Live For Christ

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”  Philippians 1:21

Paul is writing the church in Philippi. It was the first church established in Europe around 50 AD. Phillipi was a Roman city located in the Roman province of Macedonia.  He wrote this letter while he was imprisoned in Rome.

What is Paul trying to convey when he writes, “to live is Christ and to die is gain”? He is pointing to the             transformative power of becoming a disciple of Christ. Everything changes. Before the transformation, we were dead in our sins (Eph. 2:1-2). We were slaves of sin (Rom. 6:20), unable to live for God. But all that changes when someone becomes a born-again believer in Jesus Christ. When you acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior and believe in your heart that He was raised from the dead, you go from death to life. Every believer can say, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting (1 Cor. 15:55)?”

Christians can live their lives with no fear of death. That is what Paul means when he says to die is gain. As he wrote the letter from prison, Paul knew there was a chance that he would be executed, but he was not afraid to die because, just like the thief on the cross, he would be with his Savior forever.

What did Paul mean to live is Christ? It means that Paul’s life was wrapped up in serving Jesus. His life was not his to live. He understood what Jesus meant when he said, “Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Me”      (Luke 9:23). Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “I die daily” (1Cor. 15:31). To live is Christ means:

We pursue the knowledge of Christ. We read His Word, study His Word, and meditate on His Word.

We are willing to give up anything that prevents us from living for Christ. No person or possession can come between us and Christ.

We proclaim the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel that saved us is to be shared with all God puts in our lives.

We should obey all that Jesus commanded. Love one another, forgive one another, and serve one another.

This is not a complete list, but it is a good place for us to start as we seek to live for Christ. If you are a disciple of Jesus, your battle cry should be the same as Paul’s, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”    

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark