May 19, 2006

WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION

Philippians 2:12-16

Esther Ruth and I will be leaving this evening for 3 months in the U.S. That means that this is my last opportunity to preach to those of you who will be departing Abu Dhabi over the summer and not returning. (Have everyone in that category stand up.)

This is one of the most difficult things in a church like ours: people leaving, saying good-bye. It becomes a way of life, but somehow that never seems to make it any easier. Some of you who are leaving will be going home, going back to familiar churches where you feel accepted and where your spiritual needs will be cared for. Others of you are moving into unknown situations. You do not know what kind of spiritual support system you will find. Still others of you may have come to Christ here in Abu Dhabi and at ECC. As you leave, you leave behind your “home church”, your spiritual family, and face the challenge of finding another place to worship, another spiritual home. Whatever category you fall in, you may be tempted from time to time to think back nostalgically to your time in Abu Dhabi and your church family here.

Whatever you are facing, and wherever you are going, I want to offer you this word of encouragement. Keep on keeping on! There is a constant temptation in the Christian life. It is the temptation to stop growing; to try to coast. To live your spiritual life looking over your shoulder at the “good old days.” I am here today to urge you not to succumb to that temptation.

Let’s look at the passage we read in the Scripture reading a few moments ago. Verse 12 reads, 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…

Paul is writing to the church in Philippi. It was a church that was very close to his heart. He had a very close relationship with the people in the church, as he makes clear in this letter. They in turn loved Paul. They fondly remembered his time with them, and they longed for him to visit again. I would like to think of this verse in the context of the church here at ECC which may have become very precious to you. Let me paraphrase the verse this way: Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed - not only while you remain here at ECC, but now much more as you leave – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling…

Maybe you found the Lord here. Maybe you have gone through a special period of growth during your time here in the church. Maybe you’ve been equipped and become involved in new areas of service. Don’t allow leaving Abu Dhabi to interrupt that process. Whatever you discovered here, just as you obeyed while you were here, now keep on obeying, keep on growing, keep on keeping on. Don’t stop growing just because your circumstances have changed. Paul didn’t want the Philippians sitting around sighing, “Oh, if only Paul were here.” And I don’t want any of you sitting around saying, “Oh, if only I could find a church here like we had in Abu Dhabi.” Not only in my presence, but much more in my absence…

Paul uses an interesting phrase in the second part of this verse. Continue to work out your salvation… The KJV says “your own salvation” – expressing the emphasis of the original text. This phrase has led to lots of discussion. What is Paul saying? Is he saying that God can’t save you, but that you have to “work out your own salvation” if you want to be saved? How do we reconcile this verse with the text last week in Philippians 3, where we found that we are saved by faith, and not by our own efforts?

Two clarifications will help us understand what Paul is saying. First of all, we need to understand that the term “salvation” is used in different ways in different contexts in Scripture. Sometimes it simply means to be saved from some problem or dilemma in life. Other times it may refer to being saved from the penalty of sin, what theologians call “justification”. Other times the Scripture speaks of our being saved from the power of sin in our daily lives, something the theologians refer to as “sanctification.” All of these can be referred to in the Scripture as “salvation” and we have to discern from the context of the passage what is meant in each case. In the passage before us, I believe Paul is talking about our sanctification. He is talking about our spiritual growth, of our learning to live under the control of the Spirit of God, of fighting free from the power of sin to dominate our daily lives and actions. After all, he began the verse by urging us to “keep on obeying”.

The second clarification comes by clarifying this phrase “work out your own salvation”. At first reading, it sounds like something we have to do by ourselves without help. DIY, Do it yourself! Well, in one sense, that is what Paul is saying. But the help he says they don’t need is his (Paul’s) help. Remember – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence. Whether I am there or not, go on working out your own salvation. You don’t need to depend on me. Why don’t they need to depend on Paul’s help? Because they have an even greater source of help! Look at verse 13: For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

This is the perspective I want all of you to take with you when you leave ECC. Whether you stay or go. Whether you find a great church or not. Whether you have a good spiritual support system or not, keep on keeping on, keep on obeying. Because God is the one who is at work in you to help you continue to grow spiritually. If you have his help, you have all you need. After all, he will produce in you the “willingness” or the “want to” as well as the actual ability to do what he wants you to do. You may be leaving ECC and good spiritual friends here, but you are not leaving God. Or more accurately, God is not leaving you! He is going with you, going before you, and he is the one, the only one you need to go on to maturity in your spiritual life.

Let’s go back to the end of verse 12. What does Paul mean by “fear and trembling”? I think he is simply saying that this is a very serious matter. Our spiritual growth, our sanctification is not an optional extra of the Christian life. It is not something to be lightly dismissed or ignored, something to get to if you have time. It should be your number one priority, whether you stay or go.

Some of you may remember Carolina and Benoit who left our church about a year ago. Both Carolina and Benoit came to faith in Christ while they were here at ECC. When they knew that they were going to be moving to Paris, they made it their very first priority to find a church there where they could continue to grow. Carolina made a couple of trips to France on business before they made the move. She used the internet to find churches there. On at least one occasion she arrived in Paris on a Sunday morning and went straight from the airport to the church to be there in time for service and see if it was the kind of church they were looking for. The kids in the Sunday School were laughing at this lady who showed up for church carrying her suitcase! Continuing to grow spiritually was the first priority in their move. With fear and trembling…

As Paul continues to spell out the importance of moving ahead spiritually, I find his next verse rather striking. It takes us by surprise. Do everything without complaining or arguing…That is probably not where I would have started. I might have said something about great moral issues and doctrinal purity. Instead Paul says, “Don’t be complainers and whiners and arguers…” The word for complaining in Greek is a “sound word”. The actual word is “gongusmon “ and is used to describe the low cooing of doves. It is the low undercurrent of complaining and arguing, just a restless, dissatisfied murmur. So often it is the little foxes that spoil the vines of our Christian testimony and even interrupt our spiritual growth. Wherever you go and whatever you find there, don’t become a complainer, a whiner, a trouble maker.

One of the reasons our spiritual growth is so important is that it is directly tied to our testimony in the world. In verses 15-16, we read: So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe, as you hold out the word of life – in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

The world is a dark place. And the Scripture warns us that it is going to get even darker as history draws to its close. It is desperately important that we as Christians, the children of God, should live lives of contrast to that darkness, so that we will shine like stars against the darkness of the night –  holding out the word of life. Wherever you go from here, people need the light. They need a witness for Christ. If you are “working out your salvation” and growing in your walk with Christ, you will be that witness. And if you do that there, we will know that the work we have done here in Abu Dhabi was not done in vain.

Don’t be satisfied to simply coast spiritually. Don’t accept the status quo. Don’t be content to just remember the good old days in Abu Dhabi with fond nostalgia. What ever you have learned here, whatever growth has taken place in your life here, keep on, even more so. Seek out good spiritual support, but even if you don’t find the perfect church, remember that it is God who is at work in you. If you have him you have all you need to keep on growing. And do it all with a sense of urgency, not complaining and whining, but living a positive, pure life, letting your light shine so that people may see and come to Christ.

The couple came from Canada. Maggie starting coming to ECC first, coming to the Ladies’ Bible Study. It made Gordon curious, and he started coming to the Men’s Bible Study on Sunday mornings. They were both full of questions, but over a couple of months, as those questions were answered, they both gave their hearts to Christ and began to grow in their new found faith. I spent a lot of time with Gordon. I saw God heal some wounds from their past. They were just beginning to blossom spiritually. Then his company transferred him. They moved to Australia. I remember thinking that God had made a mistake. Not because it was Australia, but I just didn’t think they were ready. They were so new in the faith! Who would disciple them, love them, make sure they continued to grow spiritually? We stayed in touch by e-mail for awhile. Gordon wrote me about a dilemma they had finding a church. There was a small, struggling church in their neighborhood, with mostly older people in it. There was also a thriving mega-church on the other side of town with lots of young couples, good teaching and lots of activities for kids. Which did I think they should choose? In my great wisdom I advised them to choose the large church where they could continue to grow and be ministered to. Instead Gordon wrote back that they had decided that God wanted them to get involved in the small church near their home. He started meeting with some of the other men and they decided to start a Bible study like the one at ECC. They began making friends, connecting in their neighborhood and started to invite their friends to church. Last I heard, they were actively involved and thriving in the newly revitalized church. They were “holding forth the word of life,” so that we can rejoice here at ECC that “our labor was not in vain.” That is my prayer and challenge for all of you who are leaving as well as those who are staying.