For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Philippians 1:21, KJV

I heard this question over 40 years ago, and I imagine that you may have heard it too. It went something like this: "If it was a crime to be a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"

Now, when we hear that question, our response is probably immediate. We would present as evidence our church attendance. Perhaps we would point out that we often read the Bible, and we pray. Maybe we would look to our bank records and point out the donations we have made through the years. All of these, to be sure, would be evidence, but would this evidence be enough to convict? Or, perhaps, it might be weighed by the jury to be merely circumstantial evidence.

A smart attorney might even argue that we had been in a garage on many occasions, but that did not make us a car. Or that maybe we had "YouTubed" a video on changing our spark plugs, but that did not mean we were a mechanic. Or maybe even that we had written a number of checks for gas and repairs, but that did not mean that we "worshipped? our cars.

And the truth, of course, is that the lawyer would be right - all such evidence was merely circumstantial and meant nothing, when you really thought about it.

This is why we need to get to the crux of the matter. If Christianity were a crime, it would not matter if there was enough evidence for a judge or a jury to convict us; no! It would only matter if there was enough evidence to convince... us!

And that is the point! The Apostle Paul was in prison for following Christ. There was more than enough evidence to convict him because he was a genuine follower of Jesus. In fact, he was so serious about his commitment that he stated that for him to live was Christ! In other words, he had given his life completely to Christ. No one had to look for past evidence of his commitment, for he lived that commitment every day. Even when he was under confinement in Rome, he pointed out that the entire Praetorian Guard had come to learn of Christ through him. Even after he had been arrested for following Christ, he spent every day teaching everyone around him about what Jesus had done for him and what He could do for others. 

If Christianity was to be a crime, then Paul would daily give enough evidence to hang himself to the very people who held him captive. 

And the reason for his acting in such a way was clear: He loved Christ! He believed in Him to the point that he was willing to give up his freedom in order to follow Him. He would eventually die for that so-called crime, and he was clearly more than willing to do so. Why? Because Paul was convicted!!

You didn't have to search for evidence to convict him because he was convinced himself. He quite literally believed that to continue to live would mean that he could perform fruitful work in Christ's service. And if that cost him his life, well then so be it! For him to live was Christ and to die was gain. These words were not merely a catchy phrase for Paul - they were the way he lived, because Jesus was his life!

How about you?