In Philippians 1.27, the Apostle Paul tells Christians to live lives that are, quote, worthy of the gospel.

Is he referring to something that we must do or achieve to be saved? And if so, how does that

fit with Paul's emphasis on justification by faith alone? My guest today is Sinclair Ferguson, and in our interview he walks through why living lives

worthy of the gospel is a biblical exhortation that all Christians must take seriously,

and one that doesn't inevitably lead to the sin of legalism.

Sinclair serves as Chancellor's Professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological

Seminary and is the former senior minister of First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina.

He's also the author of many different books, including Worthy, Living in Light of the Gospel

from Crossway. Let's get started. Well, Sinclair, thank you so much for

joining me again on the Crossway podcast. Thank you, Matt. It's nice to see you in person this time.

Face to face. Face to face. Not cross the Atlantic. That's right. So in the first half of

Philippians 127, a pretty famous verse that many of us know well,

maybe memorized as children, the Apostle Paul offers what has to be one of the most clear, direct,

all-encompassing exhortations in all of the New Testament.

I wonder if you could read that verse for us, and then we're going to sort of unpack it

together a little bit.

So this is Philippians 1-27.

Correct.

And I'm reading from the English Standard Version.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or I'm absent,

I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind, striving side by side

for the faith of the gospel. So for the purposes of our conversation today, I want to focus on that first clause.

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