Living The Jesus Life

This series is a part of our annual practice of spending time focusing on one book of the Bible. In this case, the study is of Philippians – the letter Paul wrote from a Roman prison to the church at Philippi, the first church Paul started in Eastern Europe (see Acts 16). The people at Philippi were facing the resistance of Rome but remained a vibrant community of faith.

Philippians is a letter that speaks to living life as a disciple of Jesus in 2023. That's why we've entitled the series, 'Living the Jesus Life'.

Today's focus is Philippians 2:12-18

Working out is hard- It’s aches, it’s pain, it takes longevity, and commitment.

I wonder today, is that how you are viewing your journey with Christ- your salvation? Is that how you would describe your life within the Church

Do you think of it as a workout- something that takes intentionality, that might involve pain or being uncomfortable at times. Or do you find yourself in the recliner today- thinking to yourself “Let go and let God”?

For Paul- he saw the necessity that believers in Philippi put in the hard work of living the Jesus life

Here’s the truth for us this morning: Your salvation is something to be worked out!

Will you? Will you commit to working it out?

As we dive into this passage, I would like to answer 2 questions that impact how we read this text-

The First and perhaps the most important thing we need to ask- Is Paul trying to say that we need to work to earn our salvation or that our right standing with God is something we have to earn?

This is a great question that deserves a clear answer; No, that is not what He is saying.

Our text today is not about earning salvation, it’s about how to live out that calling- how to live the Jesus life, not how to find it.

Second important question around this text: Is Paul talking about our personal salvation, how we live as individuals or is he talking about our life together as the church?

This answer is a bit more complex: Yes and yes

If you go home and begin to study this question on your own, you will find scholarship to support both views.

It is quite easy to read this text and hear a very personal call to your own life. But, we must consider the context- Paul has been talking about unity, about their life together, addressing how they live out the Jesus life in community- All of this teaching has been towards their life together.

With that context in mind, I don’t think we can make this only about our personal relationship with the Lord, although that is part of it.

So don’t miss it- this is a text for US as a community of believers

“Continue to work out your salvation”

Work out is one Greek word: it means to achieve, to bring about, or to complete.

It means to work out fully and thoroughly, to accomplish or achieve an end

It’s a term used of the activity of mining. Gold or silver deposits are beneath the ground, and we must mine them out, go after them to retrieve them.

Remembering that salvation here doesn’t refer to our justification or right standing before God- Paul is calling believers to work out their Jesus Life together- Remember he has just told them- No grumbling, no bickering, no self-serving. Paul is calling them to bring the work that God has done in them, out into their everyday lives, to their relationships with one another. And It’s work. it’s sometimes very hard.

We are called to this life of obedience with “Fear and trembling”

Believers are to live their lives with honor and respect for God-to hold him in reverence. Our obedience, is no light matter and its’ not optional. We need to work this out, with awe and respect of the ONE who has called us- God himself.

How do you work out your salvation- in your own life- in the context of community?- It is God who works in you to do it.

The word for works here is similar to the English word Energy

It’s God who energizes you, who equips and empowers you, to fulfill the life that he is calling you too.

Working out our Jesus life together directly affects our ability to fulfill our mission in the world.

We teach our children to sing “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine”. Paul is teaching all believers to shine their light so that a dark world may see the goodness of God.

The apostle Paul knew that if his friends at Philippi would commit to the hard work, of working out their Jesus life together- they would be transformed and empowered by God, and effective in their mission together.

The world around them would see something special about them- They would see the true light of God’s love at work in their lives

The same is true for us today- Are you ready to work it out?