Note 9 at Phil. 1:20: Paul didn't just hope that he would glorify the Lord with his actions. He had an earnest expectation and hope. The difference between excellence and mediocrity is often not what is believed, but the degree to which something is believed. Paul was fully persuaded (see note 13 at Rom. 4:21, p. 768).

Note 10 at Phil. 1:20: This wasn't the first time Paul had been bold. He was expressing his earnest expectation and hope that he would be bold in the face of death this time like he always had been. One of the reasons people "fold" under pressure is because they wait until the "big" situations to believe God. But if they have not learned to trust God in the small things, they will not be able to trust God in the big things.

When David fought Goliath (1 Sam. 17), everyone mocked him because of his belief that he could win. Goliath was a giant and he was only a small boy. But David said something very important in his defense. In 1 Samuel 17:34-37 David revealed that this was not the first time he had depended on God for a victory against something bigger than himself. He had killed a lion and a bear before with his bare hands. He KNEW he could defeat Goliath with God's help.

Paul could be confident of the outcome of his actions, regardless of the cost, because he had put his faith to the test many times before. Paul had lived a life of boldness for many years. Faith must be developed much like a muscle. Those who wait until the day of the contest to start training are going to lose. That's not the way it works in the natural or the spiritual.

Note 11 at Phil. 1:20: Many people are committed to the Lord and the furtherance of His kingdom because they trust they will come out on top with the Lord. But there are very few people who are committed to the Lord when it begins to cost them personally. Paul's commitment was the same whether the personal results were life or death. Paul had died to himself. You can't kill a dead man (see note 11 at 2 Cor. 1:9, p. 977).