts of those who had watched his noble life, his beneficent career, and his bloody death, so that out of his ashes there sprang a hundred, nay, a thousand men, to scatter the Bible for which he died.

A Call to You.

This may also be the case with you who are called to suffer for the Gospel. It may seem as if your voice were being hushed in blood and tears; but others are being made bold. Many a young man in that worldly society or godless counting-house is saying "If he dares to stand for God, I too will be a hero"; so that the very effect of your example is to stimulate weaker ones to become confessors and martyrs for Jesus Christ. Has not this been the result of the wholesale martyrdoms of Chinese missionaries and converts?

The Imprisonment: its Effect upon the Opponents of Evangelical Truth.

"Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill." "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and therein I rejoice, yea, and will rejoice" (Phil. 1:1-18). There were two parties in Rome. The one loved Paul enthusiastically, and accepted his teaching; the other, though professedly Christian, held by the Temple, the Pharisees, and the old restrictions of Judaism. They avowed Christ, but often looked backward to the Old Covenant and tried to weave the two together. Paul's coming aroused these to more earnestness in promoting their own views of Christianity, but he said: "It does not matter, if Christ is preached; they do not love me, they do not come to me for help, they are doing all they can to make my life difficult; but nevertheless, if my Lord Jesus Christ is being preached, I am more than thankful." Perhaps that explains why God has permitted the various denominations to divide England between them. Perhaps it is better that it should be so, because one stirs up the other. It may be that the efforts of the Nonconformists stir to more activity the members of the Church of England, and vice versa. In any case the various doctrines of Christianity are more likely to be strongly enforced and maintained, when they underlie the very existence of a body of Christians, than if they were held in common by all.

All through the history of the world God has taken what seemed to be a hindrance and obstacle, and, if only His servants were patient and true to Him, has converted it into a pulpit from which they could better promulgate the truth. Remember how Nebuchadnezzar harried the Jews. It seemed as if the holy city was never again to wield an influence for good over the world; but the chosen people were scattered with their Scriptures throughout the world, and the world of God was magnified much more than it could have been by their concentration in their own city. The devil stirred up the Jews to murder Christ, but the grain of wheat which fell into the ground to die, no more abode alone, but has covered the world with the harvests of rich grain. The Emperors persecuted the early Church, but only drove the disciples everywhere preaching the Word. King Charles chased the Puritans out of England, but they landed on Plymouth Rock, and founded the great Christian commonwealth across the Atlantic. Out of the awful Civil War the conditions arose that made it possible for Abraham Lincoln to free the slave, and again the wrath of man turned out to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"Careless seems the great Avenger,
History's pages but record
One death-grapple, in the darkness,
'Twixt old systems and the Word.
Truth for ever on the scaffold,
Wrong for ever on the throne;
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
And, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow,
Keeping watch upon His own."

So it May be with us. So it will be in our life. Let us begin to rejoice at difficulties, to rejoice when Satan rages. The power which is used against us, God will convert for our good; only let us always cherish the eager expectation and hope that Christ may be magnified in our body, whether by life or by death, whether by joy or by shame, whether by good fortune or by misfortune, whether by success or by failure. Christ, Christ, Christ, the Blessed Christ--not the Bible alone, not the creed alone, not doctrine alone, but Christ, Christ, Christ, always Christ manifested in our body, whether it be by life or by death.

Is Christ dear to you? Do you live for Him? Is the one passion and aim and purpose of your nature to glorify Him? Can you say: To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain? Oh, let us from today begin to live for this!

And if you are discouraged and disheartened, be of good cheer. When you are devoted to Christ, your very bonds will become electric chains through which the pulsation's of energy shall go to others, and your very troubles will be pulpits from which you shall preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Storms cannot shipwreck the Gospel; they waft it forward. Its foes contrive ingenious devices to obstruct it, but they awake to discover that all they had done to hinder is used to help. The lines of rail and the rolling stock which the enemy elaborated for incursions of hostile intent, are found to be simply invaluable to bear forward the precious message of the Gospel they would overthrow. It will be found, doubtless, at the end of all things, that the beneficent purposes of God have not been hindered one whit, but promoted and fostered, by all that has been done to frustrate them. This is the mystery of God's providence---that, so far from being set aside by evil, evil helps by furnishing the material on which the fire of the Gospel feeds, and flames to the furthest limits of God's universe. (F. B. Meyer. The Epistle to the Philippians)

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Charles Simeon...

DECISION OF CHARACTER
RECOMMENDED
Phil. 1:17

THE Gospel is a revelation of mercy to sinful man, and the most stupendous display of God’s wisdom and grace that ever was given to his intelligent creation — — — It might naturally have been expected that such tidings should have been invariably welcomed with unbounded joy: but, in every age, and every place under heaven, has it excited the fiercest opposition — — — On the other hand, it has been maintained with firmness by God’s faithful servants, and has triumphed over all the opposition that either men or devils could raise against it — — — In truth, it has been assailed no less by subtilty than by force; and its very doctrines have been propagated with a view to undermine its influence. St. Paul tells us, that, on his imprisonment, many rose to the occasion, and proclaimed the Gospel with augmented fortitude; but that some had preached it for no other end than that of drawing away his disciples, and thereby adding affliction to his bonds. He, however, whether under prosperous or adverse circumstances, “was set for the defence of the Gospel,” and was determined to maintain it, even unto death.
In him we see,

I. What place the Gospel should hold in our estimation—

Nothing is of importance in comparison of it—

[Nothing can vie with it in certainty as a record, in richness as a system, or in value as a remedy.

Whatever can be conceived as necessary to establish its authority as a divine record, is found in it in such abundance, that no record under heaven can be received, if this be not. Its evidences, both external and internal, are so clear and numerous, that it is not possible for a candid mind to withstand their force — — —

And what wonders of love and mercy does it bring to our view! the substitution of God’s co-equal, co-eternal Son, in the place of his rebellious creatures, to bear the wrath which they had merited, and fulfil the law which they had broken, and thereby to work out a righteousness wherein they might find acceptance! — — — the sending also of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person in the ever-adorable Trinity, to impart to men the knowledge of this salvation, and to prepare them for the enjoyment of it! Such a mode of restoring man to his offended God infinitely surpasses all finite conception: nor will eternity suffice to explore the wonders of love and mercy contained in it — — —

To the weary and heavy-laden soul nothing else is wanting. It provides for sinful man all that his necessities require—pardon, and peace, and holiness, and glory: pardon of all his sins, how great or numerous soever they may have been; peace with God, and in his own conscience; strength for the performance of every duty; and everlasting happiness at the right hand of God. Never was there a case which this did not reach; never a want for which it was not an adequate supply — — —]

Nothing, therefore, should equal it in our esteem — — —

[How vain and empty does the world appear, when viewed by the eye of faith! St. Paul, speaking of the cross of Christ, says, that, “by it the world was crucified unto him, and he unto the world.” This expression of his will set this matter in its true light. Suppose a person suspended on the cross, and in the very article of death: what are the world’s feelings in relation to him, and his in reference to the world? His dearest friends and relatives feel their connexion with him altogether dissolved; and he, even if he has possessed crowns and kingdoms, feels no further interest in them; but bids them, without regret, an everlasting farewell. Precisely thus are the bonds which once subsisted between the believer and the world burst asunder; they no longer regarding him as theirs, and he no longer regarding them as his. The concerns of eternity have taken possession of his mind; and he has no longer any taste for the things of time and sense. This, I hesitate not to say, should, in the main, be the experience of all who embrace the Gospel: “they should count all things but dung, that they may win Christ.”

Nor should personal ease be deemed of any importance in comparison of fidelity to Christ. The fiery furnace should not intimidate: the den of lions should not deter us from the path of duty. Whatever we may have suffered, or may be threatened with, for the Gospel’s sake, we should be ready to say, with the Apostle, “None of these things move me: neither count I my life dear unto me, so that I may but fulfil my duty to my Lord and Saviour” — — —

It is scarcely needful to say, that we must be ready to relinquish for it our own righteousness: for though self-righteousness cleaves closer to us than to any thing else, a just view of the Gospel will dispel it all, as a morning cloud; and we shall be ready to seek our all in Christ; making him, and him alone, “our wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.]

From hence, then, we may easily see,

II. What firmness it should produce in our conduct—

The Apostle “was set for the defence of the Gospel,” in the midst of greater difficulties and trials than ever were encountered by mortal man. And a similar firmness should we manifest,

1. In our adherence to it—

[It is, indeed, “our very life;” and should occupy our whole souls. It should be to our souls what our souls are to our bodies: it should live, and move, and act in every part. Our every act, and word, and thought, should be directed by it; and we should be as tenacious of it as of life itself. It is justly said, “Skin for skin; yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life:” and in this light we should view the Gospel: in comparison of it, every thing in the whole universe should be considered as of no account: and, if all the world endeavour to wrest it from us, we should be ready to lay down our life in its defence; well knowing, that “whoso will save his life, shall lose it; but that whosoever will lose it for the Gospel’s sake, the same shall save it.”]

2. In our profession of it—

[There were, in the Apostle’s days, some who “preached Christ of envy and strife;” and who affected an union in sentiment with him, only with a view to subvert his power. And such preachers exist at this day; adopting and proclaiming the Gospel itself, for the purpose of diminishing the influence of those whose principles are more pure, whose aims are more exalted, whose lives are more heavenly. Indeed, there is scarcely any thing more common, than for the people of the world to point out to their friends men as patterns of sound doctrine and of correct conduct, with no better view than to draw away from more zealous ministers their followers and adherents. But we should be alike on our guard against pretended friends and avowed enemies. I mean not to say that we should not listen to counsel of any kind: for certainly we ought to suspect our own judgment, and to lend a willing ear to good advice; but we should guard against seduction, from whatever quarter it may come; and should “prove all things, and hold fast that only which is good.” As to concealing our love to the Gospel, we should not attempt it, or even endure the thought of it for a moment. We should not be afraid of having it known “whose we are, and whom we serve.” We should shine as lights in the world; holding forth, in our lives, as well as with our lips, the word of life:” and should so make “our light to shine before men, that all who behold it may glorify our Father who is in heaven.” It was a matter of public notoriety that the Apostle was “set for the defence of the Gospel:” nor should our devotion to it be unknown by those around us, who have an opportunity of observing our life and conversation.]

3. In our propagation of it to the world—

[This is the duty both of ministers and people; each of whom, in their respective places and stations, should advance the knowledge of it to the utmost of their power. The whole mass of converts, when driven from Jerusalem by the persecution which had consigned Stephen to martyrdom, “went every whore preaching the word.” And, in like manner, all, of every description, though not called to the ministerial office, are, in a less ostensible manner indeed, though scarcely less effectual, to bear testimony to the truth, and to commend the Saviour to all around them — — — To “put our light under a bushel “would be the greatest injustice both to God and man: to God, who has imparted it to us for the good of others; and to man, who can by no other means be guided into the way of peace. To the pious zeal of others we are indebted for all that we know; and, “having freely received, we should freely give.”]

Address—

1. Those who have no regard for the Gospel—

[In what a pitiable state are you! and how awfully has “the god of this world blinded your eyes!” — — — Perhaps you think that the opposition which it meets with is a just ground for questioning its real worth. But I should rather say, that that very opposition is a presumptive evidence in its favour; because it has been so opposed from the days of Cain and Abel until now; and because it declares what reception it shall ever meet with from an ungodly world. And may I not add, that the firmness of holy men in its support is a further testimony in its behalf? I know, indeed, that many have died in the defence of error: but where, in the annals of the world, will be found such a frame of mind as that of Stephen, except under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and in attestation to the truth of God? Let not then that Gospel, which has been so esteemed by others, be any longer slighted by you. Be careful, indeed, that you receive the true Gospel: guard against all perversions of the doctrine of Christ: see to it, that, in your view of it, the sinner is laid low, even in the dust, and that the Lord Jesus Christ alone is exalted: and, having once embraced that, let it “be all your salvation, and all your desire.”]

2. Those who, knowing the Gospel, are yet afraid to confess it—

[No sin is more severely reprobated in the Gospel, than the being ashamed of Christ — — — And as none is more fatal, so none is more foolish: for the very persons who hate us for the sake of Christ will honour us more, in their minds, for adhering to our principles, than for renouncing them, or acting unworthy of them. But, supposing it wore not so, what is man’s displeasure, in comparison of God’s; or his favour, when compared with God’s? To all, then, I say, “Fear not man, who, when he has killed the body, hath no more that he can do: but fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him.”]

3. The sincere followers of our Lord—