“Paul said: ‘To live is Christ, to die is gain’”
Philippians 1:21
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
Just over four hundred years ago, back in the year 1600, William Shakespeare wrote a play called, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Out of his more than forty plays, it’s not only his longest play, it’s the most popular of them all.
The story begins on a cold, dark night just outside of Elsinore, a Danish royal castle, as two watchmen talk about a ghost they had just seen, one that looked very much like the late King Hamlet. The very next day, even King Hamlet’s son, Prince Hamlet, sees it too.
And when that ghost appeared to Prince Hamlet, it said, “If thou didst ever thy dear father love...revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” And it said, “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown.”
Then later, in Act III, as Prince Hamlet stands and thinks about life and death, he asks whether it’s better to be alive or to be dead. It’s the most famous soliloquy of all time.
In modern English, it goes like this: “To be or not to be? That’s the question. Is it nobler to put up with all the things that life throws your way, (“the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,” “heartache and a thousand natural shocks”), or to fight against all those troubles by simply putting an end to them once and for all? Dying, sleeping--that’s all dying is--a sleep that ends all the heartache and shocks that life on earth gives us--that’s an achievement to wish for. To die, to sleep--to sleep, maybe to dream. But there’s the catch: in death’s sleep, after we’ve put the noise and commotion of life behind us, who knows what kind of dreams may come? That’s certainly something to worry about. That’s what makes us stretch out our sufferings for so long.”
To be or not to be? To live or to die? That’s the question.
In the book of Philippians chapter 1, even the apostle Paul seems to wrestle with that question too. Please turn with me to page 1248 as I read the words of our text. Philippians chapter 1, starting just before verse 19. Paul said, “Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.”
If you’ve been with us for the past few weeks, you’ll probably remember that Paul’s letter to the Philippians is one his four “prison epistles.” Along with Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon, he wrote it while he was a prisoner in Rome.
And it’s a beautiful book, full of both joy and thanksgiving for what the people of Philippi had done. As he wrote in chapter 1, verse 3: “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
And not only is Paul’s letter to the Philippians a beautiful letter, it’s full of “life motto” verses like these: “Do not be anxious about anything”...”Rejoice in the Lord always”...”Work out your salvation with fear and trembling”...and “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
And the church in Philippi was a church that Paul knew well. It’s where he stopped to visit while on his second missionary journey, along with a man named Silas.
And as the two travelled west along a major Roman road, they came to a town of Macedonia called Philippi. But as they walked along its city streets, they couldn’t find any synagogues. Apparently, there weren’t any Jews living there. But they did find a group of women outside the city, sitting beside a river for prayer and worship. One of them was named Lydia, a seller of purple goods. And as they sat and talked, the Bible says the Lord opened her heart to listen to what Paul said. And just as soon as he baptized her, she said, “If you’ve judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.”
Philippi is also the place where Paul healed a girl possessed by a demon, and where he said to a jailer at midnight, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
And since it was a church and a people that Paul knew and loved so very much, he wrote in verse 19: “For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance.” And verse 21: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Why did he write that? Because he knew he was, very likely, about to die. He had been arrested as an insurrectionist against the Empire, and now he sat in a prison in Rome, awaiting trial before Caesar, a man who held the power of life and death, and who would use that power without hesitation, especially against anyone who posed a threat to Rome. Paul’s neck, literally, was on the line.
And when word got out to all the churches he knew and loved, they were worried that his life might soon be taken. Would he live to keep on preaching and teaching, or would he die?
So here in the words of chapter 1, he meant to strengthen them and comfort them to know that whether he lived or died, he belonged to the Lord.
So he wrote in verse 21: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
But not everyone thinks that way. Take Muslims, for example. To them, life and death is nothing more than a submission to a tyrant called Allah, absolutely sovereign, accountable to no one. In Buddhism, life is an endless cycle of suffering and misery from which we can only hope to escape. And Hinduism too speaks of an endless series of reincarnations. All you can ever hope for is nirvana, emptiness, like a drop of water in an endless sea.
Or think of atheism that offers absolutely no hope at all--just nothingness, an end to existence. As Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, “When one does away with one’s self, one does the most noble thing possible.” And he wrote, “The thought of suicide has helped me through many a restless night.”
But what does Paul say? Verse 21: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.”
Even more, you should notice that, in the original language, there is no “is” in verse 21. Translators simply added it to make it a little easier to read and understand. Instead, he wrote, “For to me to live, Christ, and to die, gain.”
What’s it mean? For the apostle Paul, the sum and substance of his life was Christ--nothing else but Christ. Everything in his life was under the lordship of Christ. He was the very essence of his being, the reason for his existence. Everything he lived for was Christ. Everything he was, was Christ. He knew Him. He loved Him. He lived for Him. He served Him. He preached Him. Everything in his life was all about Christ.
And when he said, “For me to live is Christ,” he didn’t mean Christ was the source of his life, though He was. He didn’t mean Christ lived in him, though He did. He didn’t mean Christ controlled him, though He did. He simply meant life is Christ. Life is summed up as Christ. In effect, he said, “I’m filled with Christ. I’m occupied with Christ. I trust Christ, I love Christ, I hope in Christ, I obey Christ, I preach Christ, I follow Christ, I’m in fellowship with Christ, I’m consumed by Christ, I’m dominated by Christ. He’s my inspiration, my direction, my meaning, my purpose. He’s the center of my life. Everything in my life is Christ.”
And notice it’s not Christ plus wealth, or Christ plus power, or Christ plus possessions. “For to me to live is Christ,” not plus anything else.
If you want to have a healthy view of life, embrace this doctrine. If you want to have a healthy view of death, believe this teaching. This is Christianity. It’s what it’s all about. To live is Christ, to die is gain.
So what does it mean to live is Christ?
It’s like having more than enough of the very best wine at a wedding banquet. It’s like being born again. It’s like having a spring of water deep inside, welling up to eternal life. It’s like being a cripple for a lifetime, unable to reach even a pool of water, then with a word, picking up your mat and walking home. It’s like being born blind, never able to see anything, until suddenly, Jesus spits on the ground, makes mud and washes it off, then suddenly, you can see. It’s like having a Good Shepherd leading you in paths of righteousness, one who lays down His life for His sheep. It’s like being alive again, after you’ve been in the grave, like Lazarus, for four days. It’s like having the Master stoop down to wash your filthy, dirty feet, then being able to wash other people’s feet. It’s like taking a journey toward a destination far more glorious than you can possibly imagine, with Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, as your sure and certain guide. It’s like being grafted into a living vine. It’s like seeing Jesus give His life on the cross, then reaching out and touching His wounds, knowing full well He’s risen from the dead. And it’s like having breakfast by the sea, and being given a work that will take the rest of your life to do.
He’s the one, the only one, who makes life worth living and death worth dying.
As Paul wrote to the Philippians, “For me to live is Christ.”
Born in August of 1788, Adoniram Judson, was only 25 years old when he left America to become a missionary in Burma, one of the very first missionaries to travel overseas. He would spend the next forty years, the rest of his life, there.
But his work was never easy. His first wife, Ann, died in the mission field, and so did his second wife, Sarah. Thinking he was a British spy, he was thrown into prison for twenty months, half-starved and bound in chains until, finally, he was released.
Seven long years passed till one man came to Christ. Three more years, and his congregation numbered eighteen. Thirty-eight years after he died, there were two hundred and ten thousand.
This is what he said: “I am not tired or weary of my work and neither am I weary of the world. Yet, when Christ calls me home, I shall go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from school. I’m not weary of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and a thousand natural shocks. Bring them on if Christ might be glorified. But let me tell you--when He calls me, I’m ready to go.”
As Paul wrote to the Philippians: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
We give our deep and heartfelt thanks, dear Father, that You have chosen even us to follow You. Make us worthy of that calling, that we may not only know Christ, but make Him known. In His name we pray. Amen