www.FlyingHigher.net - Snippets from the Good Book #4

Work Out Your Salvation

- - continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Philippians 2:12b NIV

Ken Stoltzfus

The call to work out our salvation puts a pretty heavy burden on us, doesn't it? There is the sense that one must really work at this thing to be sure we get it. Many Christians never do get it worked out to the point that they are sure of their salvation! What a bummer.

We make countless rules with the sense that faithfully keeping our list of "Do's" and "Don'ts" qualifies one for eternal bliss. Each church has its own list, 'tho often unspoken. It's not too different from the situation the Apostle Paul addressed in Colossians 2:16-23.

And Christians looove formulas. The 1-2-3 kind of fix for the areas in our life that make us question our salvation. Most of them do a better job of selling books and making preachers rich and famous, than making Christians holy.

Good works beckon us, offering to become the basis of our eternal presence with Jesus. Don't we all know that doing good unto others is like adding weight to the "in" side of the balance? However, while they are a necessary evidence of salvation, and while they may impact the measure of our eternal reward, they are never its source.

Theological precision shouts at us too. We become exact about our theology, majoring on the minors and compelling others to accept rigid definitions, interpretations and applications. We gotta be sure! Unfortunately, most of the stuff we fight about across the Christian church won't be worth didly in the end. It is secondary.

The greatest tragedy is that all of the above give a false sense of security. None can bring salvation to us! When they become the basis of our salvation they actually draw us away from God. Eternal life is a gift from God*, received gratefully by faith and felt deeply enough that it changes us on the inside and reshapes how we look on the outside.

You probably didn't notice that I cheated at the top. I used the NIV, which is similar to the King James and others that so easily convey a misconception here. The New Living Translation has it right, I think, so I didn't give it until now! It says, "- - put into action God's saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear."

Paul is not saying that we need to work out how to get saved. He is saying that now that we are saved, we need to apply it in our everyday life. In relationships, finances, physical needs, areas of temptation and more. "It is a whole new way of life - - take your salvation now, and work out how it applies to this situation and that one. And take it seriously!"

It’s a bit like this. We can teach someone principles, but their benefit is limited. The knowledge is inside and it needs to be worked out in real life. It is true of teaching someone to fly. I can give them all kinds of theory about how to handle a crosswind on takeoff or landing, but ultimately they must work it out themselves. In a certain measure you can teach someone different swimming strokes in the classroom, but they will have to apply their knowledge in the water. If you read the first part of Philippians 2 you will see the incredible challenge that Paul had laid out for them. He was reaching deep into their hearts and attitudes and was calling them to apply their salvation in the most difficult situations of life.

James carries it a step further in James 2:14-26. He says we must prove our salvation by the way we work it out in life. Throughout the book he offers one scenario after another in which to do that. We are called to the same. Let's work it out!

And let's hang up all that futile stuff that we've become so good at, and so bound by. Let's loosen up and enjoy the trip.

* See John 1:12, John 3:16-21, 3:36, Romans 3:22-28, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 3

Born in 1940, Ken Stoltzfus has worked as a pilot, ordained Christian minister, businessman, missionary to Africa and writer. This is #4 in his series "Snippets from the Good Book", and is one of many short articles that can be found at www.flyinghigher.net

© 2003, Ken Stoltzfus, flyinghigher.net, P.O. Box 548, Apple Creek, OH 44606 USA. May be printed for personal use and may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes without further permission if proper acknowledgment is given and a copy is sent to the author.