Articles
Salvation: A Joint Venture
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Philip. 2:12-13)
It is fairly obvious from a casual reading of this passage that Paul was considering the effort the Philippians had to expend to ensure their ultimate salvation in heaven. He commended their “obedience” that he has witnessed firsthand, but looking to the future, he exhorted them to “work out” their salvation.
That effort had to be made without Paul’s immediate presence. He wrote this epistle from prison, and he had no guarantee that he would return to Philippi. But their (and our) salvation must be independent of the presence of others -- friends, parents, other brethren. Our own personal conviction must be so strong that it does not depend upon others, though certainly fellow Christians contribute much to our faith.
“Fear and trembling” -- a deep reverence for God as well as a sober view of what is at stake -- should motivate us in this undertaking. Christians have the best perspective on human life -- its uncertainty, brevity and purpose -- and they measure this earthly phase of existence against the backdrop of eternity. Believers are not morbidly preoccupied with death, but we do accept that what we do in this life determines where we will spend eternity. There are no multiple attempts to get it right (reincarnation); there is no purgatory or proxy baptism or other contrivance by which our status can be altered after we die. What we do with this life is serious business, and Paul urged the Philippians to give it due regard.
But lest they become overly frightened or fatigued by the task, Paul assured them of God’s cooperative help. Paul had earlier promised “that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philip. 1:6). While we must be personally convicted and active in our work for God, we also accept that God’s hand is in our lives, for it is He who teaches us what we should be and why we should yield to Him. God is working His own plans and purposes in this world as He has done since creation. And faithful men and women have always played a role in these divine endeavors. They still do.
But what is the “mechanism” of God’s work within us? What is the key to God’s active presence in our lives to enable us to become more than we could ever be by ourselves? It is the unfolding of God’s mind to us by the Holy Spirit. The Roman epistle pinpoints the source of divine assistance in its theme passage: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” (1:16).
The gospel is the power of God because it is the expression of God’s thoughts: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches.” (I Cor. 2:12-13).
The gospel of Christ provides convicting power (Acts 2:37), instruction from God (II Tim. 3:16-17) and deep personal insight (Heb. 4:12). In fact, “His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (II Pet 1:3-4).
After leaving Philippi Paul preached the same message at Thessalonica. He later wrote to them: “When you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (I Thess. 2:13). Growth of the Spirit’s word within us produces the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23); we become “blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation” (Philip. 2:15).
Through study, reflection and conformity to His will, God gradually transforms us into the people He created us to be. We become “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, for good works” (Eph. 2:10). And step by step, day by day, we realize “the end of [our] faith -- the salvation of [our] souls” (I Pet. 1:10). God will not do this for us without our participation. And we cannot do it without God’s help. Salvation truly is a joint venture.
