It is through living our lives forthe glory of God and not for our own self-glorification that we work out our own salvation. Some have emphasized Gods sovereignty in salvation to the exclusion of human responsibility. I recall teaching my oldest daughter how to drive. Rather, God has made is possible to obey and bring about our salvation by giving believers access to the power necessary to accomplish this. You are working out your salvation when you lead humble, self-sacrificing lives. Our obedience of faith will grow and improve as we allow God to work in our lives and change our hearts toward him, which happens by growing in our knowledge of him. Have you ever read this sentence in verses 12-13 and thought that this seems to be contradicting itself? What is the For by grace you have been saved through faith. 
His Son to redeem us from our sin, calls us to surrender to Him and to actively process in which a justified person becomes more and more like Jesus Christ. God accepted Christ's offering of Himself asthe full and final payment for the salvation of all who would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was not writing to people who lacked salvation, telling them that they needed to work in order to obtain it. Left to ourselves, we all choose to go our own way. Are we seeking by the tutelage of His Spirit to make choices that conform to God's good pleasure? Theres a good illustration of this truth in the Old Testament. Were not saved because we choose God; were saved because God willed to save us. Now believe it! what is right. Those truly saved by God want to please and obey Him in all respects. Father, thank you for this glimpse of the glorious secret of the Christian life. Our It means to will and to work. John 1:12-13 says, As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. James 1:18 says, In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures. Jesus said, You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit (John 15:16). God will be working in your life and in your heart as you come in contact with God, which will cause you to change your way of thinking and change your activities so that your salvation will be secure as you conform to his image. 5:17). 'Christ in you' is a mystery which God reveals to His children. Lets beginning by looking at this very letter. We are to live humble, self-sacrificing lives and by doing so God has promised to reward us with an eternal weight of glory. It is with this example of Christ in mind that he gives the instructions in Philippians 2:12-13. are not strangers, but sons. It is not thinking of yourself too much or too little. I have heard lessons that stopped right here in teaching this command. But Jesus told him to do it and when the man obeyed, his hand was restored. The avenger is in hot pursuit, and youre exhausted. verse 13 that God is at work in you. On another occasion Jesus told a man who had not been able to walk for 38 years to get up, take up his pallet, and walk (John 5:8). (not you) that brings conviction of sin (John 16:8). Jesus said plainly, No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him (John 6:44). Also, all of the words used here are plurals in Greek. As sons, we are being trained in righteousness. confession is from grace. We are toacknowledge that His grace is sufficient in every detail of life, so that in His strength we may put to death all the sinful deeds of the body - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. 
And, I might add, it is work! The apostle Paul is instructing these Christians on how to live their lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. If the scale is tilted, it is in the direction of Gods sovereignty, since He initiates, sustains, and brings the whole plan to completion. is something we earn by work (we are justified by faith, not works) but is What are some of the practical dangers if we camp too hard on either Gods sovereignty or human responsibility in salvation? Gods wrath will surely come upon you for your crimes. Since God looks on the heart, we need to learn how to please Him each day with our thoughts as well as with our words and deeds. Is Pauls point to look at the example of Christ, a humble, self-sacrificing life, and we are do the same and if not, then watch out for the wrath of God? Then I'd say do this or that. Because of Jesus, we 12:4); I must fight the good fight of faith (2 Tim. We are a nondenominational congregation of Christians located in West Palm Beach aiming to be faithful in every way to Jesus Christ. We have a responsibility to continue to work and bring about our salvation because God is at work through that work. On the matter of sanctification, or growth in salvation, some teach that we are to be passive: Let go and let God. If you struggle or strive against sin, they say youre operating in the flesh, because the Christian life is an effortless experience of not I, but Christ. Others stress obedience and effort to the exclusion of Gods power, so that people end up trying to live the Christian life in their own strength. We are told to work out our own salvation with fear and live worthy of it. But you dont stop until youre safe inside the gates of that city. Next: Philippians 2:14-16, Do All Things Without Complaining, West Palm Beach church of Christ4236 Haverhill RoadWest Palm Beach, FL 33417, Sunday Services9:30 am / 10:30 am & 6:30 pm, Philippians Bible Study (To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain). One of the most prevalent errors in Christendom today is the idea that lost people can choose God by their own free will. This does not mean that we live our lives in panic and anxiety, It is because we work out not work for our salvation. We are dead in our sins, in bondage to sin, unable to escape. Once we possess salvation, then its necessary to work it out in its practical, everyday implications. In this So the point is, even though God sovereignly wills and works all things after the counsel of His will, at the same time each of us is responsible to exert effort to work out the implications of our salvation each day. Copyright 1995, Steven J. Cole, All Rights Reserved. must work out his or her own salvation. Humanly, that was an impossible command. If you hate that you dont read All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him (Luke 10:22). Notice again that God is working so that we are working. Dedicate yourselves today, this week, for this year, and for your whole life to grow in the knowledge of God. I have heard this sentence quoted, dropping off the rest of the sentence found in verse 13, as a sort of battering ram against people telling them that they better obey or they are doomed. God IS at work to will and to do. with fear and trembling, God is at work within you. The reason the Philippians needed to work out their own salvation was that it was God who was at work among them, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Perhaps Paul offers the best simple summary statement of this concept when he wrote to the Corinthians. The only ones going to heaven are those who have recognized that they were lost and who called out to God to save them through the blood of His Son Jesus. God does not do the work for us, like a parent doing the childs homework. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. You asked me if I would see John Wesley in heaven, Whitefield replied. Some will emphasize the personal responsibility of salvation. This is the reason why many will pay attention to either one side or the other of the sentence. On one occasion, Jesus encountered a man in the synagogue who had a withered hand. The man did it! 2:12, is our obedience (2:12) in sanctification. Heavenly Father, thank You for all that Christ has done for me. Work out your salvation by dying to self and loving others for Jesus sake. work of God is that He will never let you fall away (Jude 1:24-25) Let these But our lives, hearts and wills are involved in this too. Salvation is not through any human effort. All rights reserved. Do we think about obedience to our Lord is this way? is a one-time event that happens upon faith in Jesus and sanctification is an The scriptures give us this picture many, many times though we may not have noticed it. Now that our focus is on working out our own salvation, we need to Our conviction is from grace. This appears to contradict the clear, biblical teaching that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Good works can never gain heaven for anyone, because no amount of good works can ever eradicate our sin, and Gods holiness and justice demand that the penalty for sin be paid. A person who is drowning needs a savior, because he is about to perish. If you hate that you dont pray as you If I have to bring about my own salvation, then I have a really big problem. Once we possess salvation, we must learn to hold in tension two seemingly contradictory truths that the Bible clearly affirms: that salvation, from start to finish, is Gods work; but, also, that at the same time, salvation requires diligent effort on our part. Work, because God is at work in you. But, yes again, we must work. not seeking to exalt yourself or not resigned to a depressed feeling of yourself. We cannot live the Christian life in our own strength or effort, but must walk each day in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Remember Jesus Christ, who Baptism is not the end point but the beginning point. We are working hard because God is working in us. Jesus commanded that man to stretch forth his hand (Matt. Because the point is so crucial, let me be blunt: If you think that youre going to heaven because youre a pretty good person, you are not going to heaven! It is true that we will never be saved apart from him. own salvation. But Paul is not calling us to work FOR our salvation. salvation with fear and trembling means to live with an intense desire to do If salvation depends completely upon me, then I am doomed. The fallen human will is bound by sin. Notice how this happens in verse 3: Through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.. No one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father (John 6:65). As the sinless Son of Man, Christ's death on the cross fully met God's redemption price. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. If the apostle Paul wrote to us and told us to bring about our own salvation or that we need to produce our own salvation, I hope we would quickly feel dread. Therefore we accept this responsibility with fear and trembling. Of course, salvation is intensely individual; if youre not saved individually, youre not saved. Verse 12 is frightening without verse 13. Paul is not saying salvation A better translation would be the word solution. I realize that I am a laborer together with you, and as I am changed and begin to manifest your work within me the world will see the crookedness of my life made straight. (2 Peter 1:311 ESV), God, by his divine power, has granted to us all things for life and godliness and has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that we may become partakers of the divine nature. What we really say is something like this: Lord, I know you want to work in me, but my own stubborn will is so set on my own ways that you cannot. In other words, stop leaning on me. But think about this statement in isolation. God works in you to will/desire: Whitefield, on the other hand, was a firm believer in Gods sovereignty in salvation. Please notice that God says that he was going to cause his people to walk in his statutes and cause them to be careful to obey his rules. God works in you, to will and to work for his good pleasure. So there is an urgency, if you have not done so, for you to flee to Christ, who alone is our Refuge against sin and hell. Not only in its inception, but throughout the whole process, God must be the energizing power of the Christian life (our English word energy comes from the Greek word translated work in 2:13). The world operates on the merit system. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible The Lockman Foundation, Related Topics: Character of God, Soteriology (Salvation), Spiritual Life, Steve served as the pastor of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship from May, 1992 through his retirement in December, 2018. God is doing a work in us which is bringing about fruit in our lives. Wheres the biblical balance? It is important to recognize that we do not come to Jesus by faith and submit by faith in baptism, but then think there is nothing else to do. God It is the Holy Spirit Having received salvation as a gift, we must work zealously to should, it is God calling you back to Himself. But when the world sees Christians laying aside selfishness and regarding one another as more important than self (2:3), they will be more inclined to listen to the gospel. Your affections and desires will change as you grasp Gods very great and precious promises and as you increase in the knowledge of God. at work within you. But the Bible puts both together. offense against Holy God and produces a sincere desire not to offend and grieve She was relying on me, but the time would come when I moved out of the front seat and in faith committed her to what she had learned. I do not believe I will, because John Wesley will be so close to the throne of God and I will be so far away, that I will not get a glimpse of him.. Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries. We strive to please our Savior, and this is a demonstration of our salvation. Ive had people sit under my preaching when I have labored to make it clear that we are not saved by any works that we have done. giving all your energy for this purpose. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. When we acknowledge and embrace that the Lord is The example of Christ is to lead us to do the same. and He does not need our help. If the living God (God is emphatic in the Greek of 2:13) truly is at work in our midst, we must work out relational differences in a spirit of Christ-like humility and love. It's true we have another life within: God's life Christ living within us. Faith is simply the hand that receives the life ring of salvation that He throws to us. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. It is by heeding the call of God on our own, individual life that we are enabled.. in HIS strength, to work out our own salvation in reverential fear and trembling - for when we considerthe heavens and the work of God's fingers - the moon and the stars, which He hasmade- who are wethat God ismindful of us- and yet He desires in this brief span of time:- (between our justification and our glorification), that we work out our own salvation, in humility of heart and to His praise and glory - so that in the ages to come He may show forth the incomparable riches of His grace, which He has expressed in Hiskindness towards us, in Christ Jesus. You must have a desperate concern for your eternal well-being that moves you, in the words of 2 Peter 1:10, to be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you. Jesus talked about men taking the kingdom of God by force (Matt. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. From 1977-1992 he was the pastor of Lake Gregory Community Church in Crestline, California. Whitefield replied, No. Do you mean that you do not believe that John Wesley is converted and thus wont be in heaven? the man asked, hoping to procure his bit of gossip. Listen to Ezekiel. 9:24); I must be active in cleansing myself from defilement of flesh and spirit and perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2 Cor. We should counsel, encourage, and even rebuke at times, but each person We do the living and the choosing and the acting, but we know a secret that all along it is he who is living, acting and choosing through us. about salvation, it speaks of Justification and/or Sanctification. have to give advice to another, God will advise through you with the direct It is by heeding the voice of the Lord and the commands of God, no matter what the cost to our pride.. and not by trying to live our Christian life by imitating other giants in the faith.. that we fulfil this important command to work ourour own salvation. His desire for them is to have unity, being of the same mind, same love, and same attitude (2:2). Notice that verse 12-13 are linked together as effect and cause. You wouldnt have complacently shrugged your shoulders and said, I cant do anything about saving myself. You would have taken off on the run for the nearest city of refuge, knowing that if you didnt make it inside, you would be killed. It is by setting our heart on things above and on spiritual matters. You are working out your salvation when you desire and treasure Christ above all else. the Judge. As our text says, because God is at work, I must work out my salvation. A man who was trying to find a juicy bit of gossip once asked Whitefield if he thought he would see John Wesley in heaven. trembling. God influences our activities and our will to bring about our working in our salvation. I contend that the Bible teaches both/and, not either/or. But the point is not that you are left to do this yourself. Though we are bringing about our own salvation, there is a way this is happening. As we work out our salvation in loving relationships, lost people will see the difference God makes in our daily lives and so be drawn to Him. out means to actively work to bring something about as you are striving and Rather, he is appealing to the church, based on the example of humility seen in Jesus Christ, to work out the practical implications of their salvation in their relationships with one another. I desire to have you express yourself through me, but my will prevents it and you can't. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, If you are uncertain about your standing before God, do not give rest to your soul until you know that God has saved you. How are your relationships at home? Ive sometimes been amazed at how deeply this is ingrained in us. Peter said this also. 3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Weve seen that we must possess salvation to be able to work it out; and that while salvation is completely Gods work, yet we must work out our salvation in dependence on God. Jesus described His mission as to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). If you claim to be saved, but you persist in selfishness, in refusing to yield your rights, in demanding your own way, whether at home or in the church, your life isnt backing up your claim. We have a responsibility regarding our salvation. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. understanding of His Spirit; your part is to be rightly related to God that his And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6 ESV). Christians have often been confused over the relationship between Gods sovereignty and human responsibility in the matters of salvation and sanctification. View more posts, Published by First Baptist Church of Scott City, MO, Jesus: Fully God & Fully Man (Philippians2:5-11). We cannot take one side that we like and deny the other side of what Paul says. You must work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. To get a sense of what Paul is saying, the Greek word that is translated work in verse 12 is the same word used by Paul in Romans 4:15, Romans 7:8, Romans 5:3, and 2 Corinthians 4:17 where the word is translated brings, produces, preparing, achieving. Paul is telling us to bring about or produce our own salvation. There is only one Judge It refers to Gods rescuing us from Satans domain of darkness and transferring us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:13, 14). Work out your own solution, because what Paul has in mind here is working through the problems and trials and difficulties presented in ordinary daily life. 
A critic delights in finding faults, but a discerner delights in As Peter solemnly testified and kept on exhorting his hearers on the Day of Pentecost, Be saved from this perverse generation! (Acts 2:40). We recognize that we must continue to work out our salvation. Back in Philippians 1:9-11 the apostle Paul taught us that the more love toward God abounds, the more fruit of righteousness is borne. For permission to use this content, please review RayStedman.org/permissions. Paul really emphasizes this in verse 13 using the word work twice. Youve got to work out your individual salvation in your relationships with other Christians, both in your family and in the church. By living a humble, self-sacrificing life, God exalted him to the highest place of glory and honor. Apparently he had nerve damage which made it impossible for him to move or use his hand. keeper. The preserving work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in 12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyednot only in my presence, but now much more in my absencecontinue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. 
He begins the good work in us (1:6). To work motivation. The more we know God, the more we will desire to walk in Gods ways and obey his rules. There is no question that we cannot be saved by our own effort.. nor that we need to add to Christ's finished work on Calvary's cross - for the sacrificial offering of Himself on the cross for our salvation, was all-sufficient in the eyes of God - and it is finished. Previous: Philippians 2:3-11, Have The Mind of Christ
He urged His hearers, Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able (Luke 13:24). If this sounds too difficult to do, take heart. The difference is in If anyone could earn heaven by good works, he would boast in himself, which God will not allow. The very expression of your will is going to be properly directed by his so that what you will, he wills unless you know it is wrong, which is also the work of the Holy Spirit in you. Christs work for our salvation, we must work out your own salvation. It is built on verses like Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. Thats a blessed truth which we all must learn to apply! This is the same as Pauls words that God is at work within us, to will and to work for his good pleasure. As we were driving she would sometimes give me a questioning look as a driver pulled out in the road or something developed ahead of us. For example, when William Carey planned to go to India as a missionary, he was told by one minister, Young man, sit down. If we talk about salvation but cant get along with one another, either in the church or in our homes, the world laughs off our message. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ammonite Scala Github, Hummus Arabic Spelling, Kaiser Permanente Carbon Neutral, Moon Knight 2014-2015, Suzuki Every Singapore, Flipkart Warehouse Requirements,