Preaching From Philippians #6

A good pastor deals with the subject of salvation for two reasons:

(1) He knows it is a possibility that many are deceived about their salvation.

The Lord Himself dealt with this deception in Matthew 7:22-23, we read, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

This will be the saddest day that MANY have ever lived. They attended church, gave to the church, thought they were saved, but they will hear those awful words, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

The Lord said they went through life CLAIMING THEY KNEW HIM, and when they stand before Him at the Great White Throne Judgment, He is going to declare, “I never knew you.”

A good pastor never assumes that everyone in the congregation who makes a profession of faith knows the Lord.

(2) A saved person should have some evidence of their salvation.

Paul made it clear that salvation is by grace alone. He wrote in Ephesians 2:8-9 and said, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Illus: Paul says Salvation is a gift. If you have to do anything to get something it can no longer be a gift. It becomes a “Tradeoff” and ceases to be a gift. It might be a bad “Tradeoff”, but still it is exactly that!

Illus: During Christmas we give gifts, but in actuality we do not! We trade gifts of equal value. The gift I give you had better be equal to the gift you give me or I am in hot water!

But salvation is a gift. There is not one thing we can do to earn it. When it concerns our salvation, we do not have one thing to boast about. The Lord Jesus did it ALL, and He receives all the glory! We did the SINNING and He did the SAVING!

Once a person has been delivered from their sins by the grace of God, THIS SALVATION BEGINS TO MANIFEST ITSELF!

Salvation is not stagnant! It reveals itself. There is some evidence that a person has been born-again. Such as:

• We have gone from DEATH unto LIFE

• We have passed from DARKNESS to LIGHT

• We are no longer the OLD CREATURE we are now NEW CREATURES in Christ

Salvation comes with evidence.

With this in mind, let me share with you some things that Paul is concerned about. Paul is in prison and he recognizes that this may be the last time he will ever communicate with the church in Philippi.

He is very aware that they might hear the devastating news that he has been beheaded. In a previous verse he told them:

• WHEN YOU HEAR THIS NEWS DO NOT LET IT SHAKE YOUR FAITH

• WHEN YOU HEAR THIS NEWS DO NOT LET IT MAKE YOU QUIT SERVING THE LORD

Sometime folks will be confronted with devastating events in their life and they will say, “Here I am trying to serve the Lord, and look at all the bad things happening to me. I quit, I do not plan to go back to church, read my Bible, or pray. I’ve had it!”

Paul did not want them to react in this manner, so he is preparing them. This is something good pastors do, they prepare people for things they know that could be devastating.

Illus: Some pastors might work in a church for 30 or 40 years and do a great work for the Lord. But then when it comes time for retirement, they walk away from the church and the church goes into a nose dive. Many times they are not able to come out of it. It would be much better if the pastor had used some wisdom and prepared the people for his retirement. Maybe even bring another pastor in before he retires and give the people a chance to get used to him. After he retires he can serve as interim pastor and it might be they would like him to assume the helm.

Paul knows that when they hear that he has been beheaded, the news will be devastating, so he tries to prepare them as a good minister of the Lord so that they will continue to SERVE THE LORD.

If we really know the Lord -

I. WE ARE TO SERVE THE LORD WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING

Look at verse 12, we read, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye 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.”