Philippians 1:6 - Homilies By T. Croskery

The grounds of the apostle's thanksgiving.

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which began a good work in you will perfect it till the day of Christ."

I. THE SUBJECT OF HIS CONFIDENCE . "A good work," regarded:

1 . In itself. It is the work of grace or salvation in the human soul.

2 . In its development. It has a beginning and an ending. It is God, not man, who begins it; and he who begins it ends it. It is thus a good work,

II. THE GROUNDS OF HIS CONFIDENCE . Not in the power of priesthood or sacrament, but in the character and resources of the Worker. He who begins will end it, for he has fixed a day for its completeness—"the very day of Christ." Not the day of death, but the day of Christ, because man does not exist in his completely glorified condition till he stands in the redemption of both body and soul. The grounds of a believer's perseverance are not, therefore, to be found in his own watchfulness or his own strength, but

III. HOW THIS CONFIDENCE OPERATED IN THE APOSTLE . It did not prevent him from praying for his converts or exhorting them to the use of means for their continuance in grace. It suggests