God’s Word for You

Philippians 1:17 a spoon on a sauce pan

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Saturday, February 21, 2026

17 Others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.

Paul’s case was dragging on in Rome, and the Holy Spirit was making use of the delay. This seems to be the situation: When Paul arrived in Rome in 59, nobody in Rome knew who he was. Nobody even noticed the arrival of just another prisoner. But then this Christian teaching of his began to pop up in conversation. For two years, his name went from “who’s that?” to “everyone’s heard of him.” The Roman soldiers, politicians, philosophers, comedians, shopkeepers, hairdressers—everybody seemed to know Paul’s name and his message. Even the city’s graffiti took notice.

There were bound to be people in Rome who weren’t happy about Paul’s reputation. How could a man in prison become so famous? They couldn’t stand it. Now, it wasn’t as if his face was on posters and his words were on the radio every night. But people knew about Paul. And there were ambitious, selfish and envious men who wanted that kind of fame for themselves. Professor Lenski rightly says, “Many of this type have appeared in the church, who are envious because God has given greater gifts and more influential positions to other men. They feel thrust into the background, their authority and their following have been reduced, hence they carp, find fault, raise strife.”

After two years of this (Acts 28:30), they were beginning to cause trouble for Paul. They were preaching Christ, too. How was their message different from his? In the context of this letter, we can’t say for certain, and it doesn’t really matter. There may have been, certainly were, some doctrinal differences, some different applications of the things Jesus said and did. But the main point for Paul was that Christ was being preached.

Luther says: “Paul wishes the truth to be spoken everywhere at every time and in every way. He can therefore rejoice even when Christ is preached in pretense and from envy, and he declares plainly and in so many words that he rejoices in whatever way Christ is preached. Paul is speaking factually and about the use made of the doctrine, that is, about those who boasted of Christian freedom but were seeking their own ends and took no account of the hurt and offense given to the weak. Truth and doctrine must be preached always, openly, and constantly, and never accommodated or concealed; for there is no scandal in it, for it is the scepter of righteousness (Psalm 45:6-7)” (LW 33:55).

The envious preachers wanted in some sense to pick a fight with Paul, to draw him into their circle, to debate with him by messenger, by letter, or in person. But Paul ended the debate before it began by not debating. “What does it matter?” he will say in verse 18.

The minister of the Gospel has a duty to proclaim the Gospel and to defend it against false teaching. But he doesn’t step into another man’s church and debate about it there. He calls his own people’s attention to error, and he will answer error if it is aimed at him. But that must not have been what was happening in this case. They were preaching out of the wrong motive, but they were preaching.

The motive that was behind their words was to cause or stir up trouble for Paul while he was in chains. What did Jesus say about people like that, people who hurt us? “I tell you, do not resist an evil person. Even if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other one to him, too. And if anyone wants to sue you and take away your shirt, give him your coat, too. And if anyone forces you to walk a mile, go with him for two” (Matthew 5:39-41). It’s a strange scene our Savior shows: A robber comes with a weapon and threatens you. “Your money,” he says. What does he see in you? Jesus says, show pity in your eyes, mercy, and understanding. “You must need this badly,” he invites you to say, “Here, take it.” You give him what the heavenly Father gave you, and hand over your money. But then you say, not with false intentions, but sincere, “Do you need my sweater, too?” and you pull your sweater over your head. “Jesus tells us to give when someone threatens us or makes demands. Do you know what else Jesus tells us? He forgives. If you want, I will forgive you, and God will forgive you, too. And he will keep on forgiving, if you will turn to him in faith and trust him. Can I tell you about Jesus?” Maybe by that time the robber will have run away, or thrown your sweater into the gutter, or he might even have hit you. But don’t lash out in anger or in fury. Jesus said many times, “Don’t be afraid.” And what might an enemy think of you, and of God, if you (God’s ambassador in that moment) look him in the eye with genuine compassion and say, “I’m so sorry that you’re going through what you’re going through. I can’t imagine the pain, the struggle, the fear, the desperation. Let me help.” Maybe he won’t take your help. Maybe he will.

When a sauce pan is about to boil over, the quickest ways to quiet things down are to lay a wooden spoon across the top or just to take it away from the heat. So it is with human conflict. Fear and panic don’t usually help. They make some people angrier, and cause them to panic. You don’t want a frightened person with a weapon to panic. But if you can turn down the heat with your voice, the slowness of your words, or even your eyes, or if you can touch the moment in an unusual way with an offer for help like a spoon on a sauce pan, you might just save that robber’s life, and your own. Or maybe the robber is a false teacher, like the ones trying to hurt Paul. Don’t forget that the Gospel is powerful, and the word of God can work on a false teacher’s heart, too.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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