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Philippians
1:21-26;
21For to me, to live is
Christ and to die is gain. 22But
if I
am
to live on
in the flesh, this will
mean
fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23But
I am hard-pressed from both directions,
having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that
is very much better; 24yet
to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25Convinced
of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your
progress and joy in the faith, 26so
that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my
coming to you again.
Paul
weighs in the balance the issues of life and death.
The formula looks something like this:
LIFE
= CHRIST IN SERVICE
DEATH = CHRIST IN GLORY
To
live is Christ
To die is gain
A.
Paul’s Premise for Living
vs. 21a, 22
21For
to me, to live is Christ . . .
22But
if I
am
to live on
in the flesh, this will
mean
fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.
To
Live and Serve Appeals to Paul’s Unselfish Nature
24yet
to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
Romans
9:3,4a;
3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated
from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according
to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, .
. .”
2nd
Corinthians 12:10; Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults,
with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties,
for Christ’s sake; for when
I am weak, then I am strong.
Philippians
3:7-11;
7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have
counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that,
I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and
count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, 9
and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from
the Law,
but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes
from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him,
and the power of His
resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings,
being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may
attain to the resurrection from the dead.
B.
Paul’s Premise
for Dying
vs.
21b,
Vs.
21 . . .
to die is gain.”
Death
is our final enemy.
1st
Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that will be abolished is
death.
No
matter how much we loathe the idea of dying, our Lord has softened the
blow by His victory over the grave.
1st
Corinthians 15:54b-57 . . . “Death
is swallowed up
in victory. 55“O
death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56The
sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57but
thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. No
Suffering and Pain: Revelation
21:4 and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and
there shall no longer be any
death; there shall no longer be any
mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
2. No
Presence of Sin: Revelation
22:3,4; 3There
will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be
in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4they
will see His face, and His name will
be
on their foreheads. | 
