Work Out Your Own Salvation?

Real life presents the Jack Hibbs Podcast with intention and boldness to proclaim truth, equip the saints and impact our culture. Hey everybody we're gonna respond to somebody's question it's a good one and it's a rarity we don't have to do it but this one demands a response. Here we go. You can get the outlines of this podcast by going to jackhibbs.com slash podcast. Today if this podcast lifts you up and encourages you to live a more fulfilled life in Christ then make sure you leave us one of those five star ratings. To us that's like saying amen or yes then that rating will encourage others to listen. Now open your hearts to what God's word has to say to you. Here is Jack Hibbs. Hey everybody welcome back to the Jack Hibbs Podcast and listen you could always encourage us and help us out by leaving us a review. It really matters and encourages the entire team. Talking about the entire team I have to tell you straight up that I do not read comments made by people. I don't have the time. I just don't have the time and I'm not joking I had a 21-hour day yesterday for real and I'm trying to recover from that. I don't have the time to peruse social media but you might say well my gosh you're posting all the time I am posting all the time on the various platforms but I walk away from those posts. I post it and then I walk away but number one that's one of the ways how I keep so happy and lighthearted is because I don't get bogged down in what people are you know saying about whatever but we have a team that reads the responses from people and so one of the things is we're I don't think we've ever done this before but this is really good so Colleen I'm gonna say if you're Colleen who left this a message Colleen I'm gonna say Colleen see I'm not gonna give your whole handle because that's probably not fair to you but Colleen see you know who I'm talking about you asked a question and it's awesome and it goes something like this that you were listening to a message recently that I was giving and that I had made the comment which was actually a statement quote from the Bible that I said that you need to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling and your great question was is I thought our salvation was purchased in Jesus and we had it and that it's not by works but it's just by faith in Him alone so can I address that first of all you are absolutely correct you are 100% correct Colleen number one is that our salvation is solely fixed upon the absolute and the exhaustive to the point of sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ at the cross in other words what Jesus did for us of the cross satisfied the righteousness of God which has been revealed to us in the law Christ came and met all the demands of the law thereby think of it this way thereby when the law examined Jesus Christ in Passion Week think about that the Old Testament law examined the life in the ministry of Jesus Christ and could not bring anything against him when the law was satisfied the next part of his redemptive act for us is that he then having been perfected before the law of Christ's God he was always perfect but he lived out that perfection in human flesh which is amazing because was Jesus really tempted not only was he really tempted he was tempted far beyond what you and I can be tempted because he's pure like you and I would have never known we will know in the future will be as pure as Jesus in eternity and heaven imagine that read first John it'll blow your mind but having said that Colleen yep it's all by Jesus and so your next comeback is well then what about working out your own salvation with fear and trembling what do I do doesn't sound doesn't sound very thrilling Philippians chapter two always friends always never build a theology off of a verse ever that's what cults do by the way you want to be a cult build your theology off of a verse and if you want to be you know like a like a global cult then build your theology off of random verses from Old and New Testament that have no correlation whatsoever together and are more importantly read out of context context is everything and it shouldn't surprise you okay so here in Southern California context is everything if I'm hungry right and I want a hamburger right in California if you know that you're not but this is where hamburgers are born all the big ones in in America are born here don't tell me about five guys it's not even funny I'm talking about real hamburgers that come from California so if I want a hamburger I'm gonna go listen to the context I'm gonna go to in and out burger that's where that's where God would eat first of all everything has got verses on it it's a Christian company and I'm and I've got a burger but in the context I have to fries and the milkshake together the context of this together gives you a well-rounded experience of how great an in and out burger can be an in and out double double animal style is what you want and that context then affords you freedom like to dip your fries in your milkshake before you eat it okay so I I digress kind of context dictates everything so listen to this Philippians Paul is writing to the believers in Philippi these are Roman believers they are Europeans they're not Jews they are in the region of what would probably be those that are closer to Macedonians but be that as it may they are residing in Philippi and he writes to the church of Philippi and the people who live there are called Philippians okay and in chapter two you quoted it calling therefore my beloved as you 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 verse 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure now that's just the hint of the context you see all of a sudden oh wait a minute verse 13 says it's God who's working it out in me yes so what does it mean let's go back to verse 12 what does it mean for us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling you ready here it is to work out our own salvation simply means this because we're saved we work out our own salvation from the fact that we are saved not that we get saved by working for our salvation that's not how we that's not how it works our salvation is a gift that's given now that you're saved what does it mean it means watch discipline your life in such a way that will advance the entire process of your relationship with Jesus Christ now in salvation in sanctification and being called and your ultimate glorification in Christ Jesus Paul talks about that Romans chapter 8 verses 28 to 31 so you want to check that out but here's the deal God is at work within you God is at work verse 13 you could even read it backwards God's at work within you he's going to work so that you can work out your own salvation with reverence and with awe that's what those words mean not to be terrified and be flinching when God speaks no it's a joyous union and it's thrilling because salvation is not by our sweat it's not by our efforts it's not by our deeds it is truly this because I'm saved I am going to make sure I set my alarm earlier to get up with God to spend time with him see I don't have to do that but I want to grow so I'm going to do that so work out your own salvation with with a reverential awe would be that I'm going to go to church and find out how I can be used I want to I want to put my faith into action what does God want to do with me now you can stay home and you're gonna go to heaven but it's best to invest in your relationship with God and so when it's working out it's just let me rephrase it let the salvation that is yours let it go release it in your life and find out what God wants to do with you and as he uses you just remember maintain that with a reverential awe and thankfulness toward God because he's the one doing it all he's the one that's at work in you so it's two verses of absolute liberty absolute freedom absolute joy and absolute assurance because why because I'm going to walk the straight and narrow with Jesus and the Holy Spirit's going to give me the power to do that and the wanta he's going to give me the wana to do it I'm going to want to do this so it's not any works of righteousness on your own to do this is to yield to the work of God and letting him do what he wants you to do and I hope calling that this liberates you and that it also brings an answer to your question you know think of a glove right you can see a glove you can go to your local hardware store and there's a glove you can buy gloves and they they're all just gloves and they're basically meaningless until your hand slips inside the glove and you by the way you'll try on a few gloves until you find one that fits or fits the application for which you need it okay are you going to be handling acids then you need a certain kind of a rubber a polypropylene type of glove a glove that can handle toxins and poisons and acids you wouldn't use that glove for gardening you would use a gardeners glove they usually have a little bit of rubber grip and they're they're cloth on the top well maybe what if you you're going to do hard yard work you're gonna cut down some trees you're gonna use your chainsaw or you're going to dig fence post you know you're gonna deal with barbed wire and stuff like that for your for your land or for your property you'd use leather gloves why because they can take it you use the glove in the application for which it was created for know this the Bible says calling that you were created by God to live out your life and serve him and those things that you're to be doing are actual works that God has given you before the foundation of the world was ever laid these are works that God has given each of us as believers to live out now listen some of you might be saying oh my goodness really I'm a Christian pastor Jack and I don't know what I'm supposed to do you better find out that's your purpose in life and if you listen if you think you've been having fun so far as a Christian you ain't seen nothing yet because when you yield yourself to what God wants to do and listen sometimes that comes by presenting yourself and lots of trial and error what I mean by that is I want to serve God I want to find out what my gift is and you sign up for the parking lot ministry traffic ministry ushering ministry children's ministry you might go to seven different ministries until you find one that it's like oh my gosh I love this and the reason why you're gonna love it is because God has put that love in your heart for it before the world was ever created before you ever born you were designed for that and guess what's gonna happen you are gonna work your tail off doing it and people are gonna say you need to take a break and you go man I can't take a break this is the best where do you get your energy from where do you get your motivation from from God why you were built to do that that's why God called you to do that and so while other people who are not called to what you're doing are all pooped out and tired and thrashed you would be just as thrashed if you're trying to do what they do what they do is incredibly powerful to the advancement of the gospel listen the church that I pastor I'm surrounded by people literally who have incredible callings and giftings in the area to advance the gospel via technologies or a writing or graphics or audio or you know logistics it's amazing just today I found out I'm sorry didn't even know this about when people order books how does that happen what's the process where on the property does that take place who's doing this how how our book orders processed I can't even wrap my brain around that I don't have to I'm not called to do that I wouldn't even I'd blow it all up I'd mess it up so listen Colleen find out what God wants you to do do with all of your heart and you're gonna find out that you disciplining your life which is a joy to draw closer to Jesus which is part of being a disciple it turns out that you wind up fulfilling the full purpose as to why God gave you eternal life in the first place he gave you life for a purpose don't just wait around to get to heaven what you want to do is be busy about our father's business and that when it time comes to go to heaven you are going to heaven having accomplished your race as Paul put it you have finished your course you've kept the faith and you can lay your head down at night satisfied and thankful for all that God gave you for that day so I hope that is an answer to you I hope that brings some consolation to you it's a great question but remember everybody read the entire context of what's before you don't just eat the fries okay there's more to it don't just read that verse read it in the chapter read it in its paragraph as you read it unpacked the word meanings and you'll grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ so you guys listen as always we would love to have you subscribe that really helps us in the social media world I don't understand it the beautiful people behind these cameras they understand that but it helps us in that social world but as always it's time for us to live out what we believe in it's time for real life so go out there and live the life that God has called you to live God bless you I'll see you next time this Jack Kemp's podcast as well as all the broadcast outreach opportunities are listener supported will you consider partnering with us through a special gift go to jackhibs.com to learn more and stay connected