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Bible Question:
How
do you interpret "work out your salvation which God is
working within you"?
Bible Answer:
The
passage you are referring to is Philippians 2:12-13 which reads
as follows:
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So
then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not
as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it
is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work
for His good pleasure. (NASB) Philippians 2:12-13 |
Working Out Your Salvation. In these two verses the
Holy Spirit gives us a wonderful spiritual truth about how we
grow in the Christian life. This passage is not talking about
earning our salvation by our own efforts. Many believe that
God will determine our eternal destiny by what we have done
in this life. But, unfortunately, God has another view of our
ability to do good.
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". . . THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT
EVEN ONE.” (NASB) Romans 3:12 |
That is the sad truth. The wonderful news is that a new Christian
can do good works for the first time in his/her life. It is
the Holy Spirit who enables us to do this. When our sins are
forgiven, we are able to do good works.
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For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result
of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship,
created
in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should
walk in them. (NASB) Ephesians 2:8-9 |
At the moment God forgives all of our sins - past, present,
and future - we are declared to be holy. Yet we are not holy.
We are still sinners. This is known as "Our Position in
Jesus" versus "Our Practice in Jesus." Here are
some examples.
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Our Position In Jesus |
Our
Practice |
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Completely
forgiven (1 John 2:12) |
Confess
your sins (1 John 1:9) |
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A
new creature (2 Cor. 5:17) |
Walk
as a new creature (Rom. 6:4) |
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Spiritually
Alive (Eph. 2:1) |
Live
the Life (Phil 1:21) |
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Seated
In Heaven (Eph. 2:6) |
Do
not love the world (1 John 2:15) |
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Dead
to sin (Col. 3:3) |
Give
no place to sin (Rom. 6:1-2) |
There
are many more examples, but these will help us understand who
we are in Jesus. It is like the son who will some day inherit
a father's wealth. He is the heir, but he is not there yet.
He will grow and mature and some day he will become the heir.
Christians are declared to be heirs of heaven - holy saints.
We are holy but we are not always living as saints - yet! But
some day we will become what God has already declared us to
be. So even though we will go to heaven some day, God calls
us to live like holy saints now.
The
book of Philippians paints the picture of us.
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For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began
a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ
Jesus. (NASB) Philippians 1:6 |
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