"Making Difficult Choices in Life!" (Philippians 1:21-26)

“Making Difficult Choices in Life!"

Captivated by Christ: An expositional sermon series on Paul's Letter to the Church in Philippi (message #9)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

June 13, 2010

The word of God from Philippians 1:21-26 (NIV): ²¹For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²²If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! ²³I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; ²⁴but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. ²⁵Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. [Prayer]

This passage is instructional for us as Christ-followers because Paul is ‘thinking out loud.’ Paul is modeling for us his decision-making process! In two places in this letter (Philippians 3:17 & 4:9) Paul tells the Christ-followers to imitate him as he imitates Jesus Christ. From 1 Corinthians 4:15b-17, Paul states, "For in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church."

The Apostle Paul is modeling for us what I call ‘relational-discipleship’. Relational-discipleship is when we intentionally teach people how to be Christ-followers by sharing life with them in authentic fellowship (the koinonia of the church!) oriented on one objective—to live so that we may grow in Christ and for Christ to be glorified in us (you, me, us!). As we see through the life of Paul and the early church, relational-discipleship is exponential and generational. From Jesus to Paul to Timothy and beyond! From Jesus through the generations to YOU and beyond!

Paul is thinking out loud in his decision-making process for the benefit of the converts (new Christ-followers) so that they (and we today!) can learn how to make difficult choices. Here is the guiding question that is going to drive our teaching time this morning: How do we make choices that demonstrate to others who Jesus Christ is in our lives?

The first teaching point is: TO INTENTIONALLY FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST WE SHOULD MAKE CHOICES TO LIVE FOR JESUS CHRIST!

Paul summarizes his worldview right up front, "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 [karpos ergou] for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!” (Philippians 1:21-22).

Paul knows that God is the only one that knows the future, but here he is speaking as if the choice is his regarding his future. Paul knows that he can make his plans, but it is God’s purposes that prevail (Proverbs 19:21)! Paul’s choice of words (ou gnorizo) point to a divine authorship who will make it know to him. He states that he does not know because he knows that God does!

What does Paul mean by this powerful, yet confusing declaration, “to live is Christ and to die is gain”? This is especially confusing for our culture because we already have a bipolar worldview on life and death. We’ll do everything in our power to extend our lives and avoid death (as if death was the worst of all things that can happen to us!). But, in the name of quality of life and our own personal preferences, we’ll kill our unborn babies.

How do you define life? The purpose of life? How do those answers determine your choices?

Let’s face it…the modern western worldview on life and death is not the biblical worldview so we must dig into this text and challenge all that we have accepted as true from the influences of culture. How we see life and death in every way will affect our most primary decisions!

Let’s look at Romans 14:8 where Paul gives us insight for Christ-followers, "If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord."

Paul is teaching the Christ-followers in Rome the same truth he is reminding the Christ-followers in Philippi! We have been bought at a price; we have been born-again by the Spirit of God. We are adopted sons and daughters of the Eternal Father and our inheritance is eternal life (that has already begun)! We are children of God!

Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world (the God who is Spirit took on flesh and dwelt amongst us!) so that He could take on the full penalty of all humanity’s sin. He died for all so that we can live. Paul is teaching us that when we are bought at a price and take on the title of “apprentice in Christ; disciple of Jesus Christ; passionate lover of God; Jesus freak; Christ-follower; Christian” that we no longer live for ourselves; we now define our lives by the One who died for us and bought us at a price!

The old has gone and the new has come; therefore, the beginning and end of our lives on this earth is living for Jesus Christ! This is the primary teaching point of Paul’s decision-making process. He is thinking out loud so that we can hear it one more time because he knows how easy it is to start making decision based upon what would be best for us!

Our second teaching point comes from Paul’s continued decision-making process: TO INTENTIONALLY FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST WE SHOULD MAKE CHOICES TO LOVE OTHERS!

Paul continues to discuss the choice between life and death in Philippians 1:23-24, "I am torn [synechomai] between the two: I desire to depart [analysai] and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain [epimeno] in the body."

There are two primary images in these verses. The first gives us a clear visual image of this whole ‘thinking out loud’ process that Paul is recording for our benefit.

In the original language of the Koine Greek, Paul utilizes the word synechomai. In the NIV, this word is translated “I am torn” to help us get a feel for its meaning, but a better translation is “I am hard pressed”. Here is the image this word brings from the Greek: there is a traveler in a narrow, rocky gorge with a wall of rock on one hand and a wall of rock on the other. The traveler is unable to turn aside either way, and you are only able to go straight on.

This is a powerful visual for me because in my backcountry hiking (and military) experiences I have been in multiple situations like this. One of my favorites is when I hiked the Grand Canyon from Rim to Rim. In what is called ‘The Box’ (a deadly location in the Grand Canyon at the wrong time of day without enough water) you are on a trail that moves through a gorge with very high cliffs on either side.

This is a very clear word picture! You are hard pressed between the two sides…you cannot make this choice! You must keep going forward!

I believe that Paul was explaining to us that this whole “thinking out loud” discussion is for us to know one thing above all things: life or death is not our choice! Our choice is that we must keep moving forward! The choice of whether we live or die is in the hands of God; not you or me! Our choice is in how we live today!

Let’s now look at the second primary word picture in this passage. Paul was a tentmaker (Acts 18:3) and in our passage Paul turns to the language of his trade to explain his desire to depart found in verse 23. In the original language of the Koine Greek, Paul uses the word analysai.

This word drives home an image that I believe Paul would have had at the forefront of his mind as the author of this letter. Paul was a tentmaker and this word means to break camp; to take down the tents. It is a word that brings to mind an army breaking camp to march forward. It is the loosening of the tent ropes, the pulling up of tent pegs and moving forward whereas each day’s march is a day’s march closer to the destination!

I want you to listen to Paul the tentmaker in 2 Corinthians 5:1. He declares, "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands."

This is so exciting to me! It illuminates the text in a very powerful way. Paul wants to exchange the camp-life (this life in the body) for home-life with Christ. We need to learn and live by the biblical worldview of life and death: Death is the entrance into Christ’s intimate presence! In life we exalt Christ and in death we enter the presence of the exalted Christ!

Paul is not leaving us with any confusion: IF it was all about him and what was best for him personally, then he would choose death because death is better by FAR!

BUT! And that is a big transitional word! BUT, it is not about me and what is best for me! Paul is teaching us that our decision-making as Christ-followers is characterized by this huge concept: NOT for me, but to your Name be the glory! It is not about us! Paul states, “it is more necessary for YOU that I remain [the Greek verb epimeno means “to persevere!”] in [this earthly tent]”!

A little bit later in this letter Paul will greatly expound on this major theme. He writes in Philippians 2:4, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

If we are to intentionally follow Jesus Christ in our decision making then we need to put aside what we may want, what may even be in the best interest of us personally and look to the interests of others! We must choose to love others above ourselves! That is the way of the Cross of Jesus Christ!

How do you evaluate alternatives in your life? How do you choose which job to take or not take? Whether to more or not move? Whether to date that person or marry another (or stay married)? Whether to go to that school or another? Whether to forgive or reconcile?

Paul is giving us the antidote to selfish living and decision making! If life is found in Jesus Christ and if Jesus Christ is the motivating power of our life (the foundational truth of our decision-making process), then we know that Christ is the reward of this life.

For Paul, the reward of life was closer and closer fellowship with his Lord. And that intimate fellowship with Christ was lived out in how he loved as Christ loved! Paul imitated Jesus Christ and what He did on the Cross for each of us! Paul lived out a crucified life (Galatians 2:20).

Yes, he desires to be in the presence of the exalted Christ, but he knows that that day is in the hands of God, so he keeps marching forward (like an army on a mission!) with one objective in mind: to live so that others may grow in Christ and for Christ to be glorified in him (and them!).

We must have a mission focus in our decision making! We must be intentional in why we do what we do! Look back at verse 24a, Paul states, “If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor [karpos ergou] for me.” This karpos ergou is Paul’s missionary work—the fruit of God’s call on his life! Paul knows that every preordained day he is to live in his earthly tent is on the march for the mission of God—the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

His ambition is not to wish for life or death as his goal in life! Ours is not to wish for life or death in life! Ours is to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33)!

This brings us to our last teaching point for this passage: TO INTENTIONALLY FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST WE SHOULD MAKE CHOICES TO ADVANCE THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

Paul concludes this first section of the body of his letter to the Philippians (verses 12-26) with verses 25-26, "Convinced of this, I know that I will remain [meno], and I will continue [parameno] with all of you for your progress [prokopen] and joy [chara] in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy [kauchema] in Christ Jesus will overflow [perisseue] on account of me."

In these verses, we see a poetic book end (an inclusio) that indicates this one coherent thought. In Philippians 1:12, Paul states, "Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel."

The Greek word is translated ‘progress’ is the same one translated ‘advance’ in verse 12. It is the Greek word prokopen which captured the image of an advancing army. Specifically, it means to clear away the obstacles that would hinder a military advance.

Paul is saying in verse 12 that his imprisonment and his sufferings for Christ have not hindered the gospel, but they have allowed the gospel to advance forward; to penetrate deeper into enemy territory! Paul in verse 25 is concluding the thought by saying that his choice is to not choose what is best for him (to attain the final victory in Christ), but to choose to ‘remain’ (meno) in his tent-life for the purpose of advancing the Kingdom forward by ‘walking along side of ready to help’ (parameno) the Christ-followers in Philippi so that they too will advance forward in their faith!

Paul chooses to advance the Kingdom of God by investing in future generations of missionaries and apostolic leaders of the church because he knows that the apostolic fruit of his missionary work are the people who will continue to advance the Kingdom of God forward in their own lives and through their own Christ-centered Kingdom-prioritized decision making. This is ‘relational discipleship’ lived out in mission!

We see this explicitly in 1 Timothy 4:15-16 when Paul writes these words to the next generation of apostolic church leaders that he invested so passionately in, "Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress [prokopen!] Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere [epimemo found in Phil. 1:24] in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."

There is so much more that can be taught from these verses. There is a richness of language and structure in Paul’s writing that illumines the meaning of this passage. But, let me conclude with this line of thinking: Paul states that the apostolic fruit of his presence with the Philippians will be that their joy in Christ Jesus will overflow! We have seen this Greek word before in Philippians 1:9. It is the word perisseue. It means to overflow to such an extent that the existing standards and rules are transcended. This word means to burst forth! In other words, Paul is certain that when the Christ-followers of Philippi experience the fullness of Jesus Christ in their lives then their joy in having discovered the Kingdom of God will cause their joy to burst and nothing else in their life will compare to its worth!

Jesus spoke of this incomparable joy in discovering the Kingdom of God that He ushered into the world in a parable found in Matthew 13:44, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."

This is not only Paul’s prayer for the Christ-followers of Philippi; this is the Holy Spirit’s prayer for all Christ-followers. This is Jesus’ desire for you today!

And I invite you to respond to God’s invitation…Jesus Christ desires for you to experience the incomparable joy of putting Him first in all things and allowing all that you do to flow through the authentic center of a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ!

And if you get this…if you truly experience the love of God then everything changes and you are forced to make this one decision: to give all that you have for this one thing—to know and to live for Jesus Christ!

Maybe you need to take the biggest step of your life and invite Jesus Christ into your heart to be your personal Lord and Savior.

Maybe you have already done that, but your life is not characterized by joy. I pray that God will illumine the next step for you to overflow with the joy of choosing Jesus first in your day to day choices.

How are you intentionally following Jesus Christ in your decision-making today? Are you willing to learn what all of this means together in intentional fellowship?