0245. SAINTS IN CAESAR’S HOUSEHOLD.

SAINTS IN CAESAR’S HOUSEHOLD.

Php_4:22.

Introduction.

1. Paul is sending a letter to the Church at Philippi.

2. He sits in all the rude discomforts of an Eastern prison, writing amidst much difficulty, secured by a coupling chain to a soldier.

3. Here are his closing words.

I. Their Name. The New Testament has several names for believers, each of which expresses some great truth.

1. Believers (Act_5:14; 1Ti_4:12). The central bond which bound them. Bond of faith.

2. Brethren (Mat_12:48; Mat_23:8; Mat_28:10).

a. This is a name by which they were known.

b. It spoke of their common relation to a Father.

c. And pledged them to the sweetness and blessedness of a family.

3. Christians (Act_11:26). The sarcastic wits of Antioch called them Christians. Name suggesting not only adherents of some founder of a school or party, but followers of Christ.

4. Disciples (Mat_27:57).

a. Their humble attitude of learning.

b. Their Lord’s authority acknowledged.

5. Saint (1Co_1:2).

a. A prophecy of personal character.

b. What God expects us to be.

II. Their Abode.

1. Who was this Caesar? Nero, a monster of iniquity, a man who has been described as "half beast and half devil." He was a clown, a sensualist, and a murderer.

2. His presence had poisoned the very atmosphere of the Imperial Palace, making it a sty of filth.

3. And yet there were shining saints living there day by day.

III. Their Danger.

1. Moral.

a. A strange place to find saints.

b. Let no man say it is impossible to live a pure life in any circumstance.

2. Spiritual. It was a materialistic atmosphere.

3. Physical.

a. Life was cheap.

b. On the least pretext people were executed.

IV. Our Danger.

1. Our Nero has changed.

2. It is not a persecuting world that is now our greatest foe, but a tempting world.

3. To stand against the sword of the world is difficult. To stand against its sneers is more so. But to stand against its allurements is more difficult still.

Autor: James Smith