Back in Philippians chapter 1,
Paul seems to, by faith, look above, look beyond his present
circumstances. and having the sure and sweet
confidence, as we just sang, that Jesus was his, by faith
he looks above and says, if I were to depart now, I know I would
be with Christ. And for me personally, he says,
that would be far better. Far better than remaining here.
In comparison to staying here, oh, if I were to leave this place,
I would be so much better because I would be not in purgatory.
No such place. No such place. Not in the grave,
my body sleeping with my soul. That's not true either. Paul
says, if I depart right now, If right now God is pleased to
make the very next breath I draw here to be my last one on earth,
and I were to open my eyes again, I would be beholding the king
and his beauty. Is that not far better? But then
he looks around. He looks around with the pastor's
heart. concerning the believers at Philippi, which he had such
a warm place for. It's the only epistle that Paul
writes that he doesn't offer a rebuke or a warning about false
doctrine or so forth. But he says, as far as you're
concerned, it would be better for you if I were to stay here. And then in verse 22, he seems
to say, I leave it in God's hands. And it couldn't be in better
hands. Whether I stay or whether I depart and go to be with Christ,
I leave it in His hands. And then in verse 21 he says
this, For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. The title
of my message is Christ my life and dying my gain. James, in
his epistle, asked this question concerning those who said, well,
we're going to go into the city tomorrow, and we're going to
buy and sell, and we're going to make a profit, we're going
to get gain. And James said, you're forgetting yourself. You're
forgetting. That's up to God. That's up to
God. You ought to say, if God wills
it, we'll do these things. And then he asked this question.
For what is your life? What is your life? As to its
length, how long we're here, how long our life might be, what
is your life? We're only here for just a very
short time, a very brief time. As a matter of fact, James says,
it's like a vapor. A vapor. It appears and you no
sooner see it than it's vanished. It's gone. James says, so is
your life. And I would like for us to consider
what is our life, not only as to the length of it, but the
quality of it. What is our life? What's the
meaning of our life? What do we live for? And Paul
says for him, for him to live is Christ, the wise man. Solomon
in Ecclesiastes, he made this statement. He said all that his
heart desired he didn't refrain from having. Anything he wanted
he had. He said this in verse 9 of chapter
2. Then he says, then I looked.
I took a good hard look. I paused and took a good look
at all the works that my hands had wrought and on the labor
that I had labor to do and behold, Solomon says, this is the result
of it all. Behold, all was vanity. And the word doesn't mean prideful. The word as it's used here, vanity,
means empty, meaningless, without real satisfaction. All that I
beheld was vanity and vexation of spirit and there was no prophet
under the sun. This is exactly what our Lord
said to the woman at the well, didn't He? We mentioned it this
morning. Drink of this well and you'll
thirst again. It'll never bring lasting satisfaction. And our Lord Himself said in
another place, is not the life more than meat and the body than
raiment? And of course the answer is yes.
What shall a profit? He asked again. What shall a
profit if a man should gain the whole world and lose his own
soul? With those questions in mind,
look again at our text. Paul says, for me to live is
Christ. For me to live is Christ. Christ has given my life purpose. He's given it meaning. He's given
it satisfaction here and then eternity hereafter. Ask men what
they live for. For example, remember that rich
young ruler that came to Christ? What did he live for? He was
a young man and he bowed down before the Lord. Hourly, it looked
promising. The apostles were certainly impressed
with it, but our Lord looks not up on the outside, he looks at
the heart. And afterwards, when he told
the rich young man, when our Lord put his finger on the sore
spot, that man said that he'd loved his neighbor as himself
all of his life. And our Lord said, well, let's
just see if you do. Let's just see if that's true. Sell everything
you've got and give it to the poor that you say you love just
as much as yourself, and then come follow me and you'll have
riches in heaven. And then he showed where his
heart was. because he went away sorrowful,
we're told, because he had much riches. Ask that rich young man,
what's your life all about? What do you live for? What do
you want? And he would say, more riches.
He traded the treasure of grace. the treasure of God's grace. Oh, that's the only thing that
brings peace and contentment. We sang our first hymn, my faith
has found a resting place. This is something that money
can't purchase. To leave here tonight, to be
able to go home, and as we lay down tonight to know my hand,
rather my life, My soul is in the hand of my great Creator. I'm in the care and under the
protection of His everlasting arms. And I'm in His hands. Could I be in better hands? Could
I be in more secure hands than His? He that loved me and gave
Himself for me. And we see that rich man in hell
that our Lord spoke of, lifting up his eyes. Ask him now, what
good are your riches now? Oh, he fared sumptuously every
day, and Lazarus was poor, and just laid at his door and begged
for the crumbs that fell from his table. But look at him now.
All of your riches will not buy you any more life, any more time. Lazarus was poor in earthly goods,
but he was robed. Oh, how well-dressed he was. Because when death came and took
the rich man, and likewise took Lazarus, the rich man opened
his eyes in hell. Oh, what he would have given,
all of his riches, all of his earthly possessions, he would
give if he could go back and hear one more gospel message. But it was too late. Between
us and you, there's a great gulf fixed, and there's no passing
over. You to us, or us to you. But
we see Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, in glory, with his Redeemer. And he's robed in that which
money could never buy. Money could never buy, could
never purchase. He's robed in the perfect righteousness. the absolute righteousness of
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why he went to glory.
Ask Saul of Tarsus, the man who wrote these words, who said,
for me to live is Christ. That wasn't always the case.
Ask him at Saul of Tarsus, Saul, what are you living for? What
are you living for? What's your life about? And he'd
say, I'm working. I'm working. I'm striving. As he would say concerning his
brethren after the flesh in Romans 10. Paul could write this because
he identified with this. At one time, he did the very
same thing. He said, my heart breaks for
them. I have a continual sorrow because they're ignorant of God's
righteousness. They don't have a clue as to
what God requires. And they go about by their own
works, by their own self-denial, they think they're establishing
a righteousness before God. They think God's going to accept
their sinful works. He said, it's heartbreaking.
But Paul could understand that because at one time he did the
very same thing. Saul, what do you work for? What do you live for rather?
I'm working. I'm striving with all my might
to establish my own righteousness before God. But ask him afterwards. Ask him afterwards, oh, how that
robe of self-righteousness, how Paul loved it, how he treasured
it, how he clinged to it, how he trusted it. Oh, but Paul,
after that day, after that day when God came to you in mighty,
sovereign, reigning, conquering grace, and brought you down to
the feet of not Jesus of Nazareth, the imposter, not Jesus, the
deceiver, but Jesus Christ, very God, and King of kings. How does
that robe of self-righteousness look to you now, Saul? How do
you view it now? In the light of His perfect righteousness,
how does yours look in comparison to His? And Paul tells us in
Philippians 3, this is what it looks like. I see it now for
what it actually is. My eyes have been opened. Now
I've been passed from darkness to light, and I see that my robe
of righteousness is nothing but filthy rags. It's done. What worth is it to you now,
Saul? How do you value it now, Saul? He says it's done. Away with it. I count it all
lost that I might have what, Saul? Oh, that I might know him. That I might be found in him. I love those words, don't you,
Don? I love that expression. Oh, so
it has the sound of comfort. Oh, but the reality is even more
comforting. Found in Him. Chosen in Him. redeemed in Him, preserved in
Him, kept in Him, brought to glory, standing before God in
Him, clothed in His perfect righteousness. Paul said, that's what I live
for. That's what I live for. To know
Him the only true God, to be found in Him, enrobed in His
righteousness, all before Saul of Tarsus, the result of all
of his work, all of his endeavor, all those things that he did
in his religious blindness when he thought he was pleasing God.
Saul, tell me now, honestly, how do you view it now? What
did it bring to your heart then? And Paul said, I'll tell you
what, all of it together never brought me peace with God. Never
had peace, never had assurance, never had any acceptance because
he was looking to the wrong place. He wasn't looking to Christ.
But ask him now, what do you live for now, Paul? And our text
tells us. What's the object of your life?
What's the ambition? What's the goals of your life?
And Paul would correct me and say, it's not goals. It's not
plural, there's only one. I live for one goal, one ambition,
one thing motivates me. For me to live is Christ, meaning
this. Among other things, I think Paul
meant by these words, Christ was his purpose for living. And Christ was his reason for
living. Christ was the joy of his life
and the life of his joy. Remember what your life was before
Christ. Remember what your life was without
him, without purpose, without hope, without God. But now, but now, thankful for
His grace. But now, because of His mercy,
now Christ is all. Now we live for Him. Now we have
a reason for living. With this sweet singer of the
Psalms, we can join in and say, surely, goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life. We can sing that with David. And I shall dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. Goodness and mercy. All the days
of my life. I don't know how many days I
have here. I don't know how many days God
has ordained for me on this earth. Many or few. But for me, on this
earth, whether they be many or few, I know this. Someone referred
to God's goodness and mercy as the hounds of heaven. Always
at the heels of his children. As the great shepherd of his
sheep. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life all the way to glory all the way His grace shall keep
me. His grace shall preserve me.
He'll never leave me, He said. He'll never forsake me. And He'll bring me all the way
to that place. And David said, then? Then what? I will dwell in the house of
the Lord forever. For me to live is Christ, meaning
this. Christ was the source and the
cause of the spiritual life that now lived in Paul. Christ himself
said, I am the resurrection and the life. You remember when he
spoke those words? It was the grieving Martha. Grieving
Martha that came out to meet him when he arrived in Bethany.
And he said, Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. He
that liveth and believeth in me, though he were dead, yet
shall he live. And he that liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Do you believe that? Do you believe
that? Martha, do you believe that? And to Martha it was just some
vague notion of a resurrection way out there someplace in the
sweet by and by. But our Lord said, Martha, you're
looking at the resurrection. I am the resurrection. And I
think, Martha, never considered the resurrection as she once
did after she stood before the tomb of her dead brother and
saw our Lord raise him from the dead. Oh yes, our life is hid
with Christ in God. Remember what he told his disciples
that night? Because I live, you shall live
also. That's a rich text, isn't it?
Because I live, you shall live also. The same life that flows
in me is the same life I give to you like the vine and the
branches. And you will live as long as
I live. Remember what Paul said in Galatians
chapter 2? Turn back there if you will.
Galatians chapter 2. Paul said for me to live is Christ. He's the reason of my life. He's
the source and the cause of my life. And this is what he says
in verse 20 of Galatians 2. The apostle says, I am crucified
with Christ, nevertheless. The Lord says, I kill, and I
make alive. I bring down, but I lift up. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. But Christ liveth in me, in the
life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved me. Oh, how He loved me. Having loved
His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. Isn't that an astounding thought?
There has never been a time Never been a time, our puny little
brains can't get hold of this because we deal by time, the
clock, everything. But there was never a time that
God didn't love his own. He's loved us with an everlasting
love. John 13, having loved his own,
which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. The Son of
God who loved me and gave himself for me. I live by the faith of
the Son of God. The faith of Jesus Christ himself. Turn over to Galatians. Galatians
chapter 3. Paul says this in verses 3 and
4 of Galatians 3. Speaking to the believers. He
says, for you're dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. That sounds pretty safe, doesn't
it? That sounds pretty secure. If my life is here with Christ
in God. And Paul goes on to say in verse
4, when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye appear
also with him. With him. Isn't it amazing to
hear some of the carnal ideas people have about heaven? What
they say about heaven and the reasons that they want to go
there and never mention the very source and glory and wonder of
heaven is this, I'll be with Him. Paul says, that's why it
would be better for me to depart this life, I'll be with Christ.
To depart and to be with Him. When Christ who is our life shall
appear, He'll not appear without you. Father, Father, I will also
that those whom you have given me, all those you gave me, be
with me where I am. My soul. No wonder Paul said
to depart and to be with Christ would be far better. When Christ
who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with
him. Boy, you could take that and
just run a long ways with him. What's heaven? Well, it's a whole
lot I don't know, but I think I know this. The scriptures say
it's to be with him. That's glory. Oh, to be with
Christ. Imagine that. Imagine that. To look into the eyes of that
one that saw me. To see him that first saw me
like that aborted infant and came to where I was. and said, live, oh, to see him. Oh, to bow before that one who
loved me and gave himself for me, who walked this earth as
the substitute of his people, and then ascended Mount Calvary,
and there was made sin, was deserted, forsaken by God. Oh, to be with
him, Paul said. to depart and be with Christ.
Further, it means when Paul says that Christ was his life, It
was the purpose of Paul's life. Paul lived for Christ. Christ
was the grand object for which Christ lived. His motive. Can
you think of a greater motive? A greater reason for living than
serving Him? Oh, that's a life well spent
in the service of our Redeemer. Afterwards, after Paul wrote
these words, he's in prison again in Rome, but this time he doesn't
expect to come out. Timothy. My departure's at hand. If you can come before winter,
bring that cloak that I left. It's cold here. Can you see the
great apostle? who became all things to all
men that he might by all means save some." Timothy, I endure
all things for the elect's sake. All things to all men. Now he
doesn't even have a cloak to keep him warm. Timothy, if you
come, bring it with you. No man stood with me. Everyone's
forsook me. Nobody knows Paul. the preacher
of God's free grace in Christ. But Paul said, nevertheless,
the Lord stood with me and he'll preserve me until his heavenly
kingdom. Timothy, I'm just about ready
to go home. Only a believer can face death
that way. Is that not so? The time of my departure is at
hand. I'm ready to depart and to be
with Christ. Also it means this, Christ is
the security of our life. As we just read in Colossians,
our life is here with Christ in God. Nothing can harm me until
Christ is first defeated. Got to get to the head before
they can touch a member of his body. It also means Christ is
the satisfaction of our life. This world is no longer the main
attraction. No, it once was. Didn't know
any better, didn't have any better. Oh, but since Christ has opened
our eyes to behold him, this world has lost its appeal. We've seen a greater sight, a
greater wonder, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we're going to a
better place. David said, I'll be satisfied
when I awake in his likeness, when I'm like him. And that brings
us to the second part of the verse. And to die is gain. Again, only a Christian can make
a statement like that. A believer hears that and they
say, how can that be? How can that be? How can death
be gain? Because they say death is the
end of everything. Death is the end of life. It's
a paradox, but not to the believer. He understands that. Only a Christian,
a pilgrim traveling to the heavenly Jerusalem can say this, and to
die is gain. Moses, like him, we esteem the
riches of Christ greater than anything this world can give. Paul in Ephesians calls it the
exceeding riches of his grace. When men die, We hear people
say, well, they left it all behind, all they had, all they lived
for, not the child of God. Turn, if you will, to 2 Corinthians
chapter 4. This is what the child of God,
the believer, has in store for them. And Paul says, we know
that it's so. Christ said that it was so. In
2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 16, Paul writing and says, for
which cause? We think not. But though our
outward man perish, yet that's not all. The inward man is renewed
day by day for our light affliction, which is but for a moment. just
brief, a vapor, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory. While we look not at the things
which are seen, my pastor says, standing on the tiptoes of faith. While we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. For we know We know if our earthly
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building
of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens
with our Lord, where we'll be free from all that caused tears
here on earth. No more tears, we're told. He
that sits upon the throne says, behold, I make all things new.
No more sorrow, no more pain, no more death. Oh, but above
all this, no more sin that causes those things, no more sin in
me will inherit what Christ earned, to depart and to be with Christ,
which is far better. Living or dying, one translator
rendered the text like this, living or dying gain. gain. Christ makes it so. Going to
be with the redeemed. Glory to the Redeemer. And what
great gain to the redeemed. To see the travail of his soul. Remember what he said in John
12? except the corn of wheat falling into the ground and die,
it abideth alone. But if it fall into the ground
and die, what happens? He said, it brings forth much
fruit. There's no question about it.
He'll be the firstborn among many brethren. Turn if you will
to Revelation chapter 7, one of my favorite passages in God's
Word. Wonderful picture this is. John
is privileged to see a multitude before the throne of God. They're
all dressed alike in a robe of righteousness. They all sing
the same song, Glory to the Lamb. And they all stand in the same
position. before the throne, not degrees
of rewards. Oh, no. They all enjoy a full
reward. Look up on his face. And they
have the palm, the palm leaf of victory in their hand. And
John just stands there gazing in wonder. And then the elder
asked him in verse 13. And one of the elders answered,
saying unto me, what are these, John? What are these which are
arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? And I said unto him,
Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are
they which came out. What a proof of the sufficiency
of God's grace. It doesn't say they were exempt
from tribulation. It doesn't say they didn't suffer
tribulation. Oh no, no, no. No one goes to
glory on a bed of roses. Oh no. Take up your cross and
follow me. But here's the wonder. of God's
grace, they all came out. They all suffered, but they all
came out. Oh, see the captain of our salvation? He brings us all out of great
tribulation. These are they which came out
of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the
throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.
And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more. Neither shall
the sun light on them, nor any heat for the Lamb. The land which
is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead
them unto living fountains of waters. And God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes." I think we can sometimes take those words
that our Lord spoke to His disciples that night when He come walking
upon that stormy sea to come to them. And they saw Him and
were troubled, and He said, Be not afraid. Sometimes God's providence
is dark. And we don't understand why.
Or we read the scriptures, all things work together for good,
but we can't help but wonder, where is the good? Why? Why is
there a necessity that I pass through this heartache? But we
hear the great shepherd of the sheep, even in the storm, saying,
it is I. Be not afraid. Now we see through
a glass darkly, but then face to face. It's like looking through
the wrong end of a telescope. The big end. Everything is so
distant, so far away. Oh, but then in that day, then
when we're with Christ, it'll be turned around and we'll see
him face to face. Those in glory would say, don't
weep for me. Why weep for those whose tears
have been wiped away forever? Why weep for those who now behold
the king in his beauty? The believer in death gains heaven. He gains sinless perfection.
He gains forever to be with his Lord, never to be parted again. I've never been at a bedside,
have you? Have you ever stood at the bedside of someone dying
and heard them say, oh I wish. They look back over their life
and say, oh I wish I'd had a bigger house. Have you? I've never had. Wish I had more money. Oh no, no. All that matters,
all that's important, all that I might be found in. That's all the difference. That's
all that matters, brother-in-law. When I soar the world's unknown,
old top lady said, and behold thee on thy throne, oh rock of
ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. To live is Christ
and to die is gain. God bless you. Amen.