The Bible is full of truth about what God has done for us. So God
works might things for us. However there are verses that also talk about “make
every effort” “put to death”/. These may seem confusing and contradictory terms.
History there are 2 views : “Let go and let God” “God is sovereign just trust him” the others
puts emphasis on is all about effort.
Phil 2:12-18
Paul is writing in chains. There is no gross immorality in
the Philippians church , neither is there heresy. But we can see that they had some
issues with unity. Earlier in chapter 2 he talks about humility and serving. He shows as Jesus as the ultimate model of
humility and serving and how He demonstrated this in his own life.
He is now continuing with “therefore” i.e in view of Jesus’
example of humility and sacrifice he is
appealing to them to work it out.
V12-13 Continue to work out your salvation…
When we read this w could be taken aback. Isn’t salvation free? It’s not work FOR
your salvation but work OUT your salvation.
We are saved buy faith alone. No question! Sin separated us
from God. But God sent his son Jesus to die for us. He rose from the dead and
is now seated at the right hand of God. He offers forgiveness and membership into
His family. He gives us a purpose in life.
We appropriate salvation by faith and repentance. We
demonstrate our faith through baptism.
Eph2:8-9 not by works.
But here it says work out your salvation!
Word = produce.
HE wants us to do something with we God has given us. There is an attitude and
a warning. This is serious and not to be taken lightly.
V13 God is at work in you. It seems like a paradox but it’s a
combination of two glorious truths.
How does
this apply to us? Salvation is secure. The word is used in three ways
a )When we were not saved – justification.
b) When then being
saved – sanctification Rom 8”29 We
are a work in progress. One day we will be like Jesus
c) When we will be saved – glorification. When we die we will be like Him
So what is Paul referring
to here? Paul is referring to Sanctification.
What does this mean? Practically, if I look at my life, is my
salvation producing fruit?
Acts 2:36 what is the evidence of these people being saved.
Three thousand of them were saved. What changed happened in them?
1. THE WORD v42 they devoted themselves . Devote indicated
passion. They were not casual about it. It involves time and energy. Are we passionate
about the things of God.
Where do we get the apostles teachings? The Word of God. Do
we read, study, and memorize scripture. Do we read the Bible regularly? Sunday
morning, do we come to church to listen to the Word?
Acts 17:11 The Bereans were nobler in character because they
checked everything.
IDT Attend this for your spiritual growth. Listen to men
preach. There are [plenty resources available on the net, but be careful what
you listen to?
2. PRAYER We want to be a people of prayer. Last week we
as a city prayed for 24 hours. Thirty churches participated I this. We want to
do this more regularly. Let’s give ourselves to prayer.
Do we pray daily? As a church we will meet fortnightly for
prayer. Then we also have the men’s prayer breakfast. We can also meet in
smaller groups.
3. FELLOWSHIP
From next week we will be having lunch together after the
meeting. Can we make this a priority for the next couple of weeks? There is something
about having a meal together – it bonds us together.
Will this take effort? 1 Cor. 9:24-25 IT will take effort,
endurance, and perseverance. It’s not let go and let God. There is effort but it’s
His grace and His strength at work in us.
Paul said I have fought the good fight.
God is at work in us but we also have to work it out.
Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again), Spirit filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that have people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment