Work Out Your Own Salvation
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 … Phil 2:12
This passage of scripture has been a
source of confusion and debate among theologians for a very long time.
Why?
Because at the heart of the matter
are two basic and important questions:-
1. Is salvation given by
God or won by human effort?
2. Can salvation be lost?
The first question is answered
definitively by Eph 2:4-9 which declares:
“But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us
up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the
exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God: Not of works,
lest any man should boast.”
The “works” referred to in this
passage doesn’t only refer to human good but also to the observance
of sacraments and rituals.
Now if salvation is the gift of God
through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, then Paul’s admonition to
the Philippians to, “work out your own salvation” must be
concerning something else.
I believe that a connection can be
found in the parable that Jesus gave in Luke
19:12-26: “Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to
receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants,
delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him,
saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’
“And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’
“Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’
“And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
This parable is a picture of the
Christian's responsibility as he waits for the return of the Lord.
First of all, understand that this
parable was given to the Jews and as such carries a message that is uniquely
for them – that Christ came to them and they rejected Him.
But it carries a message of the
responsibility of the believer, whether Jew or Gentile, to submit to God and
use what He has given us to His glory.
We know that the parable is
concerning Jesus and His return.
It concerns His departure (ascendance)
and the means that He has left us that we might fulfill His purpose while He is gone.
It is not our accomplishments that
are important in the final analysis. It
is His accomplishments through us that glorify Him – that is what
He gives us the means to do.
James 1:17 tells us that, Every
good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is
no variation or shadow of turning.
And they are given to us for the
glory of God – that His will be manifested in our lives.
It is God who works in the believer
to will and to do for His good pleasure. Phil 2:13: “... for it is God who
works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
That is why the king in the parable
gave to each a measure of ability that might magnify Him.
Some honor the Lord a lot with what
He has provided and some not so much and both receive God’s blessings in
proportion to the honor given Him.
But those who honor themselves
with God’s provision will receive only His displeasure. These are the ones who bury the kings
investment in the earth.
For those who are faithful with what
the king left with them there will be rejoicing but for those who
squandered their Lord’s investment on themselves there will only by
disappointment and shame.
This brings us to the second question
– Can salvation be lost?
Look again at Phi 2:12:
“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.”
Why does it say that salvation is to
be worked out with fear and trembling?
Does this mean that I can lose my
salvation if I don’t live up to God’s expectations?
Well, since the Word of God
assures us that Salvation is the gift of God and not of works, we can
determine that salvation is not based on our behavior.
It follows then, that
since salvation is not given by our behavior it cannot be taken away
by our behavior.
John 14:6 declares emphatically that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the
Life – It assures us that no one comes to the Father except through
Him – accepting Jesus and His finished work on the cross is the only way to Heaven.
As you have heard me
say before, your good behavior will not get you into heaven; and
your bad behavior will not keep you out of heaven.
Rejection of our Lord’s sacrifice is
the only sin that cannot be forgiven – it is unpardonable.
So just what is it that should cause
trembling if it is not fear of loosing salvation?
The term “fear and trembling” is a
Hebrew idiom for Humility and
Respect.
An idiom is an expression that is
common to a particular community or ethnic group:- A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Kick the bucket.
Here Paul is saying that the
salvation of our souls is not to be taken lightly. It was bought at a terrible price and demands
our humility and respect.
To use another idiom, “in a nutshell,”
Paul is entreating us to consider the awesome price that our Lord Jesus paid
for our salvation and tremble.
As is true throughout the Bible, God
has given spiritual principles that are to be understood and applied to the
life of every believer for the glory of God and the edification of those He has
adopted into His family.
It is the principle of godliness
through Christ that the apostle Paul refers to in 1 Tim 4:7-8which tells us to, “… reject profane and old wives'
fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise
profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having
promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”
And in Phil 2:5 it says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus …”
This is our God-given responsibility –
to be conformed to the image of the Son. Rom
8:29
To offer ourselves as living
sacrifices to God’s holy will.
Rom 12:1
And to do this, to occupy (pragma) as
it says in Luke 19:13 until He comes – whether in life or in death.
Remember, salvation is personal. It is individual. It is not corporate. It was given to you and it is your
responsibility to fulfill the purpose of this great gift.
Here now is the summary of God’s
message:
2 Peter 1:2-8 Grace and peace be multiplied to
you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has
given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the
knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to
us exceedingly great and precious promises,
Why?
So that through these you may be
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the
world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to
your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control
perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and
to brotherly kindness love.
For if these things are yours
and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge (epignosis) of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Amen