August 29, 2022 WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING
Philippians 2:12-13, 3:8-12 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” “More than that, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Savior, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”
God does not give us a spirit of fear, but there is a healthy fear we should have in regards to our growing in the faith. Being instructed to ‘work out our salvation’ is a something we must take in a serious way and be diligent to make sure we are indeed working out our salvation. We know that we do not gain salvation by works but only through faith in Jesus Christ are we saved. Our salvation insures eternity in heaven, but our salvation involves so much more; our salvation is a beginning point for a journey that last for all of our life here on earth. Above, believers are admonished to work out their salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who is at work in us. Since it is God at work in us, certainly we must pay attention to what He is doing in us and we must be diligent to cooperate with how He is leading us and molding us into His image. There is nothing higher in life, no greater calling, nothing more important, and nothing more fulfilling than God at work in us-thus there is a holy fear that we should have of missing or not being attentive to the work of God in us. Again, this fear is not a fear of God and an unhealthy fear, but it is realizing that it is possible for us to be negligent or insensitive to the work of God in us. Working out our salvation is about honoring and obeying His commands, about growing in the knowledge of Him, about studying His word, about doing the things that please Him, about dying the desires of the flesh, and about adjusting our lives, our attitudes, and our perceptions when we need to do so in order to reflect His work in us. In fact, adjusting and change go hand-in-hand with growing in the faith and in the transformation process; we are to be becoming more and more like Him-and that means change. The bottom line is that if our number one desire and our main goal in life is anything other than knowing Christ and gaining Christ, we will miss out on the amazing life that God has for us and we will not fulfill our purpose. (Hebrews 2:3a serves as a warning to us; “How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?) Paul considered all things as rubbish compared to knowing Christ. Working out our salvation is not burdensome, but is life-giving; God does not rob us of life, but desires that we have an abundant and truly satisfying life. Let us press on the obtaining of what God has called us be and to do.
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Blessings, Buddy
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