We'll take your Bibles again
and turn with me to Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter
1. The text will be found in verse
21. For to me, to live is Christ
and to die is gain. Now I'm going to give us a little
bit of a background setting before we dive into the meaning of this
passage of Scripture. The Apostle Paul here writing
to the church of Philippi desired to comfort them concerning his
suffering and imprisonment for the sake of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. He desired to show them that
this suffering was not for the hindrance of the gospel, but
rather the furtherance of the gospel. He says in verse 12,
"...but I would you should understand, brethren, that the things which
happen unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of
the gospel." In other words, the Apostle Paul here is rejoicing
in his imprisonment. He's rejoicing in his imprisonment.
These people at Philippi were discouraged. They didn't understand
what was going on. The Apostle Paul, the man who
gave them the gospel, their founder, of the church there. He is now
being put into prison at Rome and possibly fixing to go to
death and they just don't understand. They were confused. They were
disheartened. And Paul said, don't be disheartened.
This is not something that happened by accident, by chance. But my
friend, my imprisonment was for the furtherance of the gospel,
not the hindrance. Paul says, I know that I was
blessed to see the prophecy that God had prepared for me when
He said that I would preach unto the kings. He said, now, because
of my bonds, the gospel has now risen to the level of the palace
of Caesar. Even the servants of Caesar hear
the message of the gospel because of my imprisonment. Don't be
afraid. Don't be discouraged. Don't be discouraged. The result
of his bonds was, he declares in verses 14 through 17, that
many brothers in Christ have waxen confident to preach without
fear. And in verse 18 he says, what
then? Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or truth,
Christ is preached, and therein I do rejoice, yea, I and will
rejoice. Now the two types of preachers
that Paul is talking about are preachers of truth and preachers
of pretense. False preachers and true preachers.
Now the true preachers that Paul is speaking of are those that
preach Christ in truth. They are called of God to preach
the Gospel. And because of his bonds, Paul
was encouraged saying, hey look, the brethren have waxen bold
because of my bonds, because of my imprisonment. The Gospel
is spread forth and the brothers are waxing bold. The gospel goes forth for the
sole purpose of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. These men desired no attention
to themselves. We're talking about true preachers.
They desired no attention to themselves. All the attention
that they would divert your attention is to Christ and to Him crucified. That's all they want is you to
see Christ and Him crucified, the only hope for sinners. But
yet there was another group that Paul said preaches the gospel
in pretense. These are wolves in sheep's clothing. These people may even have the
right doctrine, but they don't have the right motive. These
are the ones not called of God. These are the ones that would
run on their own. And some of these men, Paul said, wanted
to add to my affliction. He said, this is the reason they're
preaching, is to add to my affliction. But Paul says, I rejoice. It's kind of strange to me, isn't
it? Paul says, I rejoice in those who preach in pretense and truth.
Why? Now, we know that Paul did not
rejoice because they preached another gospel. He didn't rejoice
in their gospel. Matter of fact, in Galatians
on Wednesday, we've been studying that, haven't we? He tells those people, let them
be accursed that preach another gospel. You see, Paul had no
tolerance for the false gospel. But rather, Paul rejoiced in
the fact that Christ was being preached so that men would see
the true from the false. Wherever God raises up a true,
the devil always raises up a counterfeit. You know that? Wherever there's
a true, there's always a counterfeit nearby. I was talking to Cody
Groover this week, and he said, a man, he came to know the Gospel. And this man lives in the remotest
place that you'd ever want to live. I mean, he said, miles
around, there's nobody. He's all by himself in his little
shack in the middle of nowhere. And he came to know the Gospel.
And sure enough, there was one man that was within a few miles
of this guy, and as this guy wanted, the saved man wanted
to declare the gospel to this neighbor, if you want to call
him that, he's way away. That neighbor said, well, you've
got to worship on Saturday. There was always, where there's
a truth, there's always going to be a false. Where there's
a weed, there's always a tear. Paul says, I'm rejoicing in my
bonds no matter what because men are having to look. I'll
tell you, if somebody rejected Paul's gospel, they would at
least have to hear it to reject it. They'd have to hear the truth
to reject it. And Paul says, I know this, that
when God's truth goes forth, it will accomplish salvation. It will accomplish salvation. Paul says, either way, I will
magnify Christ. Paul says this in verse 20 of
our text. He said, according to my earnest
expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed,
but with all boldness as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified
in my body, whether by life or by death. Paul says either way.
It doesn't matter. If these people kill me, I'll
magnify Christ. But if I live, I'll magnify Christ. It doesn't matter. Either way,
I'm going to magnify Christ, and therefore we come to our
text in verse 21. He says, For to me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain. What does Paul mean by this?
What is the meaning of this text? Now, first of all, he means that
Christ is the source of his life. For me to live is Christ. For
I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me. You see, Christ is the fountain
of life opened to the thirsty man in the desert. Water means
life or death. If you have water, it means life.
If there's no water, it means death. If you're alone in the
desert, you cannot go without water. You cannot go without
water. A certain lack of water meant
certain death to a man in the desert. Jesus, my friend, is
the rock that is smitten in the desert. Remember when the children
of Israel walked through the desert and God told Moses, smite
the rock and water shall flow forth. That rock, my friend,
was Christ. That rock that issued forth life
in the desert to the thirsty soul is Christ. And as it was
in the vision of Ezekiel in Ezekiel 47, when the water came forth
from behind the veil, we know that it came forth from the mercy
seat, which is Christ. He is the water of life to the
thirsty sinner. He's the water of life. Because He is our mercy seed,
and from Him issues the water of life. Because of Adam's sin,
death issued forth a curse. Because death passed upon all
men, spiritual death, so that there is none righteous, no,
not one. There is none that seeketh after
God. The natural man cannot receive the things of God, neither can
he know them. Why? He is spiritually discerned.
He's spiritually dead by nature. He cannot perceive the things
of God. My friend, a man can academically
know the things of God. There's a lot of people, not
too far from here, have a great academic knowledge of God. A
man can have an academic knowledge of the things of God. He can
physically pursue the righteousness of God, but spiritually he cannot
because he is dead. This is a man by nature. You
that are lost and without Christ this morning, you are dead and
these things mean nothing to you. And until the water of life
comes to you and gives you life, these things will have no meaning.
You see, man does not need a law or rule of life. I'm not here
to give you rules, do's and don'ts. It's not what I'm here for. A
man doesn't need those things. A man doesn't need a helping
hand. A man doesn't need a push in the right direction. A man
needs life. That's what men need. They need
life. Spiritual life. And no amount of physical pursuit
can ever accomplish that goal. No amount of academic study can
accomplish this. They need Christ. And Jesus,
in His last hours with His disciples, gave them words of great comfort.
When He spoke of His going away, He spoke of His upcoming crucifixion
and death. Well, they were sad and confused
at that time. They didn't know what to do.
But He told them this, that His death had a purpose. He said,
I go to prepare a place for you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself." And Jesus
said, where I go you know, and the way you know. And Thomas
said, Lord, where are you going? We don't know. And the way, we
don't know the way. What was Christ's answer? He
said, Thomas, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but
by Me." Jesus said, I am the way. My friends, there is no
other way to God but by Christ. Is there any man who has interest
in their soul this morning to stand before God? Jesus Christ
Himself said, I am the way. He is either the way or He's
a liar. Isn't that right? He's either
the way, the only way to God, or He's a liar. There's no middle
ground here. My friend, Jesus Christ is not
a liar. He is the only way to God. You see, He, in His active and
His passive obedience to God, brought forth perfect righteousness
so that a man could stand before God. You long to stand before
God? Jesus is the way. Jesus is the
way. No man comes to Me. But by this
way, the way of Christ, know this, that it is only by
the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. Do you realize
that? You that are lost and we that are saved, the only reason
God bears with us is by mercy. The only reason God did not kill
Adam the moment he sinned was mercy. Mercy. We deserve death. Jesus Christ is the way, not
only because of His righteousness, but by His offering of sin on
the cross. You see, He was made a curse
for us. He was made a curse. He bearing our sins in His own
body on the tree vicariously, substitutionarily, and representatively
suffered under the full measure of God's divine justice. And
He condemns sin in the flesh. He's the way. He's the only way. This is the rock that was smitten
and afflicted of God. And yet it pleased the Lord to
bruise him, for he was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed." He is the way.
He is the way. Second, he is the truth. Remember
when he went before Pilate? Pilate said, are you a king?
And Jesus said, I was born for this. This is
the reason I came into the world. I am the King. I am the King. To this end I was born. And this
cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto
the truth. And everyone that is of the truth
heareth my voice." Have you heard the voice of Jesus Christ? Have
you heard Him? He is the truth. Pilate answered
like some philosophical man would, what is truth? Truth was standing
right there. Truth was standing. Do you want
to know the truth? Do you want to know the truth? Jesus Christ is the truth. And
what that means is that all He said was true. All He said was
right. All He did was righteousness
and holiness. I am the truth. There's no truth
apart from Christ. He is the truth. All Christ said and spoke, He
is true. Paul said, let God be true, and every man a liar. I
tell you that Jesus Christ is the way, and He is the truth,
and everything He said is true, and anything opposite or opposed
to Christ is a lie. And third of all, which I'm getting
to my point, He is the life. Paul said, for me to live is
Christ. In other words, Christ is the
source of my spiritual life. In John, he says, "...in the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God." The same was in the beginning with God. "...And all
things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything
made that was made." Listen to this, "...in Him was life, and life was the light of men."
All life. Do you realize that you are breathing
this morning, that you are here and you have being and you are
who you are because Jesus Christ gave us life? He gave us life. He gave us life who deserve no life.
We deserved all death. My friends, He gave us physical
life and not anything living or has being. has it without
Jesus Christ as its source. It is in Him we live and move
and have our being, even from the Son of God. Yet we who believe,
you who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, He's not just the giver
of our physical life, is He? He has given us something far
greater than that. He has given us spiritual life.
spiritual life. And Paul says, I am confident
of this hope. I'm confident of this hope. This
is why I'm not ashamed to suffer and to magnify the message of
Christ, because there is neither given salvation in any other. For there is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. My
friend, if you desire any salvation, there is none other name. The way to God is narrow and
singular. Christ. That's all. He is life. Do you need life? Do you need the resurrection
of your soul? He's the man. He is the life. He's the giver
of life. And therefore, I'm not ashamed.
Paul says, Let me ask you this, are you
seeking another message besides this one? Are you seeking something novel
or something new? Well, my friend, this is the
only message of hope for sinners, and this is the only salvation
for the souls of men. This is the only way, the only
truth, and the only life. Jesus Christ and Him crucified
for sins. Jesus Christ and Him raised for
justification. And for, to me, Paul says, I don't know about you,
to me, to live is Christ. For me, to live is Christ. Paul recognized the source of
his spiritual life was Christ. Not only has Christ given him
spiritual life, but he's given by his sovereign grace through
faith in the person of his work. But Paul says, for to me to live
and to continue in this world is for one reason only, for the
glory of Christ. In other words, Paul is saying
the purpose of my life and the purpose for me living in this
world is one reason. I have no other reason to be
here, Paul says, than one, Christ. Christ is the
reason for my being here. Paul says, I'm a servant of Christ
in verse 1 of Philippians. He says, Paul and Timotheus,
the servants of Christ. You see, Paul saw all things
that come to him in this life, whether they were those that
sought his harm or those that loved him and longed to preach
the Gospel. God, He knew this, everything
comes by the hand of God. Everything comes by the hand
of God. Therefore, because He saw all
power was given to the risen King, and He is sovereignly moving
all things according to His will for the good of His people, He
says in chapter 4 of this book, He says, not that I speak in
respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith
to be content. You see, his contentment stemmed
from Christ being the source of his life and the object of
his life. The object of his life. Do you
desire to contentment this morning? Is there anybody that wants contentment? Do you long to be content in
whatever condition or state you find yourself in? Then let this
be our maxim, for to me to live is Christ. You want contentment? For me to live is Christ. Let me ask us this morning, each
one of us, is for you to live Christ alone,
is that the object of your life? Is that the object of my life?
Is Jesus Christ the sum and object of our life, or is He just part
of our life? Is He our joy, our peace, our
contentment to our souls, or do we need something else to
satisfy us? Is His blood and righteousness,
person and love, His grace the sole object and point of our
life, or are we just playing church? If Christ is our life, if He
is the purpose for our living, And do you think His commandments
to us would be important? Do you think His commandments
to us would be important? Yes. They should be all important. They should take precedent over
any other command. Jesus said this, If you love
Me, do the best you can. Is that
what He said? If you love Me, keep My commandments. John says something similar in
1 John 5, verse 3, when he said, For this is the love of God,
that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not
grievous to us. The word grievous means weighty,
burdensome. Are the commands of Christ a
burden to you? Are they a drudgery? Are they
something you dread to do? Or is it something you long to
do? Let's look in the mirror this
morning. I want you to take the mirror of God's Word this morning
as I present it to you. And I don't want you to turn
it to your neighbor. I don't want you to show your
neighbor what they need. You know, we like to take the
mirror and turn it around and say, look, this is what you need. But I
want the mirror to be turned on ourselves this morning. I
want you to take the mirror and stand it right in front of you. And I want to take the mirror
of God's Word, I want to stand it right in front of me. And I want us to see, are these
commandments of Christ grievous to us? If they're grievous, then
we're not living for Christ. The first commandment is the
command of faith. The command of faith. Are we
living by faith in the Son of God? If Jesus Christ is our life,
faith will be the first and most obvious of the commands. For
without faith, God says, it is impossible to please Him. Faith
is necessary to live for Christ, isn't it? Now, a person can do
a lot of good things. And they can put the name of
Jesus anywhere they want to, on the door of their church building,
and they can feed the hungry and clothe them and do many wonderful
works. But I'll tell you what, if they
have not true faith in Christ, it doesn't profit them anything.
Faith is necessary. If a man does not have faith
in Jesus Christ, then he'll never know Him. For this is the will
of God that was given to Christ. So then all who believe on Christ
are not grieved with this command." Are you grieved with this command
to believe on Him? I chuckle at that. But I must ask it. Again, we're putting the mirror
in front of us. Is that command to believe Him grievous? Scripture says in Hebrews 10,
Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my
soul shall have no pleasure in him. And I'll tell you this,
my friends, there's recorded in Scripture, and I wouldn't
say this had God not said it, but there's recorded in Scripture
people who believed on Christ and were not saved. You know
that? There are people who believe
on Christ and are not saved. Yeah, but pastors say that whosoever
believeth on Him shall have everlasting life. Absolutely. Go to John
chapter 8. I'm going to show you an example
of this. This is vitally important to make sure that our faith is
true faith. Because there is such thing as a false faith.
John chapter 8 and verse 30. Lord Jesus Christ speaking the
gospel to these people and they heard it. They heard His gospel. And in verse 30, he tells them
this, it says this, as he spake these words, many believed on him. Now, if we would have just stopped
there, we would have said, oh look, look at all those people
that believed on Jesus, they must have been saved. But the
Lord doesn't stop there, does He? He goes on, and in verse
31, Jesus said to them that believed on Him, If you continue in My
Word, then are you My disciples indeed. And you shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free. What did they answer
Him? Oh, praise the Lord. Is that
what they said? Praise the Lord! I'll be free
from sin! Oh, praise God, I'm saved!" No. He said, free? We be Abraham's
seed. We've been never in a bondage
to any man. How sayest thou we should be
made free? And by the end of that discourse, they wanted to
stone him. You read the end of that and you'll find out they
wanted to kill him. But these were the ones that believed on
him. How can that be? These that believed on Him were
told of Jesus Christ, if you continue in My Word." If you
continue to believe. See, faith is not a one-time
action. It's a life-long experience. Faith is a constant. He that
believeth. Remember, ETH, present perfect
tense, believed. Believing and shall believe. You see, faith is a continual
thing. It's not a one-time experience. These words that should have
brought joy to their hearts if they truly believed, rather offended
them. The same is true of many religious
folk who believe in Jesus. But you speak of following and
continuing to believe on Lord Jesus, and they're offended. I'm not offended when someone
asks me, do you believe? No, I believe. I'm not offended
by that because that's my command by my Christ, by my Lord. Believe. And I do believe. I do believe. I now believe that Jesus died
for me. To those who are in Christ and
have Him as their life, they realize faith is not a one-time
decision, but rather a lifelong journey. True faith continues
throughout life, and it grows in love and adoration for its
object. Does your faith grow? Again, we're putting a mirror
in front of ourselves. Is our faith grown? Does our love and adoration for
Christ grow? Does our faith rest in Christ
alone and continue to look to Him by His Word? John says, this
is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith in
the Son of God. You see, my friends, the only
victory is faith. Do we have faith now? Do you have faith now? What about
now? What about now? It's an ever-present
thing. Do you believe now? You see,
faith five minutes ago won't do me any good. I need faith
now. And to tell you the truth, if
I'm expecting to have faith ten years from now, that's not going
to do me any good. I need faith now. Faith is now. Do you have faith? Many people who believe in Jesus
plus their will, or Jesus plus their works, plus baptism, plus
the Lord's table, this is not true faith. This is the faith of the will
and nature of man, but it is not the faith of the Spirit of
God. Which faith do you have? And do you have it now? You see, those who live for Christ
are constantly eyeing their Savior by faith. Constantly have their
eye on Him. And their faith is not shared
faith. It's not a faith in my faith or a faith in something
else. It is a faith only in Christ. Only in Christ. Do you have that
faith? Do you live for Christ alone?
If Christ Jesus is our life and sole object of our faith, then
my friends, He will have the preeminence in our life. Isn't
that right? I mean, we can say we have faith, but if Christ
is not the preeminence, what good is that faith? Jesus said,
if any man hate not his father and his mother, his sister and
his brother, and yea, his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. That's pretty tough. He must have the preeminence.
Number two, the command of love. Is this command grievous? This
command of love. John 13, 34 says, A new commandment
I give unto you, that you love one another. How? As I have loved
you, that you also love one another. Is that grievous? To love one
another? If Jesus Christ is our life, it will be manifest by
this way. Love. You know, faith is necessary
and must be for salvation. Man must have faith. But faith
is not how we show others of our discipleship, is it? Doctrine is not how we show our
discipleship. A lot of people have a good grasp
on doctrine. But Jesus Christ said, Love. Love is how we are manifest to
be the disciples of Christ. You want to know if you're walking
and Christ is your life? Do you love? Do you love others
as He loved you? Mirror, I'm speaking to myself
when I do this. That's me. Because I'm looking
in the mirror of God's Word. Do I love you? Do I love you? John says, for
we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love
the brethren. He that loveth not the brethren
abideth in death. You know, for me to ask you to
love me as Christ loved you, and for you to ask of me love
the same for you, is that grievous? Is that grievous to us? Is that
some kind of burden? Not if Christ is our life. Not
if we're living for Christ. When we see the need of our brethren,
is it grievous to come to their aid? And I'll ask you this, is
it grievous to let another brother come to your aid? I mean, usually we don't let other
people come to our aid because of pride, isn't it? When we're
hurting or we're down and somebody comes along and says, can I help
you? No, I got it. That's all right. I'm all right.
When you're really not, is that love? You just took away a blessing
from your brother without letting him help you. We should love
as Christ loved us. We should come to our aid of
our brethren, encourage and support one another. And let us who see
Christ as our life love one another as Christ loved us. Is this not what Paul was doing
in this letter? When I opened this message, I began to show
you that Paul was doing this thing. He was in bonds. He was in prison. He was suffering
under the weight of the Roman government, and yet he cared
for the church. He said, I'm worried about you.
I'm not worried about me. For me to live is Christ. It
is His command of love, not grievous. And when He commands us to love
Him above all things, is that grievous? Is that a burden to us? To set Him above ourselves. Is that a burden? If it is, Christ is not the purpose
for our life. This command is not grievous
to those who love Him and see what He has done for our souls.
And number three, the command of worship. Is this grievous? Go to Hebrews 10. Flip over to
Hebrews 10. Verse 23. Paul mentions all these
things that we're talking about. Faith, love, and then he mentions
worship. Verse 23, he starts with faith.
Let us hold fast our profession of faith without wavering, for
He is faithful that promised. Let us consider one another to
provoke unto love and good works. There's love. And here's worship. Not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting
one another so much the more as you see the day approaching. not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together." Is that the Word of God? Let me ask you,
is that the Word of God? Is that God speaking or is that
just another book? Did God say this? Did God command
this? I know that many things in our
life would hinder us from the public worship of Jesus Christ.
And I'm sure you can find a good reason for forsaking the assembling
of yourselves together. But see, none of those things
will ever hinder someone who's living for Christ. Those that are living for Christ,
His worship is not grievous. It's not a burden. It's not something
that gets in the way. It's something they love to do.
Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together is a command
that is not grievous. Now to this religious age and
false professors who say, I don't have to go to church to be saved.
I can worship God in my car, on my job. I can do all of that
without having coming to a physical building and worshiping. Some say I have other pressing
matters. Besides worship. Yes, but the command still stands. Regardless of our excuse. Not forsaking the assembling
of yourselves together as a matter of some is. To those who have Christ as the
sum and substance of their life, this is not grievous. to those who love Him and who
see Him by faith and love the people, they will also assemble
with those people and worship the Lord Jesus Christ." Paul
was suffering because he preached the gospel for this purpose of
assembling for the worship of Christ. And if our life is Christ,
then it should be centered around His worship through His ordained
means. What did God ordain for His worship?
How did He tell us to worship? Preaching of the Gospel. That's God's ordained means for
His worship. It's not pretty to the flesh.
It's not pretty to the world. It doesn't have all the glitter
and splendor that religion has. But my friends, it is still God's
only ordained means by which He is to be worshipped through
the gospel of Jesus Christ. God said, for after the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. You see, it's not a burden for
me to be here Sunday and Wednesday. It's not a burden for me. It's
a joy. I love being here. I wouldn't
want to be any place else in the world. I really wouldn't. But right here with you, I love
you. And I love to worship my Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. Why? He's my life. He's my everything. I love my children. I love my
wife. But they come a distant second
to Christ. They come a distant second to
Him. He's my everything. If we are
to live for Christ, then my friend, we must die to self. Paul says, I die daily. Mirror, do we die daily to self? Paul says in Colossians 3, 3,
4, you are dead and your life is hid with God. A student once
asked his teacher, how is it that we can be dead
to the world while we're living in it? And the teacher thought
a minute and he said to the student, he said, go to the grave of your
friend that just died. And he said, you stand before
the grave and you criticize him. and you rail on him, and then
you give him words of praise and adoration, and then come back and tell me
what he says." The student, of course, went
and did the project and he went back and
he told the professor and the press said, what did he say?
He said, nothing, he's dead. He said, that's exactly how we're
to respond to this world. Dead. Someone comes up to you and praises
you, glorifies you, wants you to come away with them, it's
time to worship. What do you do? Are you listening
to them? Are you dead to them? We must die to self if we are
to live to Christ. Are you dead to this world? And
is Christ your only life? Is Christ your all in all? Or is He just part of your life? Paul says, for me to live is
Christ. What is it for you to live? What's your purpose for breathing
this morning? What's my purpose for being here? That I have to come? I want to. Do I have to love
you? No. I want to. And I want to believe in my Lord
and Savior and trust Him with everything in my life. How about you? Is Christ your life? For to me,
to live is Christ. Let's stand. We'll be dismissed in prayer.