Work out your salvation

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

We had a great time last Sunday. Good fellowship and the food was great.

Members meeting right after service today! We have a few important things to discuss

INTRODUCTION:

One of the great tests of Christianity is who we are, when we are free to do as we wish.

Children growing up in the home do so under the parenting and protection of their parents. When they move off to college or move out on their home, they have the complete freedom to live as they wish. That is who they really are.

People who wind up in jail often straighten up, because they are under another person’s authority, but when they are set free, they can live as they wish. It’s who they are in freedom that is the real person.

A church may do well while gathered together, but when we go our own way, the people have free reigns to do as they wish…that is who they really are.

Paul had been with the Philippians and helped them keep the Christian course, but now he was expecting his departure from this world. He knew his death was imminent, he just didn’t know when. As he writes this section in chapter 2, his departure on his mind and calls these believers to “work out their salvation” so that all that Paul had put into this church, will not have been done in vain.

Thats will be the focus for us this morning. The call for us to work out our salvation

I’m going to give you three main points this morning that Paul gives to the Philippians about how to workout your salvation:

1) Genuinely obey Jesus at all times

Philippians 2:12–13 NASB95

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Explanation:

THE IMPERATIVE: “workout your salvation with fear and trembling”

Different interpretations of this phrase:

This verse has been used by many to justify salvation by works. That is we must do a certain amount of things before God will save us. And if we do 50-60% then God will do the rest. If you don’t put in the work, then God will not save you.

And that is the natural human default. People come into church, try to clean themselves up to some degree, begin doing the Christian practices that they see other people doing and then they lose interest, and eventually fall away. That is because you cannot work for your salvation!

This verse does not say, “work for your salvation” or “work toward your salvation” or “work at your salvation.” It says “work out your salvation.” And no one can work out their salvation unless God has worked in salvation!

Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

The first step in a Christian life is to turn from sin and trust Christ. It is to see sin like God sees sin, see our sin like God sees our sin, hate it, turn from it, see our desperate need of Christ and cling to Him all the way into eternity.

When Paul says we need to, “work out our salvation”, He is referring to the human responsibility to our spiritual growth. And that human responsibility is to genuinely obey Jesus at all times.

Where do we get that from?

Context! Look down at verse 12 again, “so then my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not in my presence only, but now much more in my absence”

What Paul is saying to these Philippians is that they have had a pattern of obedience while he was with them. They have demonstrated faithfulness to Jesus, but now he is not in their presence, but that responsibility to obey God is still there and even more so in Paul’s absence.

When a person hears the truth of the gospel and believes it, he is not really that much different than he was before he believed it. There is an inward change, but that inward change does not change all the outward behavior immediately; no one goes from sinner to saint overnight.

That outward change comes when that person begins to work out their salvation by obeying the commands of Christ and instruction given in Scripture. And the more that person learns from preaching on Sundays, and teaching on Wednesdays, and his personal Bible study, his aim is to learn and obey by which continuously changes his behavior.

AND THAT OBEDIENCE IS NOT MERELY A SUNDAY MORING OBEDIENCE. Paul says obey in my presence AND MUCH MORE in my absence. It is a lifestyle of faithful obedience to Jesus in every situation we find ourselves in.

Application:

Any of us can come in here on Sunday and look like we are perfect little obedient Christains. Just look at the people in this room and point out the one that looks like they’ve disobeyed Jesus all week. You won’t find any. We’re all cleaned up, we’re paying attention, we’ve got our Bibles, we put money in the offering plate, we bow our heads in prayer….there’s no one cussing, fighting, gossiping, drinking beer out of their Stanley cups. None of that in church...

BUT WHO ARE WE WHEN WE LEAVE THIS BUILDING? What does our obedience look like when we’re at school around kids who have no allegiance to Jesus? Who are when we when we are at work with the people of this world? Are we faithful to Christ then?

POINT: You will NEVER experience what God intended for you until you begin to obey Him in all areas of your life!

PUT IN THE HARD WORK OF OBEDIENCE!

MAKE IT A PRIORITY TO GET UP AND COME TO CHURCH FAITHFULLY, LISTEN TO SERMONS AND LIVE THEM OUT

MAKE IT A PRIORITY TO SEEK OUT TRUTH TO LIVE BY

MAKE IT A PRIORITY TO OBEY HIM AROUND FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO ARE LOST

DON’T THINK THIS IS EASY AND WILL NOTN REQUIRE YOUR GREAT EFFORT TO MATURE.

You will never experience the joy and power of Christianity until you step out of that life of disobedience and commit yourself to obey Him.

The heart of real obedience is knowing that God sees everything we do both at church and in the most private areas of our life

Hebrews 4:13 NASB95

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

I think part of the problem in Philippi was that they thought as long as Paul isn’t here, then we can do whatever we want. We just need to get it together when Paul shows up!

But what they fail to see is that God is watching us every moment of everyday. When we are in private God is there, when we are around our friends, God is there. And it’s not my accountability to another person that is important, but my accountability before God.

God sees us when we’re all alone with No church members around, no parents around, no family around.

God sees us when we are around our friends, or the kids at school, or the people of this world who have no allegiance to Jesus Christ…. It’s who we are in those times that really matter.

Is it really that serious? Is spiritual growth really that big of deal? Is God going to send me to hell if I don’t obey? “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling”

If there were not consequences to disobedience, then there would be no reason to fear or tremble. Paul says this is a very serious matter. Disobedience to God has historically and repeatedly brought the judgement of God.

Isn’t it strange that in our modern evangelical world, we take that word fear and say that’s not what it means. Oh yes the Bible says that, but that’s not what it means. That means respect God not fear God…. because there is no reason to ever fear God…right?

Well if that’s so, why is it accompanied here with trembling? What shall we say Paul means when he tells us to not only fear but also to tremble? It means what it says!

Surely we are not to fear God!?

Matthew 10:28 NASB95

“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

What does it mean to fear God?

That is to know that He has the power to throw both the body and soul in hell! He has the power to judge men, take their life, to grant them life, to extend life, to cut life short and do however he sees fit.

God can take a completely sane man and send him into a field to graze like animals for 7 years, take another into heaven on a chariot of fire, destroy an entire earth with a flood, kill thousands with a plague, destroy the devil with a word, speak this world into existence with a word, the Almighty who has no sin, who is three times holy, FEAR MEANS WE HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE HEART WHO GOD IS AND WHAT GOD CAN DO!

HE IS THE ALMIGHTY, NOT OUR HOMEBOY OR OLD MAN IN THE SKY WHO HIGH FIVES OUR SIN BECAUSE THE WORLD THINK IT IS COOL!

To fear God is to KNOW that every breathe we breathe flows through His hands and at any moment in our human existence that can change if He wills it so.

And so to fear God is to live the way God calls us to live. Obeying His Word because it is true! And rejecting evil because God hates wickedness.

“for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure”

Now don’t miss this part. Why is it that some people are faithful to Jesus all the time and others not? The difference is the will to obey.

Do you know before I came to Christ the last thing I wanted to do was obey Jesus? The last thing I wanted to do was come to church, read the Bible, and pursue holiness.

Every person is the same. We all begin at the same place. No desire for godliness, no desire to obey Christ, no desire to follow the living God.

And this verse says, that when God is at work in you, He gives you the will to obey Him. “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will (desire) and to work (obey) for His good pleasure.

How does God take a man and make him faithful? Because He gives him the desire to obey Him. God must be at work in a persons life before that person can ever begin to obey Him.

And if you are here today, and you genuinely want to obey God, and maybe your not like you desire to, then you can! You didn’t come up with that on your own, it is God who put that inside of you! FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE BEGINS WITH THE DESIRE TO OBEY!

That means it is God who is at work within you! And that is the greatest news of all! And all you must do is put in that work to obey! Trust and obey, for there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey!

Personal testimony on the beach on my anniversary, God began to change my heart.

2) Be content in all things

Philippians 2:14–16a NASB95

Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

Explanation:

It is not just important what we do, but also how we do it. We are to obey Jesus, but we to obey with the right attitude.

“Do ALL things without grumbling or disputing”

Pay attention to the word “all”. That is in everything that we do, we should do it without grumbling or disputing.

This would certainly include what we do in obedience to God

We are to obey without grumbling!

Grumbling is what the children of Israel did in the wilderness against God, over and over. They didn’t have water, they grumbled. They didn’t have food, they grumbled. They didn’t have the meat they wanted, they grumbled. If God did not give them everything they wanted, when they wanted it, how they wanted it, they grumbled against Him and got themselves in hot water

And there are always going to be those who grumble about everything. The pastor preaches a sermon they don’t like, they grumble. This doesn’t get done, they grumble. God leads them into something that is not picture perfect, they grumble.

This is what God told Moses: Moses they’re not grumbling against you, but against ME. Every grumble whether it is towards the church or the pastor is ultimately against God.

Do you know what grumbling says to God? It is an utterance of discontentment. It is a verbal way of saying to God, “I am obeying you, but I’m not happy about it.” It is a self-centered attitude that disregards God’s wisdom and goodness.

This also includes our interaction with the world

That is our job, our worldly callings. Paul has the world in mind when he says, “be lights in the world”.

Most of us have bosses that we work for. We have companies that we serve. We are to do work and do our job well without grumbling or disputing.

Our children are also our calling (especially mothers who are raising young children at home). Be careful not to grumble about raising your children.

I know some kids are hard. I know that they can sometimes be difficult. But they are a gift of God..

Psalm 127:3 “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.”

We are live in this world without grumbling or disputing.

Why does it matter?

(v 15) “so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world”

Paul says that we are to not grumble or dispute so that we will prove ourselves to be children of God in a crooked and perverse generation.

One of the things that makes us stand out amongst this crooked and perverse and dark world is that we can truly be content in whatever situation we find ourselves in. We can be content serving God, we can be content in our job whatever level that may be…One of the evidence that we truly belong to God is that we are content in whatever place God puts us.

That is, by their attitudes and behavior they are to be clearly distinguishable from, and in opposition to, the world around them, while they are also to be God’s messengers, bringing the word of life to the dying

Contentment is a great witness to our faith

One who serves at the bottom of the barrel in this life can still be completely content knowing beyond all of that he serves the most High King and has a place in heaven.

The more content you can be, the brighter your light will shine in this dark world.

Do you now what contentment is?

The word content means “sufficient” or “enough”.

It is the ability to be satisfied with what God has given to us.

I want us to think about that for just a second....everything we have is given to us by God (James 1:17), and God promises to give us everything that we need (Matt 6:33).

Contentment then is really about trusting that God does meet our needs and agreeing that is enough.

And that says great deal to a world that seems to never be content

3) Live a self-sacrificial life of service

Philippians 2:16–18 NASB95

holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Explanation:

This is a more difficult couple of verses to interpret. In essence what Paul is saying is that he has made great sacrifices for the faith of the Philippians. And right now he is sitting in prison in Rome (possibly on death row) but still able to rejoice because he did not run his race in vain. God used him to establish churches, the Philippians being one of them and even though death is a real possibility, his life was well lived.

And verse 18: “you too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me”

What he is saying that in that they too are to find that same joy is a life well lived in service for the gospel. They may certainly not die in the same manner as Paul, who would be released and later imprisoned again and martyred. But they certainly will have to make sacrifices for the faith of others, but by doing that, there is great joy to be had.

And for us church, it is what we are willing to sacrifice for Jesus that determines our level of joy.

Those who give very little of their lives to the Lord, they will experience very little joy in this life.

Paul gave it all, and even there in prison believing that he was going to die at any time, He could still rejoice and have great joy knowing his life was used mightily by God.

How much of your life does the Lords have in service to Him? The more he has, the more joy you will have. And as many of us learn, you will not find that joy in anything else this world has to offer.

Invitation

Sacrifice is really where it all begins.

Matthew 16:25 NASB95

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Those who cling to their lives to keep for their own will eventually lose them altogether in the end. But those who are willing to lose their lives for Christ’s sake, will find life.

Maybe thats you today. maybe you have just clung to your life as your own, and what you really need to do is be willing to give it up to the Lord Jesus Christ today.

And you can do that right now.

~PRAYER~

Business Meeting

Opening Prayer

Reading of last months minutes

Any Questions?

Vote to approve last months minutes

Treasurers Report

Any Questions?

Vote to approve the treasurers report

Unfinished Business

?

New Business

Black top sealing quote

Sign quote

Seek affiliation with KBC

Propose a raise for me?

Any other new business?

Meeting adjourned