Day 8

<sup>Philippians 1

27</sup>Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, ³⁰engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have

To not be frightened by your opponents. Honestly I'm not to sure what he means here in v.28. Frightened of what? We sometimes fear death, which is something we shouldn't be frightened of as Christians but rather should embrace. That could be a pretty scarry deal to our opponents. One of the biggest threats someone could make is "I'm gonna kill you!" If we aren't afraid of death that threat doesn't hold much water. In fact, it would probably scare the one who made that threat. One who doesn't fear losing his life is much more likely to act unpredictably. Unpredictability is as scary to bad guys as it is good guys. The theif who breaks into your house is assured by his assumptions: that you fear death; that if he points a gun at you and tells you to do something, you'll do it because you don't want to die. But what if you didn't fear death? What if, because of this lack of fear, you didn't do whatever it was he asked you to do? Then the thief is the one who is afraid.
Fear is a powerful weapon. It has been a tool used by the wicked since the beginning of time to make good men do bad things. I wonder how many things we do or don't do out of fear? Don't share the gospel with that co-worker for fear of what he may think. Don't confess sin because you fear that God will punish you. Satan is a master of fear. But if we shed fear, Satan becomes powerless. All of a sudden the thief who came to steal, kill, and destroy is the fearful one. What could a world of unafraid Christains do? Without fear of losing jobs, losing favor, losing relationships, losing comfort, losing life? We know that the security these bring is a false security anyway. We also know that the One who gives them can also take them away, or give doublly what we had if it were lost (Job). Fear is turned on its head, and with it evil. Should we truly trust in God, we have nothing to fear. The loss of fear is truly a sweet thing!

 “Where, O death, is your victory?
   Where, O death, is your sting?”
-1 Cor. 15:55, Hosea 13:14