Sermon Tone Analysis

March 16, 2012

By John Barnett

Read, print, and listen to this resource on our website www.DiscoverTheBook.org

This week as Gerry and I had lunch someone stopped by our table and asked, “Could you define ‘grace-energized’ for me?”

I did briefly there at that restaurant, but as I thought and prayed about it, I decided that it would be good to pause one week and back up to look at the underlying doctrine of progressive or personal sanctification which is what grace-energized living is all about.

As we open to Philippians 2:12-15 consider this question, “Did you know that *spiritual growth is not automatic*--but requires our cooperation with God?”

Grace-energized living means our personal, daily application of the spiritual disciplines.

That is what God states in our passage this morning, both His work and ours, side-by-side: “Work out your own salvation....

For it is God who works in you” (Phil.

2:12–13).

Paul sent this strong challenge to many who sat to hear his letter back to the church in Philippi as he explained to them that when we were saved by grace through faith, nothing was left undone by God—we were saved to the uttermost.

But in God’s plan He left something for us to do.

At the instant of salvation we were justified and positionally sanctified (just a big way of saying that we became saints).

But that instantaneous justification launched what God describes as a life-long arduous struggle to work out our own salvation.

Is this some type of contradiction in the Bible?

Is it a mistake, a mistranslation, or something?

No, it is the command God has left to every believer called the doctrine of progressive sanctification.

Where there is life, there is always growth.

Our new birth was just the beginning.

God gave us all we need to live godly lives, but as His children we must apply ourselves by diligently using the “means of grace” He offers us.

Paul commands each of us to work out our own salvation in Philippians 2:12-14.

The work ‘work out’ is *energein* in Greek, and means “energize, work out fervently”.

We see what God wants us to be in His Word, and we tell Him, “YES, that is what I want, help me to obey.”

Then we take earnest, active steps to obey—and in doing so we find amazingly that He gives us the spiritual power and strength to change areas of our life that have stubbornly stayed the same for so long!

*Grace-energized Living Means We Work with God*

Whether Peter’s list of seven characteristics of the godly life (II Peter 1:5-8) or Paul’s list of the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal.

5:22–23), these qualities grow out of a vital relationship with Jesus Christ.

But, as Peter clarifies, we don’t “let go and let God,” as though spiritual growth were God’s work alone, but as Peter wrote, “Make every effort...”, meaning God the Father and you and me His children must work together to see these qualities grown.

Every part of our spiritual life is through God’s grace.

Our human works have no place in gaining salvation or in obtaining merit with God.

The Christian life is sola gratia, grace alone.

Yet, the Apostle Paul wrote, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12b).

God works in us; but as children of grace we must work at our Christian walk.

God presents us with a divinely ordained synergism that is required of all Christians.

This same Paul who fought the legalists and Judaizers all across the Roman province of Asia (modern Turkey), writing of his hatred of works-religion in Galatians, clearly commanded each believer to, “work out your own salvation” (Phil.

2:12, NKJV).

Please stand as we read together Philippians 2:12-15 and pray.

Philippians 2:12-15 /"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;13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.14

Do all things without complaining and disputing,15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,"/ NKJV

*Our Life Long Goal is Christ-likeness*

First, in v. 12a “*work out* your own salvation” uses a Greek verb rendered “work out” which means “to continually work to bring something to fulfillment or completion.”

This could never refer to salvation by works because of everything else God's Word says (cf. Rom.

3:21–24; Eph.

2:8-9), but it does refer to the divine responsibility each of us received at salvation to actively pursue personal sanctification, progressive sanctification, or grace-energized living.

Then in v. 12b “*with fear and trembling*” explains our attitude as we pursue sanctification is a healthy fear of ever offending God.

We cultivate a growing, life-long, righteous awe and respect for our Holy God (Is.

66:1, 2).

Paul continues in v. 13a “*for it is God who works in you*” clarifies for us that while each believer is responsible to work (v.

12), only the Lord can produce any virtue, good work, or spiritual fruit in our life (John 15:5)—that is why we call this progressive sanctification being “energized-by-grace”. God accomplishes this as He works in us by His Spirit who lives within (1 Cor.

3:16-17; 6:19-20).

He adds in v. 13b *“both to will and to do”* that progressive sanctification (grace-energized living) happens in our lives only as God energizes both our desires and actions.

The Gr. word for “will” indicates that God has as His planned purpose to make us live godly lives.

Finally Paul warns in v. 14 that grace-energized living should be *“without complaining and disputing”*.

The Greek word used here for “complaining” is a word that sounds like what it means.

Its pronunciation uses a part of our voice often heard when we mutter or grumble.

Paul says beware of your emotions rising up against the plan of God He has designed through the circumstances of your life.

The second word for “disputing” speaks of “questionings” or “criticisms” about life’s events that we don’t like, and reminds us our disagreements with our circumstances are ultimately directed against God.

So Paul clearly explains to us that we have our part to do in dressing ourselves with each of His grace-energized virtues.

We must daily strip off the rotting garments of the old us.

We must read the Word and ask God to renew our minds through the Spirit.

The only way this can happen is through *God* whose grace energizes us to do it (v.

13).

Paul told the Philippian saints that God worked in them but that both divine enablement and human responsibility are involved in getting God’s work done.

Believers are partners with God, laboring together with Him.

The verb *works* (v.

13) means “energizes” or “provides enablement.”

When we surrender to God’s plan He makes us both willing and desirous to do His work.

That is why in the next chapter Paul explains that…

*Grace-energized Living is a Lifelong Pursuit of Christ Each Day*

*Philippians 3:12-13*

In Phil 3:12-13 when Paul describes his life as pressing onward he used a Greek word that describes a sprinter, and their aggressive, energetic push towards a goal.

Paul pursued sanctification with all his might, straining every spiritual muscle to win the prize (1 Cor.

9:24–27; 1 Tim.

6:12; Heb.

12:1).

Philippians 3:12-13 /"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead"/, NKJV

In v. 13 Paul uses the same Gr.

word translated “laid hold” in v. 12 and effectively reduces all of personal sanctification to the simple and clear goal of doing “one thing”—pursuing Christ-likeness.

He concludes with a reminded that we must neither rely on our past achievements in following the Lord nor dwell on our past sins and failures.

Each day we are faced with one goal for our lives—to stretch every part of our life and every minute of our day towards being like Christ in our attitude and behavior.

But how do we do that?

Paul continues to explain this in Romans 6.

There he taught us that

*Grace-energized Living is Cultivating Lifelong Habits of Personal Sanctification*

*Romans 6:5-23*

The daily experience of progressive sanctification demands key choices in mind and action on a believer’s part.

These Paul discussed in Romans 6.

The first choice or habit is:

*We cultivate Habits of Grace-energized Reckoning*

*Romans 6:5-11*

Paul calls us to build a habit of counting on God.

He explains the power of the Cross in v. 5-10 and then says, act accordingly.

You can count on God to be there when you face temptations and sin, which is the first attitude for progressive sanctification demanded of believers—we “reckon” (pres.

imperative, “keep on counting”) ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus (v.

11).

Romans 6:5-11 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.

Death no longer has dominion over Him.10

For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.11 Likewise you also, *reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin,* but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NKJV

This spiritual habit or discipline of reckoning is dependent on our knowing and believing the truths of God's Word as presented in verses 5-10.

Then we build upon that habit of faith and also practice…

*We cultivate Habits of Grace-energized Yielding*

*Romans 6:12-14*

Romans 6:12-14 /"Therefore* do not let sin reign* in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.13

And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.14

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."/