Top 10 quotes from Matt Chandler - To Live is Christ and to Die is Gain

In To Live is Christ and the Die is Gain, Matt Chandler walks through the book of Philippians. Check out some of the best quotes below:


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1

Paul considers it a blessing to be considered worthy to suffer for the cause of Christ. This is not the kind of Christianity any of us end up with except through a profound experiencing of Christ’s cross applied to our lives

2

In the logic of the gospel, there are no alternatives to Christ. Every other option is no option at all

3

You will find, if you seriously study Scripture, that outside of the idea of hell, there is no more terrifying idea in the Bible than God setting you free to run in the imagination of your heart

4

The Bible tells us that Jesus, who was very involved the act of creation, is also involved in the act of sustaining creation. Colossians 1:17 says, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” And Hebrews 1:3 says, “He upholds the universe by the word of his power.” So follow where I’m going here. When the Romans arrest Jesus, they grab Him with hands that He not only created but was, at the time, sustaining. In essence, the power they use to grab Him comes from Him. With muscles that He powers, they stretch their hands back and slap His face. They use the glands that He controls to work up the saliva to spit on Him. They nail Him with metal that He created to a tree that He spoke into existence. And He is able to stop it at any moment

5

Nobody stumbles into godliness, ever. It simply doesn’t happen. There is no autopilot mode for the Christian life. We never see people in the Bible growing in godliness by coasting along. Not even the person who gets the miracle

6

Really, prayer and worry are of the same essence. They are both a rehearsing of circumstances, a mulling over, and a kind of mental and emotional chewing. But in worry, there’s no connection, no traction, no relational receiver. It’s like spinning our wheels. Worrying is like trying to travel in a rocking chair. But when we pray, we are “worrying” at God. We take those anxieties and direct them Godward, taking them to Him, placing them before Him, and—of utmost importance—handing them over. This is why Martin Luther says, “Pray, and let God worry.”

7

So we fill up the space where anxiety grows with humble, lowly “help me” prayers that are full of thanksgiving for God’s goodness, God’s gifts, and the ultimate good gift, the gospel. The gospel is grounds for unassailable joy. If the gospel is true, it puts eternal stability into the hearts of all who believe it. And it is a wellspring of “in everything” thanksgivings. 

8

Thanksgiving and worry can’t occupy the same space. Thanksgiving is worry’s kryptonite. You can’t worry if you’re giving thanks

9

The secret Paul learned both intellectually and experientially, and the secret he is now passing on to the Philippians and to us—to you—is this: true contentment is not in any way related to circumstances. True contentment is tuned to the deeper reality of the gospel and God’s kingdom. If the Lord brings wealth, praise the Lord. I’m going to use that wealth to push the kingdom forward, to glorify Christ, to serve Him completely. 

10

Openhanded, I will say, “All is yours.” If it’s poverty, if it’s nothing, praise the Lord. Openhanded, I will trust Him to provide everything I need to be all that He’s asked me to be. Either way, I’m all good. It does not matter what befalls me, good or bad. It doesn’t matter if everyone loves me or everyone hates me. It does not matter if I’m healthy or sick. It does not matter if everything works like I want it to or if nothing does. I have learned to be content in everything. I learned it from God’s Word, and I have learned it from God’s providence.