4 truths to believe in Chapter On
#3 … To die is gain vs 2
To live is Christ is an expectation for all Believers whether old or new in the faith. But a matter that raises thoughts, doubts and consternation is the matter of death as gain. Paul would have us believe this truth that death is gain. Before going further, let us state emphatically that not all deaths are gain. The rich man by whose gates Lazarus laid would instruct us to know that not all death is gain. In hell, after death, in torment, he cried out… That is nothing close to gain. In Mark 14, the Lord also showed that life in hell attractive. Even though many mock hell today. Yet only those who are there can counsel those who have not, except the Word of God is believed.
But to the saints who have run their courses well, death is gain. Paul said of this that a crown of righteousness was laid for him because he had finished well. There is a joy set before those who are in Christ, the same way Christ saw this joy and endured the cross and its shame. Paul further encouraged the hearts of every believer to know that we shall be with the Lord when he returns to take his saints. This is the death that is gain. This is the death that we can look forward to because it is not the end but the beginning of a life of pleasure before God forever.