Work Out Your Salvation - 9

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His word, what a glory He sheds on our way. While we do His good will, He abides with us still and with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey. That's a song familiar that most of you have sung no doubt sometime and maybe frequently in your lifetime. I wouldn't say it's the strongest hymn doctrinally that I have ever observed, but there is an important truth that is involved there, and that is the combining together of faith and works. Trust and obey.

That mysterious combination that we often have difficulty with, but which our text this morning is going to help us with. But that's the big question, isn't it? What is the right relationship between faith and works? We know, I think, that we must not make works a requirement for salvation, for that's contrary to the Bible. But neither must we omit works from the inevitable results of salvation, for that also is contrary to the Bible. And we must not use one Bible truth to cancel out another.

The Bible teaches us that justification is by faith alone. But it also teaches us that the faith that saves is never alone. It's always accompanied by works, good works. And so today we come to a puzzling text, at least puzzling to many people, that combines together the subjects of works and salvation, with fear and trembling. Works and salvation, so close together in the same verse. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

That very language tends to grate upon evangelical ears. But it's God's Word, and committed to the Word of God, we must therefore endeavor to understand what it means and to apply it to our lives as given. So let's consider four aspects in our chosen text today to help us understand this issue.

And our text is verses 12 and 13 of Philippians chapter 2. I see, number one, a perfect example. Second, a growing obedience. Third, a human being. Second, responsibility. And fourth, a divine activity.

And we begin with a perfect example. Verse 12 opens by saying, therefore, my beloved, therefore, my beloved. These tender appeals of the apostle Paul come quite frequently.

And here's another one, my beloved, he calls the Philippian church, the members of that church. Beloved to Paul because they are beloved to God. But beloved to Paul because of the strong ties of personal fellowship which he enjoys with these people.

That's difficult to have those ties unless there is regular personal contact. Beloved to Paul because of the partnership which they enjoy together in the gospel. The Philippian church, more than any of the other churches, supported Paul in his travels as a missionary apostle. Beloved because of their relationship together, their common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And beloved in spite of imperfections among them because imperfections exist in all of us. And Paul deals with some of the problems and imperfections in the Philippian church in this epistle.

That's what Paul just suggested. Beware of the critical spirit that would drive us apart in the body of Christ. It rises so easily because of the sin that is within us and because of our clever adversary who knows how to dissuade us, how to move us away from truth, and how to separate us from the fellowship of the saints which is so important. Therefore, my beloved. But it is that connecting particle, therefore, points us back to the perfect example. Therefore, it comes up often. Therefore, a conclusion based upon what has gone before. Therefore, a connection with the previous context.

And what is the connection? Therefore, in the light of Christ's submission and therefore in the light of Christ's exaltation. Christ's submission, that wonderful passage that we have examined. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

And there's a very close connection here. We can start by noticing the word obey. We find it in our text in verse 12. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed. But we read earlier in verse eight that Jesus obeyed. Obedient even to the point of death. In the light of Christ's submission, in the light of Christ's obedience, in the light of Christ's works, if we want to use that word because that's what we're talking about here.

Work out your own salvation and fear and trembling. And therefore, my beloved, you should obey. You should do the works that God has commanded because of the example of Jesus Christ who himself obeyed his Heavenly Father.

Mystery of mysteries, but nevertheless true and very importantly so. In fact, all of Christ's condescension was a series of acts of obedience. To enjoy the great results of it, to enjoy the blessings of it, but rather instead he gave it up. He gave up the glory of his deity for the work of redemption as an act of obedience to the Father. As an act of obedience to the Father, he became a servant, a bondservant, humbling himself, serving others, demonstrating that most vividly in the upper room before the crucifixion, when he took the servant's place, took off his outer garment, girded himself with a towel like a bondservant, and went around and tenderly washed the disciples' feet. A lowly task that only the lowliest of servants would ever perform. And that's exactly what Jesus did.

Why? In obedience to the Father. He obeyed. He became obedient and became a bondservant.

He became obedient. Obedient unto death, all the way to death. Even the most ignominious and painful death, the death of the cross. All of these are examples of Christ's submission, Christ's obedience to the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed. Therefore, because Jesus obeyed, you too should follow his example and be obedient. But it's not only in the light of Christ's submission, but it's also in the light of Christ's exaltation.

After Christ humbled himself all the way to death, even the death of the cross, we read another therefore. Therefore, the Father has also highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That's the Father's therefore. Christ humbled himself.

He obeyed all the way to the ultimate extent of possible obedience. Therefore, the Father responded to that by exalting him to the highest position of glory and honor. That's the Father's therefore in the light of Christ's submission. Now what is our therefore in the light of Christ's submission? We should also obey, keeping in mind the example of Christ and his obedience, but also keeping in mind the glorious exaltation which he enjoyed from the Father. His exaltation to the highest position. The bestowment upon him of the highest name. That at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, Jehovah, Yahweh, the highest name. That is assigned to Jesus, the incarnate God, the God-man.

Mystery of mysteries. But what we are told is that Christ unhindered, unambiguous, complete obedience in every detail earned him great reward. The obedience of Christians will also earn us great rewards. Now the difference is we're not Christ, we're not God, we're not going to receive the highest reward that he received and of course we know we don't deserve that. And also the difference is Christ did deserve his rewards, we don't deserve ours, but nevertheless they're promised to us.

And this is a wonderful example. The example of Christ's obedience should call forth our obedience. The example of the Father's rewarding his Son's obedience and promising to reward the obedience of all who obey his word should also call forth our obedience to the Father. And so therefore let us follow the path of obedience that Christ demonstrated for us. Let us humble ourselves in lowly service as Christ demonstrated for us. Let us anticipate the promised rewards that Christ demonstrates for us.

A perfect example. But next in our text we see a growing obedience. Therefore my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. As you have always obeyed. You have obeyed to initial obedience, continuing obedience, and increased obedience. Initial obedience.

As you have always obeyed. They had been a very responsive church. The work of God's Spirit attending the preaching of the Gospel by the Apostle Paul and Philippi had drawn many sinners to Christ. We don't know how many. We know the names of a few of them. We know a little bit of the testimony of some of them. But there are many more that were drawn to Christ and became members of this church. And evidently as Paul taught them the demands, the commands, the demands of the Christian life, they gladly and obediently obeyed this initial response during this energetic period of their newfound salvation. During this exciting time when an apostle of Jesus Christ was ministering God's word powerfully.

They were obeying the Lord at the beginning of their Christian walk. And in the presence of the Apostle Paul who served as a father, who served as a mentor to them. Could you have a better pastor than Paul? A better teacher than Paul?

A better mentor example than the Apostle Paul? And they responded to that enthusiastically. Paul makes reference to here. You always obeyed. That's initial obedience. But Paul also makes reference to their continuing obedience.

And this is even more important. Your obedience, not as in my presence only, not when I was there. I was only there for a few weeks, a few short months at most. Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Now that I'm gone, you don't have an apostle.

You don't have a miracle worker. You don't have an example of incredible zeal for Christ as Paul demonstrated to them and to others. You don't have that in your presence now. You have that continuing nitty gritty of the Christian life that goes on and on and on. And as the excitement wears off, it begins to wane. That initial excitement of your newfound salvation. Some of you can still remember what it was like when you first came to Christ. And you were so thrilled, so excited, so much on fire, so filled with zeal. Why, you would have climbed to the moon and back for Jesus Christ if you could have. Do you still feel that same way?

What's going on now? Are you as obedient? Are you as fervent?

Are you as committed to Christ now in the weeks and months and years that have rolled on as you were in the beginning? Well, Paul recognizes the tendency that we have to slack off a bit. Let's pull back a little bit. We've been overdoing it, perhaps.

So let's pull back a bit. But Paul says you need to continue to obey. And he makes reference to the fact that they did seem to be continuing, to some degree at least, how you were obedient in my presence. But now much more in my absence. And that's not saying that you are much more obedient in my absence.

He's saying you ought to be. So many times it's the other way around. The great apostles gone, the great leaders gone, the great personalities gone. So now we slack off a bit. Paul says, oh, no, it should be the other way around. Now, as time has gone on, we should not see less obedience, less zeal, less commitment.

There ought to be more. But it certainly ought to be increasing. And though the motivating personality, namely the apostle Paul, has been removed, the Word of God has not gone anywhere. The Spirit of God has not abandoned you. The commands of God have not been withdrawn. Therefore, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Continuing obedience and even, as the text suggests, increased obedience.

Now much more in my absence. There ought to be a growth because this is merely the outgrowth of spiritual development, spiritual maturity. As we mature in the faith, as we understand more of God's Word, as we have gained more experience of walking with the Lord in the light of His Word, what should be the outcome of that?

Greater faithfulness, greater obedience, growing in our walk with the Lord and our obedience to His commands. You see, our obedience should not be the result of fleshly excitement and carnal motivation. And when it is, it soon is snuffed out. It soon wanes.

There are certain styles of Christianity that seem to depend upon that. Come to church and get a booster. You've been vaccinated, but now you need a booster. And next Sunday, you'll need another booster. And next Sunday, you'll need another booster because it wears off by Monday or Tuesday. So come back and we'll have excitement. It'll be all exciting and grand and glorious and we'll jack you up for another day or two. But if you miss too many Sundays, you'll be back in the doldrums again because that's all blessed based upon fleshly excitement and carnal response.

And that won't get you anywhere. That doesn't produce real spiritual maturity and growth. But Paul is telling us that Christian growth, listen to me now, Christian growth is normal Christianity. Not remarkable Christianity, not unusual Christianity. It's not that there are few saints that really have achieved. They are super saints.

They really seem to have it all together. But the greatest body of believers tends to drag in the shadows most of the time. No, no, no. Normal Christianity is that the further you walk with the Lord, the more you go on in your Christian life, the more obedient you become, the more effective you become, the more committed you become, the more loving you become toward the Savior. Much more.

Much more. Good obedience when I was there, continued obedience now that I'm gone, but much more, much more as the days march on. And you may ask, well, where do I find the motivation for that kind of obedience? If it's not in the raucous music and the drumbeat and the guitars, if it's not in the smoke machine and the flashing lights on the platform, you say, where does that come from?

You're so sheltered. Well, if it doesn't come from that, where does it come from? I'm glad you asked. Hold on to that thought. We'll get to it in verse 13. Now we move on number three to a human responsibility, verse 12, the last part of verse 12. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. And now here we come to the central thought of these two verses. Work out your own salvation. This tells us what we must do and how we must do it. What must we do? We must work out our salvation.

Work, not coast. If you coast in your Christian life, you're not going to achieve what God has in store for you. Not, listen to me now, let go and let God.

I recognize there's an element in truth in that if you shape it and define it carefully enough. But in general terms, that's a very misleading phrase that's very commonly proclaimed in certain Christian circles. The idea seems to be the problem is you've been trying too hard and if you'll just quit trying and let God do it, then you're going to really soar in your Christian life. I hope if you stop working, you're going to flop in your Christian life.

The Bible doesn't say let go and let God. The Bible says work, work, work at it for the rest of your life. The text does not say work for your salvation. It says work out your salvation. This is not talking about the way of salvation. This is talking about the results of salvation.

We are to work out the salvation that God has put in. He has, by His grace, saved us. He has given us a new heart. He has given us His Holy Spirit. He has given us new desires. We've got all the tools we need to now be able to work for Him, to please Him, to obey Him, and it is now our responsibility to take hold of these things that God has given, these things that accompany salvation, and work with them, work with them, work with them, work with them, work them out of our hearts, out of our lives, out of the inward man where God has made these changes. Work out to maturity. Work out to full development, the salvation which has come to you all by the grace of God. Work it out into every aspect of your life.

Work it out. It's not just for church. It's not just for Sunday morning. It's not just for when you are with Christians.

It is for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, as well as Sunday. Make sure that your salvation is apparent at home, in your relationship with your spouse, and with your children, with your relatives. Make sure that the salvation that God has given you has worked out to full development on your job, with your co-workers, with those that have authority over you, your attitude toward them, your proper godly submission to them, and the way you treat those that you may have responsibility beneath you. Work out your salvation so that Jesus Christ is seen in all of these aspects of your life. Work it out. Work it out in your entertainment. Work it out in your recreation.

Work it out in your television viewing. Work it out in your life. Work out your salvation. We actually have another name for what Paul is describing here, and generally we call this progressive sanctification. It's an aspect of salvation. Salvation is not just the new birth.

That's where it begins. Salvation, as you know, has a past aspect, a present aspect, and a future aspect. It is appropriate and biblical to say, I have been saved, I am being saved, and I shall be saved. I have been saved by the work of God's Spirit birthing me into the family of God. I have been saved. I have been justified. And that's done.

Deal. That's settled. There's nothing going to change that. That's a guarantee of what's to come.

That's a guarantee of the results. God has done a work in my life. I have been saved by the grace of God. But also by the design of God, the way He saves us, I am being saved day by day by day by day.

I'm being a little bit more conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. And one day I shall be saved. I shall be completely saved. I shall be completely holy. I shall be free from sin. I shall enjoy the presence of my Savior. I shall be able to worship Him without hindrance. I shall have no wrong thoughts. I shall have no wrong attitudes.

I shall speak no wrong words. I shall be saved completely. Well, now, if you have been saved, you are in stage number two. You are being saved.

And that's what Paul is talking about. This being saved part requires your work. It requires your cooperation. It requires your involvement. You work out your salvation. That's what we must do.

And how must we do it? With fear and trembling. With fear and trembling before God, we trust in Him, not self.

When we think we can do it, we have fleshly confidence we fall and fail. Remember Peter? Jesus said, you're going to flee. You're going to abandon me. Peter said, not me. Oh, I'll never do that. I'll die with you, Lord.

And just a few hours later, a young lady said, aren't you one of them? Peter said, not me. I don't know him.

I don't know him. Fleshly confidence fell flat on his face. But we work out our salvation with fear before God and trembling before Him, conscious of our weakness, conscious of our remaining sinfulness, recognizing it's there and it will trip us up if we're not vigilant at all times. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, not fear of what God might do to me, but fear of what I may do to fail to please Him and to honor Him. That should cause me great seriousness, great fear, great trembling before God. I work out my salvation with fear and trembling with a sense of reverence, a sense of awe, a sense of trust, a sense of humility before the very throne of God.

I'm working out daily my salvation with fear and trembling. So that is the human responsibility. What have we had so far? Number one, a perfect example. Number two, a growing obedience.

Number three, a human responsibility. But now we come number four to a divine activity. Work it out for it is God, verse 13, who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Is that a contradiction? Verse 12 says you work it out. Verse 13 says God is working it out. Which is it?

Both. You work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you. I see an enabling power, a comprehensive power, an ennobling power, an enabling power, for it is God who works in you. That's the only way you can work it out is if He's working within you. For it is God who works in you, who energizes you more literally.

But here's the thing. God doesn't do the work in our place as our substitute. He works in us. He works through us. He works with us to enable us to do the work which He energizes and enables.

That's different, you see, from regeneration. In that sense, God does it. And we suddenly realize that it was done.

What happened? God did something. He did it.

We call that monochism. God did it. He did it. He birthed us to life. And now we see the responses of that. We exercise faith in Christ and we begin to walk in holiness and obedience. That's what God did. But you see, our sanctification is synergistic, not monochistic. It's a cooperative effort between God and man because God has designed it that way. And it's still His role that's the most important role.

It's His role that is the indispensable role. We can't do this. We couldn't do this if God wasn't working in us. But God works in such a way that He cooperates our effort, our work, our diligence, our concern, our prayers.

That's the only way it'll be done. We've got to work. But we can work and only can work because it is God working in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. He energizes us to be able to work and we have the responsibility to work, therefore. We are dependent upon God to be able to work. We are dependent upon God to be able to do works that are pleasing to Him. We are dependent upon God to be able to obey Him in a truly God-honoring way. It's the only way it can be done by God's work, God's enabling power within us. It's an enabling power.

It is also a comprehensive power, and this is very interesting and very critical. Don't check out on me yet. God works in you, listen, both to will and to do. A lot of Christians have that second one down, takes God's enabling power in order to do anything for eternity.

But have you got the first one down? It takes God's enabling power to even have the desire to do it, to will, to do, His good pleasure. That's what the Bible says. What the Bible teaches us is that sin corrupts both our ability to do right and our will to do right. We don't want to.

Why? Because we love darkness rather than light, because our deeds are evil. Until God deals with that, we will never will to do what is right. But for those who have been saved, it is God who works within us both to will, to activate our will, and to enable us to do for His good pleasure. Sin corrupts both the ability and the will, both the ability to choose and the ability to accomplish, but God provides both. And that answers the question, where do I get the desire to work for Him if it's not worked up by fleshly inducements? Here's where you get it. God provides it.

He provides the will, the desire, as well as the ability to perform in enabling power, a comprehensive power, and ennobling power. Why does He do this? It's for His good pleasure. Why does He do this? Because it pleases Him to do it.

That's the only answer we need. Why does He do it? Because this is His chosen way of doing it, of honoring Christ. It brings glory to Him, and therefore when we understand that, and we respond to that, and we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling because He's working within us, then we are bringing honor and glory to Him. It is for His good pleasure. The work which His goodness began, the arm of His strength will complete. His promise is ye and amen, and never was forfeited yet. Things future, nor things that are now, not all things below or above, can make Him, His purpose, forego or sever my soul from His love.

A Deader than Mercy alone by Augustus Toplady. Quickly, some lessons. First of all, in free will. Free will. That's another stumbling point. And this text tells us that we are free to choose but unable to choose a right.

That's the problem. Spurgeon, in dealing with man's will, said in a sermon, in the title of the sermon, that man's will is a slave yet free. That's a paradox, but I'll try to explain that paradox. Every man makes choices freely, both sinner and saint. But the problem is unsaved people always make unwise and sinful choices. They make them freely. They make the choices they want to make. They make the choices they desire.

The problem is they need something within, a change of God, to help them to desire what is right, what is good, what is righteous, and that they don't have. So, do they have a free will? Yes. Do they have an enslaved will?

Yes. It's chained to sin. It's chained to their unregenerate heart. It's chained to their sinful desires, and therefore, though they choose freely and they have a sense that they're making these choices freely, nevertheless, they need to understand that it takes the power of God to free them so that they can make the right choices.

Otherwise, they can't. Man, in his sinful condition, chooses freely, but only by God's working within him can he choose what is good and right. When God works in the human heart to enable us to will and do of his good pleasure, our will is not forced. That's the misunderstanding that people have. Well, you Calvinists believe that man is a robot and God just forces you to do what he wants you to do.

That's a complete misunderstanding. God doesn't force our will. God liberates our will.

God enables our will. It was chained before. It's chained to sin.

It's chained to darkness. It's chained to our inability, and God in his grace liberates it so that now we're free to make good choices, righteous choices, which before we couldn't make, which is why we need to be careful of making overstatements. There are some who will insist man's will is absolutely and always free.

Wrong. Man's will is free to sin, but it's not free to do righteousness. It's bound.

It's enslaved. But then sometimes people go overboard in the other direction. Man does not have a free will. Well, yes and no.

That's probably not a good statement to make to somebody who doesn't understand this. Man doesn't have a free will. You didn't make a choice.

Yes, you did. But you kept making the wrong one until God worked in your heart. Man is free to choose. He's free to choose evil. He's free to choose between a lot of different evil options. He can just look at that smorgasbord of evil and freely choose what he's going to pick. But he keeps going back to the smorgasbord of evil. He never seems to find himself at the smorgasbord of righteousness. He doesn't have any interest in that, no desire for that. He keeps going back in the other direction. He needs to be liberated.

He needs to be made truly free. We can consider a lesson about the place of obedience in our lives. Obedience, as we've learned in this text, is not the cause of salvation. It's the result of it, but always the result of it. Not it may be. Not it ought to be. Not we hope it will be. It is.

Why? Because an infallible, omnipotent God is working out his purposes in us, as top lady said. He'll not be thwarted, but this God-pleasing obedience requires our determination and our labors. We are dependent upon God's enabling power, but these works of obedience are not an option, but a requirement for the redeemed. And they are, in fact, a mark of true salvation. No evidence of obedience, no desire of obedience.

Go back to the beginning. You need to be born again, because those who have been born again have been given spiritual desires. God works within us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. God works within us.

Are you going to stop the hand of Almighty God? God works within us. If you're a child of God, this is present. If that's not present, you need to be saved by the grace of God.

Go to Christ and acknowledge your need. One final lesson concerning the place of other Christians in our obedience. This text shows us that we must not be overly dependent upon others. The Philippians must be obedient, as obedient, even more obedient in Paul's absence than they were in his presence.

They must not be overly dependent upon others. But on the other hand, taking other scriptures into account, we must not be too independent either. The Bible does not commend solo Christians, maverick Christians, go-it-alone Christians. You need the fellowship of the saints, because the Bible says so. You say, well, I don't feel the need.

I feel perfectly complete without that. But the Bible says you need that. It's not a matter of what you feel. It's a matter of what the Bible says to be true. Try that justification on an unbeliever.

You're witnessing to an unbeliever, you need Jesus. Well, I don't feel the need of him. Oh, you don't? What do you say? Oh, you don't?

Well, I'm sorry. I'm talking to the wrong person. No, you say you may not know the need, you may not feel the need, but the Bible declares the need and the Bible's right. You need Jesus whether you feel him or not. Well, Christians, the same thing is true for you. You need the fellowship of the saints whether you feel that need or not.

And you're both disobedient and losing something very important if you neglect that. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much more, also 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 do for his good pleasure. Let's pray. Father, seal this truth to every heart, apply it according to the need as you, the omniscient Spirit of God, knows the need to be. We pray. Amen.