DEATH IS GAIN FOR THE BELIEVER
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
—Philippians 1:21
There is great gain for the believer in death. Physical death is no more condemnation because Christ has taken the believer’s condemnation. Death is now a joyful entrance into the place God has prepared for those redeemed by Christ. A place where “God will wipe away every tear from the believer’s eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). But if death is going to be gain, then Christ must be your Savior. You must trust Him alone and nothing or no one else. The Apostle Paul knew that his righteousness did not come by way of his own works, but his righteousness was by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. The Apostle Paul knew Christ not only saved him, but Christ also sustained him. That's why he wrote in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me.” Christ gave the Apostle Paul, and He gives every believer, the strength to endure to the end even in the face of persecution, suffering, trials, and death. As we read in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Christ was the motivation of the Apostle Paul’s life. He lived for the sake of Christ and His kingdom. Why was the Apostle Paul willing to suffer persecution, trials, slander, hatred, and even death for preaching the Gospel? Because he knew to whom he belonged. “For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's” (1 Cor. 6:20). Christ had given Himself for Paul and this prepared the apostle to live and die for Jesus. Simply stated, the Apostle Paul gave himself to the Lord Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ had first given Himself for Paul.
Can you say this? Are you prepared to die? Is your confession that death is gain? If so, then your confession must also be, “To live is Christ.” This means you walk by faith in Christ and strive to obey Him as your Lord and King. Our obedience will not be practically perfect, but it will be the direction in which we live our life. Every desire that is not in the service of Jesus Christ must be forsaken. Christ must be the very reason you live. No one can say death is gain unless they can sincerely say, “For to me to live is Christ.” Only those who live for Christ are those who gain when death comes. Death apart from Jesus Christ is eternal torment of body and soul in Hell, but for the child of God even death cannot separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:38-39). Christ has conquered death, Hell, and the grave for every believer by His righteous Law-abiding life and sin-atoning death.
May God give us the grace to look to Jesus by faith so that we might declare with the saints in glory, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:55-57). Amen!
Friday Devotional: October 2, 2026
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
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