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To Live is Christ

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The Text

Phil. 1:19-30

Introduction

This sermon is for everyone here because everyone here is preparing to die. There is a 100% mortality rate (Heb. 9:27). But not everyone dies the same because not everyone knows Christ, and knowing Christ changes everything. The adventure of Christian life is rooted in eternity.

A Summary of the Text

Paul is writing from prison (Phil. 1:7), and after reporting on the spread of the gospel in prison (1:13), expresses his conviction that whatever happens next it will be for his salvation (1:19). Christ will be magnified in his body whether in life or by death (1:20). For Paul, to live is Christ and to die is to win (1:21). Paul knows that living on in the flesh allows him to continue his labor and be a blessing to the saints (1:22, 24). And even though he would rather depart to be with Christ (1:23), he seems fairly sure that his time is not yet, for the blessing of the Philippians and the furtherance of the gospel (1:25-26). But Paul writes all of this to the Philippians that they might stand fast in the faith, not being terrified of their enemies, but taking courage from Paul’s example of suffering (1:27-30).

What Happens?

One of the basic questions all people have is what happens when someone dies? Paul answers that question here saying that to depart from the flesh is “to be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23). Elsewhere, Paul says, “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:6-8). But in the same place, Paul describes dying as being “unclothed” (2 Cor. 5:1-4). So we understand this to mean that at death the spirit/soul of a person leaves the body and in that “unclothed” condition is immediately ushered into the presence of Christ, where the spirits of just men made perfect are (Heb. 12:23).

Heaven & the Resurrection

So, when saints die they go to heaven, but this is an intermediate stage, in which they wait to be clothed again, that our mortal bodies may be replaced by immortal life (2 Cor. 5:4). And Paul says that the Holy Spirit is the guarantee, the down-payment of this resurrection promise (2 Cor. 5:5), and this is why we ought to be confident in the face of death (2 Cor. 5:6). Our mortal bodies go into the ground like seed (1 Cor. 15:35-38), and what is sown in corruption is raised in incorruption; what is sown in dishonor is raised in glory; what is sown in weakness is raised in power (1 Cor. 15:42-44). This is why, all things being equal, we should prefer burial to cremation, since it more clearly honors the body that will rise and pictures the image of seed going into the ground. The resurrection of Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection, but if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then we have no such hope (1 Cor. 15:17-21). This resurrection of the body will happen at Christ’s second coming when He has put all of his enemies beneath his feet (1 Cor. 15:25). The last enemy that will be destroyed is death itself in the resurrection of the body (1 Cor. 15:26). “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible…” (1 Cor. 15:52-58)

What Do We Believe About Infants & Children?

The Westminster Confession wisely says, “Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated, and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how He pleaseth: so also, are all other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word” (10.3). This answer insists that even children need to be regenerated and saved by Christ. If they are saved, it is not because they are cute, but by the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ alone. But I think we can say a little more while honoring the wisdom of this statement. In the gospels, Jesus clearly extends a particular blessing to children, making their faith the standard for the kingdom, and warns against those who would cause them to stumble, even saying that they have angels before the face of the Father (Matt. 18). Given the promises of the covenant, Christian parents have good reason to believe God for the salvation of their children dying in utero, infancy, and childhood (Gen. 17:7, Acts 2:39). Finally, the book of Jonah ends with God’s question to Jonah about sparing those who cannot discern between their right and left hand (Jon. 4:11).

End of Life Considerations

Of course, sometimes death comes unexpectedly, but sometimes a long illness or sickness gives saints time to make various end of life decisions. While there is a great deal of freedom left to individuals regarding treatments, the primary biblical principle we want to uphold is honoring the gift of life, including honoring the Giver of life. Any sort of assisted suicide is murder (2 Sam. 1:5-16), but it is not murder to let someone die whose body is clearly dying. At the same time, we live in a culture of medication idolatry. This can be an idolatrous demand for medications and treatments to fix our problems, but it can also be an idolatrous demand that we/they feel no pain. We want to walk by faith in God, weighing to the best of our ability the information we have, pursuing lawful treatment options, trusting God that he is not tricking us, seeking to preserve life as long as we reasonably can, and then trusting God in death when we have done all we can. The Bible says that it is fine to give (medicinal) strong drink to those who are perishing, presumably to help with pain (Prov. 31:6), but this should be balanced with a desire to be as sober and lucid as we can for as long as we can (Eph. 5:18-19), remembering that we and our dying loved ones need spiritual sustenance as they finish their race.

Conclusion: Not Terrified by Any Adversaries

Death is a curse and an enemy, but Christ has commandeered this enemy by His death and resurrection, such that now it serves Him – He holds the keys of death (Rev. 1:18). But Christ became man in order that “through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14-15). The power of the devil was the power of accusation. This is why the sting of death is sin, but if Christ has suffered for our sins, then our sins are taken away, and we sing, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is they victory?” (1 Cor. 15:56). This is also why death is frequently described as mere sleep in the New Testament (e.g. Jn. 11:11, 1 Cor. 15:6, 51, 1 Thess. 4:14). Who’s afraid of falling asleep? And if we are not afraid of death, what is there in all the world to fear (Rom. 8:31-39)? So we may serve the Lord without fear of shame, with all boldness, sure that Christ will be magnified in us. This is the way of Christian adventure.

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The Gideon Plan

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Introduction

Any time we gather with our families, there can be temptations to squabble or complain or fear or stress. Christ did not come to give us serene, placid lives. He came in order to fill our hearts, so that His light would shine through our troubles, causing Thanksgiving to abound.

The Text

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us…” (2 Cor. 4:5-7)

Summary of the Text

Paul is in the middle of defending His apostolic ministry to the Corinthians. His first letter was a bit tart, and since it had been a while since they had heard from Paul, there were apparently rumors starting to go around that Paul was fed up with Corinth. But the truth was that Paul had been tied up, and his previous plans just hadn’t worked out (2 Cor. 1:8-9, 13-16). But Paul was determined not to come to Corinth for fireworks if at all possible (2 Cor. 2:1). While one man had repented, some still wondered if Paul only came around for offerings, and besides, Paul wasn’t on any of the lists of apostles (2 Cor. 3:1-3). However, Paul insists that His ministry is authenticated by the work of the Spirit in the Corinthians themselves (2 Cor. 3).

Our text picks up with Paul explaining how the Spirit has been manifest in his ministry, specifically the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ as a treasure in earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:5-7). Paul admits that his ministry (and that of the other apostles) is a bit raucous: pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed but not despairing, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed – all a manifestation of the death of Jesus in their bodies (2 Cor. 4:8-12). Paul quotes from Psalm 116, a song of praise for deliverance, insisting that this is God’s pattern of death and resurrection (2 Cor. 4:13-14). If we understand that God is working all things together to spread thanksgiving among the saints, we will not lose heart, and we will see with eyes of faith what is in an eternal, lasting weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:15-18).

A Thanksgiving Text

This passage fits well with preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving on several levels. The first level is the sociological circumstances. Paul is preparing to see old friends he hasn’t seen in a while, and there has been some tension between them. If you are in a family, then you know what Paul is dealing with. There are no families on the planet without challenges or tensions of one sort or another. And Thanksgiving is a moment where many families gather together for the first time in a while. If there aren’t troubles yet, there’s generally plenty of flammable material laying around. None of us are Apostles, but we can all relate. And the message here for us is that trouble is part of the plan. To follow Jesus is to take up a cross. And crosses are painful, humiliating, difficult, and full of trouble. Jesus was not a slick, used car salesman. There was full disclosure on the front end: “For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household… he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matt. 10:35-39). Paul added his own encouraging assurance: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). The point is not to go looking for trouble; the point is that if Christ is in you, trouble has already found you (2 Cor. 4:10-11). To follow Jesus is to follow Him in the trouble of the cross – the trouble of confessing sins, the trouble of forgiving those who sin against you, the trouble of telling the truth in love, the trouble of enduring hardship/suffering with joy, the trouble of being unashamed of Jesus, and more. The trick is to have the wisdom to see the difference between needless fleshly trouble (petty bickering, bitterness, bad attitudes), and the glorious trouble of following Jesus. While the Apostles were put on special display with this plan, these are the only two options for faithful Christians.

“I Believed & Therefore I Spoke”

This quotation is from Psalm 116, which is a psalm of praise and thanksgiving for deliverance, but it’s striking that Paul quotes this particular partial verse because it cuts in at least two different ways. The rest of the verse says, “I am greatly afflicted,” and the next verse says, “I said in my haste, ‘All men are liars.’” In other words, this appears to be the thematic center of the Psalm, and at this center we find faith crying out to God in trouble, but also temptation to despair. This quotation cuts against those who are tempted to despair in the face of trouble (“all men are liars”), but it also cuts against those who are tempted to turn on the faithful who have seemingly “caused” the trouble (“I believed therefore I spoke.”) Paul had spoken/written hard words to the Corinthians, and some of the Corinthians were tempted to be bitter against Paul. Which one are you? Are you generally tempted to just throw your hands up in despair or are you desperately trying to hold everything together and tempted to blow up at anyone who steps out of line? Both kinds of temptations need to hear this: Christ is risen (2 Cor. 4:14). And what trouble, difficulty, sin, brokenness can stand against that power?

The Gideon Plan

From the beginning, God has determined to run all of His plays from positions of physical, human weakness. Even where the odds seemed better – like say when David was king – God allowed numerous weaknesses to hamper David. Why? In order to cause “thanksgiving to abound” (2 Cor. 4:15). That’s the plan. The plan is to maximize thanksgiving. But God wants our thanksgiving to go all the way down to our bones. He wants to give us something that only thanksgiving can give (an eternal weight of glory), but in order to do that, He has to give us the kind of trouble that breaks it out of our selfish hearts.

So call it the “Gideon Plan,” which is another great example of fighting from a position of weakness, starting with an army of 32,000, reduced down to 300 (Jdg. 7). Then Gideon divided the three hundred into three even smaller parties. And their main weapons were torches inside of earthenware pitchers in the dark. The plan was to blow trumpets and break the earthen vessels open. And so, this is still the battle plan. We have the light of Christ in our hearts, and we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that as we are struck by trouble, the light of Christ might shine. This is what it means to be pressed but not crushed, etc. So that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us, in order to cause thanksgiving to abound among many.

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Bearing One Another’s Burdens

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Introduction

Most Christians are familiar with the exhortation to “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2), but we often assume that this merely means we should have Christian friends we can share our struggles and hardships with. But Paul is actually exhorting Christians to practice the kind of spiritual authority and wisdom that flows from knowing Christ crucified and having His Spirit. We see this pattern of bearing burdens going back to the godly counsel Jethro gave to Moses.

The Text

13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.14 And when Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.17 And Moses’ father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace . . .” (Exodus 18:13-27).

Summary of the Text

At the time of the Exodus, Israel was comprised of around 600,000 fighting men (Ex. 12:37, 38:26). So we may reasonably estimate that the total number of Israel was in the millions. Our text picks up a couple of months after the Exodus when Jethro comes with Zipporah and Moses’ two sons to meet Moses near Mt. Sinai (Ex. 18:5). After catching up and worshiping God together (Ex. 18:7-12), Jethro watched Moses judging the people all day long (Ex. 18:13-16). Jethro echoes God’s assessment of Adam being alone and says this is “not good” and is too heavy a burden for Moses to carry by himself (Ex. 18:17-18). Jethro counsels Moses to teach the laws of God to the people (Ex. 18:19-20), and establish judges who fear God, love the truth, and hate covetousness and set them over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens (Ex. 18:21-21). These men will judge the smaller cases, and the heavier ones can be appealed to higher courts, and the hardest cases will come before Moses, in order for Moses to be more efficient with his time and for the sake of peace in Israel (Ex. 18:22-23). Moses obeyed his father in law and established this structure of judges in Israel (Ex. 18:24-26).

Heavy Hands

Remember that right before this meeting with Jethro was the battle with the Amalekites. While Moses lifted his hands up, Israel was prevailing, but when his hands grew heavy and fell down, the Amalekites began to prevail (Ex. 17:11). So Moses sat down and Aaron and Hur stood on either side of him and held his hands up until Israel won the battle (Ex. 17:12-13). The same theme continues in our text underlined by the word “heavy” (Ex. 18:18), and the assistance of the judges is also described by Jethro as “bearing the burden” with Moses (Ex. 18:22).

Some Jewish commentators have estimated, taking the numbers very literally, that when he was finished Moses would have appointed 78,600 judges. But the principle is one of decentralization and localism: addressing problems at the smallest, most personal level first and then appealing the most difficult problems to higher courts as necessary. This is one of the biblical principles built into our civil governments and courts, separation of powers, and sphere sovereignty (family, church, and state).

Judging the Angels

In the review of this institution in Deuteronomy, Moses says that these officers were appointed by the people: “Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you” (Dt. 1:13). Clearly, there was collaboration between established authorities (Moses) and the people, indicating that there was to be accountability in both directions. And the Lord used this process to raise up qualified leaders. In the New Testament we see the appointment of elders in every city (Tit. 1:5, 1 Tim. 3:4-5), as well as deacons, following a very similar pattern of appointment (Acts 6:1-7).

Jesus also assumed the Jethro principle in his instructions for confronting sin: go and tell your brother his fault between you and him alone, and only involve two or three witnesses if necessary, and appeal to the church as a last resort (Mt. 18:15-20). Likewise, Paul insists that the Corinthians practice church discipline for unrepentant sinners (1 Cor. 5:1-5), but this means practicing in all the little things and not taking disputes between believers before unbelieving courts (1 Cor. 6:1). Since we will judge the world and angels, we should always rather be defrauded than go to court with a fellow saint (1 Cor. 6:2-7), while still submitting to the civil magistrate in criminal matters, who as a minister of God’s vengeance (Rom. 13:4). The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God, but those who have been purchased by the blood of Christ have been washed, justified by Christ, and sanctified by the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

You Who Are Spiritual

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:1-2). We shouldn’t miss the fact that part of what it means to be “spiritual” was just explained a couple verses prior with the fruit of the Spirit, against which there is no law (Gal. 5:22-23). In other words, the fruit of the Spirit is for making godly judgements. And making godly judgments is how we bear one another’s burdens and fulfill the law of Christ. As Moses told Israel, this requires that we not “respect persons” or “fear the face of man” (Dt. 1:17). It means that the goal must be to win our brother, to restore our brother, and all in “a spirit of meekness” – but that description doesn’t seem accidental since Moses was described as more meek than anyone on the face of the earth (Num. 12:3). What’s this spirit of Moses?

In Numbers, right before this description of Moses, in the midst of one of Israel’s complaints, Moses cried out to God, “I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me” (Num. 11:14), and in response God said, “Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel… And I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee…” (Num. 11:16-17). So bearing one another’s burdens means applying the law of Christ with wisdom to the situations around you, and gladly working within the biblical structures God has established. You can’t do that rightly unless you have the Spirit of God, unless you are “spiritual,” and you do not have the Spirit of God unless you have been adopted into God’s family by faith in the Son of God (Gal. 4:4-7).

Conclusion

Bearing one another’s burdens is not just listening to other people’s problems. In fact, unless you are part of the solution, you may merely be making things worse. We’ve been inundated with the false gospel of “sharing,” but the Bible does not teach that there is any automatic blessing in merely “sharing.” Faithful are the wounds of godly friends, but the kisses of enemies are deceitful (Prov. 27:6). Flattery works ruin (Prov. 26:28), but where there is no talebearer, strife ceases (Prov. 26:20). And a faithful spirit covers many sins in love (Prov. 11:13, 10:12).

The Jethro principle is applied as God pours out His Spirit upon all flesh and establishes leaders in all spheres of authority who apply the word of Christ faithfully. If you have the Spirit of Christ then you are called to walk in the Spirit, in the fear of God, loving the truth, and hating all envy.

Christ sits in heaven with His pierced hands raised for us, never growing tired, so that we can always cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us, and therefore, we will win the battle.

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