Philippians 1:19-23 | Life & Death: To Die is Gain
Notes
Transcript
Engage
Engage
Sermon Series
Sermon Series
As you turn your bibles to Philippians 1 starting in verse 19 this morning, I will let you know we are starting a sermon series entitled “Life & Death”
For the next several passages we are going to be looking at Paul struggling with the dichotomy of life. And to jump ahead, he sums it up in v21
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
I find this personally to be a very uncomfortable verse, and one that I understand more easily in my soul than it is to articulate.
So if you have Philippians 1 open, starting in verse 19 we will read through to verse 23
19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. 23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Today we will begin with the first message in this series “To Die is Gain”
Pray
Truth
Truth
Songs of Suffering
Songs of Suffering
To understand this passage, we have to keep in mind Paul’s position as he is writing this. While it is true, Paul writes, of and with, a Joy that transcends whatever he may be currently experiencing, the fact remains that this is a main who had been regularly beaten for the cause of Christ, and now was in prison.
In the 1930’s many of the hymns we still sing today were written. Consider the time. The Great Depression was coming to an end, America had experienced the dust bowl, Adolf Hitler, and the Nazi’s rose to power, A Hurricane in 1938 destroyed 57,000 homes and killed up to 800 people. And to conclude the decade, World War 2 broke out. It is no wonder that in this time hymns were written such as “Won’t it Be Wonderful There?” and “Victory in Jesus” that dreamed of a tomorrow without suffering and pain.
And while I understand that there is suffering and cause to grieve even today, consider the tone of newly written Christian music. And I am absolutely not condemning this: Today’s popular hymns to God focus on giving God glory, and our walk with him in the present, rather than focusing on a hope for tomorrow.
Few of us in this country, and I thank God for that, can truly relate to Paul’s situation.
Job
Job
Paul turned to scripture in his time of grief. Turn your bible to Job 13:12-16. You know that Job had been allowed to suffer as a demonstration of God to the devil of faithfulness. And as Job confronted his accusers, who saw his suffering as God’s punishment on him, here is what Job wrote
13 Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak,
And let come on me what will.
14 Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth,
And put my life in mine hand?
15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:
But I will maintain mine own ways before him.
16 He also shall be my salvation:
For an hypocrite shall not come before him.
In this, Job considers his situation and is spiritual enough to say
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him
But what I want you to notice is how he starts in v16
He also shall be my salvation
Just as today, we read the Bible in an English translation rather than in the Greek and Hebrew, there was a translation of the Hebrew Bible, our “Old Testament” that was at the time, translated into Greek. It is called the Septuagint. And in the Septuagint when you read the words that we have translated in Job
shall be my salvation
you are reading the same words here used of Paul in Philippians 1:19
shall turn to my salvation
The similarities are apparent. If you remember, Paul had enemies who were preaching, back in v16
to add affliction to his bonds
We could make the assumption, that these detractors supposed that Paul’s imprisonment, if you can even imagine this, was the judgment of God on the Apostle.
Just as Job had Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite to condemn him of an unknown wrongdoing.
Paul had his accusers but Paul is confident in his salvation.
Prayer & Spirit
Prayer & Spirit
Now, I believe in this context Paul’s salvation here refers to his being freed from captivity, but whether it is salvation from his present circumstances or eternal salvation, in each Paul would have confidence.
The reason i say that this confidence is salvation from his captivity is in the two ways, Paul believes he will obtain that salvation: By the prayer of the Philippians, who he knows are faithful and care for him, and also by the supply (the provision) of the Holy Spirit.
He has confidence in their prayer for the reason we find in James 5:16
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
And he has confidence in the Spirit because Jesus says this in John 14:16
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
You could say that these are pretty flimsy things for Paul to put have confidence in, But Paul’s faith is great enough that he believes with certainty that prayer works. And that the Philippians will be faithful in it. Paul believes in the promises of Jesus to send his spirit and no doubt walks in the Spirit every day., At the end of the day, it is in Jesus that he has placed all of his confidence.
A Settled Spirit
A Settled Spirit
But being settled in this is where the test of faith comes. There were two ways Paul was going to receive salvation from his bondage.
Let’s take a look again at verse 20
20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
Paul was prepared for Christ to be glorified in either account. Whether his salvation came by a life, free to preach the gospel, of Christ or by death, and an eternity in glory. In either event he says
Christ shall be magnified
μεγαλύνω (megalyno), made to be held in great honor.
And so we return to the theme verse of our series
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
This is the Apostles perspective on life. If I live, I get to give glory to Christ by preaching his name, If I die I get to give glory to Christ, directly, in the presence of God in heaven.
If you were an enemy of the gospel, could you imagine what it must have been like trying to threaten a guy like this? You can’t even threaten him with torture and suffering
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
He says “If I live, I get the joy of glorifying Christ on earth; if you kill me, I get the joy of glorifying Christ in eternity, and if you cause me to suffer, I will glory (I will rejoice) in that as well, knowing that it will give me patience, experience and hope.
Application
Application
Liberty Vs. Lordship
Liberty Vs. Lordship
If you are like me, this is the kind of truth that is really easy to nod your head to on Sunday morning, but we know in our heart it would be much more difficult to put into practice.
If we struggle with this idea of living a life completely dedicated to Christ, or the idea of sacrificing all, even to the point of death for Christ. Maybe the reason for that is that we have misplaced loyalties
Romans 6:17 tells us
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Especially for us, being Americans we are drawn to the idea of freedom in Christ, and we are, indeed free in Christ. But there is something to be reconciled here.
As Luther wrote:
“A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none,” At the same time, “a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to every one.”
I rejoice that the Christian life is no longer under the bondage of sin, but we have to understand that being free from sin is different than being free unto our selves. There is a reason we call Jesus Lord.
The conflict for Paul isn’t a matter of serving self or serving the Lord, though. And, he summarizes his conflict in v23-24
23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: 24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
Dilemma’s
Dilemma’s
For us to understand Paul’s dilemma, we also have to understand that really, there are 2 Dilemma’s to consider.
The Dilemma of Sin
The Dilemma of Sin
In Romans 7:24 Paul writes
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
What he sees in himself if a soul that wants nothing more than to honor God, but the flesh pulls at him. Paul existed in conflict, in a way that I think that you and I can relate to. If you are still in Romans 7, look just several verses ahead
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
As Christians we can become discouraged in our flesh. Especially if Christians around us act is if they are perfect all of ht time. we need to appreciate that we tend to see snapshots of each other at our best. Now don’t get me wrong, we should be living the same life as Christians at church as we do during the week, when we are work or with our friends or family. But by and large, church isn’t the place where we are going to struggle with the flesh. It’s when we are away from fellow believers where we are most tempted
Am I suggesting that if this is true of you, that you are a hypocrite? It may be that this is the case, but it also may just be the fact that when you are away from your support structure, when you are away from constant reminder of God and Christ, present in church and fellowship with other believers. It just may be in those situations that we realize that we are not yet holier than the Apostle Paul who struggled in the same way. And that we can say with him what he says in v15
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
The Dilemma of Suffering
The Dilemma of Suffering
The next Dilemma is hard for us to appreciate unless we are going through it. But it can be that we have come to such a place of great suffering that our desire is to just go on to be with the Lord. This suffering may be temporary or may continue, but in either case usually the one suffering feels as if there is no hope.
I read something compelling from a letter written to John Piper.
“Dear Pastor John, is it a sin to long to go home? I’m 31 years old, and my life is ruined. I dread the rest of my life. Because of sin, I have lost everyone I love most (and I mean everyone). I feel like my very poor choices can’t be redeemed while here on earth, even though I have repented and confessed my sins. I am terrified of what awaits me, including having to remain single until I die because of an ensuing divorce (that I don’t want but did cause), and never having the blessing of forming a family. Is it a sin to want to go home and be with Jesus? Your teachings are among the few things that keep me going.”
The answer to this question, is that is is of course biblical and healthy to have that longing. We can objectively look at our life, especially when times are difficult and conclude that it would be far better to be in eternity in heaven! Where there are no more tears. Look what read in Revelation 21:4
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
And so, like Paul we have to conclude what concludes in Romans 8:18
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Inspiration
Inspiration
A Christian Perspective
A Christian Perspective
So, then am I am preaching a fatalistic message? Not at all. Paul considered living in light of obedience to God, and he considered death in obedience to God as well.
A turning for me in my early life as a Christian, happened at the Kentucky Speedway. At that time in my life, I was suffering anxiety attacks on a somewhat frequent basis. I know that it is different for people, but for me, I would feel pain in my chest, and then my heart start to race. Not knowing any better I always had the sense of dread that I was going to have a heart attack then and there, and die.
I was walking up the grand stand at the Speedway and this began to happen. I was with some friends from work and the pain began, I started panicking and my heart was racing…then I stopped.
When I submitted to Jesus as Lord of my life, I gave my life to God. So my life was his to take. I didn’t want to die, but but I was able to have peace that if that is what God wanted I could submit to that.
My anxiety attack stopped and I haven’t had another since.
In his commentary “Opening up Philippians” Roger Ellsworth says this
Verse 21 constitutes a powerful test for us all. Put a blank after the phrase ‘to live is’ and another blank after the phrase ‘and to die is’. How would you fill in the blanks? If you say ‘to live is money’, you must say ‘to die is to leave it all behind’. If you say ‘to live is fame’, you must say ‘to die is to be forgotten’. If you say ‘to live is pleasure’, you must say ‘to die is to lose it all’. But if you can join Paul in saying ‘to live is Christ’, you can also join him in saying ‘to die is gain’.
Action
Action
Fearing death is one of the greatest fears of man. If you have terror and anxiety of your life, may I suggest that maybe it’s because you are living your life for yourself and not for Christ.
It’s a lot of work trying to be in charge of our own lives. One of my favorite verses is Jesus saying in Matthew 11:28
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
There is no reason for us to be anxious. Christ will give us rest if we come unto him.
To die is only gain if we belong to Christ. We are going to close in prayer, but I plead with you today: If you don’t know Christ, to die is eternal torment.
God wants better for you than that, he wants your death to be gain. And this can only be true if you surrender your life to him, and put your faith and trust in him to rescue you from that torment. If this is something you need to discuss, please come talk to me after the prayer, if you are watching online send me a private messages, and I would love to talk more with you about the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Pray