The Defense and Confirmation of the Gospel
Sermon Series: Philippians
Message By Eddie DSouza on February 22, 2026
Passage: Phil 1:7
I believe that God is meticulously sovereign over the whole universe. There is not a single particle, person, institution, or galaxy that is beyond God’s power and purpose, his providence. We gather in Jesus’s name to worship God through prayer and music and to hear God’s word through the reading and preaching of Scripture. God shows up each week and faithfully sustains us with his word.
Confession
This morning, I intended to preach a sermon on the defense and confirmation of the gospel from Philippians 1:7. In my mind, I understood this to be Paul’s ministry—I even said so in my sermon last week. In fact, I understood this phrase to mean (a) defend the gospel against false teaching and (b) confirm that Jesus is the Lord, as revealed in the Scriptures and evidenced in the transformed lives of people. Is that not what Paul did?
Yes, in fact, Spurgeon preached that way in his July 13, 1890, sermon titled The Pastor’s Joy and Confidence, saying, “Besides, they were partners with Paul in the defence of the gospel. If any Galatian teachers came their way, they gave them the cold shoulder; for they would not give up the grand old gospel to please the wise men of the period. In this way, my brethren, have you also stood by your own minister in those protests against error which have cost him so dear. Your faithfulness gives me great confidence concerning you. The people who can bear the attacks made upon you, and the baits held out to you, can be relied upon under God. You are not ashamed of my bonds, for you are heartily with me in the defence of the gospel in this day of falsehood. They were also with the apostle as to the confirmation of the gospel. Their lives proved the truth of the Word of grace. When Paul was preaching, if he wanted to show that the gospel is the power of God, he pointed to what had been accomplished in Philippi, and none could gainsay the argument. A living argument is invincible. Reasoning is very well, but fact is overwhelming. Oh, that every Christian would so live as to prove the power of the gospel!”[1]
When I came into the study to prepare this sermon, I learned that my understanding of the text was incorrect. The slight joy at knowing that I am in the company of preachers like Spurgeon keeps me from being utterly embarrassed by my error.
Clarification
You may be saying at this point, “Eddie, that is secondary. What then does defense and confirmation of the gospel mean?” Thank you for asking. Here is what it means: The defense and confirmation of the gospel refer to Paul’s legal battle before his imprisonment, in which he was tried before various officials. The Philippians made it possible for Paul to manage his time in judicial custody financially and practically.
Confidence
First, and before I get to the sermon, I must speak in defense of Spurgeon. Spurgeon is rightly called the prince of preachers. He preached the text the way any good preacher would preach the text, unless some new information surfaces. You see, we understand that the word “defense” (ἀπολογία) is mostly a legal term in the Bible. But Peter also uses it in a daily fashion when he says be prepared to give a defense of your hope when anyone asks you. Moreover, the word “confirmation” (βεβαίωσις) appears only twice in the Bible. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the discovery of massive amounts of papyrus shed light on its meaning. βεβαίωσις is a legal confirmation that the defense is true and acceptable. In the 1930s, a technical dictionary brought this discovery and meaning to light. A few decades in, commentators have switched their explanation from the way preachers like Spurgeon would preach this text, that is, Paul’s preaching ministry, to understanding this as a legal defense process. In fact, the fourth-century Archbishop of Constantinople, John Chrysostom, taught that this phrase refers to the legal defense process. I do not know when this understanding changed to mean the preaching ministry, but it did for many years. And I preached that way last week, and I intended to elaborate further this week. For that, I apologize. But more so, I am grateful that I get to preach again this morning. What a gift of God it is for me. He has allowed me to step back in the pulpit and correct my error.
But how big an error would it be for a preacher to misunderstand the meaning of this text and preach it as the purpose of the preaching ministry? You can see from Spurgeon’s sermon that he has said nothing that can be called unbiblical in his dealing with this text. The only issue is that it was not apt for this particular sermon. But it was still sound teaching. I say that not merely in defense of Spurgeon but so that you would learn from this that scrupulosity is not the same as discernment.
To discern is to recognize truth from error; sound doctrine from false teaching. Scrupulosity doubts or hesitates and makes a moral issue of an action or detail. The concern about wrongdoing is so high that the person cannot trust anything because a detail is missed, a detail that is not erroneous nor false teaching, but a mistake.
That was an extremely long introduction. So, what must a preacher do when he has sent the title of his sermon and the text to the worship leader to prepare a service, and goes into the study to discover that he was wrong? With what shall he feed the flock? There is only one food for the flock—God’s word. It must be preached rightly. This morning, I am to teach the following: Because the gospel creates a distinct, gospel culture that confronts every rival loyalty, the church must courageously stand with those who proclaim it—even when such faithfulness invites opposition from both society and the state.
Opposition to the Ethical Demands of the Gospel
Paul faces trial and needs to defend himself, or in his words, defend and confirm the gospel. Paul does not see himself on trial but the gospel. He says in Phil 1:13 that his imprisonment is for Christ. While debates exist concerning which of Paul’s imprisonments is the occasion and context of this letter, the reason for his imprisonment is the gospel. What does Paul mean when he says that the gospel is on trial? No. It is not the gospel that is in and of itself repugnant to those who persecute the messenger of the gospel. It is the demand of the gospel, the message of the gospel, the response demanded by the gospel that is repugnant to those who oppose it.
What I mean is that the statement, “Jesus is Lord,” may annoy a person, but in and of itself does not bother anyone. It is a fact. It is true. Even the devil knows that. But it is the implication or the demand of that statement that horrifies people. Jesus is Lord, so worship him alone… That is a lofty ask from people. It is the ethics of the gospel that the unregenerate hate. Since he is hostile to God, the demands of the gospel are repulsive to him.
The Philippians partnered with Paul not only when he faced opposition from the religious enemies of the gospel but also from the government of their day. It is one thing to be persecuted by the masses; it is another thing to be tried by the government. Paul was imprisoned for preaching the gospel. He was opposed because he proclaimed that the crucified Jesus is the risen Lord of all. He was opposed because he claimed that the gospel did not require Gentiles to be circumcised. He was opposed because he did not require Gentiles to abstain from eating bacon. Whether Jewish or Gentile, the opponents of the gospel despised the gospel culture that the gospel demanded.
The Gospel Challenges Cultures
What is a culture? “Culture refers to a system of beliefs, values, and behaviors characterizing a people group.”[2] Now, a worldview is more foundational. It affects one’s culture. One ethicist says it this way: “Without a worldview there is no ethics, and without ethics there is no culture.”[3] How a person understands reality determines how they make moral decisions. How one makes moral decisions determines how one behaves. Reality: Jesus is Lord. Ethics: I must worship Jesus alone. Behavior: I must walk as Jesus did.
Here’s what you need to understand. A culture exists everywhere. The gospel never goes to a place where there isn’t a culture. It is an impossible scenario. And very importantly: there is no neutral culture. Culture is either moral or immoral. It is either gospel-shaped or not. It is either cross-cultured or not.
The question before us is: what is the relationship between the church and culture? Some have held the view that it is best to avoid culture. Let us be here, and the world be there; complete isolation. The Amish people are an example. A second view believes that culture is neutralish. We do not need to engage with or challenge the culture; we need to accommodate it. Here, the culture shapes the church. Another view is that the church must subdue the culture by power. The medieval Roman Catholic church believed and practiced this. Another, more common view is that there isn’t such a thing as one eternal, moral law that pleases God. The law of God is for the church. The culture has its own laws. The members of the church simply move between these two spheres, as if there were an invisible, permeable membrane between them. There is a fifth view. Jesus expects us to transform the culture, not by force, but by word and deed. He calls us to shine as a light in the world (Phil 2:16) and to engage the culture until he comes and fixes the brokenness of the world.
Where does Cross Cultured Church stand in relation to these views? Our name suggests that we understand that there is a gospel culture. It does not tell us what our relation with the culture around us is. But we can see it in our behavior. Some of us act as if we have the second view. We live in a world. We cannot change it. Let us accept it. We send our kids to the temples of the culture, and when they return as priests of Baal, we are astonished. Others act as if the fourth view is true. Regarding our choice of entertainment, vocation, workplace, and favorite businesses, we think it has no effect on us. But what can genuinely be said is that we have no gospel-transforming effect on them. Still others are like the Amish. We have pulled away from the culture so that we and ours are not affected by it. Thankfully, we are a minority in our culture; we do not have those among us who think that it is feasible to forcefully subdue the culture. Friends, Jesus calls us to engage the culture; not to retreat, nor to hide, nor to submit, nor to accommodate. We engage by transformation.
The Cost of Gospel Culture Formation
When we work to transform the culture, it comes with a cost. One of the accusations against Paul is that he was a rioter (Acts 24:5). In fact, Paul never started a riot. The people who opposed him started the riot. They justified their actions and labelled him the rioter because his actions offended them. Even today in our country, many gospel workers are arrested and prosecuted as rioters. Those who oppose the gospel often recast faithful witness as social disturbance. This is not new. It is as old as Acts. We need not be surprised by their actions. Jesus told us this would be the case.
A question I put before you this morning, Cross Cultured Church, is: “Will you desert gospel workers if the civil magistrates oppose them?” Or would you be like the Philippians, partakers of the grace in whatever situations God is pleased to put gospel workers in for his kingdom?
The magistrate is not sovereign. Christ is. The courtroom is not ultimate. The throne of heaven is. And the church must decide now, before the pressure comes, whether we will stand with those who suffer for the name.
Heimbach, Daniel R. Fundamental Christian Ethics. B & H Academic, 2022.
Spurgeon, C. H. The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons. Vol. 36. Passmore & Alabaster, 1890.
[1] “The Pastor’s Joy and Confidence” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons (Passmore & Alabaster, 1890), 36:392.
[2] Daniel R. Heimbach, Fundamental Christian Ethics (B & H Academic, 2022), 490.
[3] Heimbach, Fundamental Christian Ethics, 490.