Paul's Command To Live Out Salvation

I invite you to turn to Philippians chapter 2, as we read the first 18 verses together, considering verses 12 and 13 this morning. Verses 12 and 13 of Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2, beginning at verse 1 through verse 18, as we hear now the Word of God. If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. May God add His blessing to the reading of His Word. Well, beloved in Christ the Lord, never before in the history of the world and never again will there be such a great work as that work which has been performed, that work which has been accomplished, By our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You see, it's not just yesterday's news. It's not just a small, tiny article in the bottom of page 10 in the newspaper. Well, it might be to some, but not to us. But in verses 6-11, as we read again this morning, we have the true story of who Jesus Christ is and what He did to save you and me. Did you hear that? these verses 6-11 are the story of salvation. And they're not just the story of what happened in the past, but it's the story of something that has present and future and even eternal consequences. Something that will not be undone. Something that will never be taken away from you and me. Now we know that Paul has been rejoicing. As we have studied so far, he has been rejoicing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He has been rejoicing in the Philippian believers' participation in that Gospel. He has been rejoicing in the eternal gain that he knows he has the comfort of having. For to me, to die is gain, he says. And we know that he has been teaching the Philippian believers that their conduct is to be in a manner worthy of this Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is played out as they are to be united as a church as they face opposition. And they are to be humble and selfless as they deal with each other in their church life. And this is the very reason why. Because of what He has said in verses 6-11. Because this is what Jesus Christ has done for you and for me. As He clearly has explained for them the vast act of the love of Jesus Christ. And His work, the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul is teaching is life-changing. Indeed, because it brings us from death to life by the power of the Holy Spirit. But also because, therefore, it calls for a change in life. You and me, we are to live a changed life. As he says in the text, therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose. This is Paul's command to the Philippian believers and to you and me. It is his command to live out salvation and to do so first of all in the sight of God who gives us the gift of salvation. See, salvation is not our work. We know that, don't we? It's a gift. It's a gift from God. You see, many well-meaning Christians who simply cannot grasp this truth that salvation is all of God's work and not our work, use this verse 12. Work out your salvation while ignoring verse 13. For it is God who works in you. They use this verse 12 as a proof text that no matter how much God does for us, We must still do our part in order to get saved. But here, not in any way, shape, or form, Paul is in no way teaching a self-help salvation. He does not say, work for, or work toward, or work at your salvation. He says, work out your salvation. That salvation that has already been worked in you, we might say. That salvation which is a present reality. He says, your salvation, salvation is a possession that is already theirs because of what Jesus Christ has done. And because of the work of the Holy Spirit begun in their hearts as He has given them new birth, as He has given them the gift of faith. Salvation is that most precious treasure, that most precious possession, which includes the fact that their spiritual eyes have been opened to see their sinfulness. to see that they are condemned by God's law, to see that they are guilty in His sight, to see that they are under the wrath of God, to recognize that by their own efforts, they can in no way satisfy God's wrath. They are worthless. But also to see the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ was punished for their sins, that Jesus Christ died in their place. And because of that, believers are justified. And now as God's people, they are the project of the Holy Spirit who makes them new, complete, with a new way of thinking and feeling and willing. And it's all God's work. It's all God's precious gift. You see, this salvation that Paul is talking about here is not about getting people saved. But it is how a saved people live out their salvation in the church and in the world in this life. Beloved, a saved people, believers, live in the sight of this God who has saved them and who sees what Paul can't see. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence. Paul, first of all, expresses the loving relationship that he has with them. He has a deep devotion for these people. And he also compliments their obedience to God. You have always obeyed in my presence. But he encourages them to continue to be obedient to God, even in his absence. In other words, don't be like those who when the cat's away, the mice will play. Don't be hypocritical, giving a good show while I, Paul, am here in your presence. But when I'm gone, when I'm out of sight, then I'm out of mind, and therefore the Gospel is also out of mind. And not that Paul is saying that they were doing this, not at all. But he offers encouragement to continue in their obedience. And along with that, he is giving them a reminder that they live and they move and they have their being in the very presence of the Almighty God who saved them and sees all things. He reminds them that Paul himself is just, is only an instrument of God whose teaching instructed them, whose example inspired them. whose encouragement urged them on in their growth in grace. But He too, just like them, He too lived before the watchful eyes of God, the very One who deserves our attention. It is before His eyes that we are called to work out our salvation, to live before Him with fear and trembling. And to do so because He is God, He is majestic, He is mighty, He is the only wise God. And as I trust, you can see this fear and trembling that Paul is talking about. He's not talking about being afraid, as we might think. He's not talking about being scared stiff or being terrified, for example, that they might lose their salvation. He's not talking about being afraid in the sense of shrinking from His presence like the wicked will do on Judgment Day when they see the Lord of glory, they will call out for the mountains and the hills to cover them from His very sight. Boys and girls, as I think of the wicked a little bit on Judgment Day, I think sort of of the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz. You remember that? He's shook. He couldn't even speak in the presence of the one who was called to be the wonderful Oz. That's not what Paul is talking about here. That's not the kind of fear and trembling that he's talking about. This fear and trembling means, as I trust you know, to be in awe of God, to have a holy reverence for God, to stand before God humbled, recognizing what we truly deserve versus what He has freely given to us. And the nature of this fear and trembling that Paul speaks of is that this kind of fear and trembling knows God in truth. As John says in 1 John 1, verse 5, God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. This kind of fear and trembling knows that God is perfect. He is glorious. He is holy. He is unstained at all by any sin. And therefore, the nature of this fear and trembling is that it not only knows God, but also recognizes the world that opposes God and recognizes the temptations that come at you and me from the world and also understands myself. The truth of myself, of the sin that continues to cling to me and my weakness to fall into sin. And therefore, this fear and trembling has the idea to realize the tremendous seriousness of this call to work out, to live out our salvation. And therefore, the believer desires to do what is right and not to do what is displeasing to God. The believer is vigilant and fights to keep from doing whatever offends and dishonors God. He is vigilant and fights with all his might to keep from falling into sin. He has a fear, a reverential, godly fear of being careless in his faith and life. He doesn't want to be careless in his faith and life. Does that describe you and me? Does that describe you and me? Is that our desire? That we sincerely don't want to be careless in our faith and life and therefore we exercise the greatest of care in living as children of God. Is that what goes through your mind on a daily basis? Or do you simply not think about it? Beloved, we are called to live out our salvation in the sight of God. And secondly, throughout earthly life. This earthly life which is the arena for Christian conduct. This life from creation all the way to the second coming of Jesus Christ is the stage upon which God's history of revelation is being unfolded more and more and more day by day. It is the stage upon which God's history of redemption, the salvation of lost sinners is being carried out. In which the church of Jesus Christ is being gathered together by the power of the Holy Spirit as he applies the saving work of Jesus Christ to the hearts and lives of God's elect children, bringing them in one by one by one. And as he does this, beloved, this earthly life then is where preparation is being made for heaven of those who are saved. You see, along with the Philippian believers, we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ today, we are saved. This very same salvation which was their most precious treasure is also our precious treasure. And you know what that means? That means that we are justified in the sight of God. Our sins are forgiven for Jesus' sake and we have been given freely the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ so that we are guiltless. We are considered guiltless and righteous in God's sight. And that's ours by faith. But we know, though, that we are not yet actually righteous inside. We know that we are not yet perfectly righteous. We won't be perfect until the next life. However, the Holy Spirit is busy carrying out that good work of sanctification. Just a refresher again. Justification, we know, is God's work outside of us that He does on our behalf. It is His declaration. It's what He says about you and me who are in Christ Jesus. He says, you are guiltless. Your sins are forgiven. You are righteous in my sight. It's a declaration of a new status before Him. And sanctification then is that process that flows forth from justification. It is that process of God the Holy Spirit's work inside of us, cleansing and purifying us more and more from the pollution and the power and the influence of sin. It's His ongoing work of perfecting us for the glory of heaven. It is a work of cooperation. Because as the Holy Spirit works in us, in our hearts and lives, He also works with us, preparing us for heaven with a call to work out our salvation. You see, beloved, to those who have been given new birth for the sake of Jesus Christ with a new way of thinking and new desires and a new heart, we are called to action. We are to be actively participating in that new life. In that gift of salvation with all that comes with a born-again heart. Now, we know that conversion and repentance includes a U-turn. A complete change in direction from sin and a desire for sin to hatred for sin and a desire for righteousness. I believe that Paul summarizes what it means to work out our salvation with fear and trembling earlier as we have already considered when he says, For to me, to live is Christ. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. What does that mean? It means for you and me, it must be to live is Christ. So that Christ gives definition to our whole life. And Paul summarizes this also in Romans chapter 6 when he says, the death He died, that is Christ, the death He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. Beloved, working out our salvation with fear and trembling is a call to active service as saved people. And it means very simply there is to be progress in the Christian life. The idea of this working out, it means perfecting. It means bringing to pass. It means leading to a final result. It means finishing something which has already been started. And here then, it means striving for the fulfillment, for the completion of what has already been given. We live in the already and the not yet. We are already saved. That is our guarantee. That is our comfort and confidence. But we do not yet have it in all of its fullness as we will one day in the glory of heaven. And therefore, until that day, we are called to live according to. We are called to live in a way that is consistent with our salvation. And that means working out means to act like, to give evidence of being saved. Of belonging to Jesus Christ. This working out means to demonstrate this work which has begun and the progress of that work by participating in it. Putting it into practice. Putting into practice our new desires and our new thoughts and our new speech. Simply putting into practice a whole new way of life. And this working out then includes offering Christ-like obedience to God with complete and absolute submission to the will of God. Not only when it's convenient for us. Not only when we think it applies to us. But in all things we are to strive to please Him. But it also means then avoiding everything that opposes God. Avoiding everything that opposes God. And that means we are to be a thoughtful people. We are to actually put our minds to work and think as we live this life. What is it that opposes God? We are called to fight against that sin that clings to us, against our renewed nature, that sin that we would be tempted to fall into. We are to pray for courage to resist and to turn from the things that would destroy us, that would keep us from God. And this is true as individuals. It's also true as a church. The Philippian church was being called to rid themselves of the discord that may have been there. the arguing, the fighting, the petty disagreements, the party spirit, and instead to live sacrificially in the name of Jesus Christ. But this working out also includes seeking to grow in this life in Christ. And therefore, we are called with those new desires that God has given to us, we are called to do everything we can to feed this new life that we have been given. That it might grow, that it might develop, that it might extend, that it might influence others. Do everything we can for the growth of this life through worship and through the reading and meditation of Scripture, through prayer supplemented with godly relationships who encourage us, all with a goal of being drawn nearer to God. People of God, it is to be unmistakable to the world, to our neighbors, to our co-workers, To our friends, to the clerk in the grocery store. It is to be unmistakable to the world that we belong to Jesus Christ. Unmistakable. And of course we know that working out our salvation is a process. Sanctification is a process of growth in the Lord. Growing in knowledge and wisdom and strength in the Lord. And as we grow through sanctification and by the blessing of the Holy Spirit, you and I are called to recognize the sin in our lives and the sinful practices in our lives that we have become accustomed to. And more and more we are called to change our views and to change our thinking and to change our practices as we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Change these things in a way that is consistent with this new life. So that we think God's thoughts after Him. Becoming more Christ-like by the grace of God? And the beauty here is that this is not only possible, but it is actual, it is real. It can't be any other way because you can only live out your salvation with divine confidence in the third place. And what I mean by that is confidence in God. Paul again says in verse 12, work out, and then he says in verse 13, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose. You can work out your salvation. Why? Because it is God who works in you. Paul can give this command like this with confidence because God will indeed, without fail, bring the work that He has begun to completion. He will because He works powerfully. It is God who works in you and me to will and to act. First of all, by the power of that new life. We were dead to sin. But God, as Paul says in Ephesians 2, made us alive together with Christ. And the word for works here, when it says God works, is the word from which we get our word energy. God, by the Holy Spirit, energizes His people. He energizes His people with new life and along with that new life, a new will. He changes our will from willing evil to desiring to fight evil and strive for righteousness. It is this God who energized Paul. He made Paul want to do good. As Paul says in Romans 7, it is this God who energizes us by His Holy Spirit and causes us to embrace salvation by faith and to desire by obedience to live and act as saved people. He molds and shapes our wills after His own will. But it doesn't end there. He doesn't stop with our wills. He causes those wills to act. To act. To work out. To live out. To be busy in that salvation life. He gives us the power to work out our salvation. And beloved, we know it's not easy. We still face the force of evil. But this command to live out our salvation is something that is to be continual. The Bible characterizes this living out as something that is continuous, a sustained and strenuous effort. As Paul says in Philippians 3, verse 12, not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. I press on. In Romans 14, he describes it as an effort. In 1 Corinthians 9, he speaks of it as beating his body. In 1 Timothy 6, he speaks of it as fighting the good fight. And in Hebrews 12, it's described as running the race with perseverance. It is to be a continual, never letting up, working out. But notice the guarantee. Our perseverance is guaranteed. We will fall. We will fail at times in and of ourselves, but God never will. And that is because He also works effectually. He works according to His good purpose. Beloved, God's plan and purpose will come to pass. He has ordained the full, the complete salvation of His people. He has ordained the glory of His name and He has ordained the destruction of evil. and God's pleasure is to glorify Himself through the salvation of His people who in no way deserve it, and He is pleased as His people glorify Him by living this life to the praise of His glorious grace. There's a song that's been popular for quite a number of years that includes this phrase, you'll never walk alone. You'll never walk alone. And how true that is for the believer. The believer will never be alone in this life. You see, God calls us to action. God calls us to be busy and He equips us. He gives what is necessary so that our salvation will be worked out. It will be brought to completion. And that is clearly testified to with the Lord's table. The Lord's table is prepared before us this morning. And as you gaze upon, and as you partake from the Lord's table, know and understand that this table is a visible testimony to the truth of God's good purpose. It is a visible testimony to the humiliation and the exaltation of Jesus Christ to His work. It is a visible testimony to our undeserved salvation. And it is a visible testimony to the promise that His work in us will indeed be completed. and our coming to the lord's table in faith is a part of working out our salvation in fear and trembling our coming in faith testifies to our firm belief and trust in jesus christ and his saving work it testifies to to our confidence that salvation is found in no one else our coming in faith is a demonstration that we belong to him alone who has purchased us with his own precious blood and beloved our coming in faith is an acknowledgement that there is only one God and this one God alone deserves our honor and praise because he will come again and he will bring us into the fullness of his salvation and beloved coming to this table is the desire it is the desire of all who truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore dear brothers and sisters live out your salvation in the strength of the Holy Spirit and live out your salvation with God's promise of completion guaranteed to those whose faith alone is in this Jesus Christ Amen