Word of Salvation – Vol.23 No.30 – April 1977

 

To Live And Die In Christ

 

Sermon by Rev. W. Van Schie on Phil.1:21

Scripture Reading: Phil. 1:12ff

 

INTRODUCTION

Congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Have you read the papers or seen the television news broadcasts about Garry Gilmour, that young man in the United States, in Utah, who through his lawyers, asked to be executed?  Have you read articles about him, where his psychology has been examined in detail?  A young man, who has been sitting there waiting for the death sentence to be carried out.  Have you wondered what it would feel like to sit in such a situation to know that the death sentence is just there and that it is just a matter of time before you would be executed?  Well, this is the situation in which Paul finds himself.  Here he is in prison and he is on trial for his life.  As yet he is not sure what the outcome will be from this trial whether he will be acquitted and freed and able to go on as an apostle or whether he will be executed by the Romans.  He doesn’t know and so he is in jail living in this uncertainty.  There is a saying “that if you do not have much time, it sure makes you think about the time that you had.”  And this is what Paul, quite probably, is going through.  He is thinking about life.  He is thinking about the time that he had and the time that he possibly may have left, and also he is thinking about what might happen to him if he dies.  Then he comes out with this glorious statement, which is our text for today in verse 21.  “To live is Christ and to die is gain.”

I.  TO LIVE IS CHRIST

To live, says Paul, is Christ.  Notice he doesn’t say “to live is to HAVE Christ”.  “To live is to PUT CHRIST into my life”.  Or “to live is to make DECISION for Christ.”  No, he says “to live IS Christ”.  He cannot envisage life without Christ.  He can’t see an area of his life that isn’t controlled or ruled by Christ.  To live is Christ.  He lives completely in Christ and Christ completely lives in him.  And this means, of course, in every small detail.  Following the teachings of Christ.  Following the example of Christ daily, living in a relationship with Christ.  He uses a beautiful word here and in other passages too.  “I live to MAGNIFY Christ.”

I am sure you have looked at a stamp on an envelope and I am sure many of you have looked through a magnifying glass at a stamp; when you look through a magnifying glass at a stamp, you notice details that you didn’t see before.  Fine details, which are in the printing there, which makes the stamp so beautiful.  Well, this is what Paul does with his life.  He magnifies Christ.  He shows the magnificence of Christ in all his life and he shows this to other people.  Magnifying Christ because to live, for Paul, is to magnify Christ.

I would like you to turn with me to two other passages in the Book of Philippians.  First of all to Chapter 3 reading the verses 7 and 8.  This gives us an idea what Paul means when he says to live is Christ.  He says here, “But whatever gain I had I count it as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.  For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse in order that I might gain Christ.”  And in chapter 4, the verses 10 to 13 he says this “I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me; you were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.  Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content.  I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want.  I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.”  These are glorious words.  “I CAN DO ALL THINGS IN JESUS CHRIST, WHO STRENGTHENS ME,” because, “FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST.”  I can be content in all circumstances.  When I am suffering; when I am being persecuted; when I am being beaten: when I am down, I can be content.  And when I have everything in abundance, I also can be content because to live is Christ.  And Paul can also say: all that I have, my learning, my missionary work.  Everything that I have.  All that I do is all rubbish compared to the surpassing worth of KNOWING Jesus Christ.  You see, Paul did not have Christ as an appendage to his life.  He didn’t have Christ as an insurance policy against the fear of death.  No, Christ was in the centre of his life, and it was the controlling centre of all of his life.  “To live is Christ”  Do you think you could say the same thing about your life?  You, who work and earn an income?  When you are earning your pay packet or you are reaping the profits from your business, can you say, “for me to live is Christ?”  “To work is for Christ.”  And you students, when you study, why do you study?  How do you study?  Can you say in your study, “I am learning these things… I am studying these things FIRST of all for Christ.  Because for me to study is Christ, I want to magnify Christ in all that I do.  I want to magnify Christ showing His magnificence in my study too.”  To live is Christ.

And housewives – when you do your cooking or washing, the ironing cleaning the house, visiting your friends can you say, “I do all these things first of all for Christ?  For me to be a housewife is for Christ.  To live is Christ.”

You see, while we live, we live for Christ.  While we live, we have a task and that is to magnify Christ in all that we do.

II.  TO DIE IS GAIN

But I can hear the Philippians when they received this letter, objecting.  “Paul, this may be very true… and this may be very true for you at this particular time because all your work has been for Christ but what about if you have to be executed by the Romans?  What then?  Isn’t then your death a waste?  Isn’t then your death a loss for the cause of Christ?  Because you have been working hard all your life.  You have been witnessing hard and now the Lord is going to take you away and that is a waste.  It is a loss.  How does death fit in here?  Well, what does Paul call death?  Does he call it a LOSS?  Does he call it a WASTE?  No, he calls it “DEPARTURE”.  Death is a departure and this term ‘departure’ is a naval term in the Greek.  Paul has in mind here a picture of ship in a harbour that is tied to the wharf.  You can imagine all the people standing on the shore and all the people on the liner and all the streamers in between and as the ship moves away from the wharf, all the streamers are broken symbolising that the bond between the people on ship and the people on the shore are being broken.  The tug boat takes the ship out into the harbour, and then the ship, under its own steam goes out into the ocean.  That is departure.  The departure of a ship from the wharf out into the ocean and over the horizon.  And there are two things that come out here.

When we consider this word “departure” first of all we notice that a ship, when it leaves the wharf, when it goes out into the ocean, over the horizon so we no longer see it, yet that ship STILL CONTINUES TO EXIST.  And that is why Paul uses this word.  That ship continues to exist even though we don’t see it any longer.  It has departed but it hasn’t sunk.  It has departed but it hasn’t been destroyed.

There is also another reason why Paul uses the word “departure”.  A ship is not made to be tied to a wharf.  A ship is not made to sit in the harbour.  A ship is made to go to sea.  It has a bow with a sharp point so it can cut through the waves and travel many miles.  Paul is saying here, we are not made for this life.  This is not the ultimate goal.  We are made for a glorious life beyond.  Just as the ship wasn’t made for the harbour, but was made for the sea beyond, so death is not an end.  Death is a new beginning.  Death is a departure.  But notice.  Paul says something else about death.  Death, he says, is GAIN.

In one of our churches was a man who had served as an elder in the church for many years.  When he was older he contracted cancer and was dying very slowly.  And although that was such an agonising time, yet some of his friends had some very beautiful moments together with him; both in hospital and at home, both with his family present and when he was alone.  He once said to his minister, “Please give me some glimpses of heaven.  Please give me some glimpses of the gain I may receive when I die.”

HE HAD A HOPE.  He had a longing for that departure because that departure brought gain.  And look at what we gain.  In Heaven the Bible says, we gain NEW FRIENDS.  In heaven we gain, not sickness, but eternal HEALTH.  Can you imagine, no doctors..?  Doctors will be out of business in heaven.  Instead of sorrow there will be eternal JOY in Heaven.  Instead of sin holding us back, there will be a HOLY PRAISE and WORSHIP to God.  Instead of this temporary dwelling that we live in here on earth, there will be an ETERNAL DWELLING, a permanent dwelling in heaven.  Instead of suffering, there will be JOY.  Instead of the fight of faith, fighting against doubt, fighting against fear, there will be a FEAST in Heaven.  A feast of VICTORY.  You see, we gain by death.  We gain Heaven.  And all that it offers to us.  And Paul says also, above all else, we gain the Lord Jesus Christ.  You see, now we SEE HIM by faith.  But those who die and depart will SEE HIM FACE TO FACE.  They can talk with Him.  They can walk with Him.  They can share with Him.  That is the gain of Heaven.  Now there is a separation between the believer and his Saviour.  In Heaven there is an immediate UNION.  As soon as we die, we are with the Lord in Heaven.  An immediate union with Him!  And Paul calls that “gain”.  Gain over what we have here.  It is not a loss.  And Paul sees a third gain.  He sees that in his death it will be a WITNESS to all those, who do not know Christ because He is dying in the Lord Jesus Christ.  And that will be gain in itself.  For the believer, death is not a loss, death is not a horror.  Death is a departure and it is a gain.  A blessed gain..!

I would like you to turn with me to 2Timothy chapter 4 where Paul talks about his own death and he feels in this particular text how close his death really is.  I think when he said these words and wrote these words he suspected that it would be very soon, even in a few days.  2Timothy 4, reading from verse 6, “For I am already on the point of being sacrificed: the time of my DEPARTURE has come.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing”.

Paul here is looking forward, with eagerness, with expectation, of going to be with the Lord, looking forward to receive the crown of righteousness.  And that is the hope of all Christians.  Death is not a loss it is a gain.  And we can look forward to it.  Yes, there is grief.  Yes, there is sorrow for the gap that is left in our life.  But also there is reason to rejoice because there is gain.  While we weep here on earth, he is in heaven praising God.  While we grieve, he experiences a joy of seeing Christ face to face.  That is the joy.  That’s why Paul can say, “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.”

III.  THE TENSION

But Paul has a problem here.  He feels a tension.  He is being pulled from two different directions.  He feels that on the one hand he may die.  He doesn’t know if it is going to happen soon.  On the other hand, he may live.  This elder we mentioned earlier felt the same tension.  He had cancer, and on the one hand, he was fighting the disease, trying to keep as healthy as possible but on the other hand, he wanted to be with the Lord and he felt this tension.  He wanted to help his children.  He wanted to help his family but on the other hand, he wanted to be with the Lord.  It was tearing him apart.  That’s what Paul is saying here.  My personal desire, my eager expectation is to be with the Lord.  To die straight away and go to be with the Lord, for that is far better.  That’s where the gain is.

But on the other hand, it is necessary for me to stay behind.  It is necessary for me to work in the church, to build the church of Philippi.  The church was only a young church, still having to go through stormy times.  Still with many dangers.  And Paul felt an obligation, a duty towards the church.  But do you notice in our text that Paul does not make a decision.  He doesn’t say I am going to be with the Lord.  And he doesn’t say I am going to stay behind.  He doesn’t say that.  Because he can’t say it.  It is not his to say.  It is the Lord who controls that matter.  If we stay or if we go home to be with him.  But Paul does say one thing and he says it in 2Corinthians 5:2 “Whether I live or whether I die, I do it in the Lord Jesus Christ.  To live is Christ.  To die is gain IN CHRIST.”  Whether he lives or whether he dies, his aim is to magnify and glorify Christ.

Is this your aim?  While you live, to magnify and glorify Christ?  Or if you die, that in your death too, you may glorify Christ?  Isn’t it comforting to know that there is not one moment in our history as human beings, not one moment, that we are outside the Lord.  In life, we are in the Lord, in death we are in the Lord, and when we depart from life into death, we are in the Lord and that not one moment the Lord leaves us.  We go all the way with the Lord.  And that is comforting.  That is assuring.

Congregation, we see the difference between life and death is so small but praise God that we can say, “to live is Christ to die is gain”, because Jesus is a complete and adequate saviour.

Amen.