Sometimes we must choose between the lesser of two evils. Paul must choose between the better of two goods: to live,  which is Christ; or to die, which is gain.

Paul is not super spiritual. He really stands at the crossroad between life and death.

To live is Christ means living in Christ and for Christ so that it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2:20). Of course, Paul is already doing this, whether in prison or out of prison. But practically, he hopes to be acquitted and released so that he can resume his fruitful labour for the Kingdom and for the Philippians.

This is good. Very good.

To die is gain means being convicted, executed, and instantly ushered into the presence of the Risen Christ. But what for? To sit at His feet and gaze on the light of His lovely face? Yes. Absolutely.

But if we think that’s all Paul wants, then perhaps we don’t know Paul. If his imprisonment so rallied the local church to evangelise Rome, how much more will his martyrdom embolden the Church at large to evangelise the world.

This is better. Far better.

So which will it be? Vindication and deliverance? Or condemnation and martyrdom?

It doesn’t matter much to Paul personally. What matters most is that by his life or by his death, Christ will be magnified. Either way is a win for him.

But his death would mean a great loss for the Philippians and countless others who still need him. So in the end, Paul prefers what is necessary for others rather than what is better for himself. To live on in Christ for the sake of others. Death can wait a year or two.

Pray Now

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. This is one of the most quoted bible verses. We know it by heart. But do we know it by experience? Do we practice it?

1 Time to overhaul our lives. Paul is our model. He is a man of one passion: Christ and Christ alone. Is Christ your singular passion? Can you say with Paul, “For me to live is Christ?” For many of us, to live is a bit of Christ on Sunday plus other things for the rest of the week. Christ plus livelihood. Plus luxury. Plus leisure. Plus plus plus! Until the plus factor becomes the main thing (Gordon Fee).

Search within. Be honest: For me, to live is _______. 

• Is it possessions? For me to live is material affluence and comfort. Work all I can. Get everything I can. By every means I can. At every opportunity I can. From every source I can. For as long as I can. 
• Is it popularity? For me to live is getting attention and acceptance. I crave approval. I do anything to fit in. Even if it means compromising my integrity and disobeying God.
• Is it pleasure? For me to live is leisure and entertainment. Food and fun. Frills and thrills. I over-indulge myself. As long as it makes me feel good, I do it. If it relieves my boredom, I go for it!
• Is it prestige? For me to live is name and fame, success and status. I’m addicted to image. I’m obsessed with public adulation. I live to impress. I dress to kill. I cheat to score. I fake it to make it.

Wake up. Gratifying such passions is self-worship that is rooted in an identity crisis that drives us to prove our worth to ourselves and to others. Turn to God. Repent. Resist every temptation to pander to the false and fallen self. Seek God for inner healing and deliverance by dying to self every day.

Confess your true identity in Christ: “To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

2 Time to lay down our lives for others. Especially the next generation. They desperately need our discipling attention. They are extremely vulnerable in our post-modern and over-sexed world. Some young adults are owning up to their self-made crisis: To live is not Christ but sex. Not Christ but co-habitation with a soulmate (versus spouse in sacred union). Not Christ but porn on demand. Their passions lie outside of their relationship with Christ. Pray for a great shaking and a great awakening. May they come to their senses, come home to Christ and live for Christ alone.

3 Time to refire our Antioch missions. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us … full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). May our goers be so devoted to Christ that they will take the road less travelled by incarnating themselves among unreached people groups hostile to Christianity. May they declare: If I survive, I will keep on going. If they mock me and torture me, I will trust God to use my life and my death to accelerate the Gospel. To live is Christ. To die is gain.

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