Paul's Sanctified Dilemma

Introduction to Paul's Sanctified Dilemma

0:05 The following sermon was preached on Sunday, January the 4th, 1981, when the Trinity Church was meeting for the last time in the Grover Cleveland Junior High School in Caldwell, New Jersey.

0:19 As I have asked you to do on the past two Lord's Day mornings, so again this morning, I am requesting that you follow as I read Philippians chapter 1, verses 12 through 26. Our attention will be concentrated primarily upon verses 22 through 26, but in order that we may be reminded of the flow of thought that introduces these very fascinating words that we will examine this morning, please follow as I read beginning with verse 12. And I will read from the New International Version this morning, trusting that perhaps just the fresh rendering will cause the passage. To come with some degree of freshness upon your own ears. Philippians chapter 1, beginning with verse 12.

1:24 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served the advance of the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been saved. Most of them have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

1:50 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what I am saying is that I am in chains.

2:15 What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.

2:32 For I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will be able to do so. I eagerly expect and hope that I will be able to do so. I eagerly expect and hope that I will be able to do so.

2:45 I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet, what shall I choose?

3:14 I do not know. I am trying to choose. I am trying to choose. I am torn between the two.

3:18 I desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again, your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account. Of me.

Defining and Illustrating a Dilemma

3:49 Now, as I've already intimated, our attention this morning will be riveted primarily upon verses 22 through 26, a passage which could well be entitled The Sanctified Dilemma of a True Man of God. The Sanctified Dilemma of a True Man of God. Now, a dilemma for the sake of you kids who think that's a 50-year-old, 50-cent word, is a situation of perplexing uncertainty in which we are torn between two choices. Usually we think of it in a negative sense, but the word itself can apply to two good choices or two bad choices. Sometimes we say, well, I'm between a rock and a hard place. If I turn to the left, I hit the rock. If I turn to the right, I'm in a hard place.

4:44 That's a dilemma in which either alternative is negative. But there can be dilemmas that are good dilemmas. For instance, maybe someone takes you out for a walk in the heat of the summer and happens to stop by the Carvel ice cream parlor, and as you're standing there, someone comes up to you and says, now I have two ice cream cones, you can have one or the other. Well, one happens to be a rich, dark chocolate, which is one of your favorites, and the other happens to be a peanut butter swirl, and that's also one of your favorites.

5:16 Well, immediately you're in a dilemma. You love the chocolate, but you love the peanut butter swirl, and you can't have both, so you've got to make a choice. And feeling the pull between your chocolate and your peanut butter swirl, you are in a dilemma. Or it may be that mom and dad have said on a Saturday you're going to go off and visit one of the relatives.

5:37 Well, there's your mom's dad, that's grandpa on mom's side, that you really love him, and he loves you, and you have a very special relationship, but there's your grandma. There's your grandma, who's your dad's mom, on the other side, and you have a lovely relationship there, and they say, well, should we go visit grandma or grandpa today? And you say, well, I'd love to, but I...

6:00 And you're torn. You're in a dilemma. Well, this passage sets before us, in a very real sense, the sanctified dilemma, that perplexing situation in which the Apostle Paul found himself as he was torn, between two good choices. And the heart of the passage is bound up in the words that are found in verse 22.

Context of Paul's Dilemma: Rejoicing Amidst Imprisonment

6:28 He says, What shall I choose? I do not know. And the opening words of the following verse, I am pressured from both sides. Now, if we're rightly to understand Paul's statement of his sanctified dilemma, we must come to the words again, remembering the specific circumstances in which he finds himself.

6:55 He is imprisoned at Rome for the sake of the gospel. His trial is in process. Up until now, everything has gone well. No sentence of death or of beating has gone forth in his direction.

7:10 He's in a spirit of rejoicing, as we read again this morning, verses 12 and following. Rejoicing because Christ is being magnified through new dimensions of bold preaching. As people see the grace of God given to Paul in his imprisonment, they wax bold to preach Christ with greater fearlessness, and this causes him to rejoice. And even though there are mixed motives in this increased gospel preaching, Paul is full of joy.

7:41 Then he goes on to say that he's going to continue to rejoice, no matter what the future holds. Because he's absolutely confident that through the supply of the Spirit in answer to the prayers of the Philippians, Christ will be magnified in his body whether he lives or whether he dies. And then in verse 21, he lays bare to us those perspectives which give birth to that entire train of thought expressed in verses 12 through 20. How does a man, in the face of these circumstances, chain to a Roman soldier, facing the possibility of death, knowing that certain gospel preachers are trying to rub it under his nose by their increased activity, how does such a man say, I am rejoicing, I will continue to rejoice? Well, the answer is, because to him to live was Christ. And because in the midst of all of this, Christ was being praised, Paul is full of joy, for life to him was Christ, and death to him did not mean leaving of Christ, it meant more of Christ. To him to live was Christ, to die was gain in that would bring him greater dimensions of the fellowship of Christ, the knowledge of Christ, communion with Christ,

The Statement of Paul's Sanctified Dilemma: Acknowledgment and Description

9:10 and likeness to Christ. Now then, beginning with verse 22, it's as though the apostle is thinking out loud. And when we think out loud, we usually do so in the kind of verbal shorthand. Because she's not here this morning, it would be embarrassing if she were, I feel free to illustrate this from my own family life.

9:31 There are times when I may come down from the study and my wife is thinking through an issue, and I'll say, dear, I'd appreciate it if somewhere along the line you'd let me in on the dialogue you're carrying on with yourself. If we're torn between something, we may say in a kind of verbal shorthand, well, I would like to go to...

9:50 Yes, but I'm not quite so sure that... And anyone listening in scratches their head and says, what in the world is going on?

9:57 Because the person who's thinking out loud is supplying all the words that are needed to make good sense if they were directly expressing their thoughts to another. And in this particular passage, we have in a very real sense a transcript of Paul's thinking out loud, so that it's difficult to come up with a precise and authoritative translation of every given phrase and clause in the passage. And if you study the passage in the original and then read the commentators who are knowledgeable in the original, you will find much debate and discussion as to the best way to give an accurate translation of certain of the phrases. But, regardless of how we come up with a translation that satisfies the basic demands of grammar, the overall thrust of the passage is clear. And the thrust of the passage which is clear is that Paul is expressing a sanctified dilemma. He is torn between two things and he doesn't know which to choose. Now, with that as introduction, consider with me, first of all, then, this statement of Paul's sanctified dilemma, and then we shall consider the abiding message of Paul's sanctified dilemma.

11:23 First of all, then, the statement of Paul's sanctified dilemma, verse 22, is what I'm calling an acknowledgment of the dilemma. Look at the language. But if to live in the flesh, if this shall bring fruit from my work, then what I shall choose I know not. Having stated that living for him was Christ, but death was gain, gain in the sense that it would bring to him more of Christ and would bring, in a sense, more of Paul to Christ, he now reflects on what living will mean in terms of further usefulness in the cause of Christ. But if to live on in the flesh, that is, if I do not receive the sentence of execution, if this means further fruit in the cause of the gospel, then if the choice were left up to me, now it wasn't, but he's saying if it were, if the choice was given to me, Paul, do you want to live on in the flesh and have more fruit in your gospel labors? Or do you want to die and enter into the gain which will be yours upon the moment of your death when departing from the body you are with the Lord?

12:50 Well, he says, in the light of this, if dying or living, more can be done for the cause of Christ in living, and yet more can be enjoyed of Christ in dying. If the choice were up to me, I don't know whether to take the chocolate ice cream cone or the peanut butter swirl. I don't know whether I should go to Grandpa's house or Grandma's house. And here he gives us this simple statement of his dilemma.

13:21 Now in verses 23 to 24, we have a detailed description of that dilemma. And the first thing he tells us about it is that it is intense. Look at the language. Verse 23.

13:34 But I am in a strait, that's an old English word we don't use anymore, literally, I am pressed between, between the two things. This is the word that is used in Luke's Gospel chapter 19 in verse 43 when Jesus is predicting the destruction of Jerusalem. And he says that the armies will compass and press in upon the city on all sides. It's the picture of an army that has taken siege of a city.

14:07 And there is that pressure to destroy that city. It's the...

14:13 The same word used in 2 Corinthians 5.14 where Paul says, for the love of Christ constrains me. It keeps its constant pressure upon my heart and upon my life. So whatever this dilemma was, it was no light thing.

14:28 It was an intense, inward, spiritual dilemma described in this vigorous word, I am pressured between the two things. The second thing we learn about this dilemma not only was it intense but it is comprised of two desirable alternatives. It's not like the kid who's got to choose between spinach or asparagus and he hates both. And he says, well, I don't like spinach but I like asparagus less.

15:00 I guess I'll just kind of tilt the spinach down. With the apostle, his dilemma was not a choice between two undesirables. Not a choice between the rock and a heart. Not a hard place.

15:14 It was comprised of two desirable alternatives. Notice the first one, a strong desire to die and to be with Christ. I am pressed between two things, having the desire. And that word for desire is the word that means a strong yearning.

15:36 The word most frequently used for lust in the wrong sense, an evil passion. But it can also be used in the good sense. But it speaks of a conscious, intense desire and longing. So he says, on the one hand, I find this strong longing, I'm pressured by it, to die and to be with Christ.

15:59 And notice how he describes death. I have this desire to depart and to be with Christ. And the word for depart comes from the connotation, the word itself, means to cut loose, to untie. And either refers to a ship that's been tied at dock, and now as the sails are hoisted and it's about to put out to sea to go to another port, it cuts loose from its moorings, or it can refer to the dismantling of a tent.

16:31 Someone's been dwelling in a certain place, and they're going to break camp, pack their tent, and move to another place. That's how Paul describes death. It's letting loose the moorings that tie him to this earth in order to sail into the very presence of Christ. It's dismantling the tent of his earthly dwelling that he might be in the immediate presence of Christ.

16:58 Now notice how he describes this strong desire. He says, I am in this pressure between two things, having this strong desire to be let loose and be with Christ, which is very far better. If we gave a literal translation, it'd be bad English, but good Greek. He says to be with Christ, which is much more better.

17:24 Now sometimes kids will talk that way, and they say, well, this thing is much more better than that. And we say, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You can't pile up words like that in English. It's either good, better, and if it gets beyond better, it's not much more better, it's then best.

17:39 But the Greeks didn't have that problem. They could pile up these comparatives on top of one another and still be considered educated and cultured and not have to be sent back to school to relearn some of their grammar. So the Apostle Paul piles them on top of one another and he says, here's my dilemma. I have this strong, sanctified lust, this desire to break tent, to cut my moorings, to be with Christ, which from the perspective of personal advantage is much more better.

18:11 It's exceedingly far better. It is better by far. But then there is the tug in the other direction and it's what I'm calling a realistic awareness of the need of his further labors. Verse 24.

18:30 But, he says, to abide in the flesh, that is to go on living, is more needful for your sake. So you feel something now of the tension. He says, as I contemplate what death will mean in all of the glory of its gain, gain as to the knowledge of Christ, gain as to likeness to Christ, gain as to fellowship and communion with Christ and his people and the holy angels. Surely, to cut my moorings and to have God blow me as it were by the wind of death into his presence, that's much, that's exceedingly far better.

19:14 And yet he thinks that his dear Philippians, the church that came to birth under his own labors in the midst of great suffering, you remember, he was in jail. It was there that God did his mighty work of demonstrating his power in the conversion of the Philippian jailer. There that he opened the heart of Lydia. And that church now is approximately only ten years old.

19:37 It's a baby church. We're fourteen years old as a church. We would be sort of adolescent compared to that church. And as Paul thinks of all the dangers that beset the church at Philippi and he's conscious of them, he warns them about some of them in chapter three, doctrinal dangers.

19:57 As he's aware of the problems internally of people dwelling in harmony and submitting to one another in Christ-like humility, a theme that he picks up in the next verses and carries on into chapter two, his pastor's heart so yearns that he cannot irresponsibly think of all that it will mean for him personally to depart and to be with Christ without thinking of the need, the realistic assessment of the need there is for his further ministry to his beloved Philippians. So in a very real sense, the apostle had a tug-of-war going on in his heart. Now you know what happens in a tug-of-war, you kids. You get a big thick rope and you get a group of men or women, boys and girls or a mixture of all on one end and there's a center line and then some on the other end and the last person is called the anchorman. I suppose today you'd have to say anchor person so you didn't get in trouble. And so you have the anchorman, I'll opt for the former, and the rope is wrapped around him and he's the key person in the tug-of-war. And then they pull and this group may begin to move it this way and the other one this way.

21:10 Well, that's exactly what Paul felt. Here was this rope of divine love and one end of that rope was wrapped around the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And he says, when I think of what it would mean to die, why to depart and to be with Christ, that's much more better. That's exceedingly better for me.

21:34 Oh, he said, I hope that side wins.

21:37 Then the rope of love on the other hand is anchored around the Philippian church and he thinks of all their needs. He says to abide with them is more needful. So he says, I hope that side will win. And he feels a tug-of-war going on in his own breast.

21:55 And it was that tug-of-war, the rope of love, love to Christ, and you see love to Christ is never detached from love for the people of Christ. So it's anchored on the one hand in the church at Philippi and the other side anchored in Christ himself. Now there's his detailed description of his dilemma. He gives a simple statement of it in verse 22, a detailed description of it in verses 23 and 24.

Paul's Inward Resolution of the Dilemma

22:25 Now in verses 25 and 26 he gives us his inward resolution of the dilemma. He comes to a resolution concerning that dilemma. He comes to a personal conviction. Now this is not by way of direct revelation because as we had occasion to note several weeks ago he tells us in chapter 2 and verse 23 he does not know for certain what the present result of his trial will be.

22:56 Him therefore I hope to send forthwith so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. He has many reasons to encourage him to believe that he will be released from this, trial. He will have further labors but he has no direct revelation. Now you remember later on in 2 Timothy God has made plain to him his work is done.

23:23 He said I am ready to be offered the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight. I have kept the faith. I have finished my course.

23:34 He said I have no more steps to run. I have crossed the finish line. Now I await my Savior's taking me to himself. But he does have an inward resolution of the dilemma and notice how he describes it verses 25 and 26.

23:50 And having this confidence I know that I shall abide yea and abide with you all for your progress and joy in the faith that your glorying may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with you again. And to summarize what he is saying here suffice it to say that Paul has come to this inward conviction apart from direct revelation that in the light of the great needs at Philippi and in the light of the way God has been providentially ordering his trial that he will have the delight of following this end of the road in this tug of war. That though he has this strong desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better because it is more needful for him to abide he believes that God will extend his life to the end that he may go back to Philippi to do what? To assist them in their progress and joy in the faith and ultimately to increase their glorying in Christ Jesus. This then is his inward resolution of the dilemma that he will yet abide for the progress and furtherance of the faith of the Philippians.

The Abiding Message: The Soul of True Godliness

25:20 Well briefly this is an opening up of Paul's sanctified dilemma. Now then what should all of this convey to the Philippians? When the Philippians for the first time heard those words read what should have been some of the impression upon their own hearts as the people of God? What is the abiding message of Paul's sanctified dilemma to you and to me?

25:50 Well I confess as I have meditated upon the passage once again I have felt the embarrassment of riches. There are some wonderful doctrinal principles in the passage. We could open up and spend the remainder of our time simply underscoring the significance of the intermediate state. I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ and show the folly of all so-called doctrine of soul sleep.

26:21 There is not a shred of evidence for that in such passages as these. Any man who enjoys being active in the work of the gospel seeing the advancement of the glory of Christ through the gospel he would choose to live on in the most adverse circumstances rather than to go out into the world into some state of limbo in which he thought nothing and did nothing and could hold no conscious communion with Christ. Utterly unthinkable and utterly untenable doctrine in the light of this passage. But we don't have time to open that up.

26:56 That's just a little aside in a sneaky way to underscore that it's there. And there are other doctrines that could be brought forward other principles but what I've chosen to do as the organizing framework for the application is to suggest that in these words of the apostle the great abiding message is that they reveal something of the soul of true godliness. What does it mean to be a godly man or woman boy or girl?

27:27 What does it mean to truly be a man of God a woman of God a boy or a girl after God's own heart? Well this passage as few other passages do underscore some of the most primary elements of the heart and soul of true godliness. And here one example is worth more than a thousand words. Consider with me first of all the godly person does not frame his desires or choices with selfish interests at the center.

Principles of Godliness from Paul's Dilemma

28:08 The godly person does not frame his desires or his choices with selfish interests at the center. You see the whole dilemma focuses on these two issues. To depart I put in that column advantage for me Paul. And the advantage he says is in terms of being much more better.

28:40 Bad English but good Greek.

28:43 Now he weighs on this column to remain and he says more needful for you Philippians.

28:53 Advantage for me necessity for you. And how does he resolve the dilemma? He resolves the dilemma by concentrating the attention of his mind the aspirations of his soul and the judgment of the facts in terms not of self-centeredness but in terms of the needs of others. And I say in so doing the apostle demonstrates the soul of godliness.

29:34 The godly person does not frame his desires or choices with selfish ambition or interest at the center.

29:48 Now my friend what about you? When you are torn between alternatives what do you immediately make the focal point of your reaction? The focal point of your desires and the focal point of your plans and dreams.

30:09 Is it how this will bring advantage to you? Or can you say with the apostle Paul as he does in 1 Corinthians 10.33 I seek not mine own profit. But the profit of the many be ye followers of me even as I am of Christ.

30:33 The problem with some of you and the reason you make so little progress in grace is that you've drawn a big circle and into it you've piled your feelings your temperament your likes your dislikes your conclusions your ambitions everything that pertains to you your family its clients its closeness its needs its warmth its love your things your possessions and everything that touches your life you view it in terms of the woods of your own selfish trees that are all rooted and staring you in the face and you can't get out of that morass long enough to think in terms of others.

31:26 That's why you make little progress in God's love.

31:30 Because the essence of godliness is to be like Christ and to be like Christ means that we seek not our own things but the things of others. You see how this has many applications to this epical period in our life? We're going to a new building. For some of you it means a little longer distance a little more gas a little more inconvenience.

31:59 That's right. That's what it means to you. But what will it mean to others?

32:08 It will mean a base of ministry with stability. It will mean a whole new penetration of the gospel into a community where it's desperately needed. It will mean greater efficiency in the teaching and instruction of our children. It will mean many things that can only be seen with joy if you get your eyes off your own self-centered interests.

32:35 I'm constrained to say a word as I must do periodically about this whole matter of the indulgence of our so-called Christian liberty. There's some of you that are altogether too careless in your liberty as it expresses itself in specific things. And the reason is you've yet to get hold of this principle. The man who under God teaches us the doctrine of Christian liberty is the one who says if meat makes my brother to offend I'm prepared not to touch any meat.

33:05 While the world stands some of you have never come to that place. You've not come to the place where you're ready to say I will never again. If I must do so in the interest of the edification of my brethren I'm prepared never again to do this, to do that, to go here, to go there, to imbibe this, to eat that, to drink the other. Why?

33:29 You're too self-centered and you'll fight to maintain your right to exercise your liberty.

33:42 But you don't weep when you become aware that the exercise of that liberty has grieved a brother or caused another to stumble. That's why you make little progress in godliness because the godly person does not frame his desires or choices with selfish interest at the center. To depart and to be with Christ nothing but pluses but to remain no gain to me Paul says but necessary for you that's all I need to tip the scales in the direction of a desire to remain.

34:23 But then there is a second principle with respect to the heart and soul of godliness in the passage and it's this. The godly person may live and labor in the confidence of invincibility until his work is done. The godly person may live and labor in the confidence of invincibility until his work is done. The conviction Paul expresses in verse 25 I repeat was not a conviction of direct revelation it was a conviction of inference.

35:02 Now he had no inflated ideas of being indispensable when it came time to go he said I'm ready to be offered the time of my departure is at hand the ship of God's saving purposes will sail on even when I'm no longer on it down here on the earth Christ will build his church this was not an egomaniac thinking if he died the cause of Christ would be buried with him and that when his head went into the basket the head of the church would somehow be hindered no no but he comes to this conviction born of rational principles that it is necessary for him to remain and he says I am confident then that I shall remain I shall abide with you for your furtherance and joy in the gospel of Christ you see the apostle was convinced that with Nero close enough almost to breathe down his neck and with the entire structure of that imposing empire from the human side there to crush him if it chooses to do so Paul can look at all of that and say what's all that business if God's got work for me to do it Philippi all the Roman government soldiers and all of its horses and all of its imposing might cannot thwart the purpose of God for me I'm invincible till my work is done

36:29 and you see that conviction is the privilege of every child of the living God every godly person has a right to that conviction that he is in God he is invincible until his work is done whether that work is the work of nurturing our children whether it's the work to which God has called us in terms of being light and salt in a very unglamorous and undramatic way in our respective callings in life whatever it is it is a wonderful thing as a child of God living to the end that God will be glorified through Jesus Christ to live in the conviction I'm invincible till my work is done it's a wonderful relief one does not have then on the one hand a kind of crippling fear that every time there's an abnormal pain or an abnormal twitch oh is this the beginning of something that will take my life there is no cancer cell there is no deterioration of any vital organ there is no quote fortuitousness event whether it's the blowing of an engine on an aircraft whether it's the dropping of a tie rod on a car there is nothing in all of God's universe that can destroy me until my work is done

37:58 child of God that ought to put hallelujahs in your heart you're invincible till your work is done and it was Paul's confidence of that that could cause him to write with a Roman guard chained to his arm amen I am confident that I will return to you again but then thirdly we see in this passage that the godly person desires to live only as long as his life will promote the glory of Christ the godly person desires to live only so long as his life will promote the glory of Christ look at the language verse 25 and have it in your heart having this confidence I know that I shall abide and abide with you all for your progress and joy and the faith in order that your glorying may abound in Christ Jesus that's the whole end to which everything else points yes I shall abide I shall be instrumental for your progress and joy and the faith and all of that funnels into this great end the glorying in Christ Jesus that will result from my further labors in your midst

39:25 you see you can't touch this man anywhere but what you see oozing out of him this passion to live to the end that Christ will be magnified verse 20 I remind you he says I will continue to rejoice because I'm confident through your prayer and the supply of the spirit Christ will be magnified in my body whether I live whether I die and here he comes back to the same theme again he's a one note Charlie and that one note is I live to the glory of Christ for to me to live is Christ that's the mark of true godliness the godly person desires to live only as long as his life will promote the glory of Christ and I know a few things that more quickly and accurately draw a line right down through any congregation of people than that principle and that line is drawn here this morning I doubt there's anyone here unless it's someone who's either ignorant of what death holds or under the most intense kind of agony that would make anything a welcomed alternative to that agony in such exceptions allotted most of us here would say if we were polled yes I want to live longer some of you are in your seventies and if I were to ask you

40:54 do you want to live through your seventies you'd say yes I'd like to live to the eighties some of you are ten and say you want to live longer you say of course I do I want to live long enough to grow up be a teenager get married have a family sure we all want to live but my friend let me ask you a question why do you want to live why do you want to live why do you want to live why do you want life to be extended for some of you if you're honest you'd have to say I want to live so as to have further opportunity to fulfill my own carnal ambitions I want to live to have further opportunity to indulge my own sinful passions the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes the pride of life some of you would have to say I want to live long enough to prove to the world and to my fellow believers that I am somebody not so with the apostle he says I want to live so as to be fruitful in bringing honor to Jesus Christ that's it that's it and when my life can no longer do that it's not worth tumbling the ground and if there's one prayer I have prayed again and again in my recent reading in 1st and 2nd Kings

42:23 in 1st and 2nd Chronicles has increased that prayer it's oh Lord don't live let me live long enough to undo in my last third segment of life what by your grace I've done in the first two thirds because again and again in those books of Kings and Chronicles you see men who undid in the last segment of their lives all the good they did in the first part why should we live in the first part of life in the first part of life in the first part of life if life is a mere existence to squander the gifts of God and to bring reproach to the Son of God the soul of godliness is seen in the apostles ambition to live only so long as his life results in promotion of the glory of Christ now my unconverted friend that principle nails you and shows you to be what you really are a self-centered self-willed creature living for no one but yourself living to ends dictated by yourself you see death will not be gained to you because Christ is not life for you that's why you so desperately need to repent to turn from that self-centered life

The Godly Person's Positive Perspective on Life and Death

43:50 that's why the first element of the call of discipleship is if any man will come after me let him deny himself that is there must be a totally new center of life and then finally we see in this passage and this again is not exhaustive but I trust you will find it profitable that the godly person alone can face life and death with such positive perspectives the godly person alone can face life and death with such positive perspectives many worldlings desire death but only as an escape from the miseries of life many worldlings desire life only as an escape from the miseries that they know will await them after death so like Shakespeare's Hamlet they're torn to be or not to be that is the question you see worldlings may desire death from the negative desire to escape the miseries of life they may desire life to escape the miseries that they know not to be that they hauntingly know await them when they die but that's not the case with Paul he's saying death it's as bright as the presence of Christ and it's the brightness of his face

45:19 that draws me to death and yet he says when I think of living it's the brightness of knowing that I can be useful for the progress of the faith and joy and the glorying in Christ among the Philippians he said what a terrible thing to be in such a dilemma I have good on both hands the good of death the good of life my friends only a Christian or a crazy man can talk that way that's Christian think of it you don't find that in the world people say in the world well it's good that so and so died he's out of his misery no he isn't if he died out of Christ he's merely entered his misery he's out of his misery if he dies out of Christ no! he's entered his misery and the worst misery in life was but pleasure compared to the misery that awaits him in death and there's no escape from that truth if we take the Bible to mean what it says but you see the soul of the godly convinced that to live is to be useful in the promotion of Christ's glory and Paul who had that passion as we shall see and I think it's a kind providence that the first text that will be preached

46:47 in the new building on a Sunday morning is going to be verse 27 only let your manner of life be such as is worthy of the gospel you see it is his passion not only for himself but for others he can face life with that positive perspective he can face death without any terror without any morbid dread to depart is the far better of being with Christ to remain is to be needful in promotion is to be useful in promoting the glory of Christ let me ask you as you sit here this morning do you have that perspective on life and death that positive perspective not a Norman Vincent Peale positive thinking kind of perspective no no but one that grows out of a living vital faith in the realities of redemption in Christ Jesus for me to live is Christ and to die is gain well if so then you will know by experience that holy dilemma you'll feel the tug of war you will feel it can you feel that rope of love anchored to Christ on the one hand and in times you'll grow so weary of the limited knowledge you now have of Christ so weary of the sin that grieves you

48:16 and will so long to press beyond the mere edges of his ways that you now know by faith and what you see through a glass darkly that you some of you even young in years will find a holy longing to cut loose to break anchor to weigh anchor to pitch the tent to break camp and to be with Christ and yet as you reflect upon this needful generation the ignorance the sin the lawlessness the fact that there's so few in your high school in your office in your neighborhood that have any knowledge of Christ you will long to remain to the end that Christ will use you to advance his glory you will experience if not to the same degree certainly in kind that reality and if you don't feel any longing to depart and to be with Christ child of God you've become too earthbound you've become too earthbound now I know the worldling says oh that's your pie in the sky by and by religion well my friend if the pie is to look upon the face of my savior then call it pie if you want but that for me is much more better that's what Paul called it and there are others in our day

49:44 who are saying the Christians hope should not be primarily that but that's not the case but that's not the case but that's not the case but that's not the case but he ought to have grandiose schemes and visions for the conquest of the gospel and the establishment of the kingdom here and now I don't find that in the writing of the apostle he didn't say I have a longing to be around when I see Christ so subdue all the nations that will have a Christianized world and a Christianized society I defy anyone to produce one line from scripture that teaches that one line from scripture one line from the apostle Paul is what I meant to say no no this great man says my dilemma is this I long to depart and to be with Christ but to remain is more necessary and in that confidence I shall remain and in so doing he shows us that the godly person does not frame his desire by choices with self at the center the godly person may live in labor in the confidence of his invincibility till his work is done the godly person desires to live only so long as life promotes the glory of Christ

51:11 and the godly person alone can face life and death with such positive perspective and confidence oh child of God is this your portion and heritage if it isn't all that is left is necessary for it to become yours is in Christ that's where Paul got it and in Christ it is yours and it is mine and if you know nothing of this if you're a world englued to this life and dreading death because your conscience affirms and amens what the word of God says that for you death will be irrevocable loss outer darkness weeping and mashing of teeth death will be my friend seek the Lord while he may be found it is in Christ in Christ alone that you can know that forgiveness of sin that will enable you to face death with confidence and with joy let us pray our father we are so thankful that in your infinite wisdom you moved your servant Paul to put onto parchment the record of his old

52:38 thinking the struggle of his own soul we thank you for this holy dilemma of his own mind and heart and for all that it reveals of your grace and of your working in the soul of a man and all that it declares to us of the mighty power of your beloved son and we pray that the spirit will take the words that we've studied this morning and write them upon all of our hearts to our mutual prophet and to the praise of your beloved son we thank you that in this place over the past four years in spite of our sin and our failure in spite of all that would grieve and quench the spirit you have been pleased to promote the honor of your son in this place and we plead with you as another place will become our meeting place and we will see you that you will continue that great work of glorifying your son in the proclamation of the truth concerning him may he be magnified in our lives forgive us for our selfishness forgive us when our first reaction to everything that confronts us is how does this affect me Lord God

54:08 have mercy upon us and make us so taken up with your son and with his people and with his cause that our first our reflexive response in every situation will rather be how will this affect my savior God work this in us we confess it is not native to us but by your spirit we believe you can work it in us we plead with you to do this hear our cry and continue with us on this your day we ask through our Lord Jesus Christ Amen