Whether I Live or Die

Introduction

Adversity is inevitable, though none of us write our stories out that way. None of us write our 11th grade papers describing our future to include an exploded vertebrae from a car accident or a disabled husband that requires constant care or a wrongful termination that eliminates your financial security. Instead, we write our stories so that our hair never things, our waistlines never expand, and our marriages are happily ever after. And so, it’s a shock to the system when suddenly you realize that your ascent through life is filled with downward turns and immovable obstacles and uncertainty about the next step.

However, what’s interesting is that even though we don’t write our own stories to include adversity, we always write everyone else’s story to include it. What good would a movie or a book be in which everything went the way that it was supposed to. Jack Bauer without crisis isn’t Jack Bauer. We understand that it’s adversity that brings depth to the character and it’s the response to adversity that inspires us. When we look at the stories of other people, we have an advantage though. We’re able to view their adversity through the lens of the big picture in a way that is difficult for us to do in our own lives. Jack Bauer is fascinating not simply because he faces adversity, but because you know that he will overcome it and you want to see how he does it this time. It’s viewing the adversity through the lens of the big picture that allows you to appreciate what is ultimately taking place. And, this is what we find in the life of Paul today. Paul is imprisoned and facing great adversity, and what we’re going to see is that it’s Paul’s Perspective on Adversity (Headline) that allows him to endure with joy and assurance.

God’s Word

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Whether I’m free or not, the gospel will “advance”.

v. 12 “what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” It’s really amazing how different something can appear depending upon perspective, isn’t it? With a microscope a drop of water can appear to be filled with organisms that look like soul-killing piranhas, but when looking at that same drop of water flowing in a river from the top of a hill is a scenic site that brings your soul peace and wonder. And, when it comes to adversity and hardship, the difference between peace and anxiety, joy and despair is this same difference between zooming in and zooming out. The human mind has a remarkable capacity to zoom in on adversity so that the smallest concerns appear insurmountable. We can lock in on a single criticism or a single mistake or a single hardship so that it appears much larger than it actually is, overwhelming us with its impossibility. You get a cold, and it feels like cancer. You receive a critique, and it feels like you’re losing your job. You have an argument, and it feels like your marriage is falling apart. We zoom in so that the smallest problem appear insurmountable, but what we learn from Paul’s life is that the gospel is always calling for us to zoom out to see the grand design of providence. The gospel is calling for us to take in the full panorama of the river that is flowing rather than zooming in on the single drop of water.

v. 13 “so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ” So, we’re seeing Paul zoom out throughout our text to focus his perspective on the big picture. First, he says: Whether I’m free or not, the gospel will “advance.” We could summarize verses 12-14 as him saying, “My circumstances aren’t good. I wish that I weren’t in prison and that I was with you. But, my apparent misfortune is being used by God to accomplish what I’m aiming to accomplish anyway -- advance the gospel.” What we have here is Paul giving a missionary report, but it’s not like the missionary reports that we’re used to receiving. This is a real life missionary report. We’re used to hearing, “We’re surrounded by cannibals and famine, and they’re all being saved and life is great.” But, Paul says, “You’ve funded me financially to reach the nations as a missionary, but I’m chained to a soldier.” But, he has a singular focus that streamlined and simplified his life in a way that he could view even this hardship, even this frustration joyfully. The word ‘gospel’ appears in Philippians 9 times, more than any other book of the New Testament per square inch, and it’s the gospel that forms the lens through which everything else in Paul’s life is viewed. This is how he’s able to say what he says.

Not Victims, Vessels

The gospel “streamlines” life so that every circumstance is an “advancement”. For Paul, his life wasn’t about his 401(k), and it wasn’t about well-rounded children, and it wasn’t about moving from a starter home to a family home to a retirement home. Life was about the gospel. He was a vessel through which the gospel was advancing, so much so, that he could say that marriage is about the gospel and parenting is about the gospel and college is about the gospel and suffering is about the gospel. Paul was preaching and trying to reach Rome, with little success penetrating the imperial leaders. But then, he was arrested, and do you know who he was chained to? The imperial guard, the most influential soldiers of Rome, and so he didn’t stop being a missionary, his mission field just shifted. Whether he was free or in prison, God was using him to advance the gospel. And since that was the singular focus of his life, he could find peace and joy, even in prison, because the advancement of the gospel through his life was unstoppably taking place by the power of God. Paul wasn’t a victim; He was a vessel. And, this is the opportunity that the gospel affords us. We don’t live as “victims”; we live as “vessels”. Painful as it is, victimized as we are, if the gospel is singular focus, we can walk through the downturns of life certain that the gospel will advance through us. Because of Christ, you can love rebellious children and cope with the loss of a job and respond to the horrors of abuse in a way that trusts the sovereignty of God, rests in the finished work of Jesus, and thus, proclaims and advances the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, we are not victims, but victors. We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. So, though we may suffer apparent defeats, we can have joy by zooming out from the big picture to remember that, ultimately, the gospel will be undefeated.

Suffering Can Be Inspiring

v. 14 “And most of the brothers....are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” Paul reminds us: Suffering can be debilitating or inspiring. That is, God is so sovereign over adversity, God is so sovereign over lostness, the gospel is so unstoppable in its power, that the very means that intended to stop it can be used to multiply it. Putting Paul in prison is like pruning kudzu. You think you’ve killed it by cutting it back only to find out that you’ve started three new stalks. Paul is put in prison, and it doesn’t extinguish the church. It emboldens the church. Think about this. Paul is imprisoned for preaching the gospel, but in prison, he doesn’t renounce Christ. He evangelizes every guard that’s chained to him. He keeps preaching in the face of potential beheading. And, the church is inspired, man. They see Paul keep preaching, and their spines stiffen and their voice stops shaking. If Paul can preach in prison, then I can preach in freedom. Paul suffered in way that increased confidence in the gospel. He suffered well.

Suffering Amplifies

APPLICATION: Suffering can be wasted. Suffering amplifies our trust or distrust of Christ. It declares Jesus’ worth one way of the other. Suffering either shows that Christ can be trusted in all and through all, or suffering shows that Christ is insufficient and Christ is undependable. Your suffering will either inspire courage and faithfulness in your church family, or it will bring doubt and disillusionment. When I haven’t felt well, Kathy Jacks has inspired me. I’ve seen behind the scenes Linda Cockrell and Rhonda Turner and Glen Duncan minister to others and serve others through their suffering. Brothers and sisters, don’t waste your suffering. Don’t waste your cancer. Don’t waste your sadness. Suffer with full confidence in the goodness of Jesus and inspire forward a generation to recognize his worthiness.

APPLICATION: Suffering can be wasted. Suffering “amplifies” our trust or distrust of Christ. It declares Jesus’ worth one way of the other. Suffering either shows that Christ can be trusted in all and through all, or suffering shows that Christ is insufficient and Christ is undependable. Your suffering will either inspire courage and faithfulness in your church family, or it will bring doubt and disillusionment. When I haven’t felt well, Kathy Jacks has inspired me. I’ve seen behind the scenes Linda Cockrell and Rhonda Turner and Glen Duncan minister to others and serve others through their suffering. Brothers and sisters, don’t waste your suffering. Don’t waste your cancer. Don’t waste your sadness. Suffer with full confidence in the goodness of Jesus and inspire forward a generation to recognize his worthiness.

Whether I preach or someone else, the gospel will be “proclaimed.”

v. 15 “Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.” Next, we see Paul zoom out and say, Whether I preach or someone else, the gospel will be “proclaimed.” Now, let’s zoom in here for a second. If you’ve ever had a passion, a calling of some type, you can understand the temptation of worry that Paul is facing here. Paul has been divinely called by Christ to preach the gospel, and yet he’s in prison and unable to preach it. You can imagine the thoughts that could creep into his mind that he may never preach again, or that once released, everyone would rather hear the new preachers any way. He’s in prison and time is passing him by, and the temptation would be to believe that it’s all over. But, Paul isn’t phased by those temptations. Instead, he’s able to zoom out and to see the big picture. This isn’t about him. This isn’t about his platform or his influence or his prominence. This is about Christ and his Kingdom.

There are two different types of preachers that are emboldened by Paul’s chains. The first emboldened out of love for Paul. They want to keep going what Paul has gotten started. They are inspired by Paul’s courage and so they respond with courage of their own. They are seeking to replace Paul; they are seeking to replicate Paul. But then, there’s second group of preachers that are emboldened by Paul, and it’s those that preach out of envy and rivalry with Paul. They see Paul’s imprisonment as their opportunity.

Not My Platform or Yours, but Christ’s

v. 18 “Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.” Yet, Paul looks at both types of preachers, those who preach out of love for him and those who preach out of envy for him, and he rejoices. He rejoices even as some are seeking to pour salt into his wounds. How? For Paul, this isn’t about my platform or his platform. This isn’t about my following or his following. The mission to proclaim Christ among all people is the only thing. So, even if someone preaches Christ so as to show up Paul, they are only serving to accomplish Paul’s goal and aim -- that Christ is proclaimed. They are, by trying to undermine Paul, advancing his mission.

For Christ’s Approval Alone

v. 17 “The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.” APPLICATION: You see, the only way to be filled with joy like Paul is to be filled with grace like Paul. It’s grace that comes from being able to zoom out and focus on the big picture. Paul recognizes that they disagree with him and that they even despise him, yet his heart is big enough, his heart is gracious enough to still rejoice over them. We need more of this in the Church today. Mature Christians are able to be disliked without disliking, hated without hating. He holds them up, even if they tear him down. Paul doesn’t throw a pity part; he rejoices! What’s extraordinary is that in the context of verse 14, it’s clear that in verse 15 Paul considers these who preach with impure motives to be his brothers in the faith. In other places, such as , Paul has called down condemnation on men using similar terms. But, these are preaching the true gospel and the true Christ. The content of their message is good, but the character of their hearts are flawed. He says that they seek to ‘afflict’ him in his imprisonment, they seek to take his chains and bear down on them and cause them to chafe against his wrists. There is a strain of Christianity today that are watchdogging and gatekeeping everyone else’s theology, and it doesn’t create joy; it robs joy. The faith becomes about opposing more than it does rejoicing. But, there is freedom in Christ to rejoice over those who even oppose you so long as they preach Christ and the gospel. You don’t have to scheme and plan and articulate argument to refute your opposition or those who slander your ministry or family. Those things don’t matter in the big picture. Do they know Christ? Rejoice! Do they preach Christ? Rejoice! Whether it’s you preaching or not, whether your platform is expanding or not, whether your reputation is renowned or not, the gospel will be proclaimed.

APPLICATION: How much of your stress would melt away if you weren’t worried about looking bad and instead you were concerned only that Christ looked good? How much of your worry would cease to be if your singular concern was the glory of Christ rather than the approval of your friends and colleagues and neighbors? What if you parented your children so that worship with God’s people was a higher priority than youth sports, or what if you dated as an adult so as to never be alone with someone of the opposite sex, and even though you got strange looks and even though you lost the admiration of a few and even though you were pressured to do otherwise, you could be totally content that Christ is glorified and Christ is proclaimed through you, even if they don’t approve? Because, you see, brothers and sisters, nothing produces anxiety in the heart of a Christian like seeking the “approval” of both God and “neighbors”. And, ironically enough, when you try to seek both, you forfeit automatically the approval of God. What is needed is the surrendering of your reputation unto the reputation of Christ. And, when it comes down to Christ’s reputation only, not my reputation and Christ’s reputation, not my platform and Christ’s platform, not my neighbors approval plus Christ’s approval, then there is freedom to rejoice even in the face of persecution or disproval or opposition. You see, a singular, streamlined focus on Christ and the gospel simplifies your life and bring perspective for every decision.

Whether I live or die, the gospel will magnify Christ.

v. 20 “Christ will be honored by my body, whether by life or by death.” Finally, we see that Paul says, Whether I live or die, the gospel will “magnify” Christ. What powerful and convicting words we read in verse 20. But, it’s really set up by verse 19. In verse 19, Paul quotes the book of Job (13) verbatim. He says, “I know that this will turn out for my deliverance.” And, you’ll remember the context of Job. Job is a man with whom Paul can identify. Job loved God with all of his heart, and it was his love for God that led to the loss of his wealth, health, and family. And, here is Paul who loves God more than anything, and it’s his love for God that has led to him be beaten, stoned, imprisoned, and left for dead. Paul loves God yet his health is poor and his living conditions are wretched. Yet, he’s able to say with Job, “I KNOW that this will turn out for my deliverance. I KNOW that I will be vindicated. I KNOW that this will not shame me. I KNOW that Christ will be glorified through all of this.” This is the essence of Christian perseverance. If you remember Job, you’ll remember that Job didn’t FEEL happy about what was happening to him. He didn’t FEEL like God was close to him. He FELT like God was silent, like God had abandoned him. But, he keeps his head down. He keeps praising. He keeps hoping. He says, “Though He slay me, I will hope in him.” And, this is is exactly where Paul is as he’s chained to the imperial guard. He expects to be released, but he may die. He doesn’t feel happy about what’s happening. But, this is about what he feels. This is about what he knows. And, he knows that God will vindicate him. God will deliver him. God will save him. Because that’s the promise. That’s the word of God.

Assurance is a Christian Distinctive

APPLICATION: We learn from Job and from Paul that Christians don’t have to pretend like everything is good when it really isn’t. We are victimized. We will face injustice. We will live with inexplicable hardship. And, it is not the responsibility of the Christian to sanitize our tears and our terrors to pretend like we are glad that they have come. We have no responsibility in Christ to call something bad “Good.” But, what separates us from the world, what distinguishes the gospel from self-help, what makes us distinct from secular psychology is that we don’t believe that the pain we’ve faced and the hardship we’ve known and the abuse we’ve endured is the final chapter. It’s not over. We have assurance. Assurance is a Christian “distinctive”. There’s no other place you can go for assurance than Christ. Not intellectualism or Islam or philosophy, but Christ! Though today my life appears in shamble, I am ASSURED that it will work for my good. Though tonight I will cry through the night, I am ASSURED that joy will come in the morning. Though I am in prison for Christ today, I KNOW that I will be raised with Christ tomorrow. There are three different words used to describe assurance in two verses. He says, “I know...” in verse 19 and then “my eager expectation and hope” in verse 20. The difference between joy and anxiety is “assurance”. It’s distrusting what you feel in light of what you know. Assurance is the opposite of anxiety. Anxiety asks, “What do you feel?” Assurance asks, “What do you know?”

Tell What You Feel About What You Know

v. 20 “but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body” APPLICATION: Oh verse 20, says it so wonderfully. He says, “I will face my life with courage because my life requires courage. I will face prison with courage. I will face worry and opposition with courage. I will face a story that’s unlike the one I wrote with courage. My life is hard, and my life requires courage.” “Courage” is doing what you “know” in spite of what you “feel”. Courage is telling your worried mind that you know God is in control, and living like it. Courage is telling your shaking hands that this will work out for good, and living like it. Courage is telling the condemning voice that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ, and I am in Christ!” And, through that Christ will be “honored”. That is, Christ will be “magnified”. Christ will be shown bigger than your worries and bigger than your sins and bigger than your opposition. Christ will be magnified. So, brothers and sisters, zoom out from the struggles of your life, and zoom in on the reigning Christ that his assurance, his gospel might prevail in your life.