Working Out Your Salvation
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INTRODUCTION
We are continuing our study of Philippians, and we will be picking up where we left off last week. In our last lesson, we examined 1:27-2:11, where Paul showed the Philippians the kind of life that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Their lives as individuals needed to be lived a certain way… a way that reflected the heart of the gospel message and the mind of Christ. This gospel message is a message of sacrifice, self-denial, and showing a concern for others that has the outcome of victory for those we serve. And Paul hopefully challenged each one of us as we studied 2:3-8 and saw these attitudes commanded of us as God’s people and exhibited in our Lord Jesus.
We will begin our study today in verse 12. Paul begins this section by saying “therefore” or “so then” depending on your translation. This shows that he is continuing to build upon what he stated earlier. Paul is continuing to build upon what he began in 1:27, showing us what it means to live our lives in a manner worthy of the gospel and how to further apply what he taught us about the humility of Christ.
WORKING OUT OUR SALVATION
Let’s read verses 12-13 once again:
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Paul tells them to “work out their salvation”. The idea is that they need to continue to do what they have been doing up to this point. He parallels the idea of obedience in the beginning of the verse with “working out their salvation”. They needed to continue to obey by growing in their humility and reflecting more of the principles of the gospel in their lives. And, as we saw in our last lesson, that is a very high standard for us. That being the case, it takes more effort; more work for us to rid ourselves of selfishness and pride so we can be more like the Lord. Do you know what the literal meaning of the Greek word Paul uses here for 'work'? It means 'work'! Get to work... be active in obeying the Lord. Work hard in being more like Jesus. Being a Christian is not for those who want their Christianity to be comfortable. Christianity is not a two day per week religion. It is daily work… daily battle. We take up our crosses daily, following Jesus.
After what Christ did in humbling himself, showing his concern for us in sacrificially loving us so we could go to Heaven, our desire should be to submit to Him and to work hard for Him. There is no excuse to be content in our current spiritual state and to stop working and growing… We need to keep on working.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain ()
And Paul gives us great motivation to continue to be obedient followers of Christ: God is at work in us. As we study His word and work on applying it to our lives, He is at work in us. He is working in us to help us grow in our desire to serve others. We made this point as we looked at 1:6. In that passage, Paul understood the One who is ultimately at work in and through the Philippians: God. God began working in them as they obeyed the preaching of the Gospel, and He is continuing to work in us through His Spirit to become more holy and prepared to be with Him in glory. And He will make sure that He sees the work He began through to the end. If getting to Heaven depended solely on me working, I would be in trouble, but knowing that God is working in me as I study and read His word and as I work in His kingdom is a good reason to have confidence that I will be with Him.
But there is an important point that needs to be made here. If God is with you and working in you, you will grow in your desire to work and will be serving more in the kingdom. If these are things that are lacking in your life… If you are not desiring the things of God and you are not looking for opportunities to serve Him and His people, or if you are not even spending time learning and studying God’s will in His word, may it be the case that God is not with you or at work in you? That is a possibility! When God is at work in us, when His word is received into a good heart, changes are made and growth can be seen.
OUR ATTITUDE AS WE WORK OUT OUR SALVATION
Paul also tells us the kind of attitudes we need to have as we work out our salvation. In verse 12, He says to do this “with fear and trembling.” Usually when we hear the word fear in reference to God, we quickly try to say that we are not being told to “be afraid”, but instead, to be reverent, respectful, and obedient to God. I do believe these are included in what Paul says here, but I also believe that since the words fear and trembling are used together, it is difficult to escape the idea of being afraid. I think this is exactly what Paul is saying. Those who know God know that He is not just a God of love, but also a God of justice. Those who know God and understand what the wrath of the Judge will be like, it will be a motivation for us to make sure we are part of the number that will receive the fullness of God’s mercy and love. Remember that we serve a powerful and glorious God who hates and opposes those who are proud, but gives grace to the humble. There is a place for fear and trembling in our relationship with God. Of course fear and trembling is not usually our primary motivation, but it should be a motivation. As we grow and mature in Christ, love and pleasing God are our primary motivations, but fear and trembling will help us keep balanced and keep us away from complacency. We know what God is capable of! The more we know the Lord, the more we understand our need to tremble before him. THOSE CLOSEST TO GOD IN SCRIPTURE WHO ARE ABLE TO ENTER INTO GOD'S PRESENCE IN THE BIBLE NEVER ENTER INTO HIS PRESENCE LIKE IT IS A SMALL THING. THEY FALL TO THE GROUND AS THOUGH THEY ARE DEAD! I am just so amazed when I hear about those who claim to have a vision where they see the Lord or even the Father in glory, and they talk about how they come right up to God face held high, talking to Him. Or that their first response of seeing Jesus in glory is to go give him a big hug or kiss... This seems so different than the responses we see in scripture... Those who know the LORD fear! They tremble before His glorious presence.
And knowing who God is, they are moved to action in trying to persuade people of the truth.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.
I love this passage. We see in it how knowing the Lord and knowing that every single man must stand before Him in judgment, this leads to fear and this leads to action! We will desire to live lives that are working for the Lord and aiming to please Him, and we will try to persuade one another and those who do not know the Lord to seek Him so that they can be on the right with Him. This should be our response to knowing God.
Paul also tells us in verse 14 to “do all things without complaining/grumbling” and without “questioning or disputing” with God. Let that sink in for a moment… Paul doesn’t say “do some things without complaining or disputing…” He doesn’t say, “do most things without complaining.” He says “do all things without complaining or disputing.” All things! When was the last time you complained…? For many of us, it may be that we can think of times within the past 24hrs… Someone says something I didn’t like, I go and complain about it… I see all of the things that are happening in our country and in the current election cycle, and I complain about it… I get sick, and I complain about it… I am tired or I am not getting enough done, and I complain about it… Are we much different from the Israelites of old in the wilderness wanderings? God said that He allowed them to hunger and thirst so that they could learn that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from Him, but instead of learning from their trying circumstances, they responded by murmuring against God. They seemed to constantly complain against and question Moses and Aaron’s (and ultimately God’s) judgment in bringing them out of Egypt.
Next time we are complaining about our lot in life, we need to think about these things. When God is working within His people to purify them and to make them more like Christ, this may mean that there will be circumstances that come upon us that are not comfortable, but instead painful and difficult. God will use trials to make us holy. If we are responding to the trials, discomforts, and frustrations of life with complaining, we have a wrong mindset towards these things. We need to see God’s hand in the circumstances of life, no matter how good or difficult they may be, and when we are complaining about something, we are really complaining against God.
Also, just think about this for a moment… When we complain, are we showing the Christ-like humility that is commanded in this chapter? When we complain we are being self-seeking and being filled with selfish ambition and conceit. Complaining is arrogant. It is showing pride.
Paul has already made it very clear in this chapter that it is by the means of humility, submission, concern for others, and self-surrender that is blessed by being exalted and glorified by God. It is not by being selfishly ambitious, self-seeking, and complaining. Grumbling or disputing against the Lord, his people, or the circumstances that the Lord has allowed us to go through is not a work that will be blessed by the Lord. Instead, we need to be grateful… for God, for how He is working in us through His circumstances, through other people, etc, etc. He is always doing good, even when the circumstances are difficult for us to handle or to be patient with…
BEING “BRIGHT” WORKERS
Now, if we do the things that are described in this passage; if we work out our salvation with fear and trembling; if we do all things without complaining or disputing, then there will be a certain outcome in our lives as we interact with the evil world around us:
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life… ()
Paul says that if we work out our salvation in the way that is commanded in this passage, we will grow to become blameless and harmless and without fault. Those words describe the kind of character of mature disciples of Christ. This will be what we become if we work towards it! This should not be a surprise to us. God will give us the maturity and growth that we seek as Christians if that is what we are working towards. We also see that as we live within a sinful world, it is possible for the people of God to live above reproach and blamelessly. Living among crooked and perverse people does not mean that we have to be.
With God working in us, we can excel and shine bright. As we grow to be more like Christ, our light that is seen much brighter in this dark and evil world. The Greek word used for “lights” here literally means “luminaries” or “stars”. The picture he is giving is of a dark night’s sky where the stars shine so bright and are easily seen. This is how the people of God shine in the world as they are being faithful to Him, working out their salvation with fear and trembling. As our world becomes darker and darker; as it becomes more corrupt and godless, God’s people need to become brighter and brighter lights in this world. We need to hold fast to God’s word. We need to hold on tight to it, and not allow this world to scare us and stop us from teaching it’s truth.
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life…
These things are not just for the Philippians, these are for us also…
CONCLUSION
9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
May the humility of Christ lead us to action; to earnestly seek the reward God has promised, learning to be grateful for our circumstances instead of complaining, being bright lights in this dark world. Be different from the world so your light can be seen and can make an impact for the kingdom.