To Live Is Christ Series

Scripture

We are in a series of sermons on Paul’s letter to the Philippians that I am calling, “The Christian’s Contentment.”

Paul planted the church in Philippi on his second missionary journey. About ten years after planting the church, Paul was under house arrest in Rome. His future was uncertain, and so he wrote this letter to his beloved Philippians.

After the opening greeting, Paul gave thanks to God for them, and prayed for them. As he began the body his letter, Paul wanted them to know that despite his imprisonment, the gospel was advancing. Then, he urged them to live for Christ.

Let’s read about living for Christ in Philippians 1:18b-30:

18 Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 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. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. (Philippians 1:18b-30)

Introduction

In his commentary on Philippians, Dr. Kent Hughes tells the story about Dr. Andrew Chong, who was a former elder in the church that Dr. Hughes pastored for many years. Several weeks before Dr. Chong passed away, he was taken to Northwestern Hospital in Chicago to have a stent cleared of blockage. The procedure was invasive, and after some time the surgeon came out and indicated that he could not go on because there was too much bleeding. He said, “You’d better get your family here. He may not make it through the night.” So all the children were rushed to Dr. Chong’s bedside, where they gathered weeping and saying their good-byes.

Dr. Chong had just come out of the anesthetic and was in intense pain and unable to speak. Seeing his family’s distress, he made a curious motion with his finger, which they finally understood as a request for a pen. Of late he had been unable to write in a straight line. But now, very slowly and with intense deliberation, he wrote twelve words in a single column: For—to—me—to—live—is—Christ—and—to—die—is—gain.

Underneath this column of single words, Dr. Chong wrote another word: Hallelujah. The writing of that last word took him a full minute as he made sure he spelled it correctly. And then he spoke: “Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed.” Dr. Hughes concludes, “It was his soul’s spontaneous last will and testament.”

Dr. Chong’s words are, of course, the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians. In fact, Paul’s words—“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”—is perhaps the most quoted verse in all of Philippians. It stands at the heart of the doctrine of the Christian life for Paul—and for us, too.

Lesson

Philippians 1:18b-30 teaches us to live for Christ.

Let’s use the following outline:?

1. The Christian’s Rejoicing (1:18b)

2. The Christian’s Resolve (1:19-26)

3. The Christian’s Request (1:27-28)

4. The Christian’s Reminder (1:29-30)

I. The Christian’s Rejoicing (1:18b)

First, let’s look at the Christian’s rejoicing.

Paul concluded the previous paragraph in his letter (about the advance of the gospel) by saying that he rejoiced because Christ was proclaimed. But Paul not only rejoiced for what happened in the past, he would also rejoice in what was in the future, as he wrote in verse 18b, “Yes, and I will rejoice….”