Gospel Gold Medalists (Pt. 2) - Sharing in Christ’s Triumph without Excuses

Philippians 1:27-30

27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

Imagine you are Sha’Carri Richardson (the Team USA sprinter who became the 100-meter world record holder in this year’s Olympic trials) preparing for the Olympics. It’s 6 am, and your alarm clock goes off. It’s time to train. What do you do?

Hit snooze because you’re pretty tired?

Put off practice because your calves are a little sore from yesterday’s workout?

Decide it’s too hot to run?

Let those words you overheard someone say about you keep you in bed?

Now, I don’t know Richardson personally, so I can’t answer for her; however, since she is the fastest woman on earth, I doubt she lets anything stop her from training to keep that title.

That’s how it is with the really amazing athletes, isn’t it? I’m not talking about decisions that put your health at risk, like pushing through an injury that results in a more serious injury.

I’m talking about the hundreds of times every day any normal athlete could find an excuse not to try, not to work. I mean, if I wake up with a stuffy nose, that’s reason enough to skip my jog for the day.

But not Olympians. They don’t give in to excuses, and they are great because of it.

In my last blog, I talked about looking like you are on Christ’s team and what that means, especially in light of the verses from Philippians above. In this blog, let’s look at some of the excuses we Christians often give that prevent us from meeting our team goals - to love God, love others, and make disciples. We will cover a couple more in the next blog.

Paul, in Philippians 1:27-30, cautions believers about making our faith dependent on circumstances, others, our opponents, our own power, or our comfort if we want to live “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” I know I want that!

I also know I often fall well short of that goal, and these excuses are usually where I go wrong.

Excuse #1 - Dependence on Circumstances

What if an athlete has a bad week? If their team is missing a player? If they arrive at the game late? If they get a flat tire on the way to practice?

They still have to play. They still finish the game. They still cheer on their team.

For Christians, it’s the same. We all face difficult circumstances, and I don’t want to minimize how hard those can be.

Even so, Paul tells us in verse 27, “Whatever happens” you still “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

Of course, he’s writing this from prison, so he has some street cred.

Do you see what this means?

Even if you lose a job, you are still called to live “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” No excuses!

If things aren’t going right for you at home, guess what? You are still called to live “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

I’m not saying it’s easy, because it isn’t. What’s easy is to crawl back in bed or to be a grumpus to our family when things don’t go our way.

But, if we are on Christ’s team, we don’t have that option. Not really.

Excuse #2 - Dependence on Other People

My husband once coached JV boys basketball. One year, he had a junior on JV, and I also had this player in my English class. Let’s call him “Mike.” A little into basketball season, “Mike” came storming into class, clearly angry. He then shouted at me that MY husband was keeping him from the NBA and KILLING his dreams!

Man, was he mad. He was mad because, in his mind, my husband (who didn’t choose the teams, by the way) had him on JV instead of varsity when he was clearly NBA material (spoiler, he was not, not by a long shot).

Instead of seeing what he needed to improve upon to meet his goals and improve, he blamed someone else.

In verse 27, Paul tells the church in Philippi, “Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit.”

He tells them not to use him as an excuse. Yes, he’d love to come see them, but, hey, he’s in prison. Luckily for them, it’s not about whether he is with them or not. His presence doesn’t affect what they are called to do (hint: “conducting themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ”).

So it is with us. We can blame being mistreated, but in reality, even when we are mistreated, we must still live “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” We can blame the pastor or message for not being powerful enough, but ultimately, we are still called to live “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” We can say it’s a husband or kids who don’t allow us the time we need or a boss who makes life miserable, but ultimately, if you are on Christ’s team, you still must “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

No excuses.

Excuse #3 - Dependence on Your Opponent

I love the story of the movie Miracle - based on the USA Hockey team’s defeat of Russia in 1980.

In fact, there aren’t many underdog stories I don’t love. There is just something about the little guy defying the odds and winning. The Bible is full of these underdog stories - David and Goliath, Gideon, Moses and Pharaoh, Daniel, and more.

Through these stories, we learn it really doesn’t matter how big our opponent is. God is bigger. It doesn’t matter how strong they are. God is stronger. It doesn’t matter how wise they are. God is wiser.

It doesn’t matter the size of the army or the collective destructive force of their weapons. God is always able to overcome. Always.

So, then, why do we make excuses?

Paul says in verse 28 that the church in Philippi is to stand firm in the gospel “without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.”

They were facing political and cultural persecution. Maybe we face something like that, too. Maybe our opponents are political machines. Maybe they are spiritual opponents (See Philippians 6:12 on this). Maybe it’s just plain old fear - fear of failure, a task too big, or of change.

These are often the opponents we fold under. But you know what?

Even when we face the possibility of failure, we still must live “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

Even when the political landscape is a hot mess (Hello 2024, we see you!), we still must live “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” (Now is a great time to check and make sure your social media posts show Christ, too. No, really. Check that.)

Paul doesn’t give us a pass just because our enemy is “giant.” We still get in the game. No excuses.

In my next blog, we’ll discuss the last two excuses. For now, think through how these apply in your life and start working on them.

Just like athletes, we will mess up. We will have turnovers or we won’t stick the landing. That’s okay! That’s what mercy and forgiveness are for!

What matters is we keep that uniform on and get back out on the floor.

No excuses.