Salvation is a gift, right? God saved us by His grace through faith in Jesus. Ephesians 2:8 says: ‘It is by grace you have been saved, through faith. This is not of yourselves it is the gift of God; not by works so no one can boast.‘ Then why did Paul tell the Philippians to work out their salvation with fear and trembling? You may have noticed that Paul starts many of his sentences with the word ‘therefore’. This is no exception, so I would like to take you all the way back to verse 5, so we get the context right.
Philippians 2:5-12
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross! Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.
Context
So, keep in mind the passage is about our attitudes towards each other (v.5), that is, living out the Christian life in this fallen world. Then Paul shares this beautiful poem about the humility and obedience of Jesus. And once Paul has given us this wonderful example of humility he adds: Therefore… work out your salvation in fear and trembling.
Salvation
There are 3 aspects of our salvation in the Bible and the context of each verse will help us to identify which one the writer has in mind. The 3 are:
- Justification: the moment of conversion, when our sins are forgiven and we are adopted into God’s family.
- Sanctification: the on-going walk we enjoy with the Lord, dealing with temptations as they arise and being shaped, by the Holy Spirit, into the likeness of Jesus.
- Glorification: the moment our bodies die and our souls are perfected, totally freed from the presence of sin, so that we can be with the Lord in Paradise.
Which one is Paul referring to?
Since this is about working out our salvation, particularly with respect to how we get along with each other it is clear that Paul has the 2nd aspect of our salvation in mind – our sanctification. You cannot work out your justification. It is a declaration by God and is instant. You cannot work out your glorification. The moment we die God removes all sin from us, making us like Christ. But your sanctification, which is a process, is something you can work out with fear and trembling. The act of daily putting aside sin, living out the Christian life, loving your brothers and sisters, this is what Paul has in mind when he tells us to work out our salvation.
God is the sanctifier
I am not saying that God justifies us when we are born again, and God glorifies us when we die and go to heaven, but we sanctify ourselves in between. Make no mistake, God is the sanctifier. It is the indwelling Holy Spirit who transforms us from within. I cannot sanctify myself, only God can. But I do have a role to play in my own sanctification. What happens is that God uses certain means of grace to sanctify us. He uses various tools to shape us and conform us to the image of Jesus.
What are those tools?
They include the Bible, listening to the preaching of God’s Word, prayer, worship, fellowship with other believers, fasting, meditation, Bible memorisation, even sickness and suffering can be used by God to make us more like Jesus. If you are married, your marriage can be used by God to sanctify you. So, God has many tools at His disposal in His work of sanctifying us. The interesting thing to notice is that in all these tools, we have a part to play. I would suggest that God’s primary means of grace is the Scriptures; but a Bible sitting on a shelf will not sanctify you. A brilliant sermon, not listened to, will not transform your heart. An uplifting worship song with the volume turned off won’t strengthen your faith. Your response to suffering will determine whether it strengthens you. Your commitment to prayer will affect its impact on your life. So, you see, God will do the sanctifying, but you have an important part in it.
Now turn back to Philippians 2:12, and we will read on to verse 13. Remember, this is in view of the awesome example of Jesus, who humbled himself even to the point of death on a cross. ‘Therefore continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.‘
Did you notice that?
It is God working in you, to fulfil His good purpose. That purpose is to make you like Jesus, and verse 13 is clear, it is God who does it, but at the same time we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
Work out, not work at
There is one last thought I would like to leave with you. Paul does not tell us to work ‘AT’ our salvation. We are to work ‘OUT’ our salvation. The difference might sound small, but to work AT would be like working towards it, working to get our salvation. But salvation is a gift. We already have it by faith. Now we are to work OUT our salvation, that is, to put it into practise.