To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain | Philippians 1:18b-26

The British evangelical author C.S. Lewis famously wrote in his classic work, Mere Christianity:

“A continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.”

In this text we see Paul grappling with something very similar. He’s in jail, waiting to hear his fate – whether he’ll be sentenced to death or released. But either way, he will rejoice – as he has his eyes set on eternity – he knows that whether he lives or dies, he belongs to Christ and therefore he will live wholeheartedly for his glory. What we’ll see in this passage is that because Christ will save us, we too can live a heavenward life, for his glory.

Preacher: Rev. Antonio Coppola.

For more information about Covenant Waterfall Presbyterian Church, please check out our website: http://covenantwaterfall.co.za or email us: info@covenantwaterfall.co.za. We'd love to hear from you!