Live In The Therefore- Philippians 2:12-18

INTRO

When I graduated college I decided to start an internship to pursue church planting.

I was 23 and full of ideas and energy.

I was doing an internship at a church I valued and wanted to learn from.

I’ll never forget when I was pulled aside.

I was at a Community Group at one of the pastors home.

It was actually a small apartment.

There wasn’t really anywhere private he could pull me so I ended up getting pulled in this guys bathroom with him.

He said, “Billy I want you to hear me. I like you. You’re a smart guy, a good dude. But you gotta stop talking so much. I know you think you have arrived now that you are out of school, but listen you still have work to do.”

Ouch.

There was still things I needed to work out.

Working out may evoke different things for you.

Perhaps you love it, you’re a fitness nut.

But I think even the most in shape of us can admit there are times that it is difficult to be motivated.

In college after I had been dumped I decided to work out my sleeplessness by running.

Before I knew it, I surpassed a mile.

Next thing I knew I was well on my way to a half marathon.

I loved it.

I would wake up, do my warm up and do on average 6-8.

I was well on my way to 10 miles a day when I got pneumonia.

After I recouped I’ll never forget my first run.

Barely a mile in I was dying. Huffing and puffing.

I had lost it.

If we don’t continue working out, we don’t stay in shape.

Today we are continuing on in our series in Philippians and Paul is talking about working out.

He is looking back at the example he just shared and he now wants to challenge the Philippian church.

This morning we are going to walk through what is an oft misunderstood passage.

We are gonna look at the challenge to consider the example of Christ and to work out our salvation.

BIG IDEA:

Live in the therefore.

In light of the humility of Jesus let’s work out our salvation, witness, and worship with awe and gratitude!

Live in the the therefore.

Maybe you have heard the saying, What’s the therefore there for?

The NASB says So then.

It’s saying in light of vs 6-11

In light of the gospel, because of Jesus’ humility, his obedience unto death, his exhalation.

Because of that we should be a people who pursue holiness.

Here is a hard and fast reality Coram Deo: Spiritual maturity won’t happen on its own.

I said this last week we don’t accidentally become like Jesus.

So we will look at what it means to live in the therefore and it starts with work.

Look at verse 12 with me

I. Work Out Your Salvation - (v12-13)

Philippians 2:12 (ESV)

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,

This is a challenging word.

Are you growing in holiness?

There is a danger that our camp can fall into.

We are in the gospel-centered camp.

That’s awesome. We want everything we do to be centered on the gospel absolutely!

However many of us lean so deeply into grace we forget what grace calls us to.

Listen I want to be clear. I want to fight against this deep entrenched legalism that had a stranglehold on grace.

We are not saved by works.

Period.

We are saved by grace.

Paul here is writing to believers, he is commending their obedience.

But here is what he doesn’t say.

Now that you are saved, now that Christ has secured your salvation by his sure victory, your good, just relax.

Don’t worry at all.

If you sin no big deal.

Just rest. The work is finished.

Is that what Paul says? NO!

He says work out your salvation.

The idea is literally work out.

Keep at it.

Grow in holiness.

Take this gift of salvation and grow in it.

Do something!

I love the way D.A. Carson says it.

People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated. _D.A. Carson

Y’all are you at work?

Are you striving to grow?

Working out here means to bring about or to produce.

Here is what I want to ask you, what are you doing to grow in holiness?

How are you striving to look like Jesus?

The tension is that many think this is saying we have to work to earn our salvation.

Nope.

That is completely missing what we just read earlier in chapter 2.

Jesus was the one who had perfect obedience.

Friend are you aware of the sin that is in you? Are you pursuing holiness through repentance and growth or just ignoring sin?

In March of 1994 a German tourist checked into a hotel near Miami International Airport. That night in his room he noticed a foul odor. But travelers must put up with discomforts, so he slept in the bed that night without a complaint to the front desk.

The next morning when he awoke, the odor was only worse. So as he checked out of the hotel, he reported the problem.

On Friday, March 11, a maid cleaning the room discovered the source of the odor. Under the bed she found a corpse. Life is filled with problems, and often it seems the best thing to do is just ignore them.

But if we realized how serious and close some problems really are, we would take action.

Paul is challenging the Philippians to take action.

Were they obedient? Yes!

But now that Paul is out of sight sin is starting to create fissures and cracks.

We have already mentioned that their was disunity.

The wording "working out" again means "to bring about or produce," and what the church needed to produce was unity.

The Philippians would work out their salvation as they followed the example of Christ, abandoning pride and walking in humility.

In response to the sacrifice they received from Christ, they would sacrifice for one another.

If all the members of the church body did this, they would have social harmony.

As believers, living our lives in response to the gospel unites the body of Christ.

As the Philippians worked out their salvation, they were to do so with fear and trembling.

Awe of the gospel is what motivates the Philippian believers to live lives of servitude, and it is what should motivate the Church today.

This is a call back to the Exodus.

Israel had been liberated from their captors and seeing the sheer power of God lead them to fear and trembling.

To awe and wonder.

It’s a reverence that stirs the soul.

The Philippian church cannot be content with past glories but they need to demonstrate their faith day by day as they nurture their relationship with God.

While their is certainly a call to sober living out of reverance Paul doesnt want the Philippians or you to be anxious that you can never be good enough to merit God’s favor.

Rather it is God’s enabling grace that will see you through.

Look at verse 13

Philippians 2:13 (ESV)

for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

I love the way JC Ryle says it in his classic work Holiness.

Whose fault is it if they are not holy, but their own? On whom can they throw the blame, if they are not sanctified, but them-selves? God, who has given them grace and a new heart and a new nature, has deprived them of all excuse if they do not live for his praise. This is a point which is far too much forgotten. A man who professes to be a true Christian, while he sits still, content with a very low degree of sanctification (if indeed he has any at all), and coolly tells you he 'can do nothing, is a very pitiable sight and a very ignorant man. Against this delusion let us watch and be on our guard. The Word of God always addresses its precepts to believers as accountable and responsible beings. If the Savior of sinners gives us renewing grace and calls us by his Spirit, we may be sure that he expects us to use our grace and not to go to sleep. _ JC Ryle

Holiness is our calling, our duty and our obligation.

Yet. it is not in our power alone to deal with sin.

That last line from while we have been given renewing grace.

We aren’t left to a frightening loneliness where it’s all down to us.

We are called to put sin to death and pursue the Lord and the power to do this, the power to obey is not your own; it is God’s.

God is at work in you.

What an incentive that is for diligently being about the business of killing sin and living for God!

Our sin may seem insurmountable to us, our habits unbreakable, the pollutions of our hearts beyond blotting out, but-and understand this clearly-none of that is true.

God is at work in you today if you are His child, to incline your will and empower your actions so that you work for His good pleasure.

These two truths must always be kept together.

You must affirm that we are truly and really responsible.

Holiness is a work we must do.

Yet you must immediately assert that no one has advanced a single inch in holiness apart from the empowering work of the Holy Spirit.

Both are true.

One is not made subservient to the other.

They are held together in beautiful, biblical tension.

Holiness is our duty and it is God's promise.

We must do it. God will do it. (PAUSE)

A pastor shared the story of being challenged by his track coach

When I first ran track in prep school, my coach invited me to his home for dinner one night.

After the meal, he pulled out a notebook displaying my name on the front cover. He immediately turned to the back page, which bore a date—three and a half years away.

“Son,” he said. “These are the races I’m going to schedule you to run almost four years from now. Here are the times you will achieve.”

I looked at those times. Impossible!

They were light years away from where I was at that moment as a runner.

Then Coach began turning back the pages of that book, page by page, showing the 42 months he had scheduled for workouts.

These were the graduated, accelerated plans for my increasing skill on the track as the months and years would go by.

He had a sense of direction and development when it came to my athletic growth.

Coaches and leaders of all kinds understand the absolute necessity of strategic, long-range planning.

Similarly, a wise and all-knowing God has a plan for our total lives—gradually, inevitably, down through the years, we become more like Jesus.

Paul takes a look from our personal holiness to a watching world as he then calls us to

Holiness is our duty and it is God's promise.

We must do it. God will do it.

II. Work out our witness (v.14-16)

Philippians 2:14–16 (ESV)

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Grumbling and disputing, complaining and arguing are easy, instinctive almost.

Biting our tongues and serving in humility even when we don't like it out of love for Christ and His people-now that's hard!

But this is a basic part of working out our salvation with fear and trembling, a fundamental response to the person and work of Christ for us.

Like Him, "when He was reviled, did not revile in return" (1 Peter 2:23), we also must silence our grumbling and get busy serving.

That is what it means to have this mind among ourselves which is ours in Christ Jesus.

We do all things without grumbling or questioning. That's sometimes a challenge. But look at the impact such a life will have.

Philippians 2:15 (ESV)

that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

Paul shows us that one result of our holiness is effective witness.

This idea of grumbling and disputing calls back to mind Israel wandering in the wilderness.

They were supposed to be an example to the world of the living God, but they couldn’t see past themselves.

Coram Deo what about you?

Are you able to bite your tongue?

Do you live in such a way that people ask about the hope you have?

Are you displaying the love of Jesus?

When you go to work is it like a light shining in a dark place or are you so cloaked in the cares of this world that the light you have is like it’s been placed under a basket?”

A strong magnet may be held over an old rust-eaten, shapeless nail without meeting any response.

A bright, shinging nail will leap to the magnet, attract another, and through it draw yet another, until several are attracted.

That is how Christians are.

A really genuine, active, shining Christian has a tremendous attraction to Christ, is magnetized by His love and purity, attracted by His power.

And through that Christian, Christ can draw others to Him to share the same power and attraction.

But a rusty, unpolished, corroded Christian, cranky, defiled and selfish, has very little attraction, and through him the power of Christ to win the world doesn’t flow.

Oh that we would bear the holiness of Jesus and shine brightly displaying the hope of the ages.

How do we do this?

Well certainly by being a people who bear the humility of Jesus meaning we serve, we don’t complain, we don’t argue.

But also look at verse 16 by holding fast to the word fof life.

I just want to encourage you Coram Deo.

We won’t make a single disciple if we don’t open our mouths and speak the gospel, the word of life to those who don’t know it.

Without fail when ask folks whether they are more gifted at sharing the gospel in word or deed it is 100% of the time answered, “Oh with deeds.”

Look I agree we can’t just talk.

We should back it up with holy living.

We should show compassion and serve, of course we should!

But you cannot be a good witness to anyone if you do not love them enough to warn them of the wrath that is to come.

Matthew Henry says it like this:

It is our duty not only to hold fast, but to hold forth the word of life; not only to hold it fast for our own benefit, but to hold it forth for the benefit of others, to hold it forth as the candlestick holds forth the candle, which makes it appear to advantage all around, or as the luminaries of the heavens, which shed their influence far and wide. _Matthew Henry

Many of us have to be aware of who is around us and why.

A young lady once talked with her Pastor.

“I cannot stick it out any longer. I am the only Christian in the place where I work. I get nothing but taunts and sneers. It is more than I can stand. I am going to quit.”

Her pastor responded “will you tell me where lights are placed?”

“What has that to do with it?” the young Christian asked him rather bluntly.

“Don’t worry about that, just Answer my question: ‘Where are lights placed?’”

“I suppose in dark places,” she replied.

“Yes, and that is why you have been put in that factory where there is such spiritual darkness and where there is no other Christian to shine for the Lord.”

She was a young Christian realized for the first time the opportunity that was hers.

She felt she could not fail God by allowing her light to go out.

She went back to her job with renewed determination to let her light shine in that dark corner.

Do you have this mentality to broadcast the light. To live in the therefore. Showing the hope of Jesus?!

Finally, Paul highlights for us a faithful response to the person and work of Christ is to work out our worship

III. Work Out Your Worship (v17-18)

Philippians 2:17–18 (ESV)

Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Paul has genuine concern that if the Philippians remain in discord that his labor would be in vain.

Should they not live in the therefore, should they not work out their salvation but prove they never knew Jesus in the first place…He worries it would all be for nothing.

Have you ever work hard all day, pouring yourself out on a project and feel like you’ve gotten nowhere?

Paul is trying to wake the Philippians up.

He is saying, “look if you say you love me then please don’t let my work be for nothing!”

How many Christians friends, parents, pastors have prayed for you, loved you, poured their life out for you.

Will their labor all be for nothing, because, despite them you simply refuse to labor after that holiness without which no one will see the Lord?

Paul wants his life and work to count.

He says he is being poured out.

This gives the image of a drink offering.

What Paul is saying is that his whole life is a sacrifice of worship.

He wants the Philippians to join him in that life.

Paul marries what we often separate.

He puts duty and doxology together.

Too often we think of worship as a genre of music or something we do on Sundays.

Holiness is what we do the rest of the week.

But y’all holiness is about the good pleasure of God.

We live holy lives for God.

The chief end of men is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

We exist for the praise and honor of the triune God!

Worship on Sunday with the church is so significant but worship doesn't conclude with the benediction.

Listen if what we do between the moment we do the call of worship to when we send you out with a benediction doesn’t take place in the context of an entire life of devotion and consecration to the Lord...

if we aren’t living lives for him then we probably cannot legitimately call our signing, our praying and preaching worship.

All our singing, praying, all our activity on a Sunday is hollow if not formed on the lips of one whose whole life is a life of worship.

The late Dr. Peter Marshall once selected for use in a church service the familiar hymn of consecration, “Take My Life and Let It Be.”

He requested the congregation to give particular thought to the words:

“Take my silver and my gold, Not a mite would I withhold.”

Exacting the practical sense of the words “not a mite would I withhold,” he asked that all who could not sing this line with literal sincerity, refrain from singing it at all.

The effect was a dramatic commentary on the glib, thoughtless manner in which, all too often, we sing our hymns.

Hundreds of voices, with organ accompaniment, sang vigorously up to the designated point.

Then, suddenly, there was only the sound of the organ music.

Not a single voice ventured to so challenging a height!

What do you withhold? Are you living your life poured out for Christ?

Are you giving all you have?

Is your life Ever, only, all for Thee.

Early in Marriage I gave Hannah a pretty terrible gift for Christmas.

I got her a toaster oven.

How thoughtful right?

Was it a gift that was kinda for me? Maybe.

It’s become an ongoing joke in our marriage that I got her an Easy Bake Oven.

One word I hear a lot these days is authentic, as in “we seek authentic worship.”

Usually this means we’re trying to create an experience that helps worshipers feel something.

Nothing wrong with that, but if our focus is only on our experience, the music we like, the styles we like...we may be giving God a toaster oven.

Are we offering in worship a gift we enjoy and figuring God will like it?

A real gift, real worship, means knowing what’s important to The Receiver.

He calls for our life.

Conclusion

Notice, finally, that Paul says that such a life fuels his deepest joy

Philippians 2:17–18 (ESV)

Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

As Paul gives his life for the honor of Christ he rejoices and invites the Philippians to join him.

There is a profound connection between godliness and joyfulness, between true holiness and true happiness.

Whatever fear and trembling marks the life of someone busily working out their salvation, there will also be this sweet note of joy:

joy in partnership with those whom the Lord has called to minister to us; joy in our life together as a local church; joy in our witness to this crooked and perverse generation.

I’ll never forget watching the Royals win the World Series in 2015.

I had decided to adopt the Royals when I moved out to Missouri. They were terrible I use to go to games for $5 and get $1 hotdogs.

The best part was watching it with my friends Seth as he scooped his son out of bed to watch the Royals close out the game and claim the championship

Team members and fans alike rejoiced in the achievement.

However, the greatest joy came to those who had suffered the bumps, bruises, and hurts in actually playing the game.

Likewise at the Lord’s return the greatest joy will be for those who have striven and suffered for Christ in the interim prior to His return.

Joy in a life lived in the therefore.

A life lived in the "therefore" that always follows a clear view of the person and work of Christ will be a life that gladly and joyously pours itself out for the honor and glory of the Lord.

May the Lord help us to work, witness, and worship for His honor and renown!

Let’s pray.