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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.
The
Apostle encourages the Philippians to live up to the high calling of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. That
requires two important presuppositions.
First, a recognition of our unworthiness and second, a recognition
of Christ’s redemptive work to make us “worthy” in His sight.
A.
We are Unworthy By Nature
Isaiah
53:6a All
of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; .
. .
Isaiah
64:6,7; 6 For
all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And
all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And
all of us wither like a leaf,
And
our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There
is no one who calls on Your name,
Who
arouses himself to take hold of You;
For
You have hidden Your face from us
And
have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.
Romans
3:23 23for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
1st
Corinthians 2:14 14But
a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are
spiritually appraised.
The
Biblical Truth is inescapable; we
are unworthy of God and of His Heaven because we are sinners.
Ezekiel
18:20a “The
person who sins will die.”
B.
Christ is Worthy in Essence
Revelation
5:9b-12
9b “Worthy
are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and
purchased for God with Your blood men
from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
10 “You
have made them to
be
a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
11
Then
I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the
living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of
myriads, and thousands of thousands,
12saying
with a loud voice,
“Worthy
is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and
might and honor and glory and blessing.”
C.
We are to Live in a Worthy Manner vs.
27
27Only
conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,
The
only occasion where the redeemed are mentioned as “worthy” is found in
the book of Revelation in reference to those who remained faithful in a
dying church in Sardis. Revelation
3:4; 4 | 
