Work Out Your Salvation with Fear and Trembling
Philippians 2:12-13
Let’s turn to Philippians chapter 2. If you need a Bible, please raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Philippians 2 is on page 981 in the Bibles we are passing out.
The church at Philippi had started off well, with bold evangelism, and humble, sacrificial love for each other. But over time some of them started fearing persecution and became less bold in their witness. And instead of humble, sacrificial love for each other, some of them started to pursue their own self interests, and cliques and division started to form.
So in this letter Paul calls them to bold evangelism, as we can see in 1:28. And he calls them to sacrificial love for each other, as we can see in 2:3-4.
But Paul knows that’s not easy. Paul knows they might come up with excuses about why they can’t be bold in evangelism, or can’t humbly put others’ interests before their own. And we come up with excuses, too. We can say things like –
- I’m too shy to reach out to my neighbors.
- Or, I don’t know enough of the Bible to share the gospel with my friend.
- Or, I’ve got too much stress to love my wife.
- Or, I’m too tired to love my children.
- Or, the way I was raised makes it impossible for me to put others first.
- Or, my busy schedule keeps me from committing to other believers.
And it’s because Paul knows we might have excuses for why we can’t obey, that he writes what he does in Philippians 2:12-13. Look at what he says –
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence [that is, you did this when I was there; don’t stop now], 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.
So what does it mean to work out your salvation? As I studied verse 12 I saw that it means obeying Jesus Christ. Let’s read it again –
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…
So working out your salvation means obeying Jesus Christ. So when you invite your neighbors over to love them and share Christ with them, you are working out your salvation. And when you call up someone in your home group to ask how their job interview went, you are working out your salvation.
But how is that working out your salvation? It’s because salvation does not just mean being forgiven. Salvation also means being transformed. When God saves you, he doesn’t just forgive all your sins through the cross. He also starts to set you free from the power of sin and transform you into a beautifully Christ-centered and humbly loving person.
So working out your salvation means obeying Jesus Christ. And with that in mind, let’s read verse 12 again –
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…
But notice that Paul doesn’t just command us to work out our own salvation. He commands us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Why do we do this with fear and trembling? What does that mean?
Imagine you are on the edge of a canyon that drops down 10,000 feet. Across the canyon is heaven. At the bottom of the canyon are the rocks of God’s judgment. But there is a perfectly secure and indestructible rope bridge that crosses the canyon -- the rope bridge of Jesus Christ.
Because you are trusting Christ, you are on that indestructible rope bridge, saved from the rocks of judgment, and on your way to heaven. And because you trust Christ, you trust his commands. And so you will take steps of bold evangelism, and of sacrificially serving your brothers and sisters. And if you stumble into sin and start to slip off the bridge, because you are trusting Christ you will wake up to what you are doing and start trusting and obeying him once again.
So imagine yourself on that perfectly secure and indestructible rope bridge which is taking you over the 10,000 foot canyon of God’s judgment. Even though the bridge is indestructible, as you walk on it in obedience, working out your salvation, wouldn’t you feel some fear and trembling as you see what Jesus has saved you from? Would you feel some fear and trembling as you think of the destruction you would face if you weren’t trusting and obeying Jesus?
That’s what Paul is talking about.
But Paul knows that this fear and trembling could be misunderstood. Paul knows we could think he means that we should fear that we might fall off this bridge, that we might not be spiritually strong enough to stay on this bridge, that some temptation or trial could knock us off this bridge. So Paul knows that we could think that this fear and trembling is supposed to be a fear and trembling that we might not make it all the way across the canyon.
And that’s why Paul gives us verse 13. Look at what he says. Let’s read verse 12 and 13 together –
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.
So what does it mean that God works in us, and how does that help? Read verse 13 again – “for it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” So when you trust Jesus, and forgive someone in your home group who has hurt you, that is a work you have done, but it was not just you doing it. It was also God causing you to do it. There is mystery here. But the Bible teaches that God himself worked in your heart and gave you faith in Jesus, and caused you to want to forgive that person in your home group.
But please don’t get the wrong idea. That does not mean we should be passive and wait for God to make us want to obey. Verse 12 does not say wait for God to make you want to work out your own salvation. It says you, work out your own salvation.
So let’s say there someone you don’t want to forgive. But you know that Jesus calls you to forgive. So you pray, and ask him to help you. You set your heart on Jesus Christ as revealed in his word, and you pray over the truth of the Scriptures until you experience the Holy Spirit filling you with love for Christ. And you set your heart on the reward of having even more joy in Jesus Christ forever as you obey him. And as you do all of this your heart will be strengthened to forgive that person who has hurt you – and as a result you will take the step of forgiving him.
Now all of that is steps that you chose to take. But it wasn’t just you choosing to take them. It was God causing you to take every step.
So what does this mean for us?
First, it means that because by faith you are on the rope bridge of Jesus, you don’t need to fear falling off. Not that you won’t ever stumble, or slip, but you won’t fall off. Why not?
It’s because everyone who is on the rope bridge, who is trusting Jesus Christ, will be kept persevering all the way across the bridge to heaven. It’s because God is the one who will work in you, strengthening your faith, filling you with his Spirit, convicting you of sin, bringing you to repentance, satisfying you through the word – so you keep on the rope bridge.
So if you are on the rope bridge you do not need to fear that someday you will fall off. You won’t.
And second, it means that because by faith you are on the rope bridge of Jesus, you will always be enabled to obey. No matter what temptation you face, no matter how strong sin’s pull, no matter how weak you feel – if you will look to Christ by faith, ask for his help, open up his word, God will always work in you to will and work for his good pleasure.
So the most important question is – are you on the bridge of Jesus Christ? Are you trusting him? If you are, God will keep you on that bridge all the way to heaven, and he will enable you to overcome every temptation you face.
And this morning we get to celebrate six of our young people who by faith in Jesus Christ are now on that bridge.