WHY DEATH IS GAIN FOR A BELIEVER: Philippians 1:21 (2021)

I. FOR THE BELIEVER, LIFE IS CHRIST AND DEATH IS GAIN (v. 21)
Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

II. WHY IS THE DEATH OF A BELIEVER GAIN? (v. 21)
Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

I) CONSIDER, BROTHERS, WHAT FREEDOM YOU WILL HAVE FROM SIN AFTER DEATH (selected)

(I) After death, you will become free from any stain of sin (Ephesians 5:27)
Ephesians 5:27 “[Christ died to] present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

(II) After death, you will be free from the indwelling of sin (Romans 7:23-24)
Romans 7:23-24 “23 sin. . .dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

(III) After death, you will be free from any temptation to sin (James 1:14)
James 1:14 “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own [lusts].”

(IV) After death, you will be free from any commission of sin (Revelation 21:27)
1 Thessalonians 5:23 ”Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely,”

(V) After death you will be free from the possibility of sin (Revelation 3:12)
- Revelation 3:12 “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it. . .”

(VI) After death, you will be free from the presence of sin (Revelation 21:27)
Revelation 21:27 “But nothing unclean will ever enter [that Holy City], nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

II) CONSIDER ALSO, BROTHERS, WHAT UNITY YOU WILL HAVE WITH HOLINESS AFTER YOUR DEATH (selected)

(I) After death your souls will be made perfect (Hebrews 12:23)
Hebrews 12:23 “the spirits of the righteous made perfect”

(II) After death you will walk in perfect holiness (Isaiah 35:8)
Isaiah 35:8 “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.”

III) CONSIDER ALSO THE HEAVENLY CITY AND THOSE WHO DWELL THERE, ALL OF WHICH YOU WILL ENJOY AFTER DEATH (selected)

(I) After death you will go to live in Christ’s Father’s house (John 14:2)
John 14:2 “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”

(II) After death you will go to live in the sunlessly bright city which has the tree of life, the Lamb as its lamp; in this city we will worship God in the unadulterated splendor of holiness (Revelation 21:22-23)
Revelation 21:23 “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”
Revelation 22:2-3 “...on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.”

(III) After death you will be surrounded by the elect angels and other saints made perfect (Hebrews 12:22-23)
Hebrews 12:22-23 “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, [23] and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,”

(IV) After death you will be reunited to your loved ones who died in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14; 2 Samuel 12:23)
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 “13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”
2 Samuel 12:23 “Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

IV) CONSIDER, BROTHERS, THE SHINING FACE OF CHRIST WHICH YOU WILL SEE AFTER YOUR DEATH (selected)

(I) The day you die you shall be with Christ in paradise (Luke 23:43)
Luke 23:43 “[Jesus] said to [the thief on the cross], ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.’”

(II) After death you shall see Jesus face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12)
1 Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.”
Revelation 22:4 “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”
1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 “We will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

V) CONSIDER, BROTHERS, THE REST THAT YOU WILL HAVE AFTER DEATH
Revelation 4:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!’”
Hebrews 4:9 “There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God”