Truth Matters From Pastor Dean Brdlik, July 7th 2023

Philippians 2:12 often confuses folks.  God tells you to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”  Three truths to note:

1)     The Greek verb conveys a continuous action on your part.  It is an imperative which means it is not a suggestion but an unalterable command of God.   And it is a middle voice verb which means this is something you do yourself…no one does it for you.

2)     It assumes you are “saved.”  You are not working for salvation, you already have it.  You have been the recipient of God’s gracious acts of justification, redemption, reconciliation and regeneration that He provided for you.  The work was accomplished by Jesus Christ and the Spirit.  You received it by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).

3)     Now your task is to manifest the changes a “new creation” in Christ will be (2 Corinthians 5:12)…and it will be hard.  You will be battling your sin nature your entire life but you will be conforming more and more to the person of Jesus Christ and less to the person you would have been before God saved you.  This is what is called “sanctification”…a process of change to Godliness.  (btw – If this “process” is not occurring, there is no reason to believe you are saved.  You must trust, believe and repent of your sin to be “saved” and then the process of sanctification begins.)

Today’s My Utmost for His Highest adds more insight to this process of sanctification:

“God saves people by His sovereign grace through the atonement of Jesus, and “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). But we have to “work out” that salvation in our everyday, practical living (Philippians 2:12). If we will only start on the basis of His redemption to do what He commands, then we will find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not yet put into practice what God has placed within us. But a crisis will reveal whether or not we have been putting it into practice. If we will obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has placed within us by His Spirit, then when a crisis does come we will find that our own nature, as well as the grace of God, will stand by us.

Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it is also something that requires bravery, courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10), and God will not shield us from the requirements of sonship. God’s grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an effort to live a life to attain Christlikeness.”

Are you experiencing a crisis in you life today?  If so, this is a good thing.  The greater the crisis the greater your opportunity to grow in your sanctification process.  In the crisis, it’s not a matter of “feeling”…but rather, it is up to you to respond to the crisis like Jesus would…it will require trust in God’s Word, obedience, and commitment to your Lord and Savior.  This may take some time and patience, but it will result in blessing and your sanctification.  Like Chambers wrote:  it  “requires bravery, courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth…it produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings.”  My prayer for you and me this day is this:  Lord, some day the “fear and trembling” will be over and we will finally be glorified in perfect Christlikeness, but until that day of the rapture or our death, we will depend upon You to guide and strengthen us by the Spirit in this sanctification process.  We want to be more like Christ.  Help us Lord we pray.  Amen.

Chisholm’s song is our prayer:

Oh! to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh! to be like Thee, while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love,
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Walk with the King today and be a blessing.