God at Work in You, Part 2 (Philippians 2:12) John MacArthur

Will you open your Bible now with me to  Philippians chapter 2, as we continue in our   study of this great epistle. We have found our way  to verses 12 and 13 of this great second chapter.   And we began a look at these two verses last  week. We will continue it this week, and we will   complete it next week. The richness of what is in  this tremendous text demands our careful thought. You know, everything in life, basically, that  is accomplished demands energy. It took energy   for you to get out of bed this morning. It  took energy for you to produce whatever you   ate for breakfast. It took energy for you to  get here by whatever means of transportation   you took. Everything moves by virtue of energy.  That’s true in the spiritual dimension as well.   And we’ve been looking at the question related  to this particular passage: what is the energy   that provokes sanctification? What is the  energy that provokes a life of holiness?   What is the energy that impels righteousness?  What is the energy that causes fruitfulness?   What is the energy that results in spiritual  progress? And we’ve been looking at that very  

important question because that’s exactly what  the apostle Paul treats in these two verses. You’ll remember last week we suggested to you  that there have been two answers to the question   in part. Some say that the energy for spiritual  progress is all God’s. In fact, historically those   people are called quietists. They believe that in  effect the Christian is quiet in the process of   spiritual growth. He provides, or she provides  basically no energy to the process whatsoever   and that the key is surrender, yield, die to self,  mortify oneself, put your life on the altar. That   we basically do absolutely nothing, it’s all of  God. There is also a group of people who came to   be known as the Pietists who took the opposite  view, in some sense, to the Quietists and they   said, “No, spiritual progress is energized by the  believer. We must be devout, we must be committed,   we must be diligent, we must be,” and here was  their key word, “self and spiritually disciplined.   It takes all of our effort to  accomplish sanctification.” We noted last week that if we read only verse 12,  we might think that Paul was a Pietist. If we read  

only verse 13 we might think he was a Quietist.  So, we’ll read both and we’ll see the truth.   “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 own  salvation with fear and trembling.” That   sounds somewhat like the Pietists: work  out your own salvation. It’s up to you,   he seems to be saying. Then, in verse  13 he says, “For it is God who is at   work in you both to will and to work for  His good pleasure.” Verse 13 sounds just   the opposite. It sounds as if it is all God,  willing and doing whatever He wants in you. Now, having read those two verses and  considered the two opposite views,   we might conclude that this is a rather complex  issue to resolve. And that is not the case. Paul   resolves it very simply. He says in verse 12  it’s all you, and in verse 13 it’s all God.   What he doesn’t do is harmonize it. Very  simply, it takes all that we are and all   that God is. Simply, it demands that I make  commitment of my life daily to the service   of Jesus Christ with every faculty that I  possess, and at the same time all that is  

accomplished within me is the work of God. The  answer is: it’s all of us and it’s all of God. We shouldn’t be surprised to find this mysterious  paradox in the matter of sanctification;   we find it in a lot of other ways as well in  the Scripture. If we go back, for example,   to the matter of incarnation, we are struck  with the mystery of the fact that Jesus Christ   was Son of Man, fully man, and that everything He  accomplished in His life He did as man. He spoke   with a voice of a man, He walked with the feet of  a man, He did miracles with the hands of a man,   He thought with the mind of a man, He saw with the  eyes of a man, He heard with the ears of a man,   He felt with the heart of a man. And yet, at the  same time, He was all God. He was the God-Man,   the unfathomable union of deity and humanity  with no loss to either. We are not surprised   also to find the same mysterious paradox in  the matter of inspiration. We understand,   for example, that Philippians was written by the  apostle Paul. It’s his vocabulary, it’s his heart,   it’s his mind, it’s his thoughts, it’s his  reasonings, his logic, his passion, his concern.   It’s all of Paul, and yet every word is inspired  by the Holy Spirit. How can it be? But it is.

We have the same situation as we think about  salvation. Salvation demands turning from sin   and embracing the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation  demands an act of the human will in which the   sinner repents, places faith in the persona and  work of Christ. And yet, it’s all of God who   chose Him before the foundation of the world and  effected that salvation through sovereign grace.   We find the same thing in the perseverance of a  believer. We are eternally secure because we are   held with Christ in the hand of God, because  God has so designed it that no one can bring   an accusation against us, God will not hear it.  No one can condemn God’s elect. It is God that   justifies. It is Christ that stands for us. And  yet though it is all God in terms of our security,   it is all us in terms of our perseverance. And the  Bible says that if we are not faithful to continue   to the end, we shall not inherit eternal  life. It takes all of us and all of God,   and therein is the divine paradox  repeated in many, many different ways.

And so, when we come to this matter of  sanctification or spiritual life, we are not   surprised to find out it is all of us and all of  Him. We also shouldn’t be surprised because this   is not the first time such a truth has been said  in Scripture. First Corinthians chapter 15 might   be a place to start, looking at a couple of other  passages briefly. Listen to this, 1 Corinthians   15 and verse 10, Paul says, “But by the grace of  God I am what I am,” and he’s speaking spiritually   there, speaking not only about his salvation but  his spiritual development. “By the grace of God I   am what I am at this moment, as a Christian, as a  teacher of God’s truth, as a called apostle, I am   what I am by God’s grace. And His grace toward me  did not prove useless. God has made me what I am.” Now, that would sound at first like Paul was a  Quietist. But then he says this, “But I labored   even more than all of them.” In other words, there  is a reality here that he is what he is because   God made him what he is, but he is what he is  because he worked harder at it than anybody else.   And then, he closes the verse by going  back to where he started and saying,   “Yet not I but the grace of God with me.” I am  what I am because God’s grace made me this way,  

but also because I labored more than all the  others. In other words, he is saying I have   reached the level of spiritual development that I  have because of God and because of my own effort. Look with me at Galatians chapter 2 and here  we find Paul giving testimony again to the same   thing. He says this in verse 20 of Galatians 2,  a very familiar text, “I have been crucified with   Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ  lives in me.” Now, this is a favorite verse of the   Quietistic view, the Keswicks, the deeper life,  the higher life folks. I have been crucified with   Christ therefore I’m dead. When you’re crucified,  you die. So, it is no longer I who live but Christ   lives in me. In other words, Paul seems quite  Quietistic at this point. He is, in effect,   saying, it’s not me’ it’s Christ. Whatever  life I live I’m dead to it, Christ lives it.

Then, having said that he says this, “And the life  which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in   the Son of God who loved me and delivered Himself  up for me.” In the first half of the verse he said   I died, Christ lives. In the second half he says  but I live, Christ living in me. And again, if   you read only the second half you might conclude  that he was somewhat Pietistic. The life which I   now live in the flesh I live by faith. He doesn’t  live and then he does live. It’s none of him and   it’s all of him. In Colossians, as he gives us  insight into the direction and ultimate goal   of his ministry in chapter 1, he says in verse 28  that his objective in ministering was to admonish   every man, to teach every man with all wisdom  that we may present every man complete in Christ,   Colossians 1:28, Paul’s goal in the ministry to  present men to the Lord complete. Then, verse 29,   he talks about the energy. “And for this purpose  also I labor, I work hard.” A very strong verb,   having to do with intense effort. It could be  read, “For this purpose I make maximum effort,   striving, agonizing according to His power which  mightily works within me.” The same marvelous,  

somewhat mysterious balance.  It’s all of me; it’s all of Him. Maybe I can give you an illustration to help  in your understanding. In your mind’s eye,   go back to Exodus chapter 14 to Moses. You don’t  need to turn to it. Just think about it with me   for a moment. Pharaoh’s army is behind him and the  Red Sea is blocking his path. Pharaoh’s desire is   to destroy the children of Israel and the Red Sea  will prove their drowning, if they move into it.   But Moses was so confident, though he was in  that trap, so confident that the Lord would   give victory to him and to the people of God that  in verse 13 of Exodus 14 he shouts to the people,   and this is what he says: “Don’t be afraid,  stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.”   Don’t be afraid, stand still, and see the  salvation of the Lord. That was great faith but   that was bad advice. Sorry Moses, you got it half  right. Good for that kind of faith, bad advice.  

Because the Lord immediately shot back from  heaven and said this, “Why are you crying unto   Me? Speak to the children of Israel and tell them  to go forward.” I like that. It’s not stand still   and see the salvation of the Lord. It’s what?  Go forward and see the salvation of the Lord.   God was going to give the victory, and He was  going to give it in such a way that no one   could deny that it was Him who did it. And in  such a way that it could never have been done   with any help from man, but He wasn’t going  to do it until the Israelites moved forward.   What an analogy that is. Because that is  precisely what Paul is saying to us here   in the spiritual dimension. It isn’t stand still  and see the victory of the Lord. It isn’t yield,   surrender, let go let God. It’s move,  and see the victory of the Lord.

So, we conclude that there are just two  points in these two verses. Point number one,   verse 12: the Christian working out. Point  number two, verse 13: God working in. Let’s go back to our first point which  we introduced last time. In verse 12,   Paul says basically that the Christian is to work  out. In fact, the major statement of verse 12,   the main verb and the main idea, is found  at the end of verse 12, “Work out your own   salvation.” That is a present-imperative;  that means it’s a continuing force command:   continually be working out your salvation. That  is a mandate. Please notice, he is not saying   work at your salvation. He is not saying work  up your salvation. He is not saying work for   your salvation. Salvation is a gift of grace  not of what? Works. You’re not working for it,   you’re not working at it to improve it, you’re  not working it up, you are simply working it out.   And we noted last time, rather in great detail,  as we studied that phrase, that what he means   is to produce on the outside of your life  that which has been planted on the inside,   to make visible in your conduct that which  is true of your redeemed nature. What God   has worked in by way of salvation, you are to work  out by way of sanctification. And notice, please,  

that he says, “Work out your own salvation.” And  that, by the way, is emphatic in the Greek order   here. Work out your own means without me, apart  from me, apart from my help. For that matter,   apart from anyone else’s help. There’s a  definite individuality in this command. We also noted that the concept of working out  your own salvation speaks of salvation in its   dimensional reality. That is to say that we  have been saved, we are being saved and we   will be saved. There is yet a future dimension  of salvation which has not yet come to pass,   that full and final salvation which we will  experience in the redemption of our body in the   glorification when we meet Jesus Christ and become  like Him. So, he is saying work out your salvation   with continuity in the sense that you are working  out and on to the final form of your salvation.   So, we noted that he had both things in  mind as we looked more closely at the   terms here. Work out continually until  you reach the full final expression of   your salvation. He is here calling for  maximum effort. The concept of work   out means to give intense commitment  to. He is calling for great effort.

And so, we concluded last time that we as  believers must give the maximum effort to   the matter of spiritual progress, occasionally  beating our bodies into subjection, as Paul says   in 1 Corinthians 9:27: boxing, warring, running,  racing with endurance. It takes all our effort,   the effort of all of our faculties. And that is  why the apostle Paul in Romans 12 says that we   are to present our bodies living sacrifices  and we are to allow our minds to be being   transformed so that we may know and do the will  of God which is always perfect. It demands the   fullness of effort. The very fact that the  New Testament is replete with commands to   the believer assumes that the believer has both  the responsibility and the resource to respond. As I am often prone to do, I was reading  last week a biography of a great man of God,   it happened to be CT Studd, a portion out  of his life. This man was a very gifted and   unusual man who made great sacrifices in going  to the mission field in a very primitive time.   And one night when he and a colleague were  staying in a very dilapidated facility,   a very uncomfortable place and it was very cold  and they had not the proper warmth, it was hard   to sleep because of the discomfort that was there,  his colleague awoke in the middle of the night to  

find CT Studd sitting up, somewhat shivering in  a blanket that he had wrapped around himself,   propped against two walls in the corner of this  little room. And by candlelight, he was reading   his Bible. And according to the biographer,  his colleague asked him why he was so strangely   occupied in the midst of a cold night, to which  Studd replied with these words, “I felt something   was wrong in my relation to the Lord, and so  I am reading through the entire New Testament   to check all the commands to me in case I have  unwittingly violated any of them.” End quote. A rather serious approach, don’t you think,  to your spiritual life. Not exactly let go   and let God. Here was a man so concerned about  his spiritual life that he is propped up in a   corner with a candle on a dark cold night, wrapped  in a blanket reading the entire New Testament,   if per chance he might come across some command  that he has perhaps violated because there is   somewhere a glitch in his relationship  to the living Christ. That’s the kind   of devotion it takes to make a difference.  That’s what Paul had in mind when he said,   “I labored more abundantly than them all.” Yes, it  is the grace of God; yes, it is a maximum effort.   And what set CT Studd head and shoulders above  other men of his age who name the name of Christ  

was not simply and only and isolated the grace  of God, but it was the grace of God and the kind   of devotion that keeps a man up all night reading  the whole New Testament if he can find one thing   that he may have violated that can enhance the  fullness of his relationship with God. And so,   God is calling on all of us to work out that which  is in us with the greatest amount of diligence. Now, I want to be very practical because I think  Paul is here. And I want to give you the elements   that will help you to do that, because he  gives us five of them in this verse. Five   things you need to understand that will assist you  in working out your salvation with real diligence   and faithfulness. Number one, you must understand  your example. You must understand your example.   Would you notice that verse 12 begins with a  little particle in the Greek? It’s translated   “So then.” But it’s the little particle, hste.  It is a particle used in the Greek language to   draw a conclusion from a preceding section.  And so, he is really pulling into those two   little English words, “so then,” everything that  has been said from verse 5 through 11. So then,   and what do we find before this? We find Jesus  Christ back in verse 5. He is introduced there   as the model of humility, as the model of  obedience, as the model of submission. For  

it was Christ Jesus who didn’t hold on to being  equal with God. It was Christ Jesus in verse 7   who emptied Himself, who became a bond servant.  It is Christ Jesus in verse 8 who humbled Himself,   even to the point of dying on a cross. It was  Christ Jesus who was thereby exalted by God,   who was given a name which is above every name,  which we saw is the name Lord, the sovereign name. You see, it is Christ Jesus who is the model. And  he says, “So then, work out your own salvation.”   What do you mean, “So then?” Just as you have seen  the example of what a saved person is to be like,   in the light of the fact that He was obedient,  be like Him. In light of the fact that He was   humbled, be like Him. In light of the fact  that being humbled He was then exalted,   count that promise yours. So, Paul is  saying since Jesus Christ gave you the   example of humble obedience to God, since  Jesus Christ showed you what submission is,   since Christ showed you the path of exaltation,  then you are to follow His pattern. Be like Him.

And I don’t need to tell you this, do I? That the  substance of your spiritual dedication is really   clearly defined in being like Jesus Christ.  That’s why Paul said to the Galatians that   he was in travail, or pain, until Christ was  fully formed in them. That’s why John says if   you say you abide in Christ, you ought to walk  the way He walks. He’s your example. So then,   work out your own salvation so that in the process  you desire and long and pursue Christ’s likeness. There’s a second thing you need to understand  here. You need to understand you’re loved. You   need to understand you’re loved. Do you know why?  Because in the process of endeavoring to work out   your salvation and be all that you can be, you’re  going to fail. And I don’t think it’s whimsical   that the apostle Paul happens to say in verse 12,  “So then, my beloved.” There was a patience in his   heart that reflected the patience of God. There  was a mercy and a grace in his heart toward the   people he loved and served and called his children  in the faith, a patience that was representative   of the patience in the heart of God. There was a  mercy in Paul that was the mercy of Christ. There   was a grace in Paul that was the grace of Christ.  And when he says to them, “my beloved,” he was  

saying there’s some space in my relationship  with you, some space for your failure. There was Euodia and there was Syntyche and they  were fighting one another. There was obviously   some pride in the Philippian church; else he would  not have spoken of humility so strongly. There was   some discord there and disunity. But in all of it,  they were still his beloved. Not just once, but   back in chapter 1 verse 8 he said, “I long for you  all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” This love   that he had for them was a love that went from  his heart down to into visceral area, as the Greek   word would express it. He felt his affection. He  affirms that they are his beloved again in chapter   4 verse 1, even as he speaks a corrective to them,  particularly two women who were out of harmony,   “Therefore my beloved brethren, whom I long  for.” There was deep affection. And in that   love and in that affection was space for  failure. And this reflects the heart of God.

Aren’t you happy as a Christian that as  you work out your own salvation there’s   some space? Aren’t you happy that you are  loved by God? And that within the framework   of that love there is forgiveness, and  there is mercy, and there is grace,   and there is restoration? Aren’t you glad  that you don’t serve the kind of God that   the deities of paganism represent? Aren’t you  glad that you don’t live under the bondage of   fear to those deities who cannot be properly  appeased because there is no grace? Understand   you’re loved. This is no abusive command.  This is no indifferent military directive.   This is the loving passionate heart of a  pastor saying to his people, “I care about   you. I understand. There’s some room for failure,”  and thus does he reflect the heart of Christ. So,   in working out your salvation, understand  your example and understand that you’re loved.

Thirdly, understand the place of obedience.  Understand the place of obedience.   He says in verse 12, “So then, my beloved, just as  you have always obeyed.” Just as you have always   obeyed. And therefore he identifies a pattern  of conduct in spiritual life, very much like   Ephesians 2:10 where he says that God has ordained  us to walk in good works. See, the Christian life   is basically a pattern of obedience. By the  way, the word “obey” here is from the Greek   verb hupakou, and the reason I mention the term  is because we get the word acoustics from akou,   it means to obey something you’ve heard. The  little preposition hupo at the front means   “under,” having heard, put yourself under. So, it  speaks of submitting to something you’ve heard.   And he is saying basically, you have always had  that attitude. You can go back to the 16th chapter   of the book of Acts and you will find there that  it says when Paul came to the region of Philippi,   he preached the gospel and Lydia listened. She not  only listened, but she believed, and it says the   Lord opened her heart. And later on he preached,  you’ll remember, verses 32 and 33, the gospel to  

the Philippian jailer and his entire household,  and they too listened and they too believed. In both cases, as that church of Philippi  was being born, there was obedience. You say,   “In what sense?” They obeyed the word which  they heard. And what is the word of the   gospel? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and  you’ll be saved. The word of the gospel comes   and says turn from your sin and turn to Christ.  Stop following self and follow the Lord Jesus.   That’s a command. We don’t think of it as  such, but it is. The gospel is a command,   do you understand that? “Believe on the Lord Jesus  Christ” is an imperative. When the Father said,   “This is My beloved Son, hear Him,” He was  serious. God commands the world to hear Christ.   Christ commands the world to believe. The  apostles and the preachers command the   world to believe on Christ so that any moment of  salvation is a moment of obedience to a command.

We often talk about sharing our faith. We  very seldom talk about commanding people   to believe. We are doing more than sharing  something, we are reiterating a command.   “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him.” Believe,  repent, follow Me. That is precisely why the   apostle Paul articulates apostleship  as calling the Gentiles, Romans 1:5,   to the obedience of faith. Faith is an act of  obeying a command to repent and believe. And   it then ushers one into a life of obedience  so that most characteristic of a Christian’s   life is obedience to God, obedience to Christ.  And thus, Paul says, you have always obeyed. Sometimes your obedience is sporadic. There  are times of disobedience for which you are   glad that you understand you are loved,  as we just noted. But nonetheless, our   spiritual life is characterized by obedience. In 2  Thessalonians chapter 1, do you remember verse 8,   where in speaking about the retribution that will  come against the ungodly when Jesus returns from   heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire?  Paul says, “He will deal out retribution to   those who do not know God,” listen to this, “and  to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord  

Jesus.” You see, receiving Christ is an act of  obedience to a divine command. And in that sense,   if there were no other sense, you always  at salvation are acknowledging Jesus as   Lord because you in believing are submitting to a  command. And that initiates a life of obedience. In chapter 3 of 2 Thessalonians and  verse 14, it says, “If anyone does   not obey our instruction,” and Paul is  there talking to believers and so we   understand that though we were saved by an  act of obedience into a life of obedience,   it is possible for us to be disobedient. And that  is why he says, “Just as you have always obeyed,   I want you to do it much more,” and we’ll get into  that statement next. So, we must understand that   we are called to a life of obedience. That is the  pattern of our life from the moment of salvation.

Do you remember what Peter said in 1 Peter?  Just so we don’t think Paul is the only one   who gave this message. He says we are chosen,  1 Peter 1:2, according to the foreknowledge of   God the Father by the sanctifying work of the  Spirit in order that you may obey Jesus Christ.   That’s the heart of our Christian experience.  We are called to obedience. That is why in the   great commission we are told to make disciples  by going and teaching them to observe all things   whatsoever I have what? Commanded you. It’s a  life of obedience. Salvation is a command and   all of obedience is articulated in Scripture as a  series of commands. The very basic definition of   our spiritual life is that we are under orders to  obey a commander. To fail to understand that is to   fail to understand the most basic element  of salvation. It is an act of obedience. So, if we are to work out our salvation, it  requires that we understand our example, Christ,   so we know what we are to be like; to understand  that we are loved, that we have the space to fail   and be restored again in grace; to understand  nonetheless that we are called to obedience.

Fourthly, Paul helps us here in this matter  of working out our own salvation by letting   us know that we need to understand our  personal resources and responsibility.   We are very prone as sinners to blame other  people for our problems, is that not true? To   be self-justifying. So, he reminds us here that  we are responsible because we have the personal   resources for our own spiritual wellbeing.  Simply stated, he says this very clearly,   “So then, my beloved, just as you’ve always  obeyed, not as in my presence,” parousia,   “only but now much more in my apousia.”  In other words, he says, “Look, I saw the   pattern of obedience when I was there. I want  to see much more of it now that I’m not there.”   The assumption here is that they need to do it  on their own. That’s why earlier in the verse,   or later in the verse he says, “Work out  your own salvation; you don’t need me.” They loved him. Back in chapter 1 verses 7  and 8 it tells us that the bond of affection   between them was very strong. They had,  in fact, as we pointed out many months   ago when we studied that section, a very  unique relationship. They loved that man.   There was never at that time, and perhaps  never will be in the history of the church,   a greater man of God than Paul. Certainly never  a greater teacher of the Word of God because he  

was inspired in much of what he said which became  a great portion of the New Testament, at least 13   letters. This is a unique man of God who could,  if anyone could, build a tremendous dependency,   and he did. There were some who said, as we noted  in Corinth, “I am of Paul.” You could become very   dependent on his strength. You could almost lean  on him to the point that if he moved, you fell. But at the time he writes this letter he is  incarcerated as a prisoner and he is saying   to them, “In my presence you obeyed, much more  you must now obey in my absence, you may not have   me again.” I saw it when I was there; I want  to see more of it now that I’m gone. In fact,   you should obey even more now that I’m gone,  because you should have progressed to that   point because of all that I taught you. And the  point that I want you to understand is that they   had the duty and the responsibility because they  had the resources to work out their own salvation.

Sometimes you’ll hear someone say, “Well,  So-and-so is not a very strong Christian,   but after all, look at the church they’re  in. So-and-so is not a very strong Christian,   they don’t get good teaching. Well, you know,  So-and-so has got a lot of sin in their life but   they’ve really never been exposed to good books,  and have never had anybody disciple them.” And   I will say to you that I have met people in the  remote corners of the world who know and love the   Lord Jesus Christ, and walk in spiritual depth and  maturity, and may be all but absolutely alone in   a sea of paganism as missionaries. But their love  for Christ is deep, consistent, and powerful. And   their testimony is pure and clean. Why? Because  they have in them the Holy Spirit of God. It   is a great boon to be in an environment  where your spiritual life is stimulated,   but sometimes it becomes an environment where  your spiritual life is artificially propped up.

People ask me the question all the time, “What  do you think would happen to Grace Church if   you left?” I suppose I would like to write back  a letter and say, “You obeyed in my presence,   now much more in my absence also.” Because  it’s immaterial, really in a sense,   who your pastor is. That time will inevitably  come when I am no longer in that place. But,   there is never a moment in your spiritual  life when you are not responsible for the   progress because you have the resources. You must  understand that. And while you can count yourself   rich for being in a stimulating environment,  you can’t blame any of your shortcomings on the   absence of such environment. There are Christians  around this world who couldn’t even dream of this   kind of spiritual support system, and yet who  would put us all to shame in their devotion.   It’s a fine line between being a strength  and becoming a support for your weakness. And I understand that, and I understand  how it’s easy to become dependent on   someone else’s spiritual strength. But  Paul won’t allow it to happen. He says,   “I want to see more obedience in my absence,  even than I saw in my presence.” You must   be independent of your teacher. You  must be independent of your pastor,   your Sunday school teacher, your discipler  when it comes to living your spiritual life.

Go back to chapter 1 verse 27 where he introduced  this concept. He said, “Conduct yourselves in a   manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that  whether I come and see you or remain absent,   I may hear of you that you’re standing firm in one  spirit with one mind, striving together for the   faith of the gospel.” Whether I’m around or not,  that’s what I want to hear. Why? Because you must   understand that you have the responsibility and  the resources for working out your own salvation. So, if we as believers are going to work  on the outside what we have in the inside   and do it with continuity until the fullness  of salvation is revealed when we see Christ,   it means we have to understand our example,  that is Jesus Christ. We have to understand   that we are loved so we do not become  despondent when we fail. We have to   understand that we have been called to a life  of obedience, and we have to understand that   we have the responsibility because we have  the resources for our spiritual development. Fifthly and finally, there’s one other thing I  want you to understand, he says, and that is this:   I want you to understand the consequence of  sin. While there is space for you to fail,   and be forgiven, and loved, you must also  understand the consequence of your sin. And so,   he closes the verse with this statement: “Work  out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”   The word “fear” in the Greek, phobos; we get  phobia from it. The word “trembling,” tromos;  

we get trauma from it. Work out your salvation  with phobias and traumas. What is he saying   here? He’s saying that there should be a healthy  fear in your heart of offending God. There should   be a shaking. Tromos means a shaking. There  should be a shaking when you contemplate the   consequences of such an offense. This is a proper  reaction. It’s a proper reaction to our weakness   and our inadequacy. It’s a healthy anxiety  to do what is right. Fear means godly awe,   growing out of recognition of our weakness and the  power of temptation. Did you get those two things?   It grows out of the fear of our weakness  and the fear of the power of temptation.   It’s a healthy fear that puts you on guard  so that you don’t stumble and lose your joy,   so that you don’t offend the one you supremely  love, so that you don’t violate your testimony   to an unbelieving world, so that you don’t negate  your usefulness in the body of Christ and ministry   there. Fear and trembling is a proper reaction  to our weakness and the power of temptation.

God is desirous of that. In fact, I read you  in Psalm 111 what is in Proverbs many times,   “The fear of the Lord is the beginning  of wisdom.” But listen to what it says   in Isaiah 66. This is from the Lord, “Thus  says the Lord,” verse 1, “heaven is My throne,   the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house  you could build for Me?” What are you going to do   for Me? What are you going to contain Me in? What  are you going to offer Me? What do I need that you   can give Me? What do I want from you? “For My hand  has made all these things, thus all these things   came into being, declares the Lord.” Then, He says  this, “What do I want from you? I’ll tell you what   I want. To this one I look, to him who is humble  and contrite of spirit and who trembles at My   Word.” You want to know what I’m looking for? You  want to know what you can give Me? You can tremble   at My Word. Verse 5 says, “Hear the Word of the  Lord, you who tremble at His Word.” That becomes,   then, really a title for a believer, a trembler at  God’s Word. Do you tremble at God’s Word? Do you   have a healthy fear of dishonoring Him because  you do not want to dishonor the one you love,  

because you do not want to bring upon yourself  chastening, because you do not want to injure   your witness to the watching world, because you  do not want to negate your effective ministry to   the church? You see, working out our salvation is  hard. It’s hard for me. It’s hard. And failure is   very possible. And one of the things that retards  that failure is a healthy fear: an awe, a respect   of God. I’m not talking about the fear of being  doomed, the fear of eternal torment. I’m not   talking about an unending despair or despondency.  I’m talking about a reverence that motivates. Writing on the Proverbs, Wardlaw wrote these words  and I think the paragraph is very instructive.   He says, “This fear is self-distrust. It is  tenderness of conscience. It is vigilance against   temptation. It is the fear which inspiration  opposes to high-mindedness in the admonition,   be not high-minded but fear. It is taking heed  lest we fall. It is a constant apprehension   of the deceitfulness of the heart and of the  insidiousness and power of inward corruption.   It is the caution and circumspection which  timidly shrinks from whatever would offend   and dishonor God and the Savior.” End quote.  And Solomon said in a strange conundrum,  

“Happy is the man who fears.” That’s  interesting, isn’t it? Whatever kind   of fear it is, it’s the kind that makes  you happy. It’s a holy, healthy awe. We, as those who name the name of Jesus Christ,  who say we belong to God need to fear God.   Fearing God simply means that I don’t want  to offend Him. And I know He is holy and as   a holy reaction against sin, I don’t want  to do anything to offend Him, I don’t want   to do anything that cause Him to chasten me, I  don’t want to do anything to cause me to lose   my testimony to the world. I don’t want to do  anything to cause me to lose my effectiveness   to the church. And so, I live in the fear of sin.  Why do I fear sin? Because I am weak in my flesh,   because temptation is powerful, and  because I don’t want to offend God. In order to have that fear, you have to do more  than acknowledge that you’re a sinner. In order   to have that fear, your mind must be filled with  a deep and settled conviction that sin is great   offense against God. And if you really love God,  it would be impossible not to repent, because you   would have to repent if you had sinned against  the one you supremely loved. You’d be compelled.  

And I guess we could say that a true Christian  is the depth of genuine spiritual devotion not   only hates his sin, but in a sense hates himself  for his sin and says, “O wretched man that I am.” It’s one thing to mourn for sin because it  exposes you to chastening. It’s another thing   to mourn for sin because it offends God. It’s one  thing to be terrified; it’s something else to be   humbled. And God is calling us to have a holy  fear of sin and to understand its seriousness. So, how are we going to work out our salvation?  Well, look at the example, remember your love,   remember your call to obedience. Very basic.  Remember that you’re responsible because you   have the resources within you and understand  the consequence of your sin toward God,   toward yourself, toward the church,  toward the unbelieving world.   With all that in mind, make a supreme  effort to work out your own salvation. Now,   let me tell you something, folks, that’s all  for today. That’s only one half. You’ve got  

to be here next week when we talk about God  working in you. Let’s bow together in prayer. Father, we have ringing in our hearts still  the example of that dear missionary who sat   in a corner, huddled in a blanket with a candle  reading the whole New Testament in the middle   of a dark cold night to find if there is one  thing he had done to violate Your law. O God,   give us that kind of zeal. Help us to know that  the reason the apostle Paul was used so mightily   was not just the grace of God, but that he  labored more than all the rest. Help us, Lord, to   be all you want us to be. And we await with such  eagerness the next Lord’s day when we can see the   means by which this can happen as You work in us.  And Father, do that work even now in every heart.

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