Work Out Your Own Salvation

Introduction

What’s the difference between success and failure? And no, I’m not that slow. I’m not asking what’s the definition, dictionary definition difference between those two. But what makes the difference between success and failure in an important endeavor. Let me see if I can illustrate that. I’m going to illustrate that by doing something I haven’t been able to do in a long, long time. My children are here this morning. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to embarrass them in a sermon by using them as an illustration. But today’s the day.

Number two, I didn’t understand volleyball. And so I wouldn’t be a good volleyball coach because I couldn’t understand volleyball.

And so I wouldn’t have made a good coach for that regard. But I did help with coaching Blakes teams, particularly baseball. And I can remember one uh young man who was on the baseball team, and he had a complaint, big surprise. And his complaint was that he wasn’t getting enough playing time. Primarily that he wasn’t starting at shortstop when he really wasn’t any good at baseball. And so I was trying to politely convey to him the difference between success and failure. And he said, Coach, I’m here. I’m at every practice. I’m never late to practice. I never leave early. I’m here at every practice. And to him I said, Yes, you’re right. I said, but you know the difference between success and failure? You’re at every practice and you participate in every practice.

I said, but these other boys that are better than you at baseball, that are starting and are playing the key positions that you’re not, they’re here an hour or hours before practice, practicing on their own. And when practice is over, they’re not jumping in mom’s car and heading home, they’re staying. And they’re finding another team to practice with, or they’re finding a buddy to hit balls with or to throw and play catch with. And when they get home, they aren’t sitting at home in front of the television in the video game. They have their bat, their ball in their glove, and they’re out in the yard, and they’re still practicing. That’s the difference. So often between success and failure. And I want to proffer to you this morning that so often that’s the difference between success and failure when it comes to our Christianity.

Turn with me, if you will, to the book of Philippians, chapter 2. I think this is the point Paul is trying to convey to the Philippian brethren and to us today that if we really want to be successful in this thing called Christianity, it’s not enough to just show up. It’s not enough to just be at the services. Now, this sermon’s going to be full of asterisks and footnotes. The first asterisk and footnote is I’m not diminishing the importance of services and being at services. But it’s kind of like that practice. That’s not enough. That’s kind of the bare base minimum. But the important distinction between success and failure is that our Christianity must exist outside the four walls of this building. That if the sum total of your Christianity can be summed up in, I go to church on Sunday.

Again, don’t misunderstand me. It’s good to go to church on Sunday. You need to go to church on Sunday. But if that’s the sum total of your Christianity, you’re setting yourself up for failure. And so let’s talk about this statement. And just to be frank, it’s a curious and really difficult statement that Paul makes in Philippians chapter 2, after the section that Wally read to us about the example of Jesus, the sacrificial emptying of himself, example of Jesus coming in the flesh and living as a servant and dying as a criminal, although he was innocent. He offers this to us in Philippians 2, verse 12. 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.

1. It Doesn’t Mean a Works-Based Salvation

For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. Paul says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Again, I want to offer to you this morning that’s the key to success as a Christian. Understanding what that phrase means and properly applying it to our lives. And so that’s our lesson this morning. Let’s start by talking about what that doesn’t mean. What working out your own salvation doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that we have a works-based salvation. Paul isn’t telling them, he’s not contradicting what he is taught in other passages and saying you have to work to earn your salvation. You have to merit your salvation. If you get enough good check marks to erase the bad check marks that you’ve made in life, then you will cross that level and you will earn your salvation.

That’s not what Paul is saying. You’re getting a little bit of a lesson inside of a lesson here. Here’s a lesson on proper Bible study. It’s all about context. We can’t just take what we might call uh refrigerator magnet Christianity, and that is here’s a verse I really like. And I’m going to cut that verse out and attach it to a magnet and put that on my refrigerator, and that’s my Christianity, that one verse. Now, don’t misunderstand me. There’s nothing wrong with having a favorite verse and even putting that verse on your refrigerator. But to say that’s, again, the sum total of Christianity is that one verse is very dangerous. Because, as a good friend of mine once said, there’s a whole lot of good verses in that Bible.

And we have to take all of them. And so let’s look at this in context and understand that he’s not talking about earning your salvation. What’s that verse 13 we just read in Philippians 2? For it is God. It’s God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. So he’s not telling us you have to work and work so hard that you’ve earned your salvation, and God’s just obligated to save you. No, he’s saying it’s really whatever you’re doing, God’s working through you. Hold your finger there or put a bookmark and go back to the book of Ephesians. Paul’s not contradicting what he told the Ephesian Christians. In Ephesians 2, verse 8, you know this passage. Most likely you do.

Ephesians 2, verse 8, for by grace you’ve been saved through faith and not of yourselves. It’s the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. We understand that Christianity is a balance of understanding the importance of good works while recognizing that those works aren’t earning our salvation. And so he’s not saying work out your own salvation because this is some kind of works-based system, and you better work so that you can earn that salvation. No, that’s not what he’s saying.

2. It Doesn’t Mean You Don’t Need Anybody Else

That you don’t need anybody else, that you don’t need the local church, or you don’t need other Christians. Again, context. Go back to Philippians chapter 2. Look at verses 1 and 2 of that chapter. Therefore, if there’s any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. See how he’s saying that we need, not only we need one another, but we need to be on the same page with one another. Verse 4 let each one of you look out not only for his own interest, but for the interest of others. So he’s not saying that this is a solo operation, that you don’t need anybody else, and the encouragement and the help and even the admonition that they might offer.

3. It Doesn’t Mean You Choose Your Own Path

So work out your own salvation doesn’t mean that. Doesn’t mean that you work it out for yourself in the sense that you get to choose your own path to God. You know, there’s a lot of paths, and you you choose your path, you work out your salvation, and I’ll choose my path, and I’ll work out my salvation, and I’ll meet you in heaven. Now, there may be a lot of religious teachers and preachers that would have you to believe that, but that’s not what Paul is saying. Again, context. Look there, still Philippians 2. Look at verse 12 again. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed. Obeyed. You’ve obeyed God and His principles and what He’s told you to do. Verse 16, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

4. Work Out Your Own Salvation Without Paul

You have to obey and hold fast to God’s word. There’s one path, and you have to obey and hold fast to it. And so that’s not what he means when he says, work out your own salvation. Well, then what does he mean? Let’s look at it contextually, and then we’re going to make an application to ourselves. In the context, Paul says, again, Philippians 2 verse 12, therefore, my beloved, you’ve always obeyed, not as much in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Work out your own salvation in fear and trembling. We’ve got to start with that word therefore. I know you’ve heard this before, but every preacher and Bible class teacher, that word therefore, you’ve got to back up. It means based upon what I just said, the following applies.

So what has he just said? I think there’s two things, and maybe both of them are true that he’s just said. Number one, he’s just talked about Jesus obeying his Father. And so he may be saying, just as Jesus had to obey the Father, therefore you need to obey the Father. Follow his example. Not just follow his example in humility, but follow his example in obedience. That could certainly be the point of the therefore. You do what he did. Obedience is the emphasis. But then, notice the more immediate context, verse 11 says, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Every tongue, every individual tongue must confess, and so the emphasis may be on work out your own salvation.

So either the emphasis on obedience, like Jesus obeyed, or every tongue must confess, and so every person who’s the possessor of every tongue needs to obey. This is in other words, this is not some kind of collective activity. Yes, there are collective activities in the local church. But we’re not, and I know you’ve heard this before too, on the day of judgment. God’s not going to call out the South Bumbi Church of Christ, and we’re all going to stand before God, and he’s going to say, South Bumbi Church of Christ, you can go to heaven. It doesn’t work that way. He’s going to call us all individually, every tongue, every knee, every body’s going to stand, and so you have some individual responsibility. You, not your congregation has to obey.

You individually have to obey. But then there’s also keys in that chapter or that verse 12. Therefore, my beloved, as not only in my presence, but also in my absence. Work out your own salvation. But it seems clear to me that what Paul is saying here is he’s not saying, as we pointed out in this slide, you work out your salvation separate and apart from God. That’s impossible. I think we can all unanimously agree on that point. That you cannot work out your salvation separate from God. But what he’s saying is, you need to work out your salvation without me. Paul.

Should we do that or not? Ask Paul. Paul says, Well, I’m gone now. In fact, we know contextually, when he writes this letter, he’s in prison, and he’s going to tell them that not only am I gone in the sense that I’m not in Philippi, I’m in Rome, but I’m fixing to be permanently gone. I’m going to be dead. So you’re not going to have Paul anymore. You’re not going to be able to run over and say, Paul, we got a Bible question. Paul, should we do this? Can I do that or should I abstain from that? No. So he’s not saying work out your salvation without God, but work out your own salvation without Paul. Because I’m not going to be there. And you can’t rely on me.

5. Bible Study Is My Responsibility

So not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence. Work out your own salvation. You’ve got to stand on your own two feet. You can’t rely on Paul to spoon feed you the gospel and to answer every little question that you have. It’s up to you. It’s between you and God, not between you and Paul and God. And so let’s make some application to us today. Work out your own salvation. We’ll make two applications, and then the lesson will be yours. Application number one is that Bible study, proper knowledge and understanding of the scripture, is my responsibility. And it’s your responsibility.

For a few reasons. Number one, I or no other preacher is going to be able to stand beside you on the day of judgment. You’re going to stand before God alone. But also it doesn’t work because number one, you haven’t allotted me enough time in your life to fulfill that obligation. I preach to you once a week. I average about 30 minutes in my sermon. If it works in our teaching rotation that I’m teaching the auditorium class and you’re not teaching other somewhere, and you’re in the auditorium class, I don’t mean to depress you there, that’s coming up next quarter, then you get me three times a week. Twice on Sunday and once on Wednesday night, but that’s still not a whole lot as far as an educational time slot in your life.

I don’t have enough time to be able to be your sole responsibility of instructing you in God’s Word. Secondly, and I don’t mean this in a in a false humility way, I’m just not that good to be able to impart all of that to you. And God never intended it to be that way. I’m not trying to preach myself out of a job, please understand me. And I’m not saying what we do here as local groups is not important in our Bible classes and our sermons. It is.

Of your Bible study. If it is, that’s a recipe for failure. The preacher is not to be your fauna friend when it comes to Bible knowledge. Now, again, I said there’s gonna be a lot of disclaimers in this sermon. I’m not saying don’t text me, email me, or call me if you have a Bible question. Please do. I love that. J.R. loves that. Do that. But I get these phone calls occasionally. Hey, Ken, what do we believe about this? Well, I can’t answer for we. I can tell you what I think that passage is teaching and what I think. But I don’t have that responsibility of speaking for the church of Christ, the body of Christ. I don’t even have that responsibility for the South Bumbi Church of Christ.

You have the responsibility to study God’s word. And let me extend that not just from the preacher to our whole educational system here at South Bumby. We have good Bible class system, we have wonderful Bible class teachers. But if that’s the sum total of your family’s biblical education, that’s a recipe for failure.

Not separate and apart from God, but separate and apart from the sermons and the Bible classes here. You’ve got some work to do. Not just in our presence, but also in our absence. We have to accept that responsibility.

And so it is not just possible, it is very doable to be at a congregation that has the absolute worst Bible class system. And no comment about this next statement that has the absolute worst preacher. And for you to still 100% fulfill your obligation in studying and understanding and applying the scripture. You can suffer through 30 minutes of a bad sermon. And go home and open your Bible and study God’s word. Dig into and mind those scriptures. And be the most knowledgeable Christian. In Orlando, in Florida, in the United States, and the world. And the Bible classes, and your preacher had nothing to do with that. Because you were working out your own salvation. Because it was God working in you to do his goodwill. The second application has to do with just that application.

6. My Daily Walk Is Mine

My daily walk is mine. It is not the local, again. Let me add that asterisk, that disclaimer to this. I’m not minimizing the role that the local church plays in your life and should play in your life. But your obedience to God. Your daily Christian walk is your responsibility. I can remember when I first started preaching. And I look back and I think about the wonderful advice that older preachers gave me. And let me just throw this in there for free commentary.

And I feel like maybe I’m shirking that responsibility. Because I don’t feel like it. I feel like when I was a young preacher and those older preachers, they knew they were these wise older preachers. And man, they were shelling out that advice unsolicited all the time. But I just don’t feel that way. I don’t feel like an old wise sage that’s sitting on that mountain with my arms and legs crossed and say, come to me for this wisdom. But but those older preachers would shell. And one piece of advice that I got from an older preacher that stuck with me to this day, he said, Ken, remember you’re a preacher, not a policeman. Well, that’s one of those pieces of advice that has some follow-up. Now, what do you mean by that?

And what he said by that is he says, it’s not your responsibility to go and stake out the members’ houses and to see are they really doing what we preached about Sunday? Are they behaving? Are they doing those kind of things? That’s not, and that’s not your shepherd’s responsibility. Now they have a responsibility to tend the flock and to feed the flock, but it’s not our responsibility to walk around with a switch, and every time you get out of line, we smack you and oh, okay. We’re to teach, we’re to guide when we can, and to even admonish and discipline when we can, but it’s impossible. Even in today’s society where we have all this technology and surveillance, it’s just not the way it works. When you’re at home, the choices that you make, when you’re at school at work, it’s your decision.

Am I going to live the Christian life? Nobody from church is here to watch me, to correct me, to shame me if I do it wrong. It’s time for me to work out my own salvation. It’s time for me to make application in my own life. And to use the teaching and the guidance that I’ve received, and to know that my brethren are there and they are, though they’re not present with me now, they are cheering me on. And they would be disappointed if I failed. But in this moment, it’s on me to stand up and do what’s right. And I think that’s what Paul was saying when he says, my beloved brethren, so much, not just in my presence, but in my absence. Time for you to work out your own salvation.

Conclusion

It’s time for you to reach that point of spiritual maturity. That point of spiritual maturity that you’ve grown in your faith and in your obedience. That you’re obeying God, not because somebody’s watching. And I’ll get in trouble with the elders or the preacher will preach a sermon about me next Sunday. But I’m doing what’s right. Because it’s God working in me. Whether I’m here, work, at home, or a thousand miles away on vacation. God is the reason that I study, and God’s the reason that I obey. And so let’s make a final application. We’re going to sing a song of invitation. If you need to obey the gospel, I’m assuming today will be like every other Sunday. No one’s going to go and grab you and drag you down the aisle and make you come down and submit.

It’s up to you. Will you obey? Will you allow God to work in and through you for your own good? And we help you to allow God to work in you as you work out your salvation and you accept spiritual responsibility for your own spiritual growth and maturity as you let God work in your life. And we help you to that end as together we stand and as we sing.