Whether you like it or not, whether you believe we should be involved in it or not, our nation is involved in a war. It’s a war that I hope will end quickly, without a lot of loss of American lives. And in my personal opinion, if we are in it, we should be in it to win it. I don’t think we should stop halfway without finishing the job. But there is another war that I would like to talk about today. One that is just as dangerous, just as deadly, and one that we need to be committed to be fighting, regardless of whether we even realize we are engaged in it. It’s fought in a different kind of battlefield arena perhaps than the present conflict with Iran, but our sacrifices are just as real and the commitment needed to finish the fight, is just as necessary .
Paul talked about this battleground in Eph 6:10 which says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
Today I’m talking about the elite forces engaged in this spiritual battleground, whose fortress stands in the battlements of heaven, and the men and women who occupy this fortress have consecrated their lives in service to the King. They have sacrificed much and are willing to even lay down their lives, if necessary. And across the archway of this fortress reads their motto, “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
This statement was coined by the Apostle Paul around 55AD. We find it here in Philippians 1: 21. I believe this was Paul’s motto. It was the reason that he was so fearless in all the trials and dangers and hardships that he suffered. Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 11:23 that he had been in “far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.”
Paul wrote to his son in the faith, Timothy, in 2 Tim. 2:3 “Suffer hardship with [me,] as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” And I’m sure that any modern day Christian that followed Paul around for a day or two would be amazed to see what hardship he had to endure for the cause of Christ. In fact, at the time of this letter to the Philippians, he was chained to a Roman guard 24 hours a day. He was awaiting trial to be judged by Nero, one of the most feared emperors of the Roman Empire.
Let’s pick it up starting in verse 19; “for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Paul isn’t cowering in some prison, scared to death of meeting the notorious Nero, but he says it’s his “earnest expectation and hope” that he will not be put to shame, but with all boldness, with all confidence, he is looking forward to this encounter. Philips Modern English version translates this phrase “earnest expectation and hope” as standing on his tiptoes in anticipation. Paul is ready to go. He is rising up on his tiptoes ready to charge into the fray to defend the gospel. How can Paul have such confidence? How can he be so sure of himself?
Well, first of all, because Paul has confidence in the prayers of the saints. Note verse 19; he knows his deliverance will come because of the prayers of the church. Notice, Paul isn’t praying to some dead saints, he is saying to this church in Philippi that he knows they will be praying for him. As we talked about a couple of weeks ago, they are participating in Paul’s ministry through prayer. James says, the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much. We don’t know how it works, but we know the prayers of the righteous men and women God uses to accomplish His will. He uses our prayers.
Some Bible translations may substitute the word salvation there instead of the word deliverance. But Paul isn’t talking about his own spiritual salvation in the sense of being born again. He is talking about deliverance, salvation from his circumstances. Perhaps this means Paul was expecting to get out of prison. Some commentators believe that this was Paul’s first imprisonment, which lasted about two years, and then he was released. But he would be imprisoned again, and that time he would not get out of prison, but would end up being put to death by Nero.
But from the context of these verses we can’t be certain that Paul absolutely expects that he will soon be freed. He says in verse 20, whether by life or by death, Christ will be exalted. Either way, Paul says, I’m not going to be ashamed. I’m going to be delivered either way, either by life or by death, and my goal is going to be accomplished, Christ is going to be exalted. And Paul knew that the prayers of the church at Philippi were helping him in this situation. He had more confidence because of their prayers for him.
You know, a lot of times we pray for someone who is deathly ill, that they will recover, that God will heal them. And I must say that in my experience God has not always see fit to heal that person and they passed away. We end up feeling like God has failed us somehow. But in reality, God may decide that He will give them ultimate healing, a better body, by taking them from this life. And though we have a hard time understanding that, the fact is Paul says that is infinitely better. He says in vs 23, “But I am hard-pressed from both [directions,] having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for [that] is very much better.” So either way, by life or by death, Paul is confident that God will glorify the cause of Christ through him.
Secondly, Paul is confident because verse 19 says of the provision of the Spirit. In other words, Paul is confident because he is sure the full resources of the Holy Spirit will be brought to bear upon this situation. In the present conflict of our nation with Iran, we have seen the full military resources of the United States brought to bear. I was looking at a map the other day of all the navy ships we have in the Gulf as well as in the Mediterranean. It’s just a tremendous force that is arrayed against Iran, not only in naval vessels, but also in air.
Thank God, as soldier of the heavenly kingdom we don’t have to worry about the full availability of God’s resources. They are always ready at our disposal. Eph 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,” Everything we need is available to us through the Holy Spirit to do the will of God.
Romans 8:26 tells us “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” That is our confidence, as we are engaged in this present conflict. God will provide all your needs according to His riches in glory so that you have every resource available to do His will.
But that reveals the error of many in modern Christianity today. They don’t understand the purpose of the gifts and power of God. Spiritual gifts are not given to thrill us, but to use for the glory of God. And God will supply us the power to do what he wants us to do. He will not send us on a mission without giving us the means to do the mission. If he calls you to witness, he will give you the power and the words to witness. Just be obedient to His call. If he calls you to give, he will give you the power and the gifts to be able to give, just be obedient to His call. Whatever he calls you to do, be obedient and God will supply your needs. But the gifts aren’t for our edification. They are to be used to edify the church.
My dad used to be a drill sergeant in the Army and he taught me as a kid never to point my gun at a person unless I was going to shoot them. My gun wasn’t to be used for fireworks. It was a weapon. And our gifts of the Spirit are to be used as weapons in this warfare we are in. This idea of using spiritual gifts like a bunch of drunken cowboys riding into town and hooping and hollering and shooting up the place is not Biblical. Gifts are the provision of the Holy Spirit to equip us to do the will of God.
And thirdly, the confidence that Paul had was because of the promises of God. Listen, your faith must be founded in the promises of God if it is to be an unwavering faith, a certain conviction. Faith that will stand in the fire. Faith that will stand through the trials of life. That’s why we unapologetically preach the word of God here at the Beach Fellowship. Because we need to be rooted and grounded in the promises of God, the sound doctrine found in God’s word.
Paul was probably paraphrasing from scripture when he spoke of this deliverance. Job 13:16 says, "This also will be my salvation, For a godless man may not come before His presence.” Paul’s statement is basically a paraphrase from Job 13. And to put that in even more context, just one verse prior to that in 13:15, Job says, “though He slays me, yet will I hope in Him.” That’s the confidence that Paul is expressing here, whether I live or die, doesn’t matter. One way or another God will deliver me. One way or another God will be glorified. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord and that is very much the better.
Or maybe Paul was thinking of Deut. 31:6 "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." Paul had confidence in the promises of God. Because nothing can separate us from the love of God. In Rom 8:38 Paul said, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Fourthly, Paul had confidence in the plan of God. What is the plan of God for our lives? I saw a church sign the other day, a very liberal church I might ad, which said in effect, “God has a plan for your life.” I agree, God has a plan, but I doubt very much that they are in it. Many modern Christians today think that the plan of God is just to make our lives better. To make us healthy, wealthy and wise. But in the light of this passage where Paul is talking about possibly losing his life for the sake of the gospel that sounds pretty superficial, doesn’t it? No, the plan of God is that we live lives that exalt God. God made man to bring glory and honor to Christ. Nothing short of that will do. That is why a man that spends his whole life trying to bring honor and glory for himself and ends up empty and unfulfilled.
The Westminster Catechism says that “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Augustine during his younger years had lived a wild life of pleasure which produced only misery until one day his soul searching led him to the Bible. He then confessed, “O God, thou has made us for thyself and our souls are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”
Paul knows that God’s plan will not be thwarted. Vs. 20; “Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” Paul wasn’t afraid of dying. You know about 30 years ago, I went through about 3 and a half years of being so afraid. I really thought I was dying. I joke that I discovered panic attacks about a couple of decades before they became popular. But God used this terrible time in my life to break me and then remake me. So I give thanks to God for that. But still, it was very painful. I lost my career, my home and my money and cars, pretty much everything, due to a debilitating time of panic attacks. And one of the verses that was most helpful in getting me through those times is found right here in Philippians chapter 4 verse 6. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known before God, and the peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
But while that was helpful, I didn’t really realize that verse was inescapably tied to chapter 1: 20 and 21. Until I had really committed my life to Christ even to the point of death, then I would never really be able to live without fear. It’s still a struggle for me in my flesh. But I have learned that the key is what Paul is saying here in verse 21, and I aspire to commit my life the way he committed his. That I too might say with all confidence, “for me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Prior to that time of anxiety, I used to be successful in my career. I used to make a decent income from my business. But you can’t put those words in that sentence and have it make any sense. “For me to live is success, and to die is….it must be loss.” If living is success, then dying is loss, it can’t be gain. How about this one. For me to live is money, and to die is….loss. I can’t take it with me. How about love? For me to live is love and to die is…loss. If for me to live is prestige or fame, then to die is loss. How about power? For me to live is power, then to die is loss. There is only one right answer to that statement. For me to live is Christ, then to die is gain. He is the only thing worth living for that results in a gain when I die. My death will only result in further exaltation of Jesus Christ. I will be changed from corruption to incorruption. I will be like Him for I will see Him face to face.
In closing, let me break this sentence down to six words that I think encapsulate what it means to be a Christian and live the Christian life. I don’t know where you are spiritually today. But if you don’t know Christ personally as your Savior, then I want you to listen to these words.
The first two; “To me”; It means it’s personal. My salvation must be personal. It can’t be inherited, it’s not captured by association, by joining a church. But I must accept Christ as my substitute for my sins, as my Savior and as my Lord. “To me” means a personal commitment with Christ. In exchange for my forgiveness I give Him my life.
The second is “To live”: means it’s practical. You aren’t really alive until the Holy Spirit gives you spiritual life. The Bible actually refers to your sinful condition as being dead in your sins. To be made alive in Christ provides satisfaction, it provides hope, it provides security, it provides comfort, it provides help. It provides a continuity of life that stretches into eternity, never ending, never stopping. Life without Christ is impractical. It is fruitless. Life with Christ is infinitely practical. We are made alive in Christ.
The third, “Is Christ”: means it is possible. With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. God makes it possible for us to live our life through Him, by His power. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Christ provides freedom from sin. Freedom from the penalty of sin, and freedom from sins enslavement. So now by faith in Christ I have been given the gift of righteousness. And being made holy and righteous, God is able to give me the Holy Spirit to live in me, that I might do the righteousness that God wants me to do.
Jesus said, “What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” Christ is the only real gain. I gain everything that matters. And so I am willing to lay down my life in exchange for that gain. I pray that whether you are a Christian who has never really come to a full commitment to Christ, or you are an unbeliever, who has never given your life to Christ, wherever you are this morning, I pray you lay down your life as a living sacrifice to God. I pray you can say, starting today, by God’s help, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” I’m going to live my life for Christ. That Christ may live in you and through you. Let’s pray.
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