Philippians 2:12-13 - Homiletics

What should be the result of Christ's example?

I. OBEDIENCE .

1 . Christ became obedient even unto death. The Philippians have hitherto been obedient; they were obedient when the apostle called them to faith and repentance; let them be obedient now.

2 . That obedience is due to God who sooth the heart. We must not depend too much on human teachers, whether present or absent; we must look to the unseen Savior who is ever present, and work out, each one for himself, our own salvation.

II. EARNEST EFFORT TO SAVE OUR SOULS .

1 . Because our salvation was the end of Christ ' s humiliation. He came into the world to save sinners. The greatness of his self-sacrifice shows the momentous importance of the object for which he humbled himself. The cross of Christ throws a bright light on the tremendous alternative—life or death, salvation or damnation.

2 . Because of salvation is lost , all is lost . The word σωτηρία means simply safety—safety from anything that may harm us, from danger, sickness, death. In Holy Scripture it means the safety of the soul,

It is a precious word, for it points to unspeakable blessedness; an awful word, for it suggests a fearful alternative. It reminds us of that condemnation, that horror of eternal despair, which must be the portion of the lost. That great danger threatens us; we need to be saved from it, and therefore from sin.

3 . Because our salvation must be wrought out by ourselves : no other man can do it for us. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior; he is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. "By grace ye are saved,… he and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Our salvation is the work of God. But there are two sides to the same great truth. It is his work, and yet it is ours. Both views of the one truth are presented to us in Holy Scripture. Both are true; they meet somewhere above our heads. Now we know in part; our standpoint is not high enough to command a connected view of all God's dealings with men. But we can see far enough to guide us on our way to heaven; we know enough for the needs of the Christian life. We know that Christ is our only Savior; he came into the world to save sinners; he died for all. But Holy Scripture bids us to carry out the work of salvation in our own souls, to complete it, working from the cross, in the faith of Christ. There is need of persevering energy. Others may guide, comfort, exhort; but each man must work out his own salvation for himself in the depths of his spirit,—it cannot be done by deputy. We must work, for God bids us; we must work, for we have an irresistible consciousness of power to choose the good and to avoid the evil. But we must trust wholly in Christ. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. It is he that saves us, not we ourselves.

III. A TREMBLING ANXIETY TO PLEASE GOD .

1 . If we are in earliest , there must sometimes be fear and trembling in our religious life. The work is so very momentous; it is no matter for indifference or lukewarmness. We must pass the time of our sojourning here in fear, for we were "redeemed … with the precious blood of Christ." The greatness of the ransom shows the greatness of the danger. We must pray for grace to serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear; for true religion involves a deep, awful reverence for the majesty of God. Reverence is an essential clement in true holiness. "Hallowed be thy Name" is the first petition in the prayer which the Lord himself hath taught us; and with reverence must be mingled holy fear—the fear of undue familiarity intruding itself into our solemn worship; the fear of displeasing God who will judge us, who gave his blessed Son to die for us, by unfaithfulness in our daily lives.

2 . The ground both for fear and for encouragement. God worketh in us. It is a ground for fear; for if it is God that worketh in us, then to take part with the flesh is to strive against the Most High, to resist the Holy Ghost—a most awful danger. And it is a ground for encouragement; for if it is God that hath begun the good work within us, we may be confident that he will carry it on. His strength, if only we persevere, will be made perfect in our weakness. Man can do nothing without God, and God will do nothing without man. He bids us work out our own salvation, because he worketh in us both to will and to do. Holy desires and just works alike proceed from him. Yet, though he willeth that all men should be saved, all are not saved; for they will not conic unto him that they might have life. The problem is insoluble in theory; it is solved in the religious life. If we live in the faith of the Son of God, the very sense of entire dependence upon him will urge us to work out to the end the salvation which he hath wrought for us by his precious blood-shedding, which he is working within us by the gift of his Holy Spirit.

LESSONS .

1 . You work hard in your outward calling; work hard in your religious life.

2 . The alternatives at issue are of stupendous moment; work with fear and trembling.

3 . But remember, Christ died for you, God worketh in you. Work the cross; trust in God, not in your own efforts, however earnest.