MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY NIGHT, JULY 18, 2010
CHRISTIAN HOPE CHURCH OF CHRIST, PLYMOUTH, NORTH CAROLINA by Reggie A. Braziel, minister
“Continue To Work Out Your Salvation”
Philippians 2: 12-13 (NIV)
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed---not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence---- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
I n t r o d u c t i o n
Illustration: The story is told about a TEXAS OIL TYCOON who found himself a sweetheart and decided to marry her.
When the couple went to talk to the preacher about their upcoming wedding, the tycoon told the preacher, “Now we don’t want one of them long, drawn-out wedding ceremonies. We want the ceremony to be short and sweet. In fact, preacher, if you can keep the ceremony under one minute, I’ll pay you $1,000.” Then they left.
Well for days the preacher struggled with the wedding ceremony, trying to figure out how in the world he could reduce his normal wedding ceremony of 20-30 minutes down to a minute or less.
Finally the big day arrived! When the bridal march ended, the preacher looked at the groom, then he looked at the bride and said,
“Do you, don’t you, will you , won’t you, I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss your bride.”
A wedding is one thing, but marriage is a whole new
ball game. A wedding takes only a few minutes, but a
marriage requires a lifetime of commitment,
faithfulness and hard work to build a meaningful and
lasting relationship.
A lot of people like to “get married” but according
to statistics, 50% of those who “get married” don’t
stay married.
There are many similarities between marriage and
becoming a Christian.
T
he day you and I became Christians ….. we walked down the aisle at the invitation…….. We made that great confession of faith, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God”……… then we were baptized for the remission of our sins and the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. And in a matter of just a few minutes, we were a CHRISTIAN.
But while a great number of people like the idea of
“becoming” a Christian, few are willing to give the
faithfulness, the commitment, the discipline and
the hard work it takes to live for Jesus Christ day
in and day out for the rest of their earthly lives.
And I believe the roll books of most Churchesreflect that.
-Many want a Christianity that doesn’t make them have to alter their lifestyle and habits.
-Many want a Christianity that requires the least amount of commitment of their time and service.
-They want a Christianity that is COMFORTABLE and CONVENIENT...not the kind that requires sacrifice….. surrender or self-denial.
-Many like to “think” of themselves as being a Christian, they just don’t want to have to live like one.
Brothers and sisters you can search the New Testament from beginning
to end and you won’t find that “breed” of Christianity anywhere.There is no such thing as an “UNCHANGED CHRISTIAN.” The apostle Paul tells us in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.”
A
true Christian is always in a process of CHANGING and GROWINGand MATURING and CONFORMING to the image of CHRIST. And so the question we want to consider in tonight’s message is this:
In order to answer that question, we must understand what Paul meant
by “working out your salvation.”So first of all, let’s consider...
I. What Does It Mean To “Work Out My Salvation?”
1. It is very important that we read what Paul says very carefully, because one three letter word could completely change the whole meaning.
Notice Paul does NOT say...”continue to work FOR your salvation” He says...”continue to work OUT your salvation.” 2. There is an eternity of difference between working FOR your salvation and working OUT your salvation.
Even though Ephesians 2: 8, 9 tells us very plainly... For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith---and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
Many christians still believe they must WORK FOR their Salvation...that they must DO MORE GOOD THINGS than BAD THINGS so the scales will be tipped in their favor when they stand before the Lord.
Many christians are trying to “earn enough points” to get into heaven. They think of salvation as something to be
earned, just like a student working hard to earn a scholarship ...or a salesman working hard to make enough sales to be Salesman of the Year.
The Christian who believes SALVATION is something that must be WORKED FOR instead of WORKED OUT... ...will always be filled with DOUBT and FEAR...because they will see every sin and every mistake as potentially
costing them their salvation.
3. Paul makes it very clear in VERSE 12 that “Salvation is not something you and I work FOR...but rather something we “work O U T.”
4. So what does it mean “to work OUT my salvation?”
Listen carefully...Working OUT my salvation means I must work at living a godly life, because I have been saved.
I must WORK at living the kind of life that pleases the LORD. I must DISCIPLINE myself and DEDICATE myself to doing those things that will lead to GROWTH and MATURITY in my walk with CHRIST.
5. There are several things involved in WORKING OUT our salvation.
(a) It means you and I are to WORK at making certain our hope of eternal life is rooted in Jesus Christ, not in our own human effort.
(b) It means you and I are to WORK at taking advantage of the numerous opportunities God gives us to grow.
(c) It means you and I should WORK at reading God’s Word and praying.
(d) It means you and I should WORK at breaking sinful habits in our life, realizing the desire to do those sinful things isn’t just going to automatically leave us.
(e) It means you and I should WORK at becoming less in love with the world and WORK HARD to fall more in love with Jesus Christ.
(f) It means you and I should WORK at seeking opportunities to express God’s love, mercy, kindness and grace to others.
6. Christian Growth isn’t going to happen automatically just because you go to Sunday School and Church every Sunday. We must “continue to work OUT our salvation” every day!
Secondly, let’s consider...
II. How Do I Work Out My Salvation?
1. In verses 12 and 13, we find three ways we are to WORK OUT our SALVATION. I will begin each of these with the letter “C” to help you to remember them:
(A) I Must Work Out My Salvation
CONSISTENTLY
verse 12 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have
always obeyed---not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your
salvation...”
ILLUSTRATION: Let’s all go back to grade school for just a moment. If your school was like mine, everybody was pretty well behaved while the TEACHER was in the classroom...BUT the minute our teacher left the room for a few minutes...you’d start seeing PAPER AIRPLANES ...and SPIT WADS...and CHALK ERASERS flying through the air.
And this CHAOS would go on until we heard somebody whisper...”Here she comes...Here she comes!”
And almost as if someone had flipped a switch, we became the same well-behaved, serious students the teacher had left a few minutes earlier.
Paul said to these Philippian christians, “you have always obeyed----not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence.”
Paul was commending the Philippian Christians for the way they WORKED OUT their salvation CONSISTENTLY whether he was WITH THEM OR NOT.
You and I must WORK OUT OUR SALVATION with that same kind of CONSISTENCY.
-We must be CONSISTENT in our Christian Living
whether we are INSIDE the church building or OUTSIDE of it.
-We must be just as CONSISTENT in our Christian living when we are ALONE where no one sees us as we are in public where everyone sees us.
-We must be just as CONSISTENT in our Christian living when we are around the worldly crowd during the week as we are around the Church crowd on Sunday.
Work Out Your Salvation Consistently!!!!
(B) I Must Work Out My Salvation
CAUTIOUSLY
verse 12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed---not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence---continue to WORK OUT YOUR SALVATION with fear and trembling. Why does Paul warn us to WORK OUT our salvation in FEAR and TREMBLING? He wants us to understand just what we are up against.
(1) For one thing: WE’RE UP AGAINST A HORRIBLE
ENEMY who wants to HARM us.
I PETER 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
We must never UNDER-ESTIMATE our Enemy. We may go days or even weeks without sensing his presence...and just the moment we start believing he isn’t around, he will attack. And I’m sure you have discovered, the harder you try to live for the LORD, the harder Satan will try to stop you!
That is why we must WORK OUT our salvation in FEAR and TREMBLING everyday.
(2) We must also UNDERSTAND WE’RE UP AGAINST OUR OLD HUMAN NATURE that wants to HAUNT us.
I CORINTHIANS 10: 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
Everyone of us knows how prone we are to SPIRITUAL HIGHS and SPIRITUAL LOWS.
*One day we’re SPIRITUALLY STRONG in resisting temptation, the next day we may be SPIRITUALLY WEAK and give into temptation.
*One day we’re A SPIRITUAL SUCCESS, the next day we’re a SPIRITUAL FAILURE.
*One day we’re MORE THAN A CONQUEROR, the next day we are MORE THAN CONQUERED.
You see, just when you think you’ve got your OLD SINFUL licked, it rears its ugly head and comes back to HAUNT you.
That is why we have to WORK OUT our SALVATION in “Fear and Trembling.”
I Must Work Out My Salvation Consistently.
I Must Work Out My Salvation Cautiously.
And...
(C) I Must Work Out My Salvation
CONSIDERATELY
VERSE 13 For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
What causes you and me to grow and mature spiritually? Is it the result of our own efforts? Absolutely not!!!
As you and I WORK OUT our Salvation, we have to consider that all GLORY and HONOR belongs to GOD who WORKS IN US, THROUGH US and FOR US!!!
When GOD sees you and me put forth the effort to GROW and LEARN and SERVE…….He gives us HIS HELP, HIS STRENGTH, HIS WISDOM, HIS GUIDANCE and HIS DIRECTION.
As Paul said in this 13TH VERSE “For it is GOD who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”
How Do I Work Out My Salvation?
...I must work out my salvation
CONSISTENTLY
... not just on Sunday’s, but everyday....I work out my salvation
CAUTIOUSLY
withfear and trembling, realizing I have a HORRIBLE ENEMY in SATAN who is always on the prowl to HARM me…….and I I have my old HUMAN NATURE that sometimes will rear its ugly head to HAUNT me.
...And I work out my salvation
CONSIDERATELY
realizing GOD gets all the credit and glory for my spiritual growth.
CONCLUSION
It is not what we eat but what we digest that makes us strong; not what we gain but what we save that make us rich; not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned; and not what we profess but what we practice that makes us Christians.
