Everyone Has to Work

Notes from Pastor Ky Martin's message on Philippians 2:12-14.

In our text this week (Philippians 1:12-14), Paul instructs believers to work out their salvation with “fear and trembling.”

Paul is telling us that we should question our salvation. And that it’s okay to do so.

Too often in the church, we have been taught that any time we sense or start to question feelings of fear in regard to whether or not we are saved, that we should shut it down and assume those thoughts are from Satan.

But the reality is that the Bible encourages us to do just that...

- “Therefore brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election…” - 2 Peter 1:10

- “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith…” - 2 Corinthians 13:5

So, why does Paul encourage us to do this with “fear and trembling”?

To start, because it’s a big deal! The question of your salvation is the most important question you will ever ask yourself.

Also, because it’s okay to feel uneasy with the question. Paul tells us to not run from fear and discomfort, but to lean into it.

On Sunday, Pastor Ky gave us two questions we must ask to examine ourselves...

(1) Is there faith?

Do you have faith in the Gospel? Have you confessed with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is who He says He is? 

If we are believing in Him and banking on what He accomplished for us as our means to salvation, Scripture tells us that we have what is needed.

(2) Is there fruit?

Galatians 5:19-24 gives us a solid checklist of what it looks like to be living according to the flesh vs what it looks like to be living according to the Spirit,

"Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy,drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” — Galatians 5:19-25

Which list do you check more boxes in?

If you’re walking in line with the Spirit, your fruit will start to become evident.

Praise God that this line of questioning will lead to confidence for most believers.

Paul’s assumption was that the church would find encouragement from their questioning, and that it would be a path to confidence. He knew that believers would be better for having learned that; and that questioning may lead an individual to identify (and prod out) areas of their lives unbefitting to a Christian.

For others, this line of questioning may lead to doubt.

This may be for good reason; or it may be that you’re prone to certain thought patterns. Both present an opportunity to bring others in.

Regardless of where you land, you’re more informed than you were to begin with.

Ultimately, we should trust God to work in us.

“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure,” - Philippians 2:13

He gives us the desire AND the ability to carry out our faith. Any work we do for Him is the result of the work He first did in us. Our confidence is not in our ability to hang on to God, but in His ability to hold on to us.

Romans 5:8 tells us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We should also work toward godliness.

God’s work in us causes us to work. We are not passive agents of our own sanctification.

In the last 30 years there has been a generational shift from the Christian idea of “hard work and clean living” to the gospel being at the center of everything, with the message that we can’t work hard or live clean enough to make up for our sin. What we don’t want to get lost in this way of thinking is that – in fear of being too legalistic – we have no category for the work of godliness. 

For instance, when someone shares a struggle in a small group setting, we can be hesitant to offer any sort of encouragement to put forth more effort in that area (thinking such encouragement might be legalistic, judgmental, and anti-gospel). There are many times when people share that they are struggling that we just need to listen; there are also many situations in which the last thing we need is instruction. BUT there are also times when we need to be called out on our apathy and encouraged to do the hard work of pursuing godliness.

These are times when the solution really is to try harder, to put forth effort, and to work hard to drop the bad habit or start the healthy discipline.

“Passion for holiness makes you some kind of weird holdover from a bygone era. As soon as you share a concern about swearing or avoiding certain movies or about modesty or sexual purity or self-control or just plain godliness, people look at you like you have a moralistic dab of cream cheese on your face.” - Kevin DeYoung

Sometimes what we need most is not more epiphanies about forgiveness, but more effort toward godliness.

“No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part.” - Jerry Bridges

Ultimately, those who are in Christ are called to live as Christ did. 

We do this in the daily walk of laying aside our own interests in order to love and serve our brethren. Like Jesus, we have full confidence that God’s Spirit is working in us and giving us the drive and ability to do just that.