Paul’s Desire To Depart

Spurgeon takes Paul's phrase "to depart and be with Christ" and unpacks it in three movements: first, what death actually is for the believer — not an arrest, not a plunge into darkness, but a quiet departure like a ship leaving harbor, the visible part being simply a calm leave-taking from everything loved on earth; second, what waits on the other side — not a long interval but an immediate arrival, where "to be with Christ" means vision of his face, intimate communion, full fruition of everything faith has only tasted, and a share in his glory forever. He then explains why Paul's desire to depart was genuinely wise and noble rather than cowardly — distinguishing it sharply from the suicide's despair, the philosopher's misanthropy, the ambitious man's bitter disappointment, or the sufferer's flight from pain — and traces Paul's real reasons: the longing to be completely and permanently free from sin, the desire to be reunited with beloved saints who had gone before, and above all the burning hunger to be with Christ himself. Throughout the sermon he addresses two audiences in parallel, showing believers reasons to welcome death with longing confidence, and warning the unconverted that for them death brings no such departure to sweetness but a harvest of their own sowing, companions in judgment rather than in glory, and a meeting with the Christ they despised — not as a welcoming friend but as the righteous Judge.Sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on September 11th, 1859.