Work Out Your Salvation
Obedience That Shines
This morning’s message is a stand-alone message before we begin a new series next week. When I chose the passage, I didn’t realize how appropriate it was to preach this message on this day at this time in the life of this church. Today’s message is going to tie together four things:
Where we’ve been (in the book of Leviticus)
Where we’re going (in the book of Hebrews)
The day that we celebrate today (New Year’s Day)
The season we’re celebrating (Christmas)
So listen for Leviticus, Hebrews, New Years, and Christmas.
Let me begin with six brief observations on our passage.
The Philippians are an obedient people. Unlike the Galatians or Corinthians, Paul does not write to them in order to rebuke and correct substantial failures. Instead, he says, “As you have always obeyed, not only in presence but much more in my absence.” They’ve always obeyed, whether Paul is present or not.
In light of that, Paul exhorts them to work out their salvation with fear and trembling.
This includes doing everything that they do “without grumbling or disputing.”
Such obedience stands out. Such obedience makes them blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom they shine like stars in the cosmos. This is obedience that shines. Paul here alludes to the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:5, in which Moses laments that Israel has dealt corruptly with Yahweh: “they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation.” Paul is turning that passage inside out. The Philippians are the children of God, unblemished, and now they stand out from a crooked and twisted generation, just like the stars stand out against the darkness of the night.
This obedience will make Paul proud on the day of Christ. He will rejoice in the fruitfulness of his labor. In 1:22, Paul spoke of his life in the flesh as one of fruitful labor. He runs and labors for the progress and joy in the faith of the churches he serves. When he says, “to live is Christ,” he means, “I labor to make people happy in Jesus.” That’s fruitful labor, not fruitless labor, and so when the day of Christ comes, and the Philippians are shining in their obedience, Paul knows “I didn’t run in vain or labor in vain.”
Paul links his labor and the Philippians’ obedience in terms of the sacrificial system. Here is the connection to Leviticus. “Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.”
Here’s the basic picture. Every Christian is an ascension offering. The ascension offering is the baseline offering in the Old Testament, in which the worshiper lays hands on the unblemished animal, and then kills the animal, and then the priest sprinkles its blood on the altar, arranges its body parts, and then burns the whole thing up so that the animal, as the representative of the worshiper, ascends to God in the smoke. This is the offering of total surrender. All of me, to all of you, O God. Paul says in Romans 12:1-2, that now, in the new covenant, we offer our bodies as living sacrifices, wholly and acceptable to God. So each of us is an ascension offering, which we make by faith (“the sacrifice and service of your faith”).
But you’ll remember that there were secondary offerings that were made with this primary offering. That’s the tribute or grain offering, representing the works and labor of the worshiper. If the ascension offering is the main course, the tribute offering is the side of fries. In the book of Numbers, we find that, once Israel entered the promised land, they offered not only grain offerings, but also drink offerings. They poured out wine on the altar, along with the grain. And here’s the important point: according to Numbers 15, every ascension offering made in the promised land was to be accompanied by a grain offering and a drink offering. Every hamburger had fries and a drink.
What does that have to do with Philippians? Paul says that each of the Philippians is being offered as a living sacrifice, as an ascension offering. And Paul’s labor for their joy and faith is the drink offering on the side. He is being poured out so that they can be offered up. And he is willing to be poured out, all the way to death.
This is a wonderful, biblical, Levitical picture of the church and the Christian life. Each of us is called to offer ourselves wholly to God.
“All of me, to all of you, O God, because of Jesus.”
Total surrender. Each of us is an ascension offering, daily giving ourselves to God. But each of us is also called to be a drink offering for others, laboring and running and pouring ourselves out so that they can be offered up by faith.
So now I want to take those observations and go deeper and press them home. And I’m asking myself this question: What do you say to an obedient people during Christmas, at the start of a new year? What’s a good word for a people like that?
And I accent New Years, because that’s a time when we often try to hit the reset button. We try to hit the ground running for the new year. We take stock, and then we launch again, into a new semester or a new season at work. So what do you say to an obedient people on New Years Day?
Answer: you exhort them to an obedience that shines, an obedience that makes Paul proud and God happy. For the rest of this sermon, I want to unpack the obedience that shines, that makes Paul proud and God happy. I have three basic points:
Prepositions matter.
Your mindset matters.
Your spirit matters.
Prepositions Matter
Christian obedience is a special kind of obedience. Look at Paul’s main exhortation.
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Here we see the mystery of divine action and human action.
Christians don’t work for their salvation. Salvation is by grace through faith. It’s not of our own doing; it’s the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph. 2:8-9). Later in Philippians, Paul says that he’s seeking to gain Christ, to be found in him, not having a righteousness of his own that comes through law, but the righteousness from God that depends on faith (Philippians 3:8-9). So Christians don’t work for our own salvation. We receive salvation, as a gift.
But we do work out our own salvation, and we do so because God is at work within us to will and to work for his good pleasure. So we are working out what God is working in. And he is working at the level of our will – our desires, affections, and choices. Fundamental to salvation is heart change, the transformation of our wills by God so that we will and work for his good pleasure.
And here’s the preview of Hebrews. The end of the book of Hebrews strikes a similar note.
“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20–21)
He is equipping us, working in us, what is pleasing in his sight. He is at work within us to will and to work for his good pleasure.
The obedience that shines is an obedience that knows that prepositions matter. We don’t work for salvation. We work out salvation because God works in us to will according to his good pleasure.
Your Mindset Matters
The obedience that shines, that makes Paul proud and God happy, has a particular mindset, a particular way of framing reality. Think of this in terms of a double vision. Listen to Philippians 2:1-5 and note the use of the word “mind.”
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”
Paul’s joy will be complete if the Philippians have the same mindset, the same love, the same soul, the same single-mindedness. And in particular, he highlights what they’re keeping an eye on. They look not to their own interests, but the interests of others. They don’t act from selfish ambition or pride or vainglory, but they count other people more significant than themselves. They place their happiness in the good of other people. That’s the first part of the double vision – looking to the interests of others.
The second part appears in Philippians 2:12. We look for the approval of God. Paul says,
“as you’ve always obeyed, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence.”
The Philippians were not obeying in order to impress Paul; they were obeying in order to please God.
This is a major temptation for the obedient. Whose approval do you have your eye on? If it’s fundamentally a human being, then you will only obey as long as they have their eyes on you. You will obey in their presence, but not in their absence. And obedience that only appears in the presence of certain people does not shine, does not make Paul proud, does not make God happy. Listen to Paul echo this theme elsewhere in his letters.
“Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.” (Ephesians 6:5–8)
“Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:22–24)
Now it’s not wrong to desire to please the right people with your obedience. You should want to please your boss by a job well done. Kids should want to please their parents with their obedience. The issue comes when that’s the only reason you obey. You only obey when your parents are around, or when the pastor is around, or when your spouse is around, or when your boss is around, or when your Christian friends are around. Your obedience is based on the people who are present. That’s not an obedience that shines. That’s just people-pleasing eye-service, to be seen by men.
Connect this to the prepositions. The obedience that shines is an obedience from the inside out, not the outside in. Kids, how many of you try to obey whenever your parents are watching? How many of you ever feel frustrated because you feel like your parents are always on you about obedience? Like, they follow you around to see if you’re going to follow-through?
What your parents want is obedience from the heart, from the inside out. They want to be able to say, like Paul,
“You always obey, not only in my presence, but much more in my absence.”
They don’t just want you to meet the standard with your actions; they want you to love the standard from your heart. They want God to work in you to will and to work for his good pleasure. That’s the kind of obedience that shines, that makes Paul (and your parents) proud, and makes God (and your parents) happy.
So kids, make it your goal in the new year to obey God and honor your parents, whether they are present or absent. Everyone else, do the same thing. You never outgrow God’s demand that you obey from the inside out.
To summarize the mindset: The obedience that shines comes from a certain mindset. You have double vision: you look to the interests of others and you look for the approval of God. You don’t put yourself first. You don’t turn your desires into demands. You seek the good of other people; you aim to bless them and to bring them joy, and you do so because you’re always in God’s presence and you want to please him by working out what he is working in.
Your Spirit Matters
What is the biggest temptation for an obedient people? The biggest temptation is to obey with grumbling. That’s why Paul says to do everything without grumbling or disputing, without murmuring or complaining, without sulking or arguing, without whining or backtalk. Because the temptation for an obedient people is to offer frustrated, grumbling obedience.
So let’s get clear that how you obey matters. The spirit beneath your actions matters. This is God’s standard: Obey all the way, right away, cheerfully. All the way, right away, with a happy heart.
This means that partial obedience is disobedience. Delayed obedience is disobedience. And grumbling obedience, irritated obedience, frustrated obedience is disobedience. Let’s press that into the corners.
There are innumerable sources of hardship and frustration in our lives. It might be your boss or a co-worker. It might be a tone of voice or an annoying habit from your spouse or child or parent or sibling or friend. It might be a deep unmet desire, like the desire to be married. Whatever the frustration, how often do you find yourself attempting to do the right thing – to obey God – while muttering and murmuring about the hardship? How often is there a hitch in your obedience, or an edge to your obedience, or self-pity in your obedience? It’s like we say to ourselves,
“I will do the right thing, but there will be enough reluctance and grumbling in doing it, that everyone will know what it’s costing me to do it?”
And some of us grumble directly about God. “Why is he doing this to me?” Or we grumble about our circumstances, blocking out of our minds the truth that nothing comes into our lives except by his hand.
Others of us grumble about people. We disguise our complaints against God by focusing them on the people around us. And we have all sorts of rationalizations for this. We do not grumble about God; we’re just being honest about the failures and sins of other people.
This is precisely where we must press. It is important to distinguish faithful groaning from ungodly grumbling, lamenting from sulking. Groaning and lamenting can be good and right. They can be faithful responses to real pain. So what makes them different from grumbling and sinful complaining? Often it’s honesty. Do we take the pain to God directly, or does it come out sideways, as complaints about God’s wisdom disguised as observations about other people?
The key question here is: where does the pain go? Do you bring it to the Lord, as part of offering all of you to him? Or does it simmer on a low-boil in your soul, and come out in a frustrated service and sulky obedience?
Marriage
To married folks: grumbling obedience is a marriage killer. It’s usually a sign that you’re in the comparison trap and that you’re keeping score. Who has the tougher job? Who has sacrificed more? Grumbling and complaining is an outworking of self-pity, which is a subtle form of selfishness.
So how are we doing with our marital obedience? How are we doing with those marital vows? Having and holding, in sickness and in health? Husbands, in your leading and loving? Wives, in your honoring and obeying? What’s the spirit beneath your obedience? Grumbling and disputing? Or glad-hearted and grateful?
Is there a hitch in your loving and giving yourself to your spouse? Do you find yourself muttering to yourself while doing the dishes or complaining to friends about your husband or your wife? Are you keeping score? Or are you keeping short accounts? Will the record of wrongs from 2022 follow you and your spouse into 2023?
Family
Let’s widen it out and include family and parenting and everything else. Here we are on the 8th day of Christmas. How are we doing? Parents, you’ve been cooking and cleaning for days. Christmas “break,” right? Have you been showing hospitality without grumbling (1 Peter 4:9)? And I don’t mean grumbling at your guests. Most of us have enough social tact to avoid that. But is there resentment and bitterness coming out at your husband (or wife) or your kids because of all of your labor? Do you have an edge about you? Do you find yourself saying, “Nobody appreciates all that I do. Nobody appreciates how many presents I wrapped, how many details I managed, how much time I spent trying to make everything special”?
And listen, I’m not excusing ingratitude and selfishness in others. But you may not use the failures of others to justify your own disobedience. There’s a difference between addressing sin, and grumbling about unaddressed sin. And there’s a difference between addressing sin directly, or passive aggressively murmuring about sin. Are you doing all things without grumbling and complaining?
Dad, let’s try this scenario. You’re in one room working on something. Could be your job, could be the honey-do list. From the other room, you hear the quarreling break out. Or you hear disobedience to your wife. And you listen for a minute to see if it will resolve itself. And it doesn’t. And so now you have to interrupt your work to go deal with it. You’re the head of the home, and it’s your responsibility to reprove, correct, and discipline. And so you’re going to obey. But will your obedience shine? Are you going to walk into a big mess of sin and bring more sin? Because grumbling obedience, frustrated obedience, exasperated obedience is disobedience.
You’re called to bring up your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, in the teaching and admonition of Christ. Do you pursue that task with joyfulness and gladness of heart? Do you do it heartily, as unto the Lord? Or are you always asking “How many times do I have to remind you to pick up your room or take out the trash?” Well, how many times does God have to remind you to shepherd your children with joy, to be the smile of God to them?
Kids, do you honor and obey your parents all the way, right away, with a happy heart? Or do you wait to obey until your parents have answered all your questions first? Does your obedience come with a side of back-talk?
All
For everyone, do you give to others with joy? Are you a cheerful giver, or a grumbling giver? God loves a cheerful giver. He does not love a grumbling giver. Often, our grumbling is a subtle tool of manipulation. We wield our sacrifices as a weapon to get our way. We try to steer others by our complaining.
How many of you have ever felt manipulated by someone through their grumbling, complaining, pity party? Has that manipulation ever brought you deeper into joyful fellowship? Did it ever call forth from you the gratitude and joy that it supposedly sought? Never? Then take the log out of your own eye. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Obedience that Shines at Christmas
The obedience that shines, that makes Paul proud and God happy, is an obedience that works out what God works in, that has a godly mindset that looks to the interests of others and looks for the approval of God, and that gives and sacrifices and labors and runs for the good of others without grumbling or complaining, but instead most gladly spends and is spent for the souls of others.
Now I want to close by connecting all of this to Christmas. The connection between God’s work and our work, between what he works in and what we work out, is defined here as “holding fast the word of life.” The humble, loving mindset that we are to have, we have “in Christ Jesus” (2:5). And the spirit that animates our obedience is the spirit of joy in Jesus. And at the center of this passage is the person and work of Jesus.
“Though in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8)
You have never stooped lower than Jesus. You’ve never humbled yourself like Jesus. You have never run or labored for the good of others at greater cost to yourself than Jesus. You’ve never been poured out for the blessing of others like Jesus. You’ve never obeyed with greater sacrifice than Jesus. So look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith, who for the joy set before him ran his race and endured the cross. Your obedience shines when it flows from faith, from holding fast to the word of life.
Which brings us to the Table. What kind of season is Christmas? A season of joy. Why are we joyful? Because Jesus has come, the Son of God, the Light of the World, Immanuel. And he offers himself to us at this table that he might offer ourselves to God and pour ourselves out for others, with great joy, so that we shine with his light. Come, and welcome to Jesus Christ.