Scripture Introduction
Christians have disagreed and debated, since the earliest days of the church, God’s role versus the believer’s role in growth in godliness. Some Bible verses, considered by themselves, seem to support popular phrases like, “Let go and let God,” or “I can’t; God can.” Jesus did say, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6.44). And Paul observed that “God… saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace…” (2Timothy 1). Galatians 5.18 even insists that “if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
Others point out, however, that God does not encourage spiritual passivity, but that we “take hold of eternal life,” “cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit,” and to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (1Timothy 6.12; 2Corinthians 7.1; Hebrews 12.1).
So is the Christian life one of complete surrender or committed obedience? Philippians 2.12-13 answers, “Yes.” Christians are to obey God and be zealous for good works; and we are to rest in Jesus, knowing that it is only by the grace of God that we are what we are. The key is that God’s working in us enables our good works, as we will see today.
[Read Philippians 2.12-13. Pray.]
Introduction
Daryl played little as a child; he spent most of his days searching for food and shelter. He slept in cardboard boxes or abandoned warehouses and lived with hunger. We call them street-children, products of extreme poverty, social failures, and a variety of sinful attitudes and behaviors.
Growing up this way, he learned to steal when possible, sleep where he could, and trust no one. Fighting, running, snatching, looking out for himself – these were how he survived. The wealthy and well-to-do turned their faces from him, both to protect their possessions and to avoid the ugly sights and smells of such poverty. When he found food, he gobbled it down quickly. If there ever was extra, he hoarded it. When he saw something of value, he stole it. He did not live this way to feed a drug habit, or to endear himself to a gang. This was all he knew; it was his life.
One day some well-dressed businessmen cornered him behind a restaurant, blocking any way of escape. They forced him into a waiting limousine, and as the car drove away, they told a fantastic story. He was kidnapped as a baby then abandoned to grow up apart from his true identity. But his father continued to search, and now, after 20 years, he is found. His dad is extremely wealthy and important, and he is the only son. He is rich beyond imagination and will never want again. He is now saved from the miseries of poverty and pain.
Some things in the man’s life change immediately. He lives in a home, sleeps in a bed, showers often, and a cook prepares every food he could desire. But other changes are slow. Table manners are strange to one who never used a fork and knife. Personal hygiene does not come naturally to one who never owned deodorant. He can purchase clothes, but a new wardrobe will require months of shopping and tailoring. In addition to these physical differences, some of the mental or psychological changes will be even harder to effect. The impulse to take and hide what might be sold later will require months to suppress. The habit of ducking from people’s sight will require work to overcome, and it will be years before he no longer fears when he sees a police officer.
This parable has parallels with the Christian life. When God converts a person, he or she begins to change and some aspects of life are very soon different. They may sense a closeness to God, or an assurance of forgiveness. Their Sunday morning schedule will quickly reflect the desire to worship with a community of like-hearted believers, and they will begin to read the Bible and understand it.
But other aspects of attitude and behavior are slow to conform to the new reality. The love of God, the riches of Christ, and the presence of the Spirit must be worked into our hearts and minds before they correct our feelings and behaviors. Bible students call this process, “sanctification,” which our confession of faith defines as “the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die to sin and live to righteousness.” Sanctification is the sometimes slow work of growth in godliness, becoming more like Jesus. Or, in the words of our text, “working out salvation with fear and trembling.” One key to this process is obedience, and to help us along that way, Paul gives us four reasons to obey God.
1. We Must Obey God Because of a Humble Example
If you have studied the Bible in a small group, you may know this slogan, “When you see the word, ‘therefore,” ask what it is there for.” Not poetry, but easy to remember and helpful. The Greek word translated, “therefore,” introduces a conclusion drawn from what preceded. So the word which begins Philippians 2.12 tells us that in light of the light of the humble obedience of Jesus, we must learn to obey.
Listen for the connection as I ready verse 8 followed by verse 12: “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross…. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Jesus obeyed, trusting the Father’s will even though it meant death; therefore, we are to obey the Father.
Please do not misunderstand. I am not saying it is easy for fallen people living in a fallen world to discern exactly how to obey. (At last week’s congregational meeting we saw that we have many sincere believers who want to please God on Sundays, yet we have disagreements over how to do so.) What it looks like to obey can confuse us. But letting the specific applications slide for a moment, let’s think about our attitude toward obedience.
Back in the old days, companies made products from steel, and magnets attracted them. Using that analogy, how do we respond to the magnet of Christ’s humble obedience? Do we have a heart of steal, drawn to God’s call to sanctification and the magnet of obedience, or is ours more a heart of stone, unmoved by the attractiveness of holiness?
Sometimes we imagine that obedience is “below us,” that God would never ask us to simply do what he says. But look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who did not continue to grasp his divine rights, but humbly obeyed the Father. Have his mind among yourselves, for the grace of God changes hearts of stone into hearts magnetized to God’s will and ways.
2. We Must Obey God Because of a Holy Attitude
Three things about attitude which encourages obedience.
First, Paul reminds these Christians that they are loved: “Therefore, my beloved….” The Philippian church is divided by selfishness and petty arguments, and so Paul must correct behaviors and attitudes. To protect them from discouragement, he reminds them of his love. And not only his, but since our love for one another comes from God’s love for us, he implicitly reminds them of God’s love. We obey, not because God is angry, but because we are loved. Let the love of God strengthen your heart for the fight of faith.
Second, Paul points out the temptation to act better when he is around: “obey not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence….” People do act differently when the boss sees because we tend to care more about the opinions of people than the Lord to whom we must give account. Certainly, the church should obey her leaders, just as we are to submit to our superiors at work, with a sincere heart. But all of our obedience is to be as servants of Christ, not as people-pleasers. Let us work out our salvation faithfully when the elders are watching, and when they are not.
Third, Paul preaches for a holy awe among God’s people: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Because of the terrible effects of sin, Christians can forget the Master who bought us out of slavery and return to old ways. We do well to remember that God disciplines those he loves, that sin is a reproach to any people, and that disobedience damages our lives, destroys our witness, and hurts those around us. True believers fear and tremble at the thought of displeasing God; therefore let us earnestly pray for deliverance from evil and protection from temptation. “No temptation has overtaken [us] that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let [us] be tempted beyond [our] ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that [we] may be able to endure it.” That promise of victory appears in 1Corinthians 10.13. The next verse gives the proper response: “Therefore, my beloved, flee….” Let us flee sin in every form because we know its misery and believe in the happiness of holiness.
3. We Must Obey God Because of a Heavenly Initiative
“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you….”
The command and promise together, “work out” because “God works in you” must indicate more than simply a challenge to “get busy getting holy.” Since God works in us, working out salvation must include depending on God for power and deliverance. Like the command to “fight the good fight of faith,” part of obedience is allowing God to carry the burdens so that his power is shown sufficient in our weaknesses. This is why Psalm 50.15 commands: “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
John Piper correctly states, “According to the Bible, believers do not say that God’s sovereign power makes the fight of faith pointless, they say it makes the fight of faith possible.”
Sanctification is not working for salvation, it is working out the salvation which God works in us. We respond to the salvation that Christ has accomplished and applied; we keep in step with the Spirit, allowing the power of God to permeate the whole of our heart, mind, soul, and being. We bear the fruit of union with Christ – he is the vine, we are the branches.
Paul explains this from his own life in Colossians 1.29: “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” He writes the same way in 1Corinthians 15.10: “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
We are to obey; there are specific things for us to do. In the context of Philippians, Paul seeks the obedience of humility, which may requires us to go to a brother or sister and speak words of encouragement and blessing, even though we would rather hold a grudge and give them the cold shoulder because they hurt our feelings. This text requires that we actually go and do the works which please God. But we must do it in such a way that his energy works in you, so that to him, and to his power, will be glory forever and ever!
Like Daryl in the introduction. Once he discovered his dad’s wealth, he still had to actually go to the store, pick out the new clothes, get them fitted, pay for them and wear then. He had an obedience to walk in. But, it was not with his money and not because of his power. His dad did the work and earned the money and even found him on the street. Daryl worked out his dad’s success because the relationship had been restored and his dad’s wealth could flow into his life.
So it is in our spiritual lives. The wealth and power belong to the Father. They are his by right and nature, though he wills them to his sons and daughters. So for us, the relationship must first be restored; without it, the Father’s wealth does not flow into our lives. But when we are found by the Spirit and, by faith, adopted into the family of God, we can then live a life based on the wealth of the Father, which glorifies his perfect sufficiency. We obey because of a heavenly initiative.
4. We Must Obey God Because of a Higher Purpose
“… it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Note, please, three details here:
First God changes our wills. Sanctification begins with a desire to please God; we want him to straighten our paths; we start to delight in the law of the Lord; we recognize God’s rules as sweeter than honey and more to be desired than gold. We believe that obedience is a great reward. God changes our wills.
Then, second, he changes our works, our doings and deeds. We actually begin to resist temptation, hold our tongues when it would hurt another, speak words of grace and edification, give generously to the work of the Kingdom, overlook offenses, show mercy, count others more significant than ourselves. We could list hundreds of godly behaviors; the Bible overflows with exhortations that we know are true and righteous altogether. He changes our works.
Then, third, the change of will and works comes together for God’s good pleasure. “Believers’ sanctification brings him satisfaction” (John MacArthur, at 2.13).
We should ask, how can the “All-sufficient One” be satisfied? Not because he is relieved that we finally begin to obey passages like Isaiah 58.6-7, that we loose the bonds of wickedness, undo the straps of the yoke, let the oppressed go free, share our bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into our houses. We are to obey those commands, but his pleasure is not grounded in our obedience. Look carefully at the text: “it is God who works in you… for his good pleasure.”
God’s satisfaction rises because our good works are the fruit of his working in us. God is pleased because he enables and empowers our obedience. God receives the honor and glory because it is his energy, his power, his plan, his will, and his perfect ways.
Now here is the amazing grace and a great motive for obedience. After he has done all this in us to produce good works, God rewards us as if we had done it all ourselves. This is why Paul sings: “who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11.35-36).
5. Conclusion
The house I grew up in was at the end of a half-mile dirt road. In the south, temperatures rarely fall low enough for the ground to freeze solid. But there is less sunshine and more rain in the winter, and so the dirt road is deeply rutted by the time summer dries it enough to grade smooth again. Driving in ruts is a unique experience because turning the wheel does not steer the truck. The ruts control the direction, not the wheels.
Spiritual ruts control our lives in similar ways. We hear a sermon or read a devotional on humility, or unity, or overlooking offenses, and we turn our wheels as the word directs. But our lives continues in the ruts. We think we have changed – after all, we turned the steering wheel in response to the Word. We become more and more proficient at turning the wheel – we learn the vocabulary of Biblical faithfulness and we feel like we are very different than others. But our direction is not really altered; we continue to travel in the ruts of the social standards of those around us or the ruts of family standards or the ruts of comfortable niceness. We can imagine we are much more obedient than we really are.
The good news is that we can change. God’s power is at work in us, and can easily spring us out of a rut. But we must work out the salvation of God in a new and radical way.
When missionaries first arrive on their new field, they are often counseled to immediately go out in the community and start sharing their lives and faith. If they do not, if they focus on unpacking and getting their house set up and worrying about their own needs, they will dig a rut that always runs away from the ministry they are called to do, which is so hard on the flesh.
I think we have some of those ruts. I hope we want to see God work something new in our church for his good pleasure.
