Brian with us. If you're not familiar with Munster Bible College, it's a wonderful opportunity
just to hear from God's Word, to learn from God's Word. And we're very privileged here
in Cork to have such learned men come. When you look at the biographies of people coming
each year, we read of professors, of people who have books published,
people who have spent years and years learning about the Word of God. And when you think and
read all this, you think, wow, they must be so amazing to have all this knowledge. And they are.
And yet, one thing that I've been amazed at in meeting the lecturers, when you meet them,
you're meeting men of God, men who in humility come to us to share with us. You don't know
that, you don't realize, wow, I'm speaking to a professor, somebody's read books, because there
are men who just have a heart for the Lord, who want to speak of the Lord and teach others.
And it's a privilege to be able to do that. It's been wonderful to have Brian. I've enjoyed
his classes, his master classes. And Brian, can I just pray with you as you come now to
preach to us?
Father, I do thank you for Brian. Thank you for all his years of learning, for all that you have
shown him in your Word. I thank you for his humility, his desire to share your Word with
others. And I thank you that even as he has been reading your Word and learning, that you have been
changing him to become more like his Saviour. I pray indeed, as we open up your Word, as we read
these words from Paul to the Philippians, I pray indeed our desire would be to learn, to grow,
where there is correction, that we'd be willing to be disciplined, where there is encouragement,
that we would be encouraged, where there are things that we need to learn or be reminded of,
indeed, that we would be changed by your Spirit, that you would change us to be more like your Saviour,
and that when we go from here, we will be people who have such a heart for you, a desire to
serve you, and to obey you. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you, Brian.
I feel like I'm going to knock it out there. Yes, that looks a little better.
Good morning, everyone. It's great to be here. This is actually my fourth time. I think I've preached
one time or two times, but it's my fourth time across three of those for the college, and then
one time for a summer Bible week. And so it's really a delight for us to be here, and I know
so many of you now by name, having come since, I think, 2016 or something like that was my first
year, but whatever the case. Yeah, Jonathan mentioned books. I mean, the trick of writing a book,
there's only one trick, and that is you just have to be able to sit down for a really long time,
and then it just happens, right? So it doesn't really require a lot of skill except for sitting.
What we're going to do today is look at a text of the Bible that we're all pretty familiar with, but
before we start, I just want to ask you a question, and I checked with Joy to see if this translates.
Have you ever seen this phrase, you buy something, maybe it's furniture or something for the kids,
and on it it's stamped, some assembly required. Do you know what I'm talking about? You have this,
right? So I googled some assembly required stories, because I can remember when Jamie was just a child,
Denise and I would have like a dollhouse or something, right? So it's Christmas Eve,
Jamie finally goes to bed, it's about 1 a.m., and we get this dollhouse out,
and it says some assembly required, and somewhere around 4 a.m. or something, it's basically together,
and there's a few pieces like, well, these probably don't need these because, man, it'll fit anywhere,
and we've spent hours and hours in doing it. I looked at a website in particular. I'm really interested in cycling,
and I spent a lot of time looking at bikes that I can't afford, and so I was looking at this website
where you can mail order these bikes, and then it says some assembly required, but they say
even a 12-year-old can put it together. So I have these videos of a 12-year-old taking these bikes out of these boxes
and putting them together. Apparently, if you're above 12, it's impossible, because all the people who
wrote comments said, the problem here is I'm in my 20s, I'm not 12, so I can't do this.
And so they showed this kid putting it together, but it's almost impossible, but it's got this big sign on it,
some assembly required.
I think sometimes when we think about our salvation, you hear a text like this,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
And it sort of sounds like some assembly required for your salvation, even though you know,
right, and you probably know and you probably affirm that we are saved by grace, through faith,
in Christ, apart from our works, right?
Everybody probably would stand up and say, yes, I affirm that.
And then we come to a text like, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, and we think,
that must be like the fine print, right?
So you get the contract, and like everything's free, and then you go down, and it's like the part that you skip over
and you don't really read at the bottom of a contract or like agreement, if you like,
some sort of agreement on your phone, like, do I agree?
Like, yeah, I guess I just agree. But you don't read the small print,
and then you don't read the small print when it comes to your salvation,
and then later you hear, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
And so we're going to look at this text.
We're going to look at this text from Philippians 2, 12 and 18.
But what I want to say is this.
When it comes to salvation, it is absolutely the opposite of some assembly required.
In fact, it is no assembly required.
Now, another way you can put that, though, is the opposite.
You could say all assembly required.
But what it means is God is the one who does all the assembling.
So it's not a case of God kind of gets us started,
and then like sort of maybe gives us some tools or something,
and then we just figure out the rest, right?
So we're going to look at this text.
But I think most of the time we're really familiar with part of this verse, right?
So if you're in Philippians 2, verse 12.
Verse 12 is kind of a long verse, but we tend to only know like one phrase from it,
and that is work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
But it's a big, long verse.
And not only that, it's in the middle of a letter.
So if Paul wrote this letter to you, or let's put it this way.
Let's say like, so next week we go back to the States,
and then a couple weeks later you receive a letter from me.
Like, why has this guy written me a letter?
But it's like three pages long.
And that sounds depressing probably.
But let's just say you get this letter from me or an email,
and it just goes on for like three pages.
Even if you weren't excited about getting a letter from me,
there's one thing you would never do.
Well, I guess you might not read it at all.
But if you're going to read it, there's one thing you would never do.
You would never start like the third page.
Ever. Like never.
That would never cross your mind, right?
If you get an email from one another,
or you get communication from the church that has announcements or whatever,
or maybe a pastoral letter from Johnny,
you would never start at the end or in the middle.
But you would do the simple thing,
and that is you would start at the beginning,
and you would read all the way through the end.
And I think sometimes, especially with a verse like this,
that we all know really, really well,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
the question we should ask ourselves is,
what has Paul said up to this point?
Or has Paul said anything to us about how this might work?
Or has Paul said anything about salvation before here?
Because sometimes we just read like it's just that verse,
just sort of floating around,
and then we sort of talk about it and think about it,
which is okay to do, right?
But it's meant to be read.
It's meant to be read as though we started at the beginning.
Now, I'm not going to read all the Philippians to you,
but we'll just read 12 to 18 here.
Therefore, my dear friends,
as you have always obeyed,
not only in my presence,
but now much more in my absence,
continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
for it is God who works in you
to will and to do or to act for his good purpose.
Do everything without grumbling or arguing,
so that you may be blameless and pure,
children of God without fault,
in a warped and crooked generation.
Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky
as you hold firmly to the word of life.
And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ
that I'm not run or labor in vain.
But even if I'm being poured out like a drink offering
on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith,
I am glad and rejoice with all of you.
So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
This is the word of the Lord.
So, the first thing that we need to understand
when we read this text is this.
It comes with a promise.
And the thing is, it's a promise we all know.
And we know it from this same book,
but it comes earlier.
Right?
So, when you read, when you read verse 12,
which we're going to talk about,
the thing is, by the time you would get to chapter 2,
verse 12, you would have already read this.
I thank my God every time I remember you,
in all my prayers for all of you,
I always pray with joy because of your partnership
in the gospel from the first day until now,
being confident of this,
that he who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ.
So, chapter 1, verse 6, has this promise.
So, Paul is totally confident,
he's absolutely confident
that God, who started the work in the Philippians,
is going to complete it.
Right?
He's already said this.
And notice he doesn't say,
I'm really confident
that this work that God started in you,
that you're going to complete it.
He says, I'm confident
that the one who, that is God,
the one who began a good work in you,
will complete it until the day of Jesus.
So, number one,
this command in chapter 2
comes with a promise
that Paul has already said,
and that is that God is the one
who is going to complete the work.
So, it's never, on your part or my part,
some assembly required.
Right?
It is all assembly required, actually,
but it's God who does all the assembling.
Because God is not calling us
to add to our salvation.
When he says, work out your salvation,
it's not like God has started his work in you,
and it's, you know,
it's kind of like,
it's like rough around the edges,
or it's sort of complete,
or he's kind of got you part of the way,
and he gets you like 90% of the way,
or even like 99% of the way.
And then he's just like,
now you kick your bit in,
and you put, you know,
I do my part,
and you throw in your part,
and finally, finally,
your salvation is going to be complete.
Now, probably, I'm guessing,
I don't know all of you that well,
I'm guessing that nobody in here
would go around,
if somebody came up to you and said,
hey, I heard you're a Christian,
can you explain what you mean by salvation?
I'm pretty sure that nobody would say
to somebody else,
like a non-believer,
well, basically it's this,
God saves us,
like 90%,
95%,
98%,
and then leaves it to us
to kind of fill up the rest
to make sure that we get to heaven.
Like, probably none of you
would explain it that way.
But I think when it comes to us,
when we think about ourselves personally,
and we hear,
work out your salvation
with fear and trembling,
we sometimes will then think things
and apply it to ourselves
that we wouldn't actually say
to other people.
Which then sometimes,
I think,
leaves us
in a place where we feel
maybe even hopeless.
Where we feel like,
now God has saved me,
but now God's out to get me.
Right?
So you hear this,
we'll talk about it in a minute.
It says,
with fear and trembling.
And the thing is,
is many of us,
many of us,
we believe that God saves us
completely by grace,
through faith,
in Jesus,
apart from our works,
because of His great love
with which He loved us.
That's what Paul says in Ephesians.
We believe that,
but then once we're saved,
I think sometimes we have this idea
that God is always behind us,
just waiting
for us to slip up.
Right?
In other words,
He goes from being
this gracious Savior
to being like
a school principal
who always assumes
that we're just
always on the brink
of doing something wrong
and the minute we do,
whap,
He's on top of us.
Right?
That He's always looking down like,
I know,
and just waiting.
Right?
Now, again,
nobody would describe God this way.
Right?
Nobody.
You would never describe God that way.
But I'm just supposing
that for lots of us,
we sometimes act
like that's what God is doing.
So He's just watching.
You better work out your salvation.
And you better do it
with fear and trembling.
If not,
I'm going to jump on you
like three seconds.
So we have this,
so we start to live
in this sort of fear.
The sort of fear
that like God is out to get me.
And I think sometimes
that comes from
just sort of reading that verse,
reading that verse
all by itself.
So, again,
right?
It comes with this promise.
That's the first thing.
And then the promise
is restated
in Philippians 2
because it is God
who's working in you
both to do
and to work
for His good purpose.
So Paul said it twice.
Paul said it twice
that this is
what God is doing.
Now, sometimes
people will say,
well, what Paul means here
is we've got to work out
what God has worked in.
I don't know if you,
this is a statement
I hear at home a lot.
People will say this.
I think, well, that's okay.
The problem is
it doesn't really tell me much.
I mean,
it's kind of catchy, right?
And I might remember it.
I might go home thinking,
yeah, I've got to work out
what God's worked in.
But then, like,
what does that mean?
Right?
I mean, the proof
is sort of in the pudding.
And that is,
if I say,
work out,
you've got to work out
what God's worked in,
what are you going to go do?
Like, what will that look like?
It's really easy to think,
yes,
that is really profound.
And I'm really going to do that.
That's really,
I've got to work out
what God's worked in.
That's even easy to remember.
It's a little bit rhymey.
I'll probably remember it.
But then you go home,
you're like,
well, what is that?
How do you even do that?
Right?
So it's a nice idea,
but it's a little bit vague
when it comes time
to put it into practice.
But the great news is
Paul doesn't leave
anything vague at all.
In fact,
he shows us
exactly what it looks like
to work out your salvation.
So you don't have to ask
any questions.
So today,
when you go home
and you think about this text,
you don't have to say to yourself,
so what kind of stuff
do I need to be doing?
Do I just come up with a list?
Right?
And I think sometimes
we kind of do that.
We hear these commands
and we hear commands
in the New Testament
as just like,
I've got to be doing more.
Right?
I've always got to be doing more.
Like, I got saved,
it was completely free.
And now,
I constantly feel like
it's just more,
I've got to do more,
I've got to do more.
Because if I don't,
God's going to turn
from being a gracious Savior
to being like,
just a really,
really mad school principal
who's going to just be
on my back
in three seconds.
Right?
So,
again,
we've said
it comes with a promise,
the promise is
that this is God's work in you,
but then it has
this really tricky thing
with fear and trembling.
Right?
And that's the part
that gets us.
Like,
if that wasn't in there,
we'd be good to go.
I mean,
seriously,
if it just said
work out your salvation
because it's God
working in you,
I mean,
this would be like
our favorite verse.
But it's that fear
and trembling part
that gets us.
So,
we need to think about
what that means.
So,
let me just tell you
three things,
three things that it isn't.
The fear and trembling
that Paul's talking about
is not living
as though God
is out to get you
at every second
the first time
you ever slip up.
The second thing is
this is not a threat.
And I think a lot of times
we hear it like a threat.
Like God saying,
you better do this.
You had better,
I'm telling you,
don't mess around here
because if you don't do it,
remember who I am.
Remember what I'm capable
of doing.
In other words,
in other words,
rather than thinking about God
as the gracious Father
who saves us in Jesus,
who has promised
to complete His work in us,
all of a sudden
we view Him as like,
He's sort of against us.
And this is the worst thing,
He's like suspicious of us.
Right?
He becomes really suspicious.
And then you know
that He knows you
better than you know yourself.
And so you kind of live
in this sort of,
in two worlds.
Right?
We live in two worlds.
It's one world of
salvation by grace
through faith alone,
apart from my works,
and then in the,
God's out to get me.
However you might
describe that.
Right?
You might not say
God's out to get me,
but I think you probably
know what I mean.
We all would have
a different way
of expressing that.
And it's not usually
stuff we would say
out loud,
by the way.
You usually wouldn't
tell other people,
you know,
I think God's out to get me.
You might even,
you never talk that way.
But I'm talking like
when you're alone
and you're thinking about it
and you have sort of
reviewed what your day
has been like
and you've reviewed
the things that have
come into your mind,
and you've reviewed
the things that you've said
that you wish you hadn't
have said,
and you've reviewed
the things that you
should have said
but didn't say,
and then at the end
you feel like,
I could hide from God
if I could.
And you can't figure out
how to put together
this idea that God
is your gracious Savior
and Jesus apart from
your works,
and how you to work out
your salvation
with fear and trembling.
So the third thing
that this fear is not,
it is not the fear
and trembling
that Adam and Eve
felt in the garden.
So you might remember
the story,
I'm not going to
repeat the whole thing,
they eat the fruit
and the first thing
they do is hide
because they're terrified.
And so God comes
and says,
where are you?
And they said,
we heard you coming
and we were afraid.
So Paul doesn't say,
work out your salvation
and be very afraid
that God is going to
get you if you don't.
So here's what it is.
Number one,
the fear and trembling
that Paul is talking about
is living with the reality
that the one who is
working in you
is the God
who created the world
and who is sovereign
and all-powerful,
and he is your God.
Number two,
it's acknowledging
and confessing,
this is the most important part,
it is acknowledging
and confessing
your own inability
to save yourself.
In other words,
it is always remembering,
it is always a reminder
that if we are left
on our own,
we are doomed.
If we try
to save ourselves,
we are finished.
If we feel like
God has got this started,
now I've got to put in
my 10% or whatever percent,
it doesn't matter,
it could be half of a 1%,
and it still is impossible.
Then,
then,
then we do stand before God
exposed
and afraid.
And finally,
it's simply this.
It's the reality
of children
living under the authority
of a father.
Like he says
in verse 15,
right?
In verse 15,
he just calls them,
in verse 15,
he says,
so that you may be
blameless and pure,
children of God.
Right?
So,
I grew up with
the most loving
and kind
father imaginable.
my dad was a,
he was a great guy
and he was very loving
and he loved everyone,
but he was a really
tough guy too.
Right?
So,
my dad grew up
really,
really poor.
He lived in the mountains
of West Virginia
and he served in the army.
He landed at D-Day.
He went,
he came home
and then went into business
and worked nonstop
for like 45 years.
So,
he was really
kind of like
a no-nonsense
kind of guy
but very loving.
And,
my dad and I
had a great relationship
but I can also
tell you this,
there was a certain amount
and sometimes
not enough,
there was a certain amount
of really healthy fear
I had of my dad
when I would do
something wrong.
Or that when my dad
would give me
and like he would be
telling me what to do.
Right?
So,
I also worked for my dad
at the auto shop.
And,
I knew
that when dad
came around
and said,
you know,
I need you to do
this right now,
he didn't have to tell me
that there were
consequences if I didn't.
But,
it wasn't threatening.
It was never a threat.
My dad was never like,
you better do this kid
or
I am going to
break out all over you.
Or like the belt's
coming off in three seconds.
But,
there was a,
I did have this
healthy fear of my dad
because he was my dad.
And,
he was my father
and he had authority
over me.
And,
the way that relationship
works is,
fathers have authority
over their children
and their children
recognize that.
Now,
sometimes,
sometimes because
different sorts of,
we have different sorts
of father and children,
child relationships
among us,
sometimes those
illustrations don't work
too well.
Right?
Because you might be
thinking of a situation
you were in
that was not like
my situation
with my dad.
Where it was
actually just complete,
straight up fear.
Not respect,
but just fear.
But,
what Paul's talking
about here
is this respect
of understanding
that God is your father
and you are his child.
But,
it's also remembering
that this father
is the same father
who promises
to finish a good work
in you.
So,
what does Paul mean
to work out
your salvation?
What does that
even look like?
Well,
the great news is,
as I said this before,
Paul's already told them.
He's already told us
what it looks like
to work out
your salvation.
And all we have to do
is back up
a little bit
to get our answer.
Right?
So,
this is the next point
I want to get.
The next point is
answering the question,
what does it look like?
How do I do this?
Well,
at the beginning
of chapter 2,
Paul shows us
what it looks like.
Therefore,
if you have any
encouragement
from being united
with Christ,
if any comfort
from His love,
if any calm and sharing
in the Spirit,
if any tenderness
and compassion,
then make my joy
complete.
And here it comes.
He's getting ready
to tell you
this is exactly
what it looks like
to work out
your salvation.
to make my joy
complete by being
like-minded,
having the same love,
being one in Spirit
and of one mind.
Do nothing out of
selfish ambition
or vain conceit.
Rather,
in humility,
value others
above yourselves.
Not looking
to your own interests,
but each of you
to the interests
of others.
That's what it looks like.
That's what
working out
your salvation
actually looks like.
You see,
it's not adding,
it's not like adding
to God's incomplete work.
It is living
as God's children
on the earth
among ourselves
and loving one another
and putting our interests,
putting the interests
of others ahead
of ourselves.
That's,
I know,
it's like very
anticlimactic.
Like,
shouldn't it be more
exciting than that?
Right?
I mean,
really,
you hear it
and you're like,
man,
I kind of thought
it was going to be
kind of like fireworks
or something.
But it isn't.
It isn't.
And if we're still
not convinced,
I'm not saying you're not,
but pretend you're not.
I'll give you
a little more evidence.
Because now Paul
is going to give
the world's greatest
example
of somebody
who put the interests
of somebody,
of others
before themselves,
and that is
Jesus himself.
Right?
Because,
I mean,
I kind of started
in verse 12,
but I did that
on purpose
because verse 12
is just,
Paul hasn't stopped
since verse 1
of chapter 2.
And so then he says,
in your relationships
with one another,
have the same mindset
as Jesus,
who,
being in the very nature
of God,
did not consider
equality of God
something to be used
for his own advantage.
So in other words,
think about this.
So Jesus,
who is the very
form of God,
he is the son of God,
he is the second person
of the Trinity,
had everything,
he could have used
every power imaginable
in the universe
and used it for himself.
Everything.
There's nothing
he couldn't have done.
But he didn't.
He didn't use
what was rightfully his.
And we'll get to that
in a second.
He didn't use
what was rightfully his
for his own gain.
But gave that up.
He gave up that right
for other people,
for you.
That's what he's done.
But rather,
he became like nothing
by taking on
the very nature
of his servant,
being made
in human likeness.
Being found
in appearance of man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient
to death,
even death on a cross.
Therefore God
exalted him
to the highest place
and gave him
the name that is
above every name,
that at the name
of Jesus
every knee should bow
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth
and every tongue
acknowledged,
confess,
that Jesus Christ
is Lord
to the glory
of God the Father.
By the way,
that is the best way
to think about
the fear and trembling
part.
Is that Jesus
is reigning
and Jesus is reigning
and every knee
will bow
and every tongue
will confess
that Jesus is Lord.
Ultimately,
one way or another.
One way or another.
There is not a person
on the earth,
one way or another,
who will not one day
confess
that Jesus
is the King.
Right?
And that means
whether you are doing
that as one
who is saved
by grace
through faith in Jesus,
knowing that God's
work of salvation
is yours,
or those who resist,
who one day
will find
that Jesus
is on the throne
and that they
will confess him
whether they
confess him
in life or not.
But whatever the case,
whatever the case,
the great news here is,
see,
if we would even
start reading
at chapter 2,
by the time
you get to work
out your salvation,
you get to hear
what it's like.
In other words,
working out your salvation
means this,
and that is living
for others
like the way
Jesus lived for you.
Because that is
your salvation.
Think about
what your salvation is.
Your salvation
is the gift
that you have
from Jesus
who lived
and died
for you.
That's what,
I mean,
there's lots of ways
we could define salvation,
right?
But that's what he says.
Work out your salvation.
And the salvation
he has in mind here
is exactly what
he just described.
That is the salvation
you have
because Jesus
served you.
Jesus,
who had
all the power
of all eternity,
we can't even imagine,
we can't even put it
into words,
could have done
everything to protect
himself,
he'd been good to go.
Right?
And he had the right
to do so.
Jesus wasn't compelled,
like,
well,
I guess I have to save.
It's not any choice.
It's,
somebody's got to do it.
I guess I'll do it.
No,
he did it freely.
You see?
And so when Jesus
submitted himself
to the cross,
he did that freely.
He could have,
in a second,
snapped his fingers
and brought an end
to the whole thing.
The first time,
the first time
he's standing there
in front of the high priest
and one of the high priest's assistants
comes up
and slaps him in the face.
Jesus could have
snapped his fingers,
that guy could have
just fell over dead
right then.
Or worse.
At any moment,
at any moment,
he could have chosen
to defend himself
once and for all.
But he didn't.
He gave that up.
He didn't exercise
that right.
And so,
if you think about that,
then sort of,
think about what Paul
has just said,
and that is,
living for others.
Then you come down here
and you think,
work out your salvation.
Doesn't it make
the most sense
that rather than Paul
saying,
hey,
go home and make a list
of all the things
this might look like,
doesn't it make the most sense
to think,
maybe Paul's talking about
the things he's been talking
about for several verses now.
so that to work out your salvation
means to live out
the salvation
that has been given to you
in Jesus
so that your life
looks like his,
putting the interests
of others ahead of yourself.
And again,
again,
we hear that
and I think sometimes
we think,
oh yeah,
it's the love part.
I mean,
it's like the exciting parts
and then like,
oh,
it's just,
well,
we just need to love each other.
But the kind of love
that Paul's talking about here
is the most challenging thing
that we would ever do.
Because what Paul
is essentially saying
is this,
Jesus has freed you up
so that
you don't have to,
you no longer have to
live for yourself.
You no longer have to
exert your own right.
You no longer have to think
about sort of
whether you have time.
you are freed to the point
where you can actually live
for others
and live for others
the way Christ
has lived for us.
This is the work
that God has started in you
that he's going to complete
is transforming you.
Not transforming you
to be more like Jesus.
It's transforming you
so that your life
starts to look like this.
Think about it this way.
That our lives should look like
the salvation we've received.
Right?
So rather than think of salvation
as like this thing
that's like partially done
or wholly done
but then apparently
there's this fine print.
Rather than think about it
this way,
think about salvation
in this sense
of what it actually
looks like in your life.
So it's not just
a thing you have.
Right?
It's not just
this like,
oh here's my salvation
and I can describe it.
That's fine.
But I said not just that.
It's also something
that looks like something.
It's not just something
you talk about.
It's not just something
that we sort of discuss.
We should talk about it
and discuss it.
Absolutely.
But it's also something
that looks like something
and what it looks like
is your salvation.
The salvation
that you have
in Jesus.
Right?
So Paul's not calling you
like to be Jesus.
But he's saying
have this mind.
Have this same mind
in you
which is yours
in Jesus.
And so what he's
directing us to
what he's directing us to
is
not so much
work out
what God's worked in.
I mean that's okay.
I'm not against that.
What he's saying is
your life should look
like the gift
that you've been given.
And it's really
I know
I'm getting ready to say this
and I don't really want to
I'm going to do it anyway.
I'm going to say
it is on that level
as simple as that.
But of course
simple doesn't mean
simple to do.
Right?
Because every single day
we're confronted
I mean think about it
it's really really easy
to talk about
loving one another.
It's really really easy
to talk about
serving one another.
But you know
when kind of push
comes to shove
and it gets really
down into the details
it can be really difficult.
Because I can always
think of like
a hundred things
that I need to be doing
for myself instead.
Always.
Like at any
at the drop of a hat
any given second
I can immediately think
of something I need.
Right?
Now Paul's not here
saying like
become a doormat
for every single person
that crosses your path
and no matter
what it is you're doing
if somebody comes up
and says
hey I need you to do something
like you completely drop
I mean he's not saying that.
Right?
But what he's saying is
you have the freedom
you have this freedom
to live for other people.
And you can do it
with this confidence.
Here's why
here's why we can
live for other people.
Here's why
I don't have to
always be thinking about
my time
my responsibilities
the things
I've got to get done
but that I can
actually think of others
is this
because
I have been given
an eternal salvation
that has been promised
to me
that God
who started it
will complete it.
In other words
I live in this
complete freedom
of knowing God's
going to complete
this work in me
so I have nothing
to prove.
Right?
I have nothing to prove.
I have nothing
that I have to
I have nothing
that I personally
just have to accomplish
at the expense
of anybody else.
Because I'm resting
in God's work
that's done for me
from beginning to end.
In other words
it's when we grasp
how complete
our salvation is
that we're freed up
to live that salvation
out for one another.
And that's the key.
The key is understanding
the freedom
that you have.
And this is
strange sounding.
You and I
we are so free
this is how radically
free we are.
we don't have
to live for ourselves.
That's like the
I mean
for one thing
that sounds like
that doesn't sound
like a lot of freedom.
It doesn't in the world.
But you know
notice here
that Paul says
to live like this
children of God
in a warped
and crooked generation
in other words
in a world
that's the exact
opposite of this.
You have such freedom
that you don't have
to look out
for your own interests
because you can trust God
that what he has
started in you
he will complete
and it's a promise
in Jesus
that is not going
to be taken away.
And he says
and this will make you
shine like stars
in the world
that you're living in.
And then you won't
look what he says
I'm almost finished
he says
you will be
blameless and pure
do everything
without grumbling
or arguing.
So what's the opposite
of grumbling
arguing
is peace
contentment and peace.
So you can have
contentment and peace
rather than grumbling
and arguing
why of grasping
hold of the fact
that God has supplied
you with everything
you need in Jesus
and he has supplied
you to such an extent
that you can actually
look at another person
and live for them
and not for yourself.
And you don't have
to worry about
what recognition
you're going to get.
You don't have to worry
about is anybody
going to notice
or you know
and I know
I feel this way too
sometimes I know
that you feel like
you know
I'm doing everything
I'm serving
but nobody even notices.
And then you feel guilty
because you realize
that you just thought
well I just need more
and then it starts
this whole thing over
but see you're freed
from that too.
You're freed from that too.
You're even free
from like all the sort of
you know
binds that you put
on yourself
every time a bad
thought crosses you.
Like I'm free
from that too.
But ultimately
it's this
you're free from
needing people
to recognize
all the things
that you've done.
That's great
to be recognized.
But you know
we could all be
doing that more
is recognizing
each other
for the things
that we do.
But individually
individually
I'm free
that I don't
need to
I mean
I do
but I don't need
to worry
that other people
say recognize
the things
I've done for them
or that they gave me
enough thanks
for the things
that I've done for them.
Because if I truly believe
that God's going to complete
this great salvation
that he started in me
that should free me
of to think
I've only got one thing
to do
and that is
I don't have to
protect myself.
Now
it's really hard
to do that.
It's really easy
to say
but super hard
to do.
And all you need
to make this really
so okay
this is really easy
to do
until one thing
enters into your life
another person.
Like it is super easy
to live for others
and to love others
until
another shows up.
Like I am
the most selfless
giving
you know
kind
loving
person
on the earth
until another human being
walks in the room
and ruins that for me.
Right?
I mean I can think
I'm like
you know
I was really like
loving and living for people
and then
you know
somebody like
say my wife
walks in
and all of a sudden
that becomes really difficult
and I start thinking
about what I need to do
and how I need to assert myself
and how I need to be right
in this discussion
and I need to make sure
that she knows
that I was right
like because
just out of principle
because it's the right thing
for people to understand
who's right
and who's wrong
and that's like
really important
and then she leaves the room
and I'm like
I need to live for other people.
Right?
This is the thing
I need to do.
Right?
And then Denise
comes back in the room
and I'm like
she says something
and I'm like
well
I mean I understand
what you're saying
but
right?
I get it
why you would put it that way
but here's the reason
so
rather than grasping it
not only am I free from that
I am free to make her life better
that's what it does
you see
when we grasp the freedom
that we have in salvation
it immediately makes
everybody's life around us better
because we don't have to exert ourselves
over top of them.
Right?
And so I just want to
I want to end with this.
every time you hear a command like this
don't first hear it as
I've got to do more
and more
the first thing is
when you hear a command like
work out your salvation
allow that command
to do its work
and what I mean is this
allow that command
to expose in your heart
how you have not been doing this.
That's an important work
because it will do that
and then what will that do?
Now it might sound like
you mean just let it really depress me
No
but don't just hear it like
yeah I've got to do more
hear it
and let that command expose in you
the places where you're not doing that
that will then do what?
Will drive you back
to your salvation in Jesus
where you realize
you know what?
I've been set free
all these places that I see in my life
the command is exposing my life
that I don't do this
I've been set free from all that
but you can only be set free by it
by having that command
sort of drive you back to the cross
over and over and over again
that's where you'll find your freedom
because once you find your freedom
in the cross
you will have this freedom
like you have never experienced before
the freedom that was given to you
by the one who
rather than exploit
all the eternal power he had
gave that up
for your sake
right?
so in other words
we progress
God's going to complete his work in us
from beginning to end
not by sort of
us moving further and further
and further and further away from the cross
but by every single day
coming back to it
every single day
coming back to it
and understanding that
it's in the cross of Jesus
that we're free
to live for one another
and
to work out our salvation
with fear and trembling
because
it is God
himself
who is working in us
both to will
and to work
for
his good pleasure
and you have that as a promise
let's pray together
Father it's really easy to hear these things
and to talk about them
and to
make a big deal about them
and to
you know
feel like we're
ready
but Lord we know that if
you're not with us
we'll walk out these doors
and
our lives may look anything but
like what we've heard here
but we're confident Lord
not in ourselves
but we're confident that
you are a God who
keeps your promises
and that you don't just
trick us
you don't just
lead us along
you don't just
give us something
and then
show us the fine print
later
but Lord we need you
to do this
in our lives
just as you promised
so Lord
all we pray today
is that you would keep
your promises to us
in Christ
in his name we pray
Amen
You