Moving Forward In Christ

Introduction

Any one who has been around Christians long enough have heard the phrase, “Let go and let God.”

Any one who has been around Chrisitans long enough have heard the phrase, “Let go and let God.” Or have you heard it said, “God helps those who help themselves.”

Let go and let God implies that in order to trust God, you must stop.  Stop trying, stop striving, just sit back and allow God do all the work.  If you follow this line of thinking, then it leads to the thought that the best possible approach to living the Christian life is to do nothing and assume that any effort on our part will ultimately lead to failure.  So what is this counsel actually saying?  Sit on the couch and wait?  Stare at the clouds and search for the answer?

In the church, we are called to carry one another burdens () encourage one another in the faith (), and speak boldly into one another’s lives (), and the way to do so is to spur one another forward, not encourage one another to come to a halt.

In the Bible, trusting God is never equated with doing nothing.  While the intentions behind the saying may be solid, the phrase itself is misleading at best.

The meaning behind this phrase finds its roots in Keswick Theology, which sprung up in the middle to late 19th Century, where Christians seek to attain a “higher spiritual life” that is attained by a passivity where one deliberately does nothing.  A person just “rests” in the power of Christ in order to allow the Holy Spirit to work through him or her.

“Let Go and Let God” elevates passivity in the Christian life, as if God calls us to put our arms down and just wait out this life until we’re called home to Glory.

In his book, In Step with the Spirit, J.I. Packer provides a better alternative to the mindset of “Let Go and Let God”, one that is far more Biblical and significantly more effective.  Packer writes:

Souls that cultivate passivity do not thrive, but waste away.  The Christian’s motto should not be “Let go and let God” but “Trust God and get going!”  So if, for instance, you are fighting a bad habit, work out before God a strategy for ensuring that you will not fall victim to it again, ask him to bless your plan, and go out in his strength, ready to say no next time the temptation comes.  Or if you are seeking for form a good habit, work out a strategy in the same way, ask God’s help, and then try your hardest.

Or have you heard it said, “God helps those who help themselves.”

This phrase was popularized by Benjamin Franklin in his Poor Richard’s Almanac. It is so popular in fact that research has shown 1 in 8 people not only believe this phrase, but also believe it is written in Scripture. The phrase originally appears in the words of Aesop the Greek Story teller. He tells the story of Waggoner driving a wagon along a muddy road and the wagon sank half way into the mud. This Waggoner prayed to Hercules for help. Hercules response was Get up and put your shoulder on the wheel. The gods on help them that help themselves.

So this phrase is one that in no way has Christian roots, but it seems is often held onto so that Christians might chastise someone or some group of people into personal responsibility and action.

This phrase is anti the gospel of Jesus Christ. The bible is clear there is none righteous, no one who seeks after God. All are dead in their sins and trespasses. The wages of that sin are death. Can dead people help themselves? The simple answer is NO.

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

12 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, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Setting the stage for these verses is critical. The verses we just read are tied to the previous section of Chapter 2. Paul is desiring unity through humility, and the example of that humility is the example of Christ.

Whenever you see the word there for in Scripture a simple question to ask is, ”What is the therefore, there for?”

Philippians 1:27 ESV

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

Philippians 1:6 ESV

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:

Within the letter of Philippians we already see the parallel ideas that God works and we work. God is working out His Kingdom Plan while we fulfill our part of His plan.

The important concept to note moving into this text is the context is corporate church unity.

My Beloved Obey

Paul opens these application section of chapter two with the words, my beloved obey.

What are we to obey?

The immediate context points to , “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant that yourself. Let each of you look not to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

In Paul’s presence they were unified under the cross of Christ. But now in Pauls’ absence it is that much more important to obey, loving each other.

Obedience to this command is tough. Obedience is complying with an order, request, or law. It is submitting oneself to another’s authority. Paul is reminding the People of God to submit to Christ, Obey his commands. And the example given for obedience is Jesus himself who became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Our following the word of God must be the same of that Jesus had. But here is a major difference in motivation for us in obeying. Paul is not defining our obedience in legal terms, which is our default. We want the rules to follow, so we know how we are doing and if we are doing what we should be doing. We also like the freedom in that to push unstated boundaries. But our obedience is based not on legalism and legal terms of a list. Rather our obedience is based on Knowing Jesus, being like Jesus, serving Jesus. It is relationally based.

There is one rule in Simon says, “do what Simon says.” There is one rule in following Jesus, follow Jesus.

And this is simply an outworking of the second greatest command to love your neighbor as yourself.

The trap we all can fall into:

When the path of obedience to Christ becomes steep and dangerous, pleasure seekers look for an easier way. Religious tourists hunting for sensational entertainment, instantaneous enlightenment, and emotional excitement will jump on the newest rides and take quick shortcuts, but they will not be found with pilgrims on the long, hard road following in the footsteps of Christ, who was obedient to death—even death on a cross.

Souls that cultivate passivity do not thrive, but waste away.  The Christian’s motto should not be “Let go and let God” but “Trust God and get going!”  So if, for instance, you are fighting a bad habit, work out before God a strategy for ensuring that you will not fall victim to it again, ask him to bless your plan, and go out in his strength, ready to say no next time the temptation comes.  Or if you are seeking for form a good habit, work out a strategy in the same way, ask God’s help, and then try your hardest.

Work Out Your Salvation

the command to work out your salvation “is to be understood in a corporate sense. The entire church, which had grown spiritually ill (2:3–4), is charged now with taking whatever steps are necessary to restore itself to health, integrity, and wholeness.”

Paul’s command should not be interpreted in a merely individualistic sense as a requirement for each individual to work for personal, eternal salvation but in a corporate sense as a call for the whole community to rebuild social harmony.

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letter to the Philippians D. Work out Your Salvation (2:12–18)

“What Paul is referring to, therefore, is the present outworking of their eschatological salvation within the believing community in Philippi.” Paul’s concept of eschatological salvation can be seen in his declaration that our citizenship is in heaven (3:20). The church is an eschatological community, a colony of heaven. But in order for the heavenly reality to be a present, earthly experience, believers need to work out the salvation promised to them. Paul desires to see an ecclesiological fulfillment of the eschatological promise of salvation.

This understanding of working out salvation as a present expression of God’s promise of salvation does not contradict but rather implements Paul’s earlier instruction to look after the interests of others (2:4). Building the community to be an earthly demonstration of heavenly citizenship takes both individual and corporate effort, since every believer must work together and serve one another to be united as the people saved by God.

With Fear And Trembling

In the OT this phrase and language was used to indicate awe in the presence of God or fear because of God’s presence with them. And that reality needs to strike us with humility and submission. We become too comfortable and familiar with God to the point of forgetting the honor and respect He deserves and His character demands.

Honestly, the fear of the Lord is the best way to dispel or wash away the attitude of selfish ambition or vain conceit.

The fear of the Lord in the worship of Israel did not mean terror and dread of God alone, but unites the ideas of awe and reverence with love and trust.

For it is God Who Works In You

Working out the habits, and inward realities of the Christian life is demanding and frustrating. This is doubly true when the church is trying to shed its selfish ambitions and self interest to look out for the interest of others. But there is a reason for hope.

God is the one who is working in us.

Verse 12 and 13 are linked together as effect and cause: our work is the effect; God’s work is the cause of our work. We work because God works.

Paul tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, precisely because God is working in us both to will and to act according to his good purpose (2:12–13). Nor is God working merely to strengthen us in our willing and acting. Paul’s language is stronger than that. God himself is working in us both to will and to act: he works in us at the level of our wills and at the level of our doing.

I like what DA Carson has to say about the whole issue of working out you salvation for it is God who works in you.

We have expended huge quantities of energy pitting God’s sovereignty against human responsibility, when the Bible insists that these things belong together.

Think of a hunter with his bow and arrow. The hunter sets up in his blind or hunting spot, knowing the path of the deer. He firmly grasps the bow, quietly and carefully secures the arrow between the nocking points on the rear string and gently rests the arrow on the arrow rest. He raises the the bow aligning the sights on his target. As he does so, he draws the string to full extension. His aim is dead on, he releases the arrow. the arrow propelled by the force of the string returning to its resting spot, spirals in the air. The arrow travels along its intended path and strikes the deer in the proper place.

Or what about an artist. Easel and Canvas properly set up to have a masterpiece expressed. The painter with palette in hand carefully selects and arranges the colors needed. The brushes and palette knives are organized and ready to meet color then canvas. With each passing moment the vision the painter had is realized as arcylics are mixed, dabbed, and brushed onto the canvas. What was once plan and white is now an ocean sunset. And as the painter finishes each brush and knife is cleaned. The work set out to be done is complete.

Admittedly, these are not a perfect examples, but they will suffice to make the point needed. God is represented by the hunter, the Holy Spirit being the bow, and the arrow being in the possession of the hunter has been purchased by the blood of Jesus represents the Christian Church. If the hunter does not work hard to set up his hunting spot, aim the bow correctly and bring his arrows, then the arrow is not going to be able to obey the will of the hunter and fly through the air at the intended target.

In the same way the artist representing God has the palette representing Jesus, and the colors representing the church body. The painter uses the colors mixing and matching them and applies them to the canvas which represents the Holy Spirit. The painter creates the desired masterpiece with all of the parts working in unity.

The question is, who worked? did not the bow do its job, and the paint brushes their? What about the hunter and the painter, did they not do what they needed? How about the arrows and the paints, did they not do their part? Ultimately the painter and the hunter are the ones behind everything, but the various parts of each example still had to work in their designed way and fulfill their roles.

This gives a small picture to what these two verses are trying to communicate. We work out, while God works in.

In Scripture we always see God’s faithfulness to His People and how God working in and people working out go hand in hand. Think of Moses and Aaron before Pharoah. God worked the miracles, while Moses and Aaron were faithful to obey what God commanded them.

Think of the Israelites leaving Egypt, who made the way possible and who walked with his people? God did, but the people still had to obey God and walk.

I remember as a child making a shelf with my grandfather.

Application:

What is it that this text is calling us to?

First, It is calling us to action. Instead of I can’t do this or that. I’m not called to be apart of such and such ministry, we should begin saying I can do such in such in stead, I am called to serve in such and such an area.

On a personal level get to work on your spiritual development recognizing it is God who is working in you as you work alongside him.