Blessed Assurance - Philippians 1:18b-26

Introduction

Dorothy Self - Her continued life of service for others, but her desire to go home to be with Christ.

Read Philippians 1:18-26

Philippians 1:18–26 (ESV)

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

Paul was facing trial before Caesar to determine his innocence before Rome. He also faced envy and rivalry from other believers who were questioning whether he was still in right standing before God and if God had abandoned him or not. Paul is facing judgment from different sides.

This passage of Scripture is a continuation of what we looked at last week. Last week, Paul talked about the importance of keeping our focus on the Gospel and how the Gospel will advance in spite of trying and difficult circumstances.

But there’s still the question as to Paul’s standing before God. We might affirm that God will cause the Gospel to go forward, but can Paul be confident about his standing before God or are these circumstances a sign that God has left him.

Christian Confidence: Salvation

Philippians 1:19–20 (ESV)

for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

first, we see Paul’s confidence in his salvation by God’s grace!

I. Confident for Deliverance

Not physical deliverance

The deliverance that Paul was hoping for was not necessarily a physical deliverance from prison and persecution. Although, there might be that possibility, that was not what Paul was confident for.

Ultimate spiritual deliverance

Paul was actually confident for the ultimate spiritual deliverance that is promised in Christ Jesus.

The Greek word for deliverance here is Soterian - Greek for salvation.

Paul was confident for the salvation that is his in Christ.

Regardless of what others might say about him and his work in the gospel, Paul’s confidence came from God’s grace through the faith he has in the finished work of Christ Jesus on the cross. It is Christ’s work that Paul is confident in and because of Christ’s sacrificial death, Paul did not fear about his standing before God.

II. Paul was not Self-Reliant

However, Paul was confident, not because of his own ability to persevere in the faith, but because of God’s grace to sustain him.

Paul knew he needed the Help of the Holy Spirit to persevere

“for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”

the word “help” could also be supply. For him to persevere and experience the deliverance, he would need the help or grace of Jesus Christ.

Often, we acknowledge that we are saved by grace, but then we think that we somehow add to the work of salvation or persevere in our relationship with Christ through our own work. There is certainly effort involved, but never apart from the grace and working of Jesus Christ. And we must acknowledge that any effort we put in is fueled by the work of Christ in our lives.

Paul coveted the prayers of the fellowship to strengthen and encourage him to endure to the end

Along with the help and supply of Christ, he is asking for the prayers of the Philippians for himself. He knows God works through the prayers of his people so he is asking them to pray for him as he seeks to remain faithful in God’s grace to the end.

Paul depended upon the grace of God to save him and sustain him to the end, even if he faced that end in prison under Caesar’s command.

III. Where does your confidence lie?

Other’s opinions and judgments of you -

Paul could have placed his confidence in the opinions of other believers or even in the Romans who seemed to control his fate.

your own works and self-righteousness -

Paul could have placed his own confidence in his own works and self-righteousness. He could have said, because of how well I have done in life I know this will work out to my deliverance.

However, he says that it is through the prayers of the fellowship and the help from the Spirit of Christ that is going to carry him through, not his own ability to remain faithful

It is only God’s grace that can make us confident of the salvation and deliverance we have in Christ!

This is what sets Christianity apart from every other religion.

Jared C. Wilson - “The gospel makes Christianity unique among all other religions and philosophical systems of enlightenment, approval, or success because while every other system primarily teaches things to do, only Christianity primarily teaches that the things to do are done.”

If our salvation is dependent on anything else, we would always question if it was enough, and the answer would inevitably be, “it can never be enough.”

It is the greatest news in the world when Jesus cried from the cross, “It is finished!” This is the good news that gives Paul his confidence to say that no matter what happens, this will turn out for his deliverance, and this confidence can belong to anyone who trusts in the grace and finished work of Jesus Christ!

Christian Ambition: Life In Christ

Philippians 1:21–26 (ESV)

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

First, Paul says, “to me to live is Christ.” In the Greek it essentially says, “To live Christ, to Die gain.”

He is saying there is essentially nothing anyone can do to me to rob me of the joy and confidence that I have been given.

If you kill me, well, that’s my gain. If you let me live, well, living is Christ. Either way, I am satisfied with what is in store for me.

What does this mean, “to live is Christ?”

A. Paul is “In Christ”

First, there is a Union with Christ for all those who place their faith in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Paul’s confidence in his deliverance is flowing from his union with Christ in salvation.

We know that we are all sinners who have rebelled against God. However, when a sinner comes to faith and repentance in Christ Jesus, we see that we have been made new.

There is a sense that while we are still struggling with our sin nature, we are not “sinners” in the fullest sense anymore because Christ is making us new. Yes we are still sinners in that we still fall and mess up, but we are not sinners in how we relate to God anymore.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Instead of sinners, we have now been made into the righteous image of God.

Paul is saying, I am in Christ and I have been made new, and therefore, I know that Christ will be honored because as I reflect his image, even here in prison, people will get to see the glory and beauty of Christ in and through me.

And now, God’s judgment of me resides in the person and work of Christ. Christ took the payment and penalty of my sin and God will not judge sin more than once. And second, because Christ has given me His righteousness, when God looks upon me, He sees the righteous character of His Son.

To Live is Christ!

B. Christ Is the Purpose for Which Paul Lived

Not only is Paul talking about his identity in Christ, he is also talking about his purpose of life. Life is meant to be lived to the honor and glory of Christ in all things!

Paul’s desire in life was to see Christ lifted high and exalted among all people, both believers and unbelievers alike.

Paul lived his life the share the Gospel and this is what drove him in his own life.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV)

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

In whatever Paul did in life, he wanted to bring glory to God. This is in essence what it looks like when someone says “to live is Christ.”

Paul Desired To Serve Christ’s People

A part of bringing glory to Christ is how we view and serve Christ’s body, the church. Look at what Paul says to the Philippians.

Philippians 1:24–26 (ESV)

But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

While it would have been easy for Paul to say, “Lord I want to go home,” there was also a sense in him that God still had him on earth in order to serve the church, God’s people.

Here’s the thing for all of us: if we are in Christ, if we have been saved and redeemed by the grace of Christ, we do not get to decide how to spend life on our own. We are called to live to the glory of Christ and part of that is how we serve and seek the best for our brothers and sisters in the faith!

One of the things that I have often heard is, “I have served my time, it’s time for someone else to serve.” However, if God still has you here, then our time isn’t done for serving yet.

Dorothy Self was a woman who gave so much of her life serving kids in Awana, and there was much that she just could not physically do. However, what she could do, she did. She sat in that room to listen to kids recite their verses and to help them understand what those verses meant. Her time was never up until the Lord called her home. She longed for the time in which she got to go home to her Lord and Savior, but she kept on serving as long as Christ gave her breath! For her, to live was Christ and to die was gain.

Where do we find the meaning of life?

Pastor Kent Hughes writes about an inscription carved by a Roman Soldier that was found Among the ruins of ancient Carthage: “To laugh, to hunt, to bathe, to game - that is life!.”

What is life for us? Where do we find the meaning of life? Would we say with the Roman Soldier that life is “to laugh, hunt, bathe, game?” Maybe we might say life is work and success or pleasure and sex or family and friends.

While these are all good gifts given to us by God to enjoy, none of these deserve our utmost devotion in life. And yet, as sinners, we tend to turn these gifts into idols instead of making our life about Christ Himself. Daily we need to evaluate our hearts and ask God to help us sacrifice our idols and realize the greatest joy in life is to exalt Christ in whatever we do!

Christian Hope: Death in Christ

“To Die is Gain”

Finally, because Paul’s confidence was in Christ’s deliverance for him and his ambition was to be identified with Christ in life, he had hope that surpassed the grave.

In fact, his hope was in the fact that this earthly existence is not all there is and that the grave is actually the path to a life that is greater and more wonderful than what we currently experience.

Listen to his words in verse Philippians 1:23

Philippians 1:23 (ESV)

I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

To Die is to actually be brought into the presence of Christ! For now, to live is to identify with Christ and to seek to bring Him honor and glory to those around us. But to die is to be brought into His presence and to experience a joy and peace that we have not yet experienced.

Paul’s hope lies in the fact that no matter what happens, he is able to rest in the assurance that Christ is with him wherever he goes. Christ is there with him in prison as he faces the judgment of Caesar and even the judgment of those envious of him and those who want to bring him down.

Christ is with him as he suffers persecution at the hands of those who hate Christ. Christ is with him as he seeks to live for him and serves his people.

And Christ will be with him in death as death will have no hold on those who are in Christ.

When God’s people are filled with this kind of hope and assurance, there is nothing that can stand against God’s people. The gates of hell cannot stand against the church because we begin to realize that if we are in Christ, there is no true risk to following Christ, because we know Christ has already won the battle whether we live or die and that there is no true death for the believer. But this is only true for those who can truly say, “To me to live is Christ!”

Fill in the Blank, “To Me to Live is ____________”

What is it that life is centered on for you?

Work, golf, entertainment, power, sex, money, success, beauty, health, shopping, football

If to live is money, then death is being poor. If to live is entertainment, then death is to be bored. If to live is power, then death is to be powerless. If to live is pleasure, then death is the end of pleasure. If to live is any of these things, then death is the loss of everything.

But when life is about Christ, death does not bring an end to Christ, but actually brings us into His presence. Death is the end of everything else, but for those who can say “to live is Christ,” they can truly say “to die is gain,” because death actually brings them what they have lived for all along!

And thus, when life is lived in and for Christ, there is no true risk to the believer. No matter what happens, no matter what our opposition or enemies may do to us or say about us, whether we live or die, we can rest assured that no one and nothing can take us from the security of His hands!

Conclusion

There is a hymn that has been a favorite of mine since I was a child because when I was growing up, my grandmother would play and sing this song often. It is “Blessed Assurance.”

As we seek to center our lives on Christ and to place our confidence and assurance in Him alone, may we be able to sing these words that were penned by Fanny Crosby:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

Perfect submission, all is at rest. I in my Savior am happy and bless’d, watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in his love. [Refrain]

Refrain: This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long