Working Out Our Faith with Fear and Trembling Successfully
Phil 2:12b-13
“…continue working out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
The Road Less Traveled
We have a tendency to define ourselves by what we do for a living. Often the first question people ask after they learn our name is what occupation we’re in. Many of us travel to great lengths for our jobs/careers and work long hours to achieve a sense of accomplishment and to provide for ourselves and for our families. Yet in reality, our hours, days, weeks, months, and years are consumed by that effort, and when it’s all said and done, this pursuit usually takes more from us than it gives to us.
A Divine Revelation
Is this same work ethic what the counsel of Philippians 2:12-13 is asking of us in our walk with Christ? I don’t believe so. But sadly, many perceive the Christian walk with the same attitude as they do their careers. They identify themselves as Christians and then proceed to work hard to earn their way to heaven. Spiritual success means jumping through all the “have to” hoops like reading the bible, going to church, and striving to keep up the facade of a “Good Christian.” Then there is the extreme mindset that working out your salvation means one has to sell their house, leave their job and become a missionary in some far-off country. However, this is NOT what Paul is talking about either.
So, what does “working out our salvation with fear and trembling” look like and how will we know when we’ve succeeded at doing so? Well, we won’t discover what success is in our spiritual life by defining it the way the world does. Success in the world is achievement-focused and is based on our accomplishments, salvation is NOT! That is the first mistake we need to avoid in our relationship with Christ.
Secondly, in Christ, our success is not defined by what we do for a living, but by everything we do, think, and speak. A slip of the tongue, a white lie, an angry word, cutting someone off on the freeway, a lustful look, or passing on a juicy piece of gossip, and our witness for Christ is reduced to hypocrisy. Sadly, hypocrisy is the #1 reason people want nothing to do with us as Christians. Also, when we fail, Satan is quick to capitalize on our failures by condemning us. After all, he is our chief accuser!
A Divine Challenge
Beloved, working out our salvation is a God dependency that yields our free will to His will, so He can accomplish His transforming work in us. “Fear and trembling” translate best as reverence and awe which is an appropriate response when we consider all that God is. It also focuses on God’s achievements, and not ours. This leads us to the next hurdle we need to overcome which is the way we define ourselves.
In Christ, instead of defining ourselves by what we do, we learn to define ourselves by who we are in Him. Why is this important? If our walk with Christ points others to God and not us. What is true of us is true of them and that only serves to illuminate their need to be forgiven, saved, and unconditionally loved by God. Our hypocrisy ceases and our imperfections become a way to relate to others. This also helps those around us to understand that salvation is about a relationship with God and not religious works “least anyone should boast.”
Another critical reason for us to define ourselves by who we are in Christ is that it takes away the power of the enemy to condemn us. Granted, we give him plenty of ammunition to load his gun of accusation with, but in Christ, we are cleansed of every sin and free from all condemnation. To see ourselves as God sees us leads us to the final component for success in our walk with Christ, and that is, to walk with Christ!
Call to Action
Absolute surrender to who He is, to all He is, and to allow Him to DO in and through our lives what is TRUE OF HIM achieves more than we can ask or think by the power that works within us! Galatians 2:20 says it best, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
This is the formula for walking with Christ successfully. It takes “fear and trembling” to surrender your life to God, so “God can work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” When you do beloved, you will see Him do the miraculous with your life! What greater success is there than that!
Father, we live in a world that is works oriented, and performance based. Help us understand that our salvation is a gift we can never earn or deserve. It was given freely in grace and love through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. He DID IT ALL! Help us “walk in the works that You have prepared beforehand for us to walk in.” In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!