September 22, 2023 WORK IT OUT
Philippians 2:12-13 “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.”
We are on the wrong track if we think life is all about us. We exist for His good pleasure-not our good pleasure. The blessing is that when we live for His good pleasure, we are blessed. Our salvation is much greater than we think. Salvation comes as a result of trusting Christ as Savior, but that is just the beginning of a life-long journey. The fact that God, the Creator of the universe, is at work in us should be a life-changer, a revolutionary reality, a humbling thought, and the greatest motivation possible. For the believer, there is never a time when it is ok to live on a spiritual plane; it is God’s heart that we have a daily, living and active relationship with Him. Our salvation is secure and is a done-deal, but at the same time we must work out our salvation; what God has done on the inside is to be expressed in the life we live; it is also internal; working out our salvation includes adjusting our thoughts and our beliefs to the ways of the Lord. Our salvation is not to be stagnant; we are to be being transformed, to be growing in the knowledge of God, to be maturing in the faith, and to be becoming more like Him. Working out our salvation is the most important thing we can do on planet earth; it is our highest calling. We are to work out our salvation with ‘fear and trembling;’ we must never take this command lightly; in fact, we should have a healthy fear of not working out our salvation by becoming complacent or negligent in our spiritual growth. I think we all know how easy it is to get into a spiritual coasting mode-just living life as it comes. Our flesh wages war with our spirit-we win that war by saying no to the flesh and by walking according to the Spirit; that is the battle ground for us. The flesh has not been annihilated, but the power of the flesh to rule over us has been broken; we have the power not to yield to our flesh and we have the power to yield to the Spirit. Working out our salvation goes hand-in-hand with walking according to the Spirit because the Spirit is always directing us and equipping us to be expressions of the great salvation that is ours through Christ.
Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Blessings, Buddy
Philippians 2:12-13 “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.”
We are on the wrong track if we think life is all about us. We exist for His good pleasure-not our good pleasure. The blessing is that when we live for His good pleasure, we are blessed. Our salvation is much greater than we think. Salvation comes as a result of trusting Christ as Savior, but that is just the beginning of a life-long journey. The fact that God, the Creator of the universe, is at work in us should be a life-changer, a revolutionary reality, a humbling thought, and the greatest motivation possible. For the believer, there is never a time when it is ok to live on a spiritual plane; it is God’s heart that we have a daily, living and active relationship with Him. Our salvation is secure and is a done-deal, but at the same time we must work out our salvation; what God has done on the inside is to be expressed in the life we live; it is also internal; working out our salvation includes adjusting our thoughts and our beliefs to the ways of the Lord. Our salvation is not to be stagnant; we are to be being transformed, to be growing in the knowledge of God, to be maturing in the faith, and to be becoming more like Him. Working out our salvation is the most important thing we can do on planet earth; it is our highest calling. We are to work out our salvation with ‘fear and trembling;’ we must never take this command lightly; in fact, we should have a healthy fear of not working out our salvation by becoming complacent or negligent in our spiritual growth. I think we all know how easy it is to get into a spiritual coasting mode-just living life as it comes. Our flesh wages war with our spirit-we win that war by saying no to the flesh and by walking according to the Spirit; that is the battle ground for us. The flesh has not been annihilated, but the power of the flesh to rule over us has been broken; we have the power not to yield to our flesh and we have the power to yield to the Spirit. Working out our salvation goes hand-in-hand with walking according to the Spirit because the Spirit is always directing us and equipping us to be expressions of the great salvation that is ours through Christ.
Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Blessings, Buddy
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