Welcome to Hank’s Place —
Last message I shared a word of caution by the apostle Paul — about not letting anyone judge our level of Christianity — because salvation comes from God. In Christ, we are already saints, already holy, already beloved, and already complete – and all this because of Jesus’ matchless sacrifice at Calvary.
Now we are growing into who we already are, even as a child grows into an adult. We can hasten the process by putting off the behavior of the old man and putting on the behavior of the new creation person, that born-again person. Ephesians 4:22-24.
In Philippians 2:12 Paul shows another facet of this ALREADY ARE state of being by urging the Philippians to “…work out their salvation with fear and trembling.” It may sound scary, but the good news is that working out our salvation means to “work out in our lives the REALITY of our salvation.” It does not mean “work FOR salvation,” because salvation is a gift from God. It’s Ephesians 2:8 that says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the GIFT of God.”
What God has worked in, we need to work out. We do that by ALLOWING the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us. We appropriate by faith the good things that are ours in Christ. I am confident this is the correct interpretation because of what Paul says in the next verse: “God is at work in you.”
Salvation is more than the forgiveness of sins. Salvation includes healing, deliverance, and wholeness. If you are not experiencing these blessings in your life yet, I suggest it may be time to WORK OUT your salvation – and you do that by FAITH.
Part of this is by resting in Jesus (that takes faith) and allowing Him to reveal Himself in you and through you. You don’t need to fast and pray for 40 days to discern the will of God. Just lean upon the Lord.
Part of it is stepping out in faith, in words and/or deeds. Faith can be scary. Risky. What if I fall on my face? What if God doesn’t come through? Fails to show up? Faith does not come naturally and is often accompanied by fear and trembling.
How do you think Abraham felt as he was about to plunge the knife into Isaac? What about Daniel in the lions’ den? Or Rahab when she welcomed the spies of Israel into her home?
Today, let’s work out our salvation, with the fear and trembling associated with TRUSTING in GOD and not ourselves: we’ll — COME ALIVE!
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