Sunday, January 16, 2000   

2. Second, there is the human factor (verse 12). This is working out what has been worked in. This is Christian growth.

     a. II Peter 2:18, "But grow in grace, and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

     b. Many years ago a preacher was reading verse 12 during the morning service. A little girl whispered to her mother: "Mother, you can't workout salvation unless it has first been worked in can you?" The little girl's question is a good one that deals with the human and the divine of verses 12-13.

I. VERSE 12a, A PRECIOUS EXAMPLE

     A. "Wherefore" points us back to verses 6-8. In these verses, we have the precious example of Jesus, the obedient Son of God.

          1. Verse 5 tells us to take Jesus as our example. When you do, you'll never go wrong. You can safely follow Him (I Peter 2:21).

          2. Philippians 2:8 tells us that, "he humbled himself." He is our example of humility.

               a. This verse also tells us He "became obedient unto death even the death of the cross."

               b. He "became obedient" even to the point of being the substitute for sinners.

               c. He was obedient unto God. He came to do the will of God and that is what He did (Hebrews 10:7).

     B. "Wherefore" now points us to trusting and obeying. Trust and obey have been called the two feet on which the Christian successfully pursues his pilgrim's journey. Trust and obey are the two hands which grasp the great gifts and promises of God. Trust and obey are the two eyes to which are revealed the truth of God.

          1. "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed...."

          2. As Jesus trusted in God the Father, let us trust Him and obey Him. Let us love Jesus and obey Him. Jesus said: "If ye love me keep my commandments" (John 14:15).

II. VERSE 12b, A PRESENT CALL OF DUTY

     A. The Philippians were to obey God. Paul said for them to obey, "not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence."

          1. All the time, Paul was with the Philippians. They were upright and spiritual in behavior. They looked to and followed Paul day by day. Now, Paul was in prison at Rome, and he urged them to do even better than before.

          2. In chapter one and verse twenty-seven, he urged them to stand fast.

          3. Every godly preacher hopes to hear good reports from the places he has labored. "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (III John 4).

     B. Paul wanted the Philippians to obey especially in his absence.

          1. Many of them did great while he was around, but had faltered since he left.

          2. We need to do right no matter who is or is not around.

               a. Young people, when you move out on your own, do right!

               b. Husband, when you are away from home, do right!

               c. Wife, do right at home and out.                d. "Whether therefore ye eat....."

               e. Often it has been said: "I was doing good as long as you were here." Do right!

III. VERSE 12c, A PRESENT ACCOUNTABILITY

     A. "Work our your own salvation." This does not say: "Work for your own salvation."

          1. Good works can no more retain salvation than they can achieve it.

          2. Good works are physical evidence of salvation.

               a. We were created unto good works (Ephesians 2:10).

               b. Calvin said: "Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone" (McGee Volume 5, 306) James expresses it this way: "Even so faith, if it hath not works is dead, being alone...." (James 2:17-18).

     B. To work out our salvation means to endeavor to produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23).

          1. "The tense of the verb indicates that Paul has in mind continuous, sustained, strenuous effort: continue to work out" (Hendriksen 120).

          2. Christians are not to be dormant or passive in their Christianity. The Christian life is:

               a. A pursuit (3:12).

               b. A following after (Romans 14:19).

               c. A race (I Corinthians 9:24-27).

               d. A fight (I Timothy 6:12).

               e. An endurance (II Timothy 2:10).

          3. God has given you a gold mine in salvation. Dig out the nuggets.

     C. "With fear and trembling."

          1. We are to work out our salvation with reverence and awe toward God (Hebrews 12:28).

          2. The secrets of the Lord are given to those who fear Him (Psalms 25:14).

          3. We need to have a healthy fear of God.

IV. VERSE 13, A PRESENT WORKING

     A. God is at work in the life of the child of God. He is shaping us, molding us, preparing us for our home above (Romans 8:28-34).

          1. The God of the universe is living in each Christian.

          2. Years ago, Albert Einstein moved into a house in Pasadena, CA, not far from the California Institute of Technology. The home was modest, nothing special, nothing much to look at. After Einstein moved in, it became the center of attention. Folks drove past in their cars and folks stood outside of it. Why all the fuss and commotion? Friends, Albert Einstein was at work in that little house! Think of it Christian, the God of the universe is working in you.

          3. God is working.

               a. Before your conversion, He worked on you by the Holy Spirit.

               b. Now that you are converted, He works in you.

               c. It is a fact; God the Holy Spirit is in every Christian (Romans 8:9).

               d. He works in the Christian through His Word (I Thessalonians 2:13).

               e. He works in believers through prayer (Philippians 1:19; Jeremiah 33:3).

     B. "To do his good pleasure."

          1. God is working to accomplish His sovereign will.

               a. The word for "workmanship" in Ephesians 2:10 is the Greek word poiema from which we get our word poem.

               b. God is the eternal poet and our lives are the poems He is making to the "praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:11-12).

          2. God is working in and on us.

               a. God works on us through providence. We see His working as we look back on our lives (authority, circumstances).

               b. As long as we live in these sinful bodies, God will be working onus, conforming us to the image of His Son.

CONCLUSION: When we look at verse 12-13, we realize that you can only workout what has already been worked in.