The Lord used Paul greatly to show us how it is between man and God and how we are when it comes to the working of salvation.
Philippians 2:12 “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
These two verses sound almost contradictory. The phrase “work out your own salvation” in verse 12 is easily misunderstood. We cannot choose our own salvation and make it work. We can’t adjust or modify salvation. There are not different types of salvation and if you work it out you will be all right. We cannot make salvation work; neither can we work for it. If that were possible, Jesus would not have died. Jesus is salvation. He gives us the “want to” and the “do to” for things of his pleasing. If we try to create or make salvation work by our own will and ingenuity, we will fail. People have their beliefs about salvation and try by their own efforts with a list of “must do’s” and “don’t do’s” and never find peace. They are failures at salvation. They are trying to work things totally on their own. There is work to do, but salvation is God’s to work out.
I don’t get in the cab of an 18-wheeler and drive it. Why would I even think I could? Then, why do we think we can handle our own salvation without the Lord? Salvation is a big 18-wheeler and Jesus is the only one qualified to drive it. Only he can get the saved person to his destination. I’m sitting shotgun, trusting him to do the driving.
In Ephesians Paul said we are not workers of salvation. We work it out because salvation works within us. We have the desire and ability to be a Christian, but we can’t do it without the Lord. We are his workmanship. A watch is made by a watchmaker. It is made either to be wound or work from a battery. If the owner doesn’t keep it wound or a good battery in it, it will not alarm, nor even run. We need the Lord and need to use what he gave us. We should be as a watch in the hands of its maker and a tractor trailer in the hands of a safe driver.
The one who saved us made us. What we have is not of our own doing. He’s the master at transformation. We didn’t wash our own sins away. We are his workmanship. When we need an adjustment, he’s the one we must go to. By yielding to the Spirit and obeying his word, we can live a Christian life. It’s not with the mindset of I can do it but of letting him wind us, repair us, and keep us going.
A refrigerator stays cold even in our absence. We can’t stay at church all the time. We can’t read our Bible all the time. We can have Jesus and his word in our heart; that will keep us going. He’s in us “to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Let him do it. He made us and can keep us running. If we are not his workmanship, we are not Christians. Our heart, our ways, our tomorrows must be surrendered to the Lord.
Do you have the one who supplies strength and energy to keep you efficient and what he wants you to be? If it’s left up to only our will to be a Christian, we’ll end up a failure. We submit our will to him that is in us. He gives us the desire to do. He prods us along, and when the day is done we can’t pat ourselves on the back. It is his working within us. If we get something accomplished, it is Christ in us that gets it done.
Do you feel like you’re not getting anywhere? Maybe it’s time for a trip to God’s workshop to be tuned.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 