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To Live Like You Were Dying

Dr. James O. DavisBy Dr. James O. Davis12 Minutes

Tim McGraw recorded the song, “Live Like You Were Dying”; and it won several awards, including Single of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2004 Country Music Association Awards, the 2004 Academy of Country Music Awards and the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Country Song. This song was really what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he said “whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:20) and “for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). To live and to die: the two ultimate outcomes.

In Philippians 1, the Apostle Paul gave us three incredible pictures of life. “In view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now” (v.5), we note that Paul was thankful for the fellowship in the gospel. The picture is of the Christian life as being a son sharing the fellowship of the gospel. We are sons and daughters in Christ and are to share with one another the fellowship of the gospel.

In the second picture, Paul wrote about the furtherance of the gospel: “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel” (v.12). This picture is of a Christian being a servant, seeking the furtherance of the gospel. We are sons sharing the fellowship of the gospel and servants seeking the furtherance of the gospel.

The Christian life is not a playground but a battleground.

In the third picture, Paul taught that we are to strive together for the faith of the gospel. “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). This picture is that Christians are like soldiers striving for the faith of the gospel. If we listen carefully to these verses, we will hear the marching of troops and the sound of gunfire. Paul pictured the Christian life as that of a soldier’s.

Of course, we know that soldiers must live like they are dying because they are always in places of danger. They know their life is up for grabs and death may be imminent at any moment.

We need to understand that the Christian life is not a playground but a battleground. It is not a frolic but a fight; it is not a stroll but a struggle. As believers, we should live every day like we are dying, keeping in mind that as believers, we are soldiers of the cross and are going into battle for Jesus Christ.

OUR CONDUCT MUST BE CONSISTENT.

If we are going to live like we are dying, the first thing we notice is that our conduct and daily life must be consistent.

The New Living Translation of Philippians 1:27 says that “above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.” The city of Philippi was a Roman colony and was governed by Roman law. The Philippians were to emulate the patterns and the lifestyles of Rome. When Paul said, you must live as citizens of heaven, they would immediately have understood him. Although they were citizens of the Roman Empire, they knew they must let their heavenly citizenship be demonstrated by their consistent life as born-again believers.

Paul wrote about two qualities of our conduct as believers. First, our conduct needs to be befitting of the gospel by living as citizens of heaven, conducting [ourselves] in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Our daily life should be lived by the standards of the gospel.

Heavenly standards should be the standards whereby we govern our conduct.

When we visit a foreign country, we are still citizens of America and are bound by the standards and laws of our homeland. The same is true regarding believers. We belong to heaven; therefore, heavenly standards should be the standards whereby we govern our conduct.

Our culture has its own standards—its own rules regarding right and wrong. For instance, one standard is that if it feels right, we should do it. In that manner, we become our own standard of what is right and wrong regarding our behavior and conduct. However, if we name the name of Jesus and are a citizen of heaven, we have a different set of standards. We do not live by the standards of this world but by the standards of heaven. Paul said our conduct must be consistent and befitting of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Additionally, we should live in a manner that is becoming of the gospel. The King James Version of Philippians 1:27 says to “let [our] conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.” Any woman who has been told, “That dress becomes you,” knows she has been given a compliment. The person who gave the compliment was saying, “You are lovely, and your dress just accentuates your loveliness.”

As born-again believers in Christ, we are called to live in such a way that we make the gospel beautiful to others. The gospel is beautiful because it tells how God so loved the world that He sent His only Son who came into the world and died on a cross for our sins, was buried, and three days later rose again from the dead. He is alive forevermore to change the lives of mankind. If we are going to live like we are dying, then we must live in such a way that our life will attract people to the gospel of Christ. We must strive to be the greatest product the world has ever known because if people just knew how wonderful Jesus is, they would beg to come to know Him. The best advertisement any church can have is for believers to live for Jesus on the job, in their social circles, and in their neighborhoods and communities. By doing so, those who watch their lives will want to come to their respective churches to find out what makes believers live the way they do.

OUR COURAGE MUST BE EVIDENT.

“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27).

Paul reminds us that our courage must be evident by our faithfulness. That you are standing firm in one spirit means to be united—standing side by side. In present days, God’s people need courage. New ideas of morality regarding marriage are being pushed in our public schools, and our Christian students need courage to take a stand for Jesus Christ in order to be united in their faith in the Lord.

Additionally, Paul stated that we must [stand] firm in one spirit. In the spirit of Winston Churchill, we need to be resolved in our courage. When England was under attack by the Nazis during World War II, Churchill said, “We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. . . . We shall never surrender!” (House of Commons, June 4, 1940, following the evacuation of British and French armies from Dunkirk as the German tide swept through France). That is the kind of spirit we need today on the part of God’s people.

Our courage must be evident by our faithfulness and our fearlessness.

With one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. Using athletic terminology, not only was Paul saying that we should put up a good front and have a good defense, but he also was saying that we should have a good offense. One of the greatest things in the world of college football is to have a good offense with a good quarterback, a good running back, and a big offensive line. The children of God are a great team for the Lord Jesus Christ. We need not always be on the defensive because there are times when we need to be on the offensive. If we are going to live like we are dying, we must be faithful to the Lord.

Our courage must be evident by our faithfulness and our fearlessness. Paul told us in no way [be] alarmed by your opponents (Philippians 1:28). We are not to be terrified of our enemies or of those we are fighting against. There are many Christians who live in great fear and run when they are under attack crying, “What are we going to do? We are under attack! I’m terrified!”

Adapted from The Joy Book: The Christian’s Abundant Joy in the Darkest Nights by Dr. James O. Davis provided by Billion Soul Publishing. Copyright 2024. Used by permission.

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