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All right. Amen. Philippians chapter number one. So last week we started off the book by beginning in Acts chapter 16 and we took a look at the event that basically, one of the events that basically changed the world as we know it. And that was the Macedonian call. If you remember, we went back to Acts 16 and we observed Paul and his crew basically going around preaching the gospel and you saw the Holy Ghost telling him to go here, preventing him from going there and basically forbid them to go into Asia at that time. And Paul perceived obviously with the vision from the Macedonian that that was the direction that they were to head. So they basically left where they were and headed over into Southeastern Europe and to Philippi. And so thus begins the gospel taking place over there in Europe and then eventually obviously spreading abroad very quickly. And we took a look at the resistance that Paul and Silas had met while they were in Philippi. Okay. Remember the woman who was following them and basically saying these men are here to preach the gospel. But Paul obviously knew that she had a devil cast out of her. And of course the people that were profiting from that got mad, got upset and delivered Paul up to the magistrates. Paul went to jail with Silas and he wound up getting the jailer saved and his house. And fast forward, obviously a few years, you read the letter to the Philippians and the first verse in the letter to the Philippians, you see that there's bishops or pastors plural and deacons plural. And so we talked about that. And we also mentioned how this is the most personal letter that Paul writes to any of the churches in the New Testament. And the question has to be asked, well, why is that? And we talked about last week how the Philippians were proactive. They're a proactive group of believers and they look to the needs of Paul without even being asked. They were always sending help, sending resources to further the gospel and of course to take care of Paul. So obviously we can see that they are definitely appreciative of salvation even many years later from their inception, from their beginning. Okay. Now the title of the sermon this evening is going to be called a token of perdition, a token of perdition. And we're going to get into that and that's the last part of chapter one. But what we need to do is we need to look at what leads up to this mention of a token of perdition, which you're going to see is the gospel. And so last week we ended off in verse 10, where Paul says that you may approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. Verse 11, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ until the glory and praise of God. And then we spent some time talking about the importance of proving what is acceptable unto God, what is not acceptable unto God. And of course this morning we went over that in great detail again because it's a big theme in the Bible and it's one of the most important things that we do as Christians. We defend the gospel. And so to answer the question that we're going to bring up this evening, what's another reason why this letter is so personal? What was another thing that really bonded Paul with the Philippians? Okay. Well, let's answer that here. Look at verse number 12. He says, but I would, you should understand brethren that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. Okay. And when you study this out and as we read this evening, the fellowship in the gospel, the good news, okay, that is the main thing that brought Paul and the Philippians and kept their fellowship so tight, kept everything together. I mean, think about our church. Why is it that we all get along on a different level than other churches and their church members? And I'm telling you it's because we all have the common goal to further the gospel, right? We have soul winning times. We have prayer time in which a lot of the prayers on our prayer list are geared towards God opening up the hearts of people and getting them saved. And Paul comes right out the gate here in verse 12 and he brings that up and he wants these guys to understand something. And that is that he doesn't want people to look at him and how he's in bonds, how he's headed to trial and think, man, I don't want that to be me. Okay. That's the last thing that he wants. What he wants is he wants people to understand that these things happen to him for the furtherance of the gospel. Okay. I mean, think about it. I mean, think about, you know, Paul and Silas in jail. Okay. At the beginning of their mission trip in Macedonia and look at it now. Okay. What did Paul and Silas getting locked up eventually produce? It furthered the gospel, it advanced the gospel. And so that is what he is reminding the Philippians of here, which is going to lead us in to this seemingly strange statement at the end of chapter one about perdition and all that. We're going to get into that, but look at verse 13. He says, so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places. So what appears from this verse that Paul is in the palace that he's at Rome, he's finally ready to get his sentencing and, and to be able to petition his case. Okay. And notice here, he's not troubled by this. He's not bogged down. He's not out of his mind. He's basically saying that these things have happened to further the gospel. That is the goal. Paul is basically saying that preaching the gospel is his priority. So verse 14, he says, and many of the brethren in the Lord waxing confident by my bonds are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Okay. Without fear. So what's another blessing. What's another great thing that has come from Paul being locked up. And that is that more people have looked at that and they've used that as motivation. So like, Hey, brother, Paul is in bonds. He's on, um, he's, he's about to head to trial here. And they look at that and they say, look at all the stuff that he's been able to accomplish, even being locked up. And these people are looking at and saying, wow, what a testimony, what a great attitude, what a great way to conduct yourself. And so therefore they're motivated and they're now, well, Hey, if he can do it and rejoice, if he can go through that and be fine, so can we. And that's the idea here. That's the lesson that we all need to take from this is that, Hey, you know, when you hear of our brethren being persecuted and things going on, you should let that overwhelm you with fear and be like, man, I don't want that to happen to me instead. That should motivate you to get in the fight and take some action and do something to further the gospel. That is what is going on here. Look at verse number 15. And then he goes on to say this. Some indeed preach Christ, even of envy and strife and some also of good will. So he brings up this fact that's happening during his time, that there are people out there that are preaching the gospel out of envy and strife just because they want to mock him or because they want to get attention. Okay. I mean, take your pick. I've seen all of these in my days in church. There are people, unfortunately that, and we don't have this problem here, but you know, some churches do where people, their main reason to show up to soul winning is purely vain. I'm not saying that this is a huge mega super problem, but it is a thing. It's a thing that's out there. It's a thing that does occur from time to time and it's wrong. Paul says, despite the fact that it's wrong, it still does something. So look at verse 16. The one preached Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds. And so I'm sure that while Paul's on trial here and he's, you know, sending letters, he's doing the work of the ministry, people are hearing for the first time gospel and they're mocking like we hear today. Okay. They're, Oh, Jesus came to save my sins. You know, you hear this all the time. In fact, if you want an example and you're over 20, you can go out here and look at the chalk on the sidewalk. You know, there, for some reason today, the freaks decided to write down all kinds of Bible references. And there's definitely some of them that, like I said, you probably don't want to see. However, you know, they're, that's kind of like what they're doing. In a metaphorical way, they're preaching Christ of contention, not sincerely. They're just mocking us and they're hoping to add affliction to us. That's what they're doing. And what's funny is that I've been watching people periodically today, just walk down the street. Kids, I watched an old lady walk down earlier and brother Skulk was here before soul winning. And this lady was just dumbfounded. And she's reading this stuff out there. And brother Skulk's like, well, I'm going to go talk to her. And I'm like, okay, cool. I just had to wrap up a couple things in here. And he goes out there and she's just like, who wrote this stuff? You know, she's just like, well, who would do something like this? This is crazy. And I guess he's just like, yeah, you know, and trying to invite her to church and stuff. And I guess she goes to church. She's like, well, what group is this? And Skulk's like, it's the sodomites. She's like, the what? What's a sodomite? It's like, oh, it's the LGBT plus the alphabet people. She's like, oh, why would they do this? Why would they do something like this? I go to church on Maple Grove and I've never seen her experienced anything like this. They're doing this to a church. You know, I come out like five minutes later and we're taken off to soul winning. And she's just staring at the ground with her invite, looking at her invite and then looking at the ground, mouth open, just absolutely flabbergasted at what's going on. But despite all that, think about that. Okay. Christ and his word and the Bible is still getting out there. Okay. It's kind of like the old saying, any attention is good. Attention will take it. Right. We had to adopt that philosophy last year when we landed in the media, you know, and, and, um, somebody who doesn't go to this church that I, I deal with a lot, good person, you know, was like, Hey man, you know, your, your church reviews are pretty bad. He's like, you're at like a 1.5. He's like, you've gone up. He keeps track. He's like, you went from a 1.3 to a 1.5. He's like, how are the doors still open? I don't get that. And I'm like, well, you know, any attention is good attention. You know, it doesn't matter. What we're doing is still getting out there. You know, people that, and there are people out there and they'll see our reviews like, dang, I got a 1.5. And some of them are honest and they'll just come in here and sit through a service just to see what it's all about. And every person who's done that this year has actually thanked me and said, I'm so glad that I came here. Like I, like, I can't switch churches cause I, you know, I got my thing going on, but this is nothing like what I read. This is absolutely different. And, and, and, and I, this, this is, this is great. What you do are great, right? So it still works to our advantage. And that's kind of what Paul's saying here. It's a very similar thing. He's, you know, in bonds, he doesn't quite have the freedom to go do what he wants, but yet he's definitely in a better situation than if you went to an American prison and thus people are hearing the truth and they're just mocking. Okay. And so that's what he's bringing up. And he's saying that, yeah, some people think that they're actually hurting me by doing that by mocking, but look at verse 17, he says, but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. Okay. But his focus is primarily on those that know that he is going to stand his ground and that he is ready to defend the gospel. Look, just like I talked about this morning, there was a lack of people today that have the desire and the courage to defend even the basic gospel. I'm dead serious, man. I'm not making this up. Things are so pathetic today. Okay. That people even in old IFB churches will try to still play both sides of the repent of your sins crowd. You know, they'll be like, well, just because somebody teaches that doesn't mean that they're not saved. It just means they're trying to help God out, you know, on the way to heaven. As long as they just say Jesus, as long as they just say, they believe in him, they're good to go and they're safe. And it's like, no, when someone tells you that they have to earn their way to heaven, no matter how they speak it, no matter how they say it, it's a false gospel. And we're called to defend the gospel at all costs. I don't care if it costs you some church members, I don't care if it costs you some views, whatever it is, we need to defend truth. That is what Paul is saying here. And you know what? Who gets the honor in the end? God does. And also look at Paul. He's earning respect of people and he's actually motivating people because that is his attitude. Look at verse 18. What then, notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached and I therein do rejoice. And he says this, yay and will rejoice. So again, this is going to come up here at the end of the sermon, but this stuff out here that happens every other week. Should we be terrified of that? Should we be like, man, maybe we're doing something wrong. Cause that gets thrown at us all the time. People are like, how come you're the only church on this street that has people angry at them? And I'm like, think about it. There's a good reason for that. There's a good reason for that because we are standing on the truth. We are ready to defend the gospel and all that is included. We are ready to defend the Bible. And we do defend the Bible from Genesis to revelation. That's why God put us here to do exactly that. Okay. And all the mocking, you can add it all up and you know what? Let's just rejoice because it's getting Christ out there even more. It's getting the Bible out there even more. It's doing more good than harm. Let's embrace it like Paul embraced it. Look at verse number 19, for I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ. Don't let anybody say, Oh, see, Paul knew at the end of his life that he was going to get saved because of this. I've heard this. I've heard people twist this and maybe some of you have too. I don't know, but I've heard people try to use this and say, see, even Paul didn't know that he was saved for sure in Philippians chapter one, because he said at the end of his life, and of course they teach the narrative that he got his head chopped off at this trial. We don't know. Okay. We don't know for sure if that's what happened, but they'll say he had to work till the end. And that's when he got his salvation. Is that what he's even talking about though? Think about it. Is that what he's talking about? Is he talking about his eternal life? No, because he got saved many years before this. Okay. And we've gone over that when we went through the book of Acts. Look at verse number 20. He says, according to my earnest expectation and my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness as always. So now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. Okay. Sounds like a complicated statement there, but basically Paul saying, Hey, no matter what happens. Okay. He's in the palace. He already told us that no matter what happens when his trial date is set, when he goes before Nero, he goes before the Caesar and that, that, that sentencing, whatever is going to be whenever decision that the Roman government makes about Paul's life, he's saying he's okay with it. He's going to be saved from trials, from tribulation, either way you slice it. He cannot lose here. Okay. That is what he's trying to communicate. Look at verse 21. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. That's what he's talking about. So he's in bonds and he's saying he's about to be saved from those bonds by either being let go free in this or he's going to get killed and go to be with Christ, which he's going to let you know is far better. Okay. So again, you need to know this so that someone doesn't come at you with verse 19 and just try to get you all jumbled up and mixed up. And obviously, you know, you go to this church for any length of time. That's not going to happen, but nonetheless, I want you to understand the chapter, what it means, what is going on here. Okay. See verse 22 says this, but if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor. Yet what I shall choose, I want not. So he's saying, you know, I can't really tell, I can't perceive which, which one I want, right? He's got a decision here, but he's like, I don't even have to be worried about making it because no matter what happens to me, I'm saved. I'm good to go. Whether I stay here in the flesh, you know, I'm probably going to suffer more persecution because that's the pattern of Paul's life. Starts churches, gets people saved, persecution comes, starts, you know, gets people saved, starts church, you know, the cycle that Paul and the apostles did was, was common. And he's just like, you know, if I stay here in the flesh, this is what's going to happen. But yet if I leave, then I'll be with Christ, which is far better. And he's like, I just don't know which way to choose. Verse 23, for I am in a straight betwixt two. What does that mean? I am in a straight betwixt two. He's like, I'm in a tight spot here. He's like, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. And I don't know really which way to go here. He says, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. Okay. Know this, understand this, because the way things are going in the world, this will wind up being our motivation and our verse in the future. Okay. Tribulation is coming to this world. And unfortunately for the pre-tribbers, pre-trib is false doctrine. Okay. We will go through tribulation and what's going to separate the mature from the immature during those times are people that can look at this and really focus and just understand in their hearts, what the apostles went through and what they wrote for us and how they warned us and look at that and absorb that and say, it's all good. They can't do anything to you. There is nothing that this world can do to you that is going to last forever because you're saved. You are indwelt by the holy ghost. You are the children of God. You cannot lose in this life being a believer, doing the will of God. So he says, for I am in a straight betwixt two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. That is far better than being here. Verse 24, nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. Okay. And next week, we're going to talk about the mind of Christ as well as the deity of Christ in chapter two. In fact, next week, one of the most important doctrines in the entire new Testament, we're going to be going over, but this look at this mindset here. He says, nevertheless, okay. He's like, I'd rather just be with Christ, which is far better, but nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. Why? Because Paul is an apostle. He is a worker. He is a great helper, a great man of God. And what he does is he puts other people above himself and that is needful. We need people like that. We need people to have the mind of Christ today, because like I talked about this morning, the conversation generally in Christendom and definitely in the world today is vanity, which leads to flattery, which leads to being filled with a double heart, being deceived. Look at verse 25. He says, and having this confidence, you see what that word there? Confidence. He says, and having this confidence, what gave him his confidence? Well, the fact that he knew he couldn't lose, no matter what life throughout him, if he gets killed, he's going to go be with Christ far better. That brings him comfort. That brings him confidence. Then he says, hey, but if I get to live, guess what? That also is a blessing because that is needful for you. He gets to continue to serve. You know the old saying, it's better to give than to receive? Paul understood that, okay. And so he says here in verse 25, and having this confidence, that is what the mind of Christ will give you. Real, true, honest confidence. So he says, having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith. So he knows either way, even if he's taken out, he knows that the things that he's writing down here are scripture. You say, well, how'd you get that? Read it again slowly. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you. Who is the you there? That's the believers at Philippi. Okay. And it's obviously us today. We are benefiting from Paul is with us today because God allowed these words to be preserved for us. So he says, continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith. Okay. That is the hallmark. And that ought to be the center of every real new Testament church, joy of the faith. How do you get that? If you're not out there knocking doors, preaching the gospel, it won't happen. Verse 26. He says that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. So it sounds like Paul's also pretty confident that he's going to get to see these folks again one day. And then he says this, he says, only let your conversation be as it become the gospel of Christ that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. You know what that verse says? That verse there packs the twofold mission of the church that I bring up every week to edify the brethren and evangelize the lost. That is why we exist. Everything that we do needs to point to one of those two categories. And guess what? We better make sure that we have both of those categories. Churches that say, well, we'll just kind of let people do their own way of evangelizing, maybe go to the park after the evening service and hand out lollipops and show the love of Christ. That whole thing, that doesn't work. That's taking you out of the mission of God. You may think that you can park yourself over here in kind, la la love land and just only edify people. Or on a more rare occasion, you may think that you can be part of this group over here that all they do is just pass things out. And I had somebody tell me this, I think it was Friday, I do more soul winning than you. I pass out tracks every single day. That's not soul winning. People don't get saved by reading Chick tracts. Sorry to tell you that. And you're not doing more soul winning than me. I can guarantee you that. Okay. We need balance is what I'm trying to say. And what the devil does is he takes those two things, takes the edification of the brethren and the evangelizing and wants to get us pinned, you know, one side or the other. Where we need to be single minded and make sure that we do both, have both of those. So again, everything that we do, we need to be in one spirit, one mind, making sure that both of those are in place in this church forever. That's what he wants for the Philippians. Okay. So all of that, okay, everything that we just had gone over from verse 12 to verse 27 answers the question, why is this such a personal letter between Paul and the Philippians? What was so special about the relationship? Why did they have a proactive heart? Why did they have such power and the desire to want to help further the gospel is because that's what they were about. They were about preaching the gospel. They were about defending the gospel. So they had the same heart that Paul had. And so therefore you can see that this, this church, these, these Philippians had a very special place in Paul's heart. And that's not to say that the other ones didn't because he cared about all of them, but they definitely lived it at this time. They were all about the gospel here. Okay. Now what that's going to do is bring us to the sermon title, which is a token of perdition, a token of perdition. Let's take a look at this here. Look at verse 28. So after talking about the gospel, look what he says here in verse 28. He says, and in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation and that of God. So what is he saying here? Okay. He's saying, guys, I want you to understand something. Okay. Yes. I want you to be in one spirit, one mind, advance the gospel, defend the gospel. But here's the thing. Look what he says. And in nothing terrified by your adversaries, meaning they had adversaries already. Now, why do you think it is that they had these adversaries? Because they were set for the defense and preaching of the gospel and the devil hates it. That's why. Okay. But he says, don't ever be terrified by these people. Do not let them frighten you. Don't let them terrify you. But look what he says. Verse 28 and in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition. Wow. That's powerful. What's a token? What does he mean that? An evident token. He's saying just the mere fact that you have all of these adversaries, all of these people that are against you, that is a token. So a token is a, I guess we could say it's a visible or a tangible representation of a fact or a state of being. In other words, it's just a proof. Like we were talking about the rainbow or we were talking about the rainbow a couple Sundays ago, right? This is remember the flood month at Shield of Faith Baptist Church this year. Okay. Remember the flood. Remember what brought the flood into the world and remember the rainbow, the purpose of the rainbow. What does the Bible say in Genesis nine? That it's a token, right? You look at that rainbow in the sky after it's raining. Okay. That is a token. That's what the Bible says. A token, a piece of evidence of the covenant between God and every living, breathing creature, not just a group of freaks. Okay. That's what it's saying. And so what Paul is telling the Philippians, hey, the fact that you have these adversaries and these people that are coming at you from every angle, that is evidence that you guys are on the right track, not the other way around. You see the world's got it back mixed up. They're like, oh, the reason why this is happening to you is because you've been mean to people and you're not very kind and you didn't go to Bible college and you don't know how to demonstrate the love of Christ. And therefore, you know, that's why they're after you. You know what I typically say? Hey, whose side are you on? Nevermind don't answer that because I already know. I already understand whose side you're on. I'll stick with the word of God and I'll take that crap out there as an evident token of their perdition. What does that mean? We'll think about this. Not mentioned, I think, I don't know, maybe four or five times in the Bible. I don't have the numbers in front of me. Judas Iscariot, described as the son of perdition. In fact, turn to Hebrews chapter number 10. Let's go over there. Hebrews chapter number 10 real quick. We'll take a look at something here. Okay. So you've got Judas Iscariot described as the son of perdition. You have in the Bible, the anti-Christ described as the man of perdition. Okay. Perdition is what then? Perdition is hell. It's eternal judgment. That is what it is. Here's a perfect example. Here's a great definition. Hebrews 10 39. Look at what this says. It says, but we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Great verse, by the way. How does your soul get saved? How do you get saved? By believing. So we at this church, right? Any church that has the right gospel, we have believed unto salvation. We have believed the gospel and the salvation, but the writer here, who I believe is Paul, is saying there's another group of people and look at what it says. Look at the beginning of the verse, but we are not of them who draw back unto perdition. You see that? So who is it that ultimately is responsible for becoming a reprobate? Well, if you ask the Calvinists, they would say, well, God makes people, you know, this way or that way. No, them unto. Look at the language, but we are not of them who draw back unto perdition. Okay. That there is a quick summary of Romans chapter one for they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. So God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things. We talk about it all the time. See, once you start to understand the reprobate doctrine, you can see it all throughout the New Testament, all throughout the Bible, in fact, and that is what Paul is saying. Paul is saying, so go back to Philippians here. He's saying the fact that these people are adversaries of yours. Okay. He's saying, guess what? This is proof, not only that you're doing the right thing, but that is proof that they are the children of perdition. In fact, let's take a look at another passage. Go to second Thessalonians chapter number one, second Thessalonians chapter number one. So not too far from where you're at. You go forward in your Bible, second Thessalonians chapter number one, and let's take a look at something here. So look at verse one. Okay. Second Thessalonians chapter one says this, Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus unto the church of the Thessalonians, no Thessalonians, sorry, and God, our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So now he's addressing the church that's really not too far from Philippi in Macedonia on the Aegean Sea there. He says in verse two, grace unto you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse three, we are bound to thank God always for you brethren as it is meet because that, look at this, your faith groweth exceedingly. Now, why is that? I'll tell you why. Because edification through the word of God is taking place and preaching the gospel is taking place. He says and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth. You see that? Like I'm telling you, these two things, edification of the brethren and evangelizing are on every page of the New Testament. Look at verse four. So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure. Notice that, right? What is he saying? Hey, I understand and I see Thessalonians that you guys are preaching the gospel and because of that, you're going through trials and tribulations. You have adversaries, you have people attacking you. Look at verse five. Look what he says, which is a what? Manifest, what's that word? Token. A manifest token, a symbol, a promise, a guarantee, a sign, a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which ye also suffer. So when you pull in the parking lot and you're gonna get the middle fingers out and they're doing the flag dance and all the stuff and the reprobats out there flapping his fake wings, smile, rejoice, and give them a couple of, no, I'm just kidding. Verse six. Okay, he says, seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you. I wish more Christians would just read the Bible. I wish more people would look at this verse here. You know what this says? This demonstrates to you and I, the heart of God, that it's not all cake and biscuits and twinkies out there, okay? Because that's what we're trying to be led to believe. Well, he loves them. You know, one of the things that somebody wrote on the sidewalk out there last Wednesday was, the world would be incomplete without you. That doesn't jive with the Bible. Look, again, I ain't trying to be rude. What does it say? Seeing it as a what? Righteous thing with God to recompense, meaning to pay back, to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you. You know that God is looking forward to the day that these freaks out here get punished and the freaks that trouble all of our brethren in the world today. Verse seven. And to you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. Verse eight. In flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God. You see that? God's going to take vengeance on them who know the truth. These people out here, man, they know the truth. They write it down in chunk. They know Bible references. They know what we believe, but they reject it and they hate it and they mock it. They despise it. They have drawn back unto perdition and that is a manifest token of that. Verse eight. In flaming fire. This is what God is going to do to these people. In flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse nine. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction. Now, where does this everlasting destruction come from? Look at the next word. From the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. So whether their destruction happens at this lifetime or not, it's coming and it will happen and we can rest on that promise like we learned about this morning. Now go back to Philippians chapter one and let's get this finished up here. Verse 28. And in nothing being terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition. All of this fits into Romans chapter one. People hear the truth. They reject the truth. They push it away. They push it away. Push it away. God gives them over to a reprobate mind. They have drawn back unto perdition, meaning hell, meaning everlasting destruction. So think about that. There are people alive on this earth right now that are literally the kingdom of hell. They are eternal judgment. They are eternal punishment. They are perdition. That is what this is saying. So he says an evident token of perdition. You say show me some proof of the reprobate doctrine right out here. Come, you know, set up an appointment. I will show it to you. You know, go to Steadfast Baptist Church. You will see it. Okay. Go to any of our churches and you're going to see it. Go to any church that's preaching the gospel and defending the gospel. You will see it at some point. God is saying, hey, these adversaries are proof of their perdition, but it's also proof that you're on the right track. You're doing something right because of this. Look at verse 29. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. Hey, that's what the Christian life, that's what defending the gospel is about. There is suffering. There is persecution. There are seemingly bad things that can come from that, but they're not really bad. They're good. They're all for the furtherance of the gospel like Paul had already explained to us. Last but not least, look at verse 30. He says, having the same conflict which he saw in me and now here to be in me. And so we're going to stop it right there for this evening and we're going to pick it up in chapter number two next week. Definitely not going to want to miss that. A lot of important Bible doctrine coming out next week. But again, learn the reprobate doctrine. I mean, Romans 1 is so important to understand, especially in our day and age, because it really unlocks so much of what is in the Bible. John chapter 12. I mean, several passages right here. Thessalonians, you know, because people say, oh, you're misrepresenting the Bible. That's not what it means. It is what it means. What do you think this means then? Kind of funny how most people dance around these verses or just go back to the original languages. Okay, we're giving it to you straight as it is written right here at this church through the Bible. Hopefully it's a blessing to you. Hopefully you understand it. If not, send me your questions. Let me know what's going on and let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord, for the truths that you keep, that you preserved unto all generations. And just pray, Lord, that you would help us and send us people that are confused about these things, that we may be a blessing to them and help them out. I pray you bless the fellowship after the service and the soul winning to go on this week. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.