WORK OUT YOUR SALVATION

“Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” – Philippians 2:12-13

            The Philippian church didn’t seem to have a problem following the teachings of Christ while the Apostle Paul was in their midst, but how would they do once he moved on? Paul is telling them here they need to be diligent in their pursuit of godly living, thus showing the results of their salvation to an unbelieving world.

            The portion of verse 12 that speaks of obeying God with reverence and fear simply means that we are to treat our God with awe and with all the respect due him. I know I can’t do what he can do and I know you can’t either, so that fact merits an incredible spirit of inner and outward humility. Nothing pretentious for we are no different or better than anyone else, we are just forgiven. We did nothing to achieve that status except believe and receive. It was and is a gift as a result of God’s grace (undeserved favor).

            If we allow, God is working and will complete that work over time (Phil 1:6). In spite of what we may think, we are weak willed, frail individuals who cannot do anything of any eternal value without the Spirit of God guiding and enabling us. We must learn our lessons well. Tune in to the Spirit of God and do far more listening than talking. We learn nothing new when we speak, only when we listen. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible; www.biblehub.com. NOTE: Most translations of verse 12 say, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling … “. I was curious just exactly what that meant to us today as believers and I came across the verse in the New Living Translation, which you see up above in red letters. rlkeller