Work Out Your Own Salvation
Being a Christian is a group matter because you are part of a family of other Christians. But it’s an individual matter because there are things you must do yourself. That’s the lesson of this episode from Philippians 2:12.
This discussion helps us avoid two common extremes: being so independent that we think we can do it without others and being so dependent on others that we blame them if something goes wrong. It also steers us away from another popular but false idea: believing that if we are saved by grace there is nothing for us to do.
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- Scripture: Philippians 2:12; II Peter 1:5-11; Hebrews 12:18-29
- “Ability + Opportunity = Responsibility”
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Transcript
Kerry Duke: Hi, I’m Kerry Duke, host of My God and My Neighbor podcast from Tennessee Bible College, where we see the Bible as not just another book, but the Book. Join us in a study of the inspired Word to strengthen your faith and to share what you’ve learned with others.
There are some things the Lord does for us that we can’t do for ourselves. There are things that others do for us because we can’t do it all ourselves. But there’s a part of the Christian life that we must do. We have to shoulder our own responsibilities in the faith. “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” (Philippians 2 verse 12).
What a compliment Paul paid to this church! He said they had “always obeyed.” He couldn’t say that about some churches. The Galatian churches did good for a while—until they started listening to false teachers. In the letters to the seven churches of Asia, Jesus said five of them did well for a while but had slipped in their faith. But not the Philippians. They were doing what they had always done. They were obedient to the Word of God.
The word “obey” is not a popular word today because it means submitting. It means doing what we’re told to do. It sometimes means saying no to ourselves because we have a duty to do what someone else tells us. If we can see that in our relationships with others, we ought to see it even more in our relationship to God. The Lord has the right to tell us what to do, and we have the responsibility to do what He says.
We’re being told today that this is not how Christianity works. Some say being a Christian is not about “obeying” God; it’s about serving Him because you choose to serve Him. Today we’re told that we shouldn’t serve God out of fear, but solely out of love. But in this one verse (Philippians 2 verse 12), Paul dispels both of these ideas.
Paul told these Christians to keep on obeying like they always had. He didn’t tell them it was time to mature and move away from keeping rules and doing what God says out of a sense of duty. He said to obey just like you always have. Why would anybody have a problem with that? The Bible says a lot about obedience. We must obey God to be saved. Hebrews 5 verses 8 and 9 say Jesus Himself “learned obedience by the things which He suffered” and “became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” It doesn’t say all they have to do is believe in Him. They must obey Him.
The Bible doesn’t say we’re saved the instant we believe. In Romans 6 verse 17 and 18, Paul said, “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” When are we set free from sin? At the point we believe? No. It’s when we by faith obey.
Is this a serious thing? Are we saved by faith alone and then we obey, but, we don’t have to obey? Listen to what Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7 verse 21). Paul said in Second Thessalonians 1 verses 8 and 9 that Jesus will come “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” Does that sound like obedience is an option?
These Christians at Philippi obeyed God. They didn’t do it to please Paul or impress anybody. Paul said they obeyed God whether Paul himself was there with them or not. What a comfort that was to Paul. What a comfort that is to have that kind of confidence in fellow Christians. Paul knew they would be obedient to God whether he was there with them or away from them.
And notice what he told them to do: “work out your own salvation”! What does that do to the idea that works have nothing to do with salvation? I didn’t say that works alone save. I didn’t say our works have to be perfect. We must also have faith to be saved, but our faith isn’t perfect just as our works aren’t perfect. But we must have both. The Bible says faith without works is dead (James 2 verse 20). It says, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (James 2 verse 24).
Paul didn’t say to work out your own way to be saved. Some people say, “You just have to figure out what’s true for you. What’s true for one person is not necessarily truth for another. We see truth differently because it’s all relative. The important thing is to believe in Jesus and then work out the details of your faith from there.” That’s what a lot of people today believe. And this is just plain nonsense. How can anyone seriously believe that “what’s true for one person may not be true for another”? Do they think like that when it comes to stealing? If somebody steals something they really need, do they say, “I can’t judge him for stealing from me because what’s stealing for me may not be wrong for him”? If somebody kills one of their dear loved ones, do they say, “Murder is wrong to me, but it may not be wrong for him”?
Truth is not relative. It is absolute. If something is true, it is true for all people in all places at all times. Lying is wrong period. Adultery is wrong period. Murder is wrong period. The problem today is that people hav been so brainwashed with the fantasy world of television, movies and internet make believe that they are living in a dream world. They have heard so many lies about alternate worlds, alternate identities and alternate lifestyles that they their minds are in a sea of confusion. And this thinking has even seeped into Christian thought, because some Christians are now talking like nothing is certain and everything is relative.
Paul is not saying that in this verse. He didn’t say to figure out your own ideas about salvation. He said first of all to obey. Obey what? The truth—The truth. He means we are to work out our own salvation by obeying what God tells us, not what we like. Not what we imagine. Not some intriguing idea we read somewhere that sounds new or intelligent to us. We are to work out our own salvation by following the truth of God’s Word. Jesus said in His prayer to the Father in John chapter 17 verse 17, “You word is truth.” He said in John chapter 8 verse 32, “The truth shall make you free.” He didn’t say what’s true for you will set you free. Do people who claim to be Christians especially, and say that truth is relative, honestly think God will accept this kind of talk on the day of judgment? No He won’t. Jesus said in Joh chapter 12 verse 48, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”
Each person has to work out his own salvation, and he has to do it God’s way. Notice what he said: “work out your OWN salvation.” We can help each other be saved. We ought to to that. And sometimes we want others to be saved so bad it hurts us that they’re not. We want our loved ones to be saved. We want our children and grandchildren to be saved. We want our fathers and mothers, our sisters and brothers, our husbands and wives, and our close friends to be saved. But we can’t do it for them. We can pray and teach and plead with them and warn them, but we cannot obey the gospel for them. We cannot live the Christian life for anyone but ourselves. That’s extremely painful to admit. It hurt Paul that his relatives were lost in Romans 9 verses 1 through 3. Jesus cried because the people of Jerusalem wouldn’t listen to him in Luke 19 verse 41. They felt the same pain Christians today feel, and even more. And although there’s nothing that can completely take away that pain in this lifetime, just knowing the Lord himself couldn’t change some peoples mind helps us. And, when you’re down about this, remember that all souls belong to God. In Ezekiel 18 verse 4 God said, “All souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine.” Your children and grandchildren, your father and mother, and even a husband or wife doesn’t really belong to you. I know you have a special relationship with them. God even placed within us something called “natural affection” that creates a strong and almost unbreakable bond between family members. But first and foremost, and in the end, we belong to God. That means that every accountable individual on the face of the earth must make up his own mind to love God or not to love Him, to obey God or to ignore Him. By all means, keep praying for others to be saved. Teach them. Warn them. And do everything you can to help Christians remain saved. Live the best life you can and be the best example you can be for them. But keep in mind that you have direct control over only one person in this world and that’s you.
Working out our own salvation means we have to bear our own burdens. We have to shoulder our own load. Paul said in Galatians 6 verse 2 to bear one another’s burdens. But then he said in verse 5: “For each one shall bear his own load.” Nobody can do that for you. You have to do it for yourself. Others can help you, but they can only do so much. That’s why it gets so lonely sometimes even when you’re a Christian. When your body is really hurting, nobody can feel that pain like you do. They may have felt that pain before, but unless they’re going through it at the same time you are, they can’t feel it. They can sympathize, but that’s not the same. When your heart is breaking, it’s good to talk to trusted friends and family, especially Christians, who can help you bear that load. That can take a lot of weight off your shoulders. But no matter how hard they try they can’t fix the pain you’re feeling. You have to work through it yourself. And I’m talking about working through it the Bible way. God’s way. By praying and meditating and reading His word and worshiping. The Bible says that the pain we feel in this life can make us better. The burdens we bare can make us stronger. The trials we go through can make us wiser. But we have to apply ourselves. We have to think things through. We have to be honest with ourselves and admit things that we don’t in good times. Things like pride and envy and selfishness. We have to learn from our mistakes. That’s an internal struggle. Nobody can do it for you, no matter how much they love you or want to help. You have to work through it yourself by the grace of God. That’s one of the things Paul means when he says to work out your own salvation.
That also means you have to work out your own struggle with temptation. Again, we can help each other with this. And to be honest, we all probably need to do a better job helping each other. But temptation is personal thing. It’s very personal because temptation is a struggle within the soul. Something on the outside might provoke it. The Bible talks about the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the vain glory of life in First John chapter 2, verse 16. But sin begins in the heart. The Bible says that fleshly lusts war against the soul (I Peter 2 verse 11). James said every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust (James 1 verse 14). What we do with that temptation is every man’s decision. But in the end we have no one to blame that ourselves if we sin. This is a constant battle. It will be until the day that we die. That’s one of the reasons heaven will be so peaceful. There won’t be any temptation in heaven. The devil won’t be there. There won’t be any sin or guilt. But here in this world Christians have a fight on their hands with temptation. The Devil is hard at work. He knows your weaknesses. He exploits those weaknesses. And yes, we can help each other. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 3 verses 12 and 13, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” If we fall away, other Christians can rescue us. Listen to the last two verses of the book of James: “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20). But the Bible tells us we have to do our part. We have to make the decision to resist sin. James 4 verses 7 and 8 says, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” Jesus had to bear the temptations of the devil all by Himself in Matthew chapter 4. Paul said he had to fight this battle. None of the brethren could do bit for him. Even he had to work out his own salvation. He said in First Corinthians 9 verse 27, “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” You have to do the same as a Christian. Sometimes you wonder why others are not feeling what you’re feeling. They are. You just don’t see it. Listen to what Paul said about temptation in First Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
But it’s not just the negative things we have to work out in our salvation. In Second Peter chapter 1 verse five beginning, the Bible says, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue.“ Virtue is moral goodness and strength. Everyone of us needs more of that. The world sure needs to see more virtue in Christians. This verse says you must add virtue to your faith. Other Christian people can help you. They can encourage you and set a good example for you to follow. A preacher can help you be virtuous by teaching you the Bible, by correcting you and stepping on your toes sometimes, and by exhorting you in sermons. But you have to make a conscious decision to be virtuous. You have to make up your own mind to be pure in heart. Then Peter said to add knowledge to your virtue. Now there are all kinds of knowledge available today. Never before has it been so easy to find answers because you can look them up on the Internet. Some of that knowledge is useful in an earthly sense, but much of it is worthless. God is telling you in Second Peter chapter 1 to add the knowledge of God and His Word to virtue. That’s what we’re striving to do right now. We’re learning more about the Bible. We’re learning more about the Christian life. And this knowledge is not just knowing the facts about the Bible. It’s understanding it’s principles. It’s being reminded of things we already know, but we’ve gotten distracted and let them slip. The Bible says in Romans chapter 12 verse two to be transformed by renewing your mind. You have to do that often. So read the Bible every chance you get. Listen to recordings of the Bible being read. Learn as much as you can and add knowledge like the Bible says.
Then Peter says we are to add temperance or self-control to our knowledge. It’s true that self-control is one of the fruits of the spirit in Galatians chapter 5 versus 22 and 23. But the Bible says here that we are to add self-control. This is so important. It covers a lot of ground in the Christian life. For instance, The Bible says to control your temper. Talk about a part of working out your own salvation! Most of us need to work on that one a whole lot more. The Bible says to control your tongue, to watch what you say. That’s another lifelong battle, isn’t it? If you want to do some Bible reading on controlling your temper and controlling your tongue, read James chapter 3 or read as many of the proverbs you can in the book of Proverbs starting in chapter 10. Self-control also means you have to control your desires. We’ve already touched on that by talking about temptation. It means to control something else that can be hard to manage: your spending. Self control may be one of the most overlooked and most needed traits in Christian living in our time.
Then Peter says to add patience. When you hear the word patience, what comes to mind? Holding your cool? Not getting upset when you have to wait? Sure, that’s part of it. But the main idea of patience is endurance. The New King James has “perseverance.” That’s the idea. It means to keep go forward no matter what, to persevere. Patience in the Christian life is more than being patient when you’re in a line of traffic. It’s more than holding your tongue when something bothers you. Patience means you keep going when you feel like quitting. It means you don’t give up. The Bible says Job was a great example of patience. That wasn’t because he never got aggravated with his friends when they falsely accused him. He was plenty upset with them and he let them know it. But he was patient because he endured. He made mistakes. He said some things about God he shouldn’t have when he was hurting so bad he wanted to die. But he never gave up. He never turned his back on God. He never lost his faith. That’s patience. It’s a decision you make as you go through troubles in life. And as you go through those hardships, you have to figure some things out for yourself. That’s working out your own salvation.
Then Peter said to add godliness to your patience. Godliness is reverence toward God. It means to be a God-fearing person. It means to be religious in the true, biblical sense of the word. Remember that Peter is talking to Christians. They already believed in God. They already feared God or they wouldn’t have become Christians to start with. But they needed to grow in their reverence toward God. How we need that today in homes, in neighborhoods, in schools, in work places, and yes, in churches. Christians need to have a respectful demeanor about them. And that kind of attitude is a choice. You have to work on it. Peter says to add this to your life.
Then he says to add brotherly kindness or brotherly love to your godliness. Christians are to love mankind in general, but Christians are to love each other in a special way like family. Paul said in Romans chapter 12 verse 11 that we should be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love. He told Timothy in first Timothy chapter 5 verses one and two to treat older men like his father, older women like his mother, younger men like his brothers, and younger women like his sisters with all purity. Jesus said in John chapter 13 verse 34, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have loved one to another.”
That love is to be so deep for each other in the church they are we are willing to die for brothers and sisters in Christ (first John chapter 3, verse 16).
The final one of these Christian graces as they are sometimes called and the highest one according to First Corinthians 13 verse 13 is love. The love God tells us to have is not just a feeling. It’s more than that. It’s a decision to do good for others even when you don’t feel like it. True love is something that can be taught. In Titus chapter 2 verses four and five, Paul said that older women are to teach younger women to love their husbands and love their children. Love in the Bible as a trait of Christians is not something that just happens. You choose it. You learn it. And, like Peter said, you add it to your faith.
Every Christian needs to read these verses every so often as a checklist. If you’re going to work out your own salvation like Paul said, you have to do these things. You have to add these things. You need to keep working on them. I’m not saying and the Bible doesn’t teach that you’re going to be perfect. But every one of us needs to grow. if we’re not growing, then we’ll slide backward.
Sometimes Christians wonder if they’re doing any good by living the Christian life. Peter said in second Peter Chapter 1 verse eight, just after he gave these Christian graces that we are to add, that if we do them, we won’t be idle or unproductive in the Christian life. We will do good. And, he said, we will never fall if we add them. That means we have to make the effort. Peter said, if you do these things, you will never fall. He didn’t say if you merely believe these words, you will never fall. Then he goes on to say in second Peter chapter 1 verse 10 that by doing these things, God will give us an entrance into his everlasting kingdom. I believe this is a good commentary on the words were looking at in Philippians chapter two verse 12: work out your own salvation.
Here are some other words Christians need to think about. We don’t hear a lot about these words in sermons and Bible lessons today. Paul said to work out your own salvation with “fear and trembling.“ Now there is a time for rejoicing. This very book were looking at, the book of Philippians – says more about joy and rejoicing than any other letter Paul wrote. Salvation and rejoicing go hand-in-hand. When the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized, the Bible says he went on his way rejoicing (Acts chapter 8 verse 39). When the people on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 were told in verse 38 to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins, they gladly received that word (verse 41). Throughout the New Testament, the Bible tells us to rejoice in salvation. But here in Philippians chapter 2, verse 12, the Bible tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Sometimes we look at the word fear in the Bible when it’s talking about the fear of God, and we say it doesn’t mean to be afraid, it just means to respect God. But we soften the word when we do that. Yes, we are to respect and reverence God. But we are also to fear God in the sense of being afraid of Him. That has to be the meaning in Luke chapter 12 verses four and five. “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!” That’s not just respecting God. We don’t just respect the thought of hell fire. We fear it, and rightly so.
There are two things that drive us to work out our salvation. One is the joy that awaits us in heaven. The other is the fear of hell. We shouldn’t leave out either one of these motivations.
God has always moved men to obey Him in these two ways. He is a good God who rewards us and and a just God who punishes wrong doing. The Bible says in Romans chapter 11 verse 22, “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.” We ought to be in awe of God and fear Him. The thing that’s wrong with many people today is what Paul mentions in Romans three verse 18: there is no fear of God before their eyes.
Do you remember the story of God descending on Mount Sinai? The story is found in Exodus 19, but I want to go to the book of Hebrews because it looks back at what happened at Sinai and makes a powerful point on this subject. In Hebrews chapter 12 the Bible compares the first covenant, the law of Moses, to the new covenant, the gospel of Christ. The writer uses two mountains to represent these covenants. Mount Sinai represents the old covenant, and Mount Zion represents the new. He says Sinai was on fire and burned with fire blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling” (Hebrews 12, verses 18 through 21). That was an awesome, fearful sight!
But then he says we have something to fear even more today because we have the law of Christ who was God in the flesh and died for our sins! Listen to verse 25: “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven.” That is what he has been telling these Christians in the book of Hebrews! If it was a serious thing to disobey the law of Moses, then how much more serious is it to reject the gospel of the Son of God?
That’s what he says in Hebrews 12 verses 28 and 29: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” So yes, it is a good thing for us to have as he says here, reverence and godly fear, not worldly fear, but godly fear. Worldly fear is a fear that comes from worldly thinking. That kind of fear is a fear of the wrong things. It’s a fear of man more than the fear of God. It’s a fear of losing your money more than losing your soul. It’s a fear of death more than a fear of hell.
It’s true that we can’t be motivated by fear alone. And we shouldn’t be afraid all the time. That’s no way to live as a Christian. That’s not what God wants for us. The Bible says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (Second Timothy chapter 1 verse 7). But the right kind of fear and the right balance of fear and love is a very powerful thing. We need that reverence and godly fear because the world tells us there’e no need for it. Just relax and stop taking all this so seriously. But there’s a judgment day coming and it won’t be very long. When that day comes, nothing on this earth will matter. God will burn up the earth and everything in it. The only thing you will have left is you soul. If you’re not a Christian, obey the gospel today. Like the Bible says in Acts 22 verse 16, “Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins.” If you’ve gone astray from the Lord, come back to Him in repentance. If you’re a faithful child of God, keep your eye on the goal and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Thank you for listening to My God and My Neighbor. Stay connected with our podcast on our website and on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever fine podcasts are distributed. Tennessee Bible College, providing Christian education since 1975 in Cookeville, Tennessee, offers undergraduate and graduate programs. Study at your level. Aim higher and get in touch with us today.