Work It Out
By Pastor Greg Bitgood
"...work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling;" Phil. 2:12
This verse has proven to be troublesome for our evangelical way of thinking. We preach that salvation is a free gift (Rom. 3:24), that it has nothing to do with works, it comes entirely by faith alone (Eph. 2:8-9). Then the apostle throws in a statement like "work out your own salvation." It is enough to suspect a contradiction. When I encounter a problem like this I consult my many different translations but it was to no avail here in Philippians 2:12. The translations confirmed the works idea.
The answer, as usual, lies within the context. "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." v. 13. Does our salvation take work? The answer is yes. But the work that we employ to gain salvation is a direct result of the indwelling presence of God within us. Don't ever let anyone imply to you that once you have been saved that you need do nothing more. As a matter of fact that is when the work begins. Let me try and explain this in the vernacular of spirit, soul and body. When you are born again your spirit is recreated as a brand new spirit in union with Christ. The old spiritually dead stuff is gone and all is made brand new (II Cor. 5:17). Nevertheless your soul and your body still need the work of salvation to complete what God is doing inside of you. This is where salvation must be worked out from within. God is on the inside of you giving you His desires - we are to work that desire from our spirit to our soul out through our body. God is also giving you the ability to do this.
Everyone of us have areas in our life where we have strong spiritual desires to fulfill. Those desires are God given. There is the desire in your heart (spirit) to worship. God also gives you the ability to do so. All that is left for us to do is to work out that desire and bring it to fulfillment.
God is working inside of you giving you the desire to do what He wants and the ability to do it, so work it out!
August 9th, 1996