Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Your word, O God, is sweeter than honey.
It is life to our very souls.
You have given it to us that we might know You, and serve You, and find our delight in You.
So, as we come now to study a portion of it, we ask that You would see fit to open our eyes to see the truth.
Quicken our minds that we may understand the truth.
Stir our hearts that we may love the truth.
God, grant that through the preaching of Your word we would grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
It is for His sake that we ask it.
Amen.
I invite you to turn in your Bible to .
As you find that place, please stand for the reading of God’s Word.
“For me to live is me, and to die is terrible.”
I think that’s closer to the way most people in the world actually feel.
But a person who feels that way will not honor Christ in life.
And they will not honor Christ in death.
And that’s what I want to talk to you about tonight, Honoring Christ in Life or Death.
The Apostle Paul was writing from prison.
He told the Philippian believers that his imprisonment had actually turned out for the good of the gospel.
He said he believed both he and the gospel would be vindicated when all was said and done.
He said, “Whether I am released from prison, or executed, Christ will be honored.
He will be honored if I live.
He will be honored if I die.”
Verse 20 says it this way, “Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”
How does he know that?
That’s what he tells us beginning in verse 21.
You could begin verse 21 with the word because.
Paul says, “Christ will be honored in my life or in my death because I long to leave, but I live to labor.”
So how can we honor Christ in life or death?
I want to call you attention to three elements in the text that will help us answer that question.
I.
A perspective to adopt (V 21)
Honoring Christ in life or death begins with having the right attitude regarding life and death.
We must have a biblical perspective toward both life and death.
And we see what that perspective is in verse 21.
First, we see the believer’s perspective toward life.
“For me to live is Christ.”
Paul is saying, “Christ is the motive for all that I do.
Christ is the inspiration in all that I do.
Christ is the goal of all that I do.”
Just like all the planets in our solar system revolve around the sun, which is at the center.
For Paul, Christ was at the center.
Every single aspect of his life revolved around the Son of God.
As believers, you and I should see our lives the same way.
As long as I am alive my reason is Christ.
How different that is from most people in our society.
But this shouldn’t be true of believers.
Most people live in the service of self.
Believers live in the service of Christ.
Most people live to gain the treasures of earth.
Believers live to gain treasure in Christ’s kingdom.
“To live is Christ” means that every thought, word, and deed is aimed at pleasing Him.
Every pursuit has Christ as the driving force behind it.
He is the first consideration in every decision.
And the first priority in every endeavour.
Your purpose for your life should be to accomplish His purpose for your life.
Your perspective on life should be this: “Christ is the Son at the center of my life and every part of it revolves around Him. My work, my family, my relationships, my hobbies, my finances, my dreams, my plans.
It’s all about Christ.”
That’s the right perspective for those who want to honor Christ in life.
Most people live in the service of self.
Believers live in the service of Christ.
Most people live to gain the treasures of earth.
Believers live to gain treasure in Christ’s kingdom.
“To live is Christ” means that every thought, word, and deed is aimed at pleasing Him.
Every pursuit has Christ as the driving force behind it.
He is the first consideration in every decision.
And the first priority in every endeavour.
Your purpose for your life should be to accomplish His purpose for your life.
Your perspective on life should be this: “Christ is the Son at the center of my life and every part of it revolves around Him. My work, my family, my relationships, my hobbies, my finances, my dreams, my plans.
It’s all about Christ.”
That’s the right perspective for those who want to honor Christ in life.
But we also see the right perspective for those who want to honor Christ in death.
“To die is gain.”
The word “gain” simply means profit.
Paul is telling us that he considers death a profit, not a loss.
He is saying, “for me to die would be to my benefit.”
Think about it.
No more struggle against sin.
No more longing to see the Savior.
No more suffering and pain.
For Paul death would mean a transfer from a Roman prison to a royal palace.
The Christian lives this life in preparation for the next life.
That means our earthly life isn’t what we value most.
Most people in the world view death as something to be avoided at all costs.
Why?
Because death steals from them everything they value.
But for believers death is the doorway to everything we value.
Your death will not honor God if in dying you feel you are leaving behind everything that matters most.
If you want to honor Christ in life or death you need the right perspective.
And here it is.
“For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Or to say it another way.
Christ is what I live for in life and what I long for in death.
So, this is the perspective to adopt.
But if we’re going to honor Christ in life or death there is also a tension to feel.
II.
A tension to feel (Vv 22-24)
There is a tension Paul felt.
On the one hand there is the desire to continue in this life and labor for the Lord.
On the other hand there is the desire to go and be with the Lord in glory.
What I want you to see is that the presence of this tension honors Christ.
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