Philippians: True and Lasting JoySample

Joy in Serving

Do all things without grumbling? That’s a strong statement. How do we not grumble when we face injustice, when we have to face the consequences of someone else’s incompetence or mistakes? Even if we understand the biblical view of suffering, how is it possible not to grumble when we suffer? 

Grumbling is a voice of discontentment. We think our life deserves to be better. Grumbling is also a voice crying out for fairness. How is it possible that I suffer when people who are worse than me are doing better? Ultimately our grumbling is not toward people and circumstances alone but it is toward God Himself. 

Our grumbling is a result of listening to a voice other than the voice of God. It is out of unbelief in the goodness and character of God. 

The antidote for grumbling is a healthy dose of the gospel. We see Paul instruct us to work out our salvation in fear and trembling. There is a key difference between working out our salvation and working for our salvation. 

When you work for your salvation, then based on your good works, good behaviour, achievement and success, both material and spiritual, we expect God to reward us. And when we have worked so hard in keeping the rules, reading the bible, praying and doing all that’s expected of us and then we are not rewarded according to our expectations, we grumble. What’s the point in keeping all these rules and obeying God when life turns out this way? 

This is a religious framework in life. But living out of the richness of the gospel means you are working out your salvation and not working for your salvation. Working out your salvation comes from a deep understanding of God’s grace. We don’t deserve to be saved. We don’t deserve anything other than the wrath of God. We are not good before God and our good works are not only filthy but are tainted with sin and deserve His wrath. How dare we come to God based on our effort and behaviour thinking He will be impressed with our sinful condition? God saves us out of mercy, by His grace because of the perfect life and sacrifice of His own Son Jesus. Our salvation is a gift of God and not something we earn or deserve. 

Now when we understand the grace of God’s salvation, we work out it’s implications in our life. We no longer work for our approval and significance; we work from a place of being approved by Jesus and because of His prefect righteousness. We don’t work for God to be pleased with us, but we understand He is already pleased with us because of Christ and we live out of that identity. There is a big difference in how a life shaped by the gospel works out their salvation as opposed to someone who works for their salvation. 

How do we know if we are working for our salvation or working out our salvation through the gospel? We see it in our grumbling.