9/14/08 - Pentecost 18 - Philippians 1:18-27

TO LIVE IS CHRIST
- He gives meaning to life
- He gives purpose to life

I have never met anyone who has had as hard a life as the Apostle Paul had. And at the same time, I have never met anyone who was so happy to live that life as the Apostle Paul was. His life was filled with beatings, scourgings and shipwrecks. He was hungry and homeless and hunted, on trial and in prisons… I don’t know anyone whose life comes even close to the hardships Paul had to endure. But even though his life was filled with constant trouble and plenty of physical pain, Paul loved to live. The Apostle Paul loved to live that extremely demanding and unimaginably difficult life! And the entire book of Philippians is an excellent example of the joy and the comfort and the peace and the enthusiasm Paul had for the life he lived. Because he wrote this letter from prison. And yet as Paul begins our sermon text he says, “I will continue to rejoice.” Although he was in chains at the time and his future was in question, he continued to rejoice. Why? Why did Paul love to live a life that he should have hated? Because “For me,” Paul said, “to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
“To live is Christ and to die is gain.” Beautiful words, aren’t they? Poetic words and inspirational words once we know where Paul was at the time he wrote them. But what do they mean? “To live is Christ and to die is gain” are familiar words to many of us - but they are worthless words unless we know what Paul means by them. The second part of the phrase, “To die is gain” is easy enough for us to understand. As Christians we all know that we gain heaven when we die. We gain eternal life with our Savior in Paradise. The glories of perfection that we will receive at death is something we all look forward to and trust in. But the words, “To live is Christ” is a concept a little harder to grasp at first, isn’t it? And so let me try to phrase it in a little bit different way. When you read “To live is Christ” think: “Christ is the meaning of life.” That’s really what Paul is saying here. “Christ is the meaning of life.” Because everything that had to do with Paul’s life had to do with Christ.
First of all, Paul lived because of Christ. Not only did Christ form him in his mother’s womb, but Christ died for him on the cross. Christ gave meaning to Paul’s life because of that forgiveness. And Paul appreciated Christ’s death a lot more than many of us do. Because remember that Paul had once been a professional persecutor of Christians. He was paid to hunt them down and throw them into prison. And so Paul, more than most people, appreciated the full and free forgiveness that Christ won for him on that cross - because Paul was forgiven even for those sins of killing God’s own children. Paul knew that the only reason he was living was because of Christ. But he also lived on account of Christ. Christ’s death wouldn’t have meant anything to Paul if Christ had not personally come down to him on the road to Damascus and worked faith in his heart to believe it. Paul knew that the only reason he was now living as a Christian was on account of Christ’s grace and mercy. And because of Christ’s grace and mercy, Paul also lived in Christ. His life was filled with peace and comfort and relief because he was in fellowship with Christ. And he then was motivated by Christ to live that life. Christ gave him the power and the strength and the motivation to do the things he did. And of course, Paul lived for Christ as well. His focus was always on Christ. “What can I do to thank Christ? What can I do to praise Christ? What can I do to give Christ the glory?” Paul’s life was because of Christ, on account of Christ, in Christ, by Christ, and for Christ. For to him, to live was Christ and to die was gain. Christ was everything to Paul. Christ was the beginning, the middle, and the end to everything that Paul did. “To live is Christ” was his motto. It was his philosophy on life. It was his life’s theme.
I wonder what my life’s theme would be. Not what I want it to be - because every Christian would want their life’s theme to be the same as Paul’s: “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” So not what I want it to be, but what would it be if the way I have lived my life so far would be summed up in a short, simple sentence. I wonder what yours would be. Because I have a sneaking suspicion that none of our lives would be summed up by the beautiful words that Paul spoke. In fact, I’m willing to guess that the theme of our lives would be almost the opposite. Instead of “To live is Christ and to die is gain,” our motto would be: “To live is me and to die is not something I want to think about right now.”
“To live is me.” That is who we focus on. That is who we try to please. That is what often times motivates us to do what we do. Because we are all self-centered instead of Christ-centered by nature. We are always so concerned about what we want, about what will make us happy, about what we think is right, about what we want to do, that Christ is no longer the center of our portrait - he somewhere far in the background, off-centered and out of focus. Just think about this last week. How many times did you think about your needs and your wants and your life last week… and compare that to how many times you thought of Christ’s desires, his will, and his Word. The scale isn’t even close, is it? We think about ourselves far more often than we think about Christ. The theme: “To live is Christ” doesn’t even remotely describe our lives. “To live is me” is much closer. And so we cannot say that “To live is Christ” sums up our life adequately. Not even close.
So how could Paul say that? How could Paul, a sinner, legitimately say that “For him to live is Christ and to die is gain”? Paul could say that not because that adequately summed up his life up to that point. He couldn’t say that because he was so good at living his life at that time. But Paul could say that was his life’s theme because he remembered the theme of Christ’s life. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he says, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). The theme of Christ’s life was, “To live is you and to die is you.” Christ’s whole life was lived for you. Christ’s horrific and gut-wrenching death was died for you. There was nothing on this earth that he didn’t do with you in mind, with your best interests at heart. He never cared about himself. He never bothered thinking about what he wanted in life, about his glory, about his fame, about his comfort. He thought about you. Constantly. That’s why he lived how he lived. And that’s why he died how he died. To live was you. To die was you. To rise was you. And to live is you right now. Christ lives right now for you. You are still his life, his focus, and his love. And it’s always going to be that way. You will always be Christ’s life so that he can always be yours.
And so the theme of your life really is “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” Not because that accurately sums up the way you’ve lived your life or the way it will turn out. You can say that confidently because that is what Christ has made himself. He has made himself your life. And just like Paul you live because of Christ, on account of Christ, in Christ, by Christ, and for Christ. Christ is everything to you and he is everything to me. And together we have been forgiven, saved, strengthened, and blessed by Christ. Christ is the meaning of life. And he also gives it a purpose.
You are here for a reason. You are not here just to live and then die. Christ has you here for a reason, and Paul clearly tells us what that is. “If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me.” Paul was in prison, but he was still alive. And so he had fruitful labor to do. Are you alive? (And I know that’s a stupide question and I hope you are all still listening to be able to say, “Yes, I am alive!” And since you are alive, you have fruitful labor to do. And that labor is to work for Christ. Because if Christ is the meaning of life, then there are millions of people in this world whose lives have no meaning at all. They do not believe that Jesus is their Savior and so they will end up in hell. You’ve got fruitful labor to do as long as you live this life! And that labor will never end. So do not waste your time. Do not put it off. Because the end of your life or the end of this world could come any second. And then what? And then what about all those people who do not believe in Christ? Then it’s too late. Then it’s too bad. For them and for you. Because you would have had the chance to introduce them to their Savior but you let them down. Don’t let that happen. Get on with your fruitful labor in every way you can. It doesn’t matter how young you are, how old you are, how experienced you are, how comfortable you are, how tired you are, how poorly-equipped you think you are… you have fruitful labor to do. As Paul said, “Now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”
Your purpose in this life is to exalt Christ in your body. And you can do that by telling other about Christ, by following his commands, by living a godly life on this earth, by thanking and praising him for what he has done, by a variety of different things in different situations. But that’s your purpose in life: to exalt Christ in your body. And what a blessing it is to have that kind of purpose, to have a job that you know how to do, when to do it, and why! That’s the beauty of the purpose the Lord gives you in your life. You can do it because he promises to help you carry it out and he promises that it will bear fruit.
Paul loved to carry out the purpose the Lord had given him. He loved to spread the Word. When he was in the synagogues he carried out that purpose to the Jews. When he was among Gentiles, he told them about their Savior. When he was in front of rulers and kings he did not hesitate to speak the truth of the gospel. When he was in jail the prisoners heard the Word and when he was in chains the guards heard the same thing. Wherever he was and whatever situation he was in Paul couldn’t really help not exalting Christ in his body. Because for him, to live was Christ and to die was gain.
“To live is Christ and to die is gain.” That is your life’s theme. Because Christ is your life. He gives it meaning and he gives it purpose. He is your comfort and he is your motivation. And whether or not you put it on your front door or etch it into your tombstone, at least keep it in your mind. “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” There is no nobler life to live. And there is no sweeter death to die.
Amen.

“May the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” -2 Thess. 1:12