Well, we're going to stay right
there where Brother Robert just read in Philippians chapter 1
concerning the subject, striving together in truth. Striving together. One thing I've learned as I grow
older and being behind the pulpit and leading singing and speaking
is this, that speaking is one thing, singing is another. Because
sometimes, you know, my throat just didn't want to cooperate.
But be that as it may, we go on. We continue as the Lord enables
us. This message today, I think,
is so important for believers to hear. Because the apostle
Paul, throughout this book, and up to this point has really done
just an excellent job. And of course, we know he's writing
by inspiration of the spirit. So these aren't really what we
would call words that originated with Paul, but they originate
with God. This is the word of God. But
this book, up to this point, and on through the book, if you
know the book of Philippians, and most of you all have studied
through it several times with me and with others, He puts things
in their proper perspective. I'll be 70 years old this year. I've been a believer for probably
around 40 years. And I still need to have my perspective
worked on, focused. I've got brothers and sisters
in Christ, my wife, who all remind me of that so often, and I deem
to be reminded of that. And you need to be reminded of
that, too. We all do. But this message tells us what
we're all about and why we're here, why we're
together. And it really reminds us that
apart from this, we wouldn't be together at all. But it all has to do with that
first statement that Paul makes. Verse 21, for me to live is Christ. I want so much for that to be
true of me. That my life, not just Sunday,
or not even just when I read my Bible, that my life, my living,
is Christ. He's what we're about. And I'm
not just speaking of mysticism here or just some kind of a poetic
way of living or as the old preacher said, you're so heavenly minded
you're no earthly good or anything like that. I'm talking about
that I want to glorify my savior. So often in my life I fail. I really do and I really mean
it when I tell you that I'm saddened over that. But thank God that
even my failures do not remove me away from living in Christ. I thank God for that. And I don't
take that, as I mentioned in the Bible study hour, I don't
take that as an excuse to be negligent or mean or whatever. blinded in a lot of ways. But
I know it's so. I know that my Savior and my
Lord, who is my salvation and who is my righteousness, will
not let me go. And thank God that's so, because
I would be a goner if he did. And so Paul, in his old age here,
in his adversity, he's in prison. We talked about that last week,
where he said how his chains, his imprisonment, had worked
out to the furtherance of the gospel. What a perspective. What
a way of looking at things. And he was no Pollyanna. He wasn't
looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. He was
looking at reality from God's perspective. And he thought, think about how
many people have heard the gospel because of my situation. And
I think about that. I've had people write and thank
God that they heard the gospel, heard it from me. I think about
all, I read portions of your book on the internet all the
time. Because people have been affected by it. They've listened
to it, they've read it, and they've been blessed by it because it's
God honoring. Messages that you men have preached. And don't
think that these things go unnoticed because God has a purpose for
it. You're not just preaching to the walls. And I believe that
all of this is entailed in Paul's message here, for me to live
is Christ. But then he, in his age and in
his perspective and in his situation, he says, to die is gain. To live
and to die is Christ. When it comes to man's relationship
with God, there's only two ways to live and there's only two
ways to die. And that's it. You either live in Christ and
by Christ or you live for self. And what's sad about that is
a lot of people in religion who think they're living for Christ
are living for self. It's all about them. And you
either die in Christ or you die in your sins. And that's the
saddest of all. And he says, Paul says in his
life here, he says in verse 22, he says, but if I live in the
flesh, now he's not talking about the flesh as an emblem for sin,
or a sin nature as often you see in the scripture. Like he
said, for example, in Romans chapter seven, where he talks
about the flesh profiteth nothing. He's talking about the flesh
here as being the physical body. If I live physically in this
body, This is the fruit of my labor. Now what's the fruit of
his labor? That Christ is glorified. For me to live is Christ, to
die is gain. Yet what I shall choose, I know
not. Now what Paul is saying there
is he's in a conflict. Because look at what he said
now, verse 21, to live is Christ. I know God is honored, Christ
is honored. in my life, even in chains, even
when enemies come after me, Christ is glorified. When I preach the
gospel, I'm victorious whether they believe it or not, he said
in 2 Corinthians. Because why? Because Christ is
glorified. Christ is honored. That's victory. Stephen preached one of the most
victorious, effectual sermons ever preached. And it's not recorded
that one person believed him at that time. In fact, it's recorded
that everybody ganged up on him and stoned him and killed him.
Now that's not the world's idea of successful evangelism. But
he was successful. Noah preached for 120 years.
And he preached what we preach, the righteousness of God in Christ.
The gospel wherein the righteousness of God is revealed. And we don't
have any record of any converts. Now there may have been some,
but we don't have a record of it. Noah was a successful preacher
for 120 years. So that's what Paul's saying,
for me to live is Christ. But he said it's far better for
me, it's gain to me to die. Now why is that? Well you go
to be with the Lord. That pain you're having now,
be gone. That sinus condition, you won't
have that anymore. I'll be able to sing with a golden
voice without even having to take a drink of water or going... all the time. The perfection of glory, that's
what he's talking about. And so when he says this in verse
22, he's saying, I'm in a straight here, as he
explains in verse 23, look at it. He says, for I'm in a straight
betwixt two. To live is Christ, to die is
gain. Having the desire to depart,
I'd love to go on and be with the Lord. Paul's in his old age
now, see? He has dying grace. Dying grace. Lord, give me dying grace. Somebody
said, well, are you dying? Well, yes, I am. I don't think
it's coming too soon, but I don't know. But whenever it does, Lord
give me dying grace. And he said, to be with Christ
is far better. John said, we'll see him face
to face. We'll know as we're known when
we die. That softens the death blow because
Christ has conquered the grave. He's conquered death. He lives. People are getting ready to celebrate
Easter. We celebrate the resurrection
of Christ every day. And it's far better to go to
be with him. And he says, nevertheless, to
abide in the flesh. Now he's saying in this physical
world, in this physical body, it's more needful for you. You
have need that I stay to teach you, to support you, to pray
for you, to witness to you. But he realized that if he died,
there would be fruit there, the fruit of glory. But if he stayed on earth, there'd
be fruit there, the fruit of the edification of God's people. And he also knew and he rested
in the fact that this matter was God's business. It's up to
God. It's appointed unto men once
to die and after that the judgment. Well, who appointed that? God
did. We don't know when the time's
coming. He may give us an idea with an illness, I was talking
to somebody the other day, and they were talking about a lady
who'd been diagnosed with cancer, and the doctors told her that
she had like three months to live, and that was four years
ago. Well, doctors don't know everything, do they? I thank
God for them, I do. I'm going to see one tomorrow.
I thank God for them. But only God knows the day and
the time of our death, because he's appointed it. And it's a
time of gain. Isn't that comforting? Listen,
what is it to die in Christ? It's to die having all of our
sins forgiven by His blood. All of them. It's to die clothed
in His righteousness imputed to us. Justified. Declared righteous by God who
knows everything that can be known about us, even our secret
thoughts and motives. To die clothed in the righteousness
of His Son. That's what it is to die in Christ,
what gain. And it's to put away this dying
body and to go to be with the Lord in spirit awaiting a union
of a spiritual glorified body. And so in verse 25, he begins
to show us an abundance of rejoicing in Christ Jesus, having this
confidence. I know that I shall abide and
continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith,
that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for
me by my coming to you again. Now, In all of this, Paul is showing
that the main fruit that would come from his continuing with
them would be rejoicing, more abundant in Christ Jesus. And
I love that word rejoicing there. The literal translation of it
is boasting. It's the same word that Paul
used in 1 Corinthians 1 when he said, he that glorieth, let
him glory in the Lord. That word rejoicing there is
the same word as glory. It's the same word he used in
Galatians 6, 14 when he said, God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of Christ. God forbid that I should brag
or boast or have confidence except in one thing, the glorious person
and the finished work of Christ. His blood and righteousness.
That's the gospel, isn't it? It's the same word he used in
Philippians chapter three. Just turn the page and you'll
see that. Philippians three and verse three. He says in verse three, he says,
we are the circumcision. Now, why would he make a statement
like that? Because he's talking to Gentile believers here. There's
some Jewish believers too, but he says, we are the circumcision.
Well, he's speaking this way to combat the legalism of unbelieving
Jews who claim that salvation has something to do with physical
circumcision. And I've told you this several
times, I'll repeat it. The unbelieving Jews had three
things that they boasted in as far as being right with God.
a right relationship with God. Number one was their physical
connection with Abraham. We're Abraham's seed. And of
course, Christ blew that out of the water. He said, I know
you're Abraham's physical seed, but you're not Abraham's spiritual
seed. You don't believe the same gospel that Abraham believed.
You don't do the works of Abraham. What are the works of Abraham?
Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness.
What was imputed to Abraham? The righteousness of his Savior,
Jesus Christ. He believed God's promise to
send Christ to do the work that he couldn't do for himself. The
second thing was the physical circumcision of the males, which
represented the whole family. And they thought, well, you had
to be circumcised to be saved, because that's what the law said.
Of course, the law didn't say that. That was back in Abraham's
day. But Christ blew that out of the water too in His Word.
When Paul made the statement when he said, God forbid that
I should glory save in the cross. He said, by which the world is
crucified unto me and I unto the world. He said in the next
verse, he said, for in Christ Jesus, circumcision or uncircumcision
availeth nothing but a new creation. He says, it doesn't matter if
you're a circumcised Jew or an uncircumcised Gentile, it has
nothing to do with salvation. It has nothing to do with being
right with God. The only thing that matters is
a new creation which comes from the merits of the righteousness
of Christ, being born again. And the third thing they boasted
in was their law keeping. We keep Moses' law. They didn't,
but they bragged about that. Well, Paul is answering here
those false workers. He calls them dogs in verse two. He said, beware of dogs, beware
of evil workers, beware of concision. They were coming into gospel
churches and telling the Gentile believers that unless you're
circumcised, you're not right with God. We know you're a believer,
you believe salvation by grace, but you've got to add that. Paul
told the Galatians, he said, if you be circumcised for that
reason, Christ will profit you nothing. And so Paul writes here in Philippians
3 and verse 3, look at it. For we are the circumcision.
Well, what's he talking about? Circumcision, physical circumcision
in the Old Testament was an emblem, a type of the new birth, being
born again by the Spirit. The cutting away of the filth
of the flesh spiritually in the heart. And what is the cutting
away of the filth of the flesh? Repentance. That follows faith
in Christ. All those things that I used
to hold in high esteem, that I thought recommended me unto
God, I now see, as Paul says later on in verse 3, they're
nothing but dung that I may win Christ. Why does he say that? Because he'd been circumcised
in the heart, in the mind, the affections, the will, the conscience. And so he says, we're the real
circumcision. We're the spiritually circumcised.
How do you know that, Paul? Well, he says, which worship
God in the spirit. Now, the word spirit there is
not capitalized. I believe it should be, but either
way, it could be true. What he's saying here is we worship
God not according to our own ideas, but we worship God according
as the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, leads us in the Word. That's
the way we worship God. You know, people, you think about
it. You go around to different churches that call themselves
Christian and see how they worship. Where is the Word of God in that?
I know there's a lot of feeling, there's a lot of emotion, there's
a lot of joy. But where is the preaching of
the gospel of God's grace in Christ? You see, we worship God
in the spirit. And if you believe that it should
not be capitalized, what he's talking about is we worship God
from the heart. And both are true. Sincerely. And here's what he says, look
at verse three, and rejoice in Christ Jesus. That word rejoice
is the same word over here in Philippians 1 verse 26, that
you're rejoicing may be more abundant. It means to boast,
to have confidence. Our confidence is not in ourselves.
Our confidence is not in each other. Our confidence is in Christ,
who he is. God manifest in the flesh. What
he accomplished on Calvary, righteousness, the full, complete, perfect righteousness,
which God has imputed to us. The life that he's given us.
And then he says, and have no confidence in the flesh. So go back to chapter one now,
verse 26. That you're rejoicing, you're
bragging, you're boasting, you're confident. They be more abundant. This is a good bragging. This
is a good boasting in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. Isn't that precious? Well, then he starts talking
about conduct. Look at verse 27. Only let your
conversation, your conduct, Be as it becometh the gospel of
Christ. Now Paul's been talking about that. We just finished
the book of Ephesians. Paul spoke of that. As believers
in Christ, our conduct, our attitudes, our behavior should be derived from and promoting the
gospel we believe. There's no argument there. There's
no excuse that we can give for bad behavior, bad conduct, or
anything like that. We're to be continually repentant. We're to foster what the Bible
calls godly sorrow over sin. We're to strive to do better.
Not in order to be saved, but because we already are. Because
we boast in Christ. I want to honor Christ in my
life. I don't always do that now. And
I have to be reminded. I have to be talked down from
the ledge. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes
it's a little easier, but most times it's pretty hard because
I got a big ego. I'm like the rest of you. But
here he's talking about a specific and our conduct. conduct that
becomes our gospel profession in a way that brings us to stand
fast, firm, in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for
the faith of the gospel. Now, we may not be together on
every little item, but this is where we're together, right here. There's no disagreement here
among believers. Somebody said, you can't get
a crowd to agree on anything. No, that's not true. God has
the power to do that. He can get a crowd to believe
one gospel. So he says, only let your conversation
be as it becoming the gospel of Christ. And that's why I preach the gospel
every time I stand behind this pulpit, every time I sit in that
chair and preach on TV. That's the one thing we can all
agree on. And that's the one thing that
brings us together. The gospel. And I want to be
clear on what that gospel is. It's the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, the Greek also,
for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith as it is written. The just shall live by faith.
How God can be just and justify the ungodly. I don't want, I
don't ever, as a preacher, as a pastor, I don't ever want one
person to after the conclusion of my message, to walk out that
door and say, well, he didn't preach the gospel today. Because I know, as we say in
that hymn, that there's some who've never heard it. And I
know that you who have heard it, you love to hear it again.
And you know why you love to hear it again? Because it's your
confidence. It's your boast. It reminds you after this week
that you've had, whatever week you've gone through, it may have
been a good time, may have been a bad time, it reminds you where
your hope is. That my hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. And it inspires us. It's like I said, gas in the
tank. That motivates us to walk right, to do right. It's the kind of message that
brings me to be ashamed of my bad behavior and my bad words
without condemning me and my conscience. I had a preacher
tell me one time, he said, well, you need to be condemned in your
conscience sometime. Do you know what that is? That's
legalism. That's unbelief. You see, the thing that stirs
me up to treat you, my brothers and sisters, better is the gospel
of God's grace. Because I know that if it weren't
for His grace, if He judged me right now, apart from His grace
through the righteousness of His Son, I would sink down to
a devil's hell. Look at this, he says, let your
conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether
I come and see you or else be absent, whether I'm here or there,
I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit
with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.
And that word faith there is like all, it includes the doctrine
of Christ, the truth, striving together in truth. And he says in verse 28, and
nothing terrified by your adversaries, your enemies, your opposers,
which is to them an evident token of perdition, that's destruction,
but to you of salvation and that of God. It's an evident token,
it's proof, those who oppose the gospel. It's an evident proof
of their destruction. And that's referring to the non-elect.
It's referring to those who live in unbelief and die in unbelief
and oppose the gospel. But to you, what is it? It's
proof of salvation. Remember what the Lord said to
Nicodemus? In John 3 and verse 19, he said,
this is the condemnation that light has come into the world
and men love darkness rather than light. What do you love?
What do I love? Darkness or light? Because their deeds were evil.
And that's talking about deeds that they highly esteem as recommending
them unto God. Like Nicodemus, a Pharisee, who
sought righteousness by his works instead of looking to and resting
in Christ. He was telling Nicodemus, your
deeds are evil. Nicodemus might answer and say,
well, why are they evil? I'm trying to do good. I'm trying
to help people. I'm trying to be nice. My friend,
those things in and of themselves, they're good, but they will not
save you. They will not give you life.
They will not wash away your sins. They will not make you
righteous. That's God's business. Christ said in verse 20 of John
3, for everyone that doeth evil hateth the light. Listen, in
Luke 16, 15 it says that which is highly esteemed among men
is an abomination to God. Tell somebody who's depending
on their works that that's an abomination. Neither cometh to the light lest
his deeds should be reproved. But verse 21 says, but he that
doeth truth. Now what is it to do truth? It's
to believe in Christ, to rest in him. Follow him, cometh to
the light that his deeds may be manifest, made manifest, that
they are wrought in God or the work of God. The gospel is the great divider
of all people. The preaching of the cross, Paul
called it. It's foolishness to them that believe not. But to
us who are being saved, it's the power and the wisdom of God.
Nothing better, nothing greater. Listen to this, this is Hebrews
11. Let me just read it to you, verse seven. Talking about Noah,
Hebrews 11, seven. Listen to how the word of God
puts it. I had a preacher who claims to preach the same truth
we do. He says, well, I don't go around condemning people.
Well, I don't either. I just preach a gospel that condemns
them. Listen to what it says about
Noah in Hebrews 11, 7. By faith Noah, being warned of
God, of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an
ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the
world. and became heir of the righteousness
which is by faith." Noah's preaching condemned the world. What does
that mean? He that believeth not is condemned. I want you and I want myself,
I want to know the state we're in right now. What state am I
in? Am I under condemnation or am I under God's grace? Well, how can I know that, preacher?
Well, what is your hope of salvation? What is your boast? Well, I gave my heart to Jesus
when I was 12 and got baptized. Oh, my soul. That's an abomination. What? An abomination? Yeah, it is. Salvation is not giving your
heart to Jesus and getting baptized. Salvation is Christ being the
Lord your righteousness, giving you a new heart to look to Him
and rest in Him and brag about Him, boast in Him. That's what it's all about. And
that's why Paul said, you know, he said to them, look at it again,
Verse 28, nothing be terrified by your adversaries, which is
to them an evident token of perdition, again, which means destruction,
but to you salvation and that of God. And then listen to this.
Now you talk about putting things in perspective, and this is tough.
Now listen to this. For unto you it is given. Now
whatever he's gonna talk about, it's a gift. For unto you it is given, in
the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, we know faith
is the gift of God, that doesn't come naturally to men and women.
Men and women, left to ourselves, we would never believe. For by
grace are you saved, through faith, that none of yourselves,
it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
But not only is faith a gift from God, but also to suffer
for his sake, wah. You mean suffering's a gift?
Somebody says, well, that's a gift I don't want. Well, now think
about it. Suffering for his sake now, not
suffering for our own sakes, not suffering for our own bad
habits and bad behavior, but suffering for his sake. Now,
that's what Paul was doing at this present time. He was in
jail. Suffering and that really if
you think about that was kind of one of the lightest sufferings
Paul went through I mean At one time they had to lower him down
out of a wind and sneak him out of town one time because they
were after him He was scourged whipped All of that that he went
through And here he's just in a hired house Being able to preach
the gospel so he says in verse 30 having the same conflict which
you saw in me and now here to be in me The same thing I'm going
through, you're going through, Paul's saying, even though it
may not be the same type or the same degree, but you're going
through it. I'll guarantee you every believer here has had to
suffer this with their family, their earthly family. I've never been put in jail for
preaching the gospel. I thank God I live in a country
where we have a constitution that doesn't allow that. The
Lord lets me live long enough, it may not be the case later
on, I don't know. But what does Christ say about
this sermon? Let me conclude with this. Listen to this, suffering
for Christ's sake. And Peter said, now not for our
own bad behavior, but for righteousness sake, for the gospel. Christ
said, blessed are you when you're persecuted for righteousness
sake. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when
men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner
of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, he said, and
be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for
so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. In Hebrews
12, I don't have time to go there this morning, we'll do that later
on. You know what those sufferings are called? They're called the
loving chastisements of our Heavenly Father, which prove that God
loves us and that we're His children. Isn't that something? Talk about
perspective now. May the Lord bless His Word to
our hearts.