Work Out Your Own Salvation

The following sermon is made available by Lakeside Bible Church in Cornelius, North Carolina.

For more information about our church or to find more recorded sermons,

please visit us online at lakesidebible.church.

We'd also love to connect with you on social media.

You can find us by searching Lakeside Bible NC on Facebook and Instagram.

For specific questions about the Bible or our church, please email us at info at lakesidebible.church.

Olympians 2 and verse 12.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only,

but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure,

do all things without murmurings and disputings,

that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke,

in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation,

among whom ye shine as lights in the world,

holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ,

that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain,

yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith,

I joy and rejoice with you all.

For the same cause also do ye joy and rejoice with me.

The content of these verses that we just read really seems to be a summary

of this first section of Paul's letter to the Philippian church.

But of course, these verses aren't meant to be just a summary.

They're not meant to just be a summarization of previously stated truth.

They still have a very specific purpose for us.

They have a specific purpose for our understanding of the Christian life

now that we are moving away from this doctrinal digression that Paul has made

in verses 5 through 11.

In the last couple of weeks, we've studied about the person of Jesus Christ

as Paul explains it here, and we finish up with the lordship of Christ.

Now Paul gets to verses 12 through 18,

and he's turning our attention now away from the doctrinal and back to the practical.

So now that he has presented who Jesus Christ is,

what he has done for us in salvation,

he has in verses 9 through 11 presented him as the Lord that we must bow before.

Now he turns our attention back to obeying that Lord.

Because he is our Lord, this is what it means to follow him.

And so these verses primarily focus in on this process of sanctification

in the life of a believer.

Sanctification is just a theological term that we use.

It refers to the process in which God fashions our hearts,

and he fashions our wills, and he makes us more like Christ.

And Paul's drawing the attention of the Philippian believers to this fact.

And he's basically saying, once again,

you need to be concerned with sanctification.

You need to be concerned with personal obedience to the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,

that he's just described in verses 9 through 11.

The first thing that you can write down in verse number 12 and 13

is that we see the demand for obedience or the demand for sanctification.

Look with me again at verses 12 and 13.

Paul says,

There is a corrective nature in Paul's words here.

But it's a correction that's communicated with a very loving tone,

especially when we see that he uses this word, beloved.

Alistair Begg, when preaching on this,

Alistair Begg is one of my favorite preachers in the whole world.

In fact, he probably is my favorite preacher that I have.

He said this when preaching on this passage.

He said,

If we are issuing a challenge or offering a rebuke,

we should have earned the right to do so.

Those whom we speak to with forcefulness and with direction

will be better able to receive such correction and direction

if we can honestly refer to them as beloved or as dear friends.

But what is this loving correction that he's actually making?

He's lovingly instructing these Christians

to concern themselves with the process of sanctification

by working out their own salvation.

Now, again, this isn't to be confused with

a method of obtaining salvation through good works.

The scripture is clear that salvation only comes through faith

by the grace of God,

that there's nothing we can do to earn it,

that there's no amount of goodness

that you could possibly build up

that would make you good enough for God.

We're all sinful.

We're all unrighteous.

So our salvation comes by God's grace

as we trust in Christ through faith.

What Paul's referring to here

is this process of conformity to Christ.

What he's saying is essentially that

there is this work of God in our hearts

that needs to be worked out to the outside.

That in salvation,

at the moment that we come to Christ in faith,

we get this indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit

where God begins to transform our hearts on the inside.

He doesn't start with the external transformation.

He starts with the internal transformation.

Salvation is a matter of the heart.

It's a matter of the will.

It's a matter of the mind.

And God begins to do this work

when we come to Christ in faith.

And then from there,

Paul's saying,

you need to let this transformation

that God is doing on the inside,

you need to let it work out to the outside.

You let it work its way out

in demonstration of obedience

and demonstration of following the Lord

and following his commands in obedience to him.

Again, Alistair Begg is helpful here

when he says we don't work up our salvation

and we don't work for our salvation.

We work out our salvation.

From the inside out

is what really Paul is referencing here.

It's not an optional element of the Christian life.

This is not something that we are told

we have the choice between.

Rather, Paul demands it.

And he commands it in this correction

to the Philippian church

and then to us as well.

There's two elements to this sanctifying work

that I think is helpful for us to understand here.

One is man's responsibility to obey.

And the other is God's inner working

to bring about that obedience.

Let's look at man's responsibility first.

Look at verse 12 one more time.

Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed,

not in my presence only,

but now much more in my absence,

work out your own salvation

with fear and trembling.

The instruction for working out the salvation

clearly indicates

that there is a responsibility

in the part of the individual

in which they will be held accountable.

In this command,

we are held responsible to God

for the way that we live our lives.

We're held accountable to God

for the thoughts that we have.

We're held accountable to God

for the deeds that we act upon.

And there's two elements

to this responsibility here in verse 12.

The first is the timing of our obedience.

The timing of our obedience.

When are we supposed to obey?

And the answer is very easily

always, always obey.

Look at what he says.

Verse 12.

As you have always obeyed,

not in my presence only,

but now much more in my absence.

One of the most common excuses

for unbelievers in rejecting Christianity

is the church's record

of producing rampant hypocrisy.

Perhaps you've invited somebody

to come to church

or maybe you've shared your witness

of Jesus Christ

with somebody that you work with

and maybe a response

that you've heard

or that they have indicated

is I don't like to go to church.

There's just too many hypocrites.

Too many hypocrites

that are putting on a show

and they're just pretending

to really love the Lord.

They're just pretending,

but really,

I know what their life is like.

And of course,

it's not necessarily

an invalid excuse.

Of course,

in response to that,

we urge our friends

and our family

to look to the one

that we follow

rather than his followers.

We look to Christ first

who perfectly exemplified

this morality

that they refer to.

But nonetheless,

there is great damage

that's done

to the preaching

of the gospel

when those preaching it

don't always act like Christians.

We all remember times

when we were in school,

especially middle school

and high school,

because this is when

you really started

to figure it out.

When the teacher

had to go to the office

for a few minutes.

Do you remember that?

One of the schools

that I grew up in,

I went to a couple

of different schools,

but one of the schools

that I grew up in

in my younger years,

some of my classes

were in a building

that was several yards

like on the other side

of campus

from where the office was.

And if my teacher

came in one particular day

and was unprepared

in some way

and had to go make copies

or something like that,

she would have to go

all the way

to the other side of campus

to the office

which gave us

about 20 minutes

to do whatever

we wanted to do.

You know what I'm talking about?

The teacher leaves the room,

heads to the office,

goes off to do whatever it is.

Maybe she gets a phone call

or whatever.

And while the teacher

is in the room,

there's great obedience

and there's order

and there's structure

to what's going on.

But as soon as the teacher

leaves the room,

all chaos ensues, right?

And this is exactly

how Christians

treat their walk with Christ.

whenever the spiritual

authorities in their life

are around,

whether that be a parent

or whether it just be

a spiritual mentor

in your life

or whether it be a pastor

or whatever it is,

whenever they're around,

whenever they're investing

in our lives,

whenever we know

that they're going to see

what we're doing,

we do whatever we need to do

and we do it the best way

that we can.

But as soon as we get

to a point where

the accountability is gone,

how many of us tend

to now let go

of that element

of obedience

to the Lord?

And our obedience

becomes less about

pleasing the Lord

and it becomes more

about pleasing

whoever our authority is

in the area

at that particular

moment in time.

The problem with this

is this level of hypocrisy

is not only sinful,

this level of hypocrisy

does great damage

to our efforts

in the gospel.

How many children

have grown up

and abandoned the church

because they saw

this hypocrisy

exemplified in their parents?

where mom and dad

were one way

when they were at church

and they're a completely

different way

when they're at home.

How many church members

have been hurt

and maybe left a church

because this was exemplified

in their church body,

their church membership?

Where they were hurt

in one way

or they saw this hypocrisy

and maybe a blind eye

was turned

toward the hypocrisy.

They were hurt by it

and it did damage

to the church.

How many communities

have we heard about?

That the damage

to the gospel witness

that a church may have had

was prevalent

because of a revelation

of sin

in the pastor's life

and hypocrisy there.

Paul sets up

right here

at the beginning

of this passage,

he says,

not only are you

to concern yourself

with obedience

but you're to concern yourself

with it all the time.

When are we to obey the Lord?

When are we to exemplify

this sanctifying process?

We're to do it all the time

in all places

with all people.

There's also a tone here

for our obedience.

In addition to the timing,

there's a manner

in which he says

that we're to obey.

He says we're to work out

this salvation

with fear and trembling.

Now, living obediently

in fear of God

is not having

a constant anxiety

about God pouring out

sudden judgment.

Think of the person

that is afraid

to do a particular thing

because they're worried

about the lightning bolt

that may come

and strike them dead

in that moment, right?

There's people

that view God that way.

And that's not the picture

that we have of God

in the scriptures.

God's not sitting

on the edge of his throne

watching every step

that you make,

making sure that

the moment that you mess up,

man, he can nail you

with something.

God is a God of love

and mercy and grace

and joy.

That's not the picture,

the right picture of God.

But there is a tone

for our obedience

that we should have.

It's not fearful

of what he might do.

It's reverential fear

for who he is.

So obedience has more

to do with who God is

than what he might do.

MacArthur is helpful here.

He says,

this is not a fear

of being doomed

to eternal torment.

It's not a helpless dread

of judgment

that leads to despair.

It's rather a reverential fear,

a holy concern

to give God

the honor he deserves

and avoid the chastening

of his displeasure.

There's a difference

between fearing

a punitive judge

and fearing

a loving father.

If we were to

break the law today

and be taken

before a judge,

we might would plead

for mercy or grace,

but we're probably

going to face

that judge with fear

because they have

all the authority

and there's no relationship

there for which

they can dole out

that punishment.

But for a loving father,

the fear is present,

but it's completely different.

I would much rather

go before my father

than an authority

that I don't know

because I know

what I'm getting

from my father

is love.

I know there's probably

going to be correction,

but it's going to be

correction with a purpose

and it's going to be

a correction

that's with the intent

of building up,

not tearing down

or just punitive action

in that way.

That's how we obey the Lord.

This fear

that we have of God,

it's not we're worried

about him as our judge.

He's forgiven our sin.

That penalty of sin

as a believer,

that's already been

abolished for you.

Christ took that for you.

He took the whole payment

for that for you

as far as your eternity

is concerned.

You don't have to worry

about that.

We fear God now

as believers

as a loving father.

We don't want to face

the chastisement

of his displeasure.

We want to obey him.

We want to follow him

because of his love for us.

We want to follow him

because of his concern

for us.

So there's man's responsibility

in this demand.

And then quickly,

there's God's work

in this demand.

God's work in it.

Look at verse 13.

Paul says

that it's our responsibility

to concern ourselves

with this in verse 12.

But then in verse 13,

he says,

for it is God

which works in you

both to will

and to do

of his good pleasure.

What's God's role

in all this?

The truth is,

he's the one

that initiates it all.

He is working

in you,

Paul says.

And he's working

in there,

in you,

to affect

your will

and to affect

your actions

in order that

they may

please

him.

It's not his will

that he's affecting.

It's not his actions

that he's affecting.

He's working in you

to affect your will

and to affect

your actions.

There's a wonderful

truth in this.

That for those

that come to Christ

in faith,

we are guaranteed

the promise

of God's work

in us from there.

He doesn't leave us

on our own.

How awesome is that?

We have this struggle

with sin in our lives.

We have this struggle

with sin in our flesh

and God says,

unless you come to me

in faith,

the result of that sin

is going to be

eternal death

in a place called hell.

And then he saves us

and instead of leaving us

to ourselves

to figure it out,

he says,

now I'm going to help you

and I'm going to help you

by giving you my Holy Spirit

that's going to indwell you

and he's going to fashion

your will

and he's going to fashion

your actions

in order that your life

will please me

and accomplish my purposes.

What an awesome promise

from God.

Just like it's impossible

for us to be saved

apart from God's work,

it is impossible

for us to obey him

apart from his work.

He does this work in us.

It's a progressive work

and it's an awesome work

and it's a guaranteed work

in this passage.

That those who know Christ,

God will work in you

to make this obedience

and sanctification happen.

It would be impossible

for an unbeliever

to continue in a feigned obedience

for an extended amount of time.

The reason is

because we desperately need

God's work in our lives

to obey him.

At the same time,

it would be impossible

for a true believer

not to demonstrate

fruits of righteousness

and repentance

because we are guaranteed

that God works

in the will

and actions of a believer

to bring about his glory

and his pleasure.

It's not that those works save us.

It's that this working of God

is an evidence

that we have been saved,

that we have come to faith.

And someone who's just

putting on a show,

they've got nothing

but mere outward conformity.

They've not truly believed,

their heart has not truly

been engaged

in a walk with Christ.

eventually,

that outward conformity

will be torn away

and the hypocrisy

will be revealed.

But for that person

that has truly come to Christ,

can I tell you,

you may not look

completely different

on day one.

But day by day

by day,

God's going to fashion

your will

and you can't help it

because that's what

God does for us.

That's what's so awesome

is our sin

separates us from him

and then when he saves us,

he keeps drawing us in

and drawing us closer

and fashioning us better

and better

and better

and better

until one day

we get to heaven

and he raptures us home

or we lose

or we die in this life

and we go to heaven

and then he glorifies us completely

and he brings this great work

to completion

where we are now sinless,

we are now perfect

and we can now worship him

in new bodies

and with a new nature,

with a new spirit.

How awesome is that?

Posers will eventually

be exposed

but those who have

truly been saved,

those who are true believers,

they can't hide the fact

that they have been saved

because God will prove it

as he works that salvation

into outward action

and into external obedience

on their part.

The distinctive qualities

of sanctification

is the second thing.

We see it in verses 14 to 16.

The demand is seen

in 12 and 13

but what does this

sanctification look like?

In a practical sense,

what does it mean

we're supposed to do?

And how are our lives

supposed to look?

Let's look at verse 14.

Do all things, Paul says,

without murmurings

and disputings

that you may be blameless

and harmless,

the sons of God

without rebuke,

in the midst of a crooked

and perverse nation

among whom you shine

as lights in the world

holding forth

the word of life.

Paul doesn't provide here

an exhaustive list

of do's and don'ts.

What he gives to us instead

is a progression,

a general progression

of what happens

in this sanctifying process.

There's three stages to it.

It starts with our attitude

toward obedience.

It is continued

with the evidence

of a blameless life

and it results

in a faithful witness.

Let's look at each

of those three things quickly.

Number one,

write down a proper attitude.

A proper attitude.

We see this in verse 14.

Do all things

without murmuring

and disputing.

Paul says here,

a distinctive mark

of this sanctifying process

begins with

having a proper attitude.

Murmuring refers

refers to an emotional rejection

and is related

to complaining.

Disputing here

refers to questioning

and it's related

to criticisms.

It's argumentative

in nature.

Both of them

come from a general spirit

of rebellion.

And these kind of attitudes,

as you know,

are infectious.

They spread

and they expand

and they intensify.

As we read earlier,

the Israelites

were notorious

about this.

Constantly complaining

about their condition,

constantly murmuring

about what God

was doing.

And if they had just

obeyed

and submitted

and endured,

think of how much

sooner they would

have been able

to reap the blessings

that God had promised.

But because of this attitude,

it led to sinful behavior,

which actually led

to many of them

not experiencing

the promise at all.

But what is Paul

actually referring to

when he mentions

this murmuring

and disputing?

It could be

that he is talking

about a specific form

of murmuring

among the people

at Philippi.

Now,

he's already talked

about extensively

the fact that

this is a great church.

As we study

the Philippians,

there's not a lot

there that we can

pick apart

like we can

the Corinthian church

or the Galatian church.

There's not a lot

of issues in this church.

It's a good church.

If there's a weakness

we can point out,

it's the fact

that Paul alludes

several times

in this letter

to the potential

for disunity.

That they're not

living humbly

!

They're not living

humbly

with one another,

but rather

in their pride

and in their selfishness,

there's discord

and he even corrects

a specific group

of ladies

in chapter 4.

He deals with this

quite often.

So it could be

that Paul's point here

is that the believers

were missing out

on demonstrating

a blameless life

in verse 15

specifically because

of this one sin

and this one weakness.

There certainly

is no doubt

that murmuring

and disputing

in the church

is a problem,

but there's always

a heart level

sinfulness

in the attitude

of a Christian

that is constantly

complaining

and criticizing

the church's people

and processes.

And we can't read

this verse

without examining

our own spirit.

What is our spirit

towards others

in the church?

What is our spirit

towards the church

as a body,

towards leadership?

And is my actions

and my attitude

showing a blameless quality

or is it actually

hindering the unity

of the church?

That could be

what Paul's dealing

with here

and it's worth our note.

It could be

that he's talking

about a murmuring

!

and a disputing

with God.

Now it would make sense

after he's just talked

about in verses 9

through 11

he's talked about

Jesus Christ

as our Lord

that we will bow

before him,

we will confess him,

as Lord

and then commands us

in verse 12

that we are to

obey him as Lord.

It makes sense then

that he might interject

the statement

that indicates

that we might resist

this submission.

After all,

our nature is

rebellious.

Our nature is

tending toward

sinfulness.

It's like when you're a kid

and you were given

a chore to do at home.

Perhaps your chore

was to take the trash

to the curb

every Wednesday

when the trash

was supposed

to be picked up.

You knew that was

your job to do.

You know it was

your responsibility

but you hated

to do it.

For whatever reason

that was the thing

that you hated

to do the most.

And every Wednesday

morning when mom

comes around

and says,

Jared,

it's time to go

take the trash out.

You might have obeyed

but the spirit

with which you obeyed

was less than helpful

or encouraging.

Maybe you argued

and complained

against your mom.

Maybe you fussed

and represented

a spirit

that was irritated

that you had

to do this chore

over and over

and over.

You obeyed

but the spirit

with which you obeyed

wasn't with fear

and trembling.

Maybe that's the idea

that Paul's putting out here.

Yes,

obey the Lord.

Obey His word.

Stay faithful to Him

but do it

with a right spirit.

Don't dispute

against Him.

Don't murmur

against Him.

If you murmur

against Him,

if you resist this,

you certainly

won't live this

blameless life

in this progression.

I really think

that both circumstances

apply.

They're even

intertwined together here.

If a Christian

is at peace

with God

and faithfully

submitting to God's will,

that's going to be seen

in the way

that they interact

with others.

A professing Christian

that is constantly

at war with others

and argumentative

in their spirit

always has a deeper issue

in their relationship

with God.

So I really think

it could apply both ways

and both ways

are worth our attention.

So the first thing

we see is this

proper attitude.

The second thing then

is a blameless record.

A blameless record.

Verse 15.

Look with me.

That you may be

blameless

and harmless.

The sons of God

without rebuke

in the midst

of a crooked

and perverse

nation.

The main idea here

is that Christians

would live a life

that is above

reproach.

There's a few terms

that Paul mentions.

One is

blameless,

without blame.

One is

innocent

or harmless.

The other is

without blemish

or without

rebuke.

It all points

to a life

that is

above reproach.

It doesn't

insinuate

perfection.

It certainly

isn't an example

of a prideful

piety.

But it is

the general

character of a

person

that is so

righteous

that it's

difficult to

accuse them.

That's the

mindset that

Paul's getting

across here.

He's not giving

us specific

sins to avoid.

He's saying

that our life

and this

progression

should begin

with a right

spirit towards

God and others

and then that

will be evidenced

in a blameless

life.

A life that

is above

reproach.

A life that's

not easily

accused.

The progression

is indicated

here in the

word that.

Do you notice

that in verse

15?

Do all things

without murmuring

and disputing

that you may

be blameless.

As if the

blameless

quality is a

direct result

of the

proper attitude

that he

mentions in

verse 14.

The college

that I

attended,

I went to

a small

school,

really small

school actually

in Raleigh,

just outside of

Raleigh in a

town called

Wendell.

It was a

very,

very small

school and

it was a

very,

very conservative

school and

it had lots

of roles and

those roles

went in a

lot of

different

directions.

Jared hasn't

always been

great about

keeping his

mouth shut when

he was in

disagreement with

something.

In fact,

my mom used

to always say

I wasn't a

bad kid.

It was always

my mouth that

got me in

trouble.

In fact,

she would say

that my mouth

is in drive but

my brain is in

neutral.

That's what mom

would always say

was my problem

growing up.

There was this

one rule at

our college that

I absolutely

hated.

And you're

going to think

this is silly

that I put so

much effort into

hating this

rule because it's

not really that

big a deal.

But it was a

lost and found

rule.

We had a

small campus and

the custodians

were students and

the custodians

just got tired of

having to pick up

people's stuff that

they would leave

laying around campus.

And of course,

I understand their

frustration with

that.

The problem in the

rule was whenever

you left something

on campus, they

would take it to

the school bookstore,

which was also run

by students.

And in order to

get your stuff back,

you didn't have to

just go and claim it

and describe your

item.

You had to pay them

a dollar per item

to get your stuff

back.

Anybody go to a

school like that or

you've been in a

situation like that?

Isn't that ridiculous?

I'm getting

irritated about it

now already,

just talking about

it.

And so anytime I

left something or

if there was

something going on,

I did everything I

could to try to

get it back before

it made it to the

lost and found so I

wouldn't have to

take my precious

college money and

buy my own stuff

again.

And there was this

one weekend, we

had this basketball

tournament at our

campus.

I was helping with

the tournament.

I was on staff at

the school at the

time and I was

doing something

with the basketball

tournament.

I had a jacket.

It was in January

or February.

Around this time.

High school

basketball tournament.

I had taken my

jacket off and put it

on the back of my

chair and then being

on staff for the

school, I was

traveling all weekend

promoting the

college and I was

running late so I

had to go jump on a

bus.

When I went and

jumped on the bus to

go represent the

college, I left my

jacket in the

gymnasium.

And as soon as we

got on the road, I

realized what I did.

And I started calling

my friends, please go

get my jacket.

I don't want to pay a

dollar to buy my

own jacket back.

Except none of my

friends were good

enough friends to go

get my jacket for me.

It stayed there.

And somebody put it in

the lost and found.

Well, I had let plenty

of people know in this

small campus of only

about 150 students how

much I hated that role.

And I let them know

that a lot.

And I wasn't very

quiet about it.

I had a very poor

attitude about this

role on campus.

And so when I got back,

I was frustrated.

I was complaining about

it.

But I went to the

bookstore.

I remember it just like

it was yesterday.

I went to the

bookstore.

I had a fistful of

change is what I gave

the guy.

And another student was

working the desk.

His name was Steve

Schreiner.

And I put the change on

the desk.

I said, that's my

jacket.

I need to buy my

jacket back.

And he took my

change.

And I took my jacket

and it was all over.

The next day I was

wearing my jacket on

campus because it was

cold.

And another one of the

students that had

actually picked it up

knew that it had been

in the lost and found,

saw me wearing my

jacket and just assumed

that I had stolen it

out of the lost and

found.

She didn't ask me

about it.

She just assumed

because I had run my

mouth so much.

This is so stupid,

isn't it?

I had run my mouth so

much about this lost

and found rule that she

just assumed that I had

gone into the school's

bookstore and stolen my

own jacket, if that's

even possible to do.

Next thing I know, I've

got a note in my box at

school that I got to go

before the administration

of the school.

I didn't even know what

it was about.

I literally sit in an

administrator's office of

our school.

I have no idea what it's

about.

And she looks at me and

she says, is that your

jacket?

I said, yes, Miss

Morris, that's my jacket.

Where did you get it?

The lost and found?

When did you get it?

Yesterday?

How did you get it?

Gave my money to Steve

Schreiner.

And then she proceeds on.

She didn't believe me.

She proceeded to accuse

me of stealing that

jacket.

Steve Schreiner, who was

working the desk, told her

that I didn't actually pay

for it.

He at least said that he

couldn't remember whether

or not I had paid for it.

And they just assumed that

meant guilt.

And there was this whole

just ordeal about it.

And eventually everything

was okay, but there was

this whole ordeal about it.

Here's the problem.

The problem wasn't so much

with the rule.

And there were certainly

some issues with the way

that they tried to get me

in trouble.

The problem was Jared

wasn't a very blameless

person.

Why wouldn't they expect me

to have stolen my jacket

in that moment?

After all, I had spent

several months whining and

complaining and running

in my mouth about how I'm

never paying money to get

my stuff back.

And even though I was

willing to obey the rule

in that moment, my attitude

insinuated that I was

guilty.

And even though I hadn't

actually done anything

wrong, I didn't live a life

that was above reproach.

That's a really silly

illustration that applies

greatly to Christians.

Because when we go through

this process of murmuring

and disputing and arguing

with God and with his word

and with spiritual leaders

in our life that help us

in this Christian life when

it comes to spiritual

obedience and obeying Christ,

when our attitude is

constantly murmuring and

disputing and frustrated

and irritated and

questioning and disrespectful

to the Lord or to anyone

else, why wouldn't anybody

suspect that we were just

as hypocritical as anybody

else?

And therefore, our life

isn't above reproach.

In this progression, a holy

attitude leads to a

blameless life, but the

opposite works as well.

An unholy attitude often

leads to sinful life.

It may not just be that

you're below accusation,

but eventually you may

actually fall into that

very sin.

And it starts with that

proper attitude.

And then the third thing,

what it results in,

is a faithful witness.

Look at the end of verse 15.

That you are children of God

without blemish in the midst

of a crooked and perverse

generation among whom you

shine as lights in the world,

holding forth the word of

life.

All right, remember, this is a

progression he's talking

about.

He's not giving us specific

things here.

He's talking about this

progression in generic terms.

The first stage of it is a

proper attitude, fear and

trembling towards God, having

the right spirit towards God,

having the right spirit about

obedience towards God and

towards his word.

And what that does is it

flows into a life that is

blameless and that is

innocent and it is above

reproach, hard to be

accused.

Somebody brings up an

accusation, most people

aren't going to believe it

right away.

It doesn't mean you're

perfect.

It just means that your life

exemplifies righteousness.

Nine times out of ten,

you're going to do the

right thing.

Because you love the Lord,

you're going to be obedient.

All right, that

characterizes your life.

What then does that do?

It causes your life to shine

as a light in the midst of a

dark, sinful, crooked,

perverse world and culture.

And then he says the way

that it shines is because

you're holding forth this

word of life.

Believers hold fast to the

word in that they stand

firm on sound truth and they

obey the Lord and they follow

him.

And in holding fast to God's

word in obedience, they end

up as their life is displayed

holding forth that same word

that gives life to all who

will believe.

So then we see that God's

desire for our obedience isn't

just for obedience sake.

There's a purpose and an

intention in this sanctifying

process.

Ultimately, that he would

receive glory and that our

lives would be used for his

gospel purposes.

So Paul says work out your

salvation, a proper attitude,

gratitude, a blameless life so

that you can shine as a light

in this dark world, holding

forth the word that can give

life.

Your behavior matters in that.

And then finally, quickly, we see

the demand, we see the

distinctive qualities of it, and

then we see the delight.

Verse 16, Paul says that I may

rejoice in the day of Christ,

that I have not run in vain,

neither labored in vain.

And if I be offered upon the

sacrifice and service of your

faith, I joy and rejoice with

you all.

For the same cause also do ye joy

and rejoice with me.

And here, once again, this theme

of joy is interjected in this

letter.

Except here, the joy comes from

our obedience.

obedience, and it comes to three

people.

First, it comes to spiritual

leaders.

See what Paul said in verse 16?

Do all of this so that I can

rejoice and be glad when I stand

before Christ.

It's kind of like a mother who

works and works and works at

trying to teach their kids to

obey, and then finally they see

them obey when they don't know

that mom is looking, and the

pride and the encouragement that

wells up in that moment.

This is Paul as a loving

spiritual father looking at this

church and saying, it makes me

so glad.

I rejoice when I see that your

life is in obedience to God and

his word.

This is the case for all spiritual

leaders.

Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 17.

Hebrews 13 · chapter mention

Obey them that have the rule over

you as those that will give an

account to the Lord, that they

watch for your souls, that they

may do it with joy and not with

grief.

There, it's given as a

motivation.

This joy for spiritual leaders.

It's also a delight for persecuted

saints.

Verse 17.

Paul says, and if I be offered

upon the sacrifice and service of

your faith, I joy and rejoice with

you.

The if statement there is similar to

the if statements at the beginning

of chapter 2.

It's referencing not a question as

to if something would happen.

It's a reference to something that

is already certain.

He's referencing his own

imprisonment.

Why is Paul in prison for preaching

the gospel?

Who was affected by that preaching

of the gospel?

The Philippians were.

And he says, even if my life has

to be hindered in comfort and in

wealth, if I have to be in prison

for four years for preaching the

gospel, but that gospel saves your

soul and it's exemplified in this

obedient living, he said, I'll rejoice

in my imprisonment.

Persecuted saints rejoice in this.

And then finally, the believer

themselves rejoices in this.

Verse 18.

For the same cause, Paul says, for

the same reason, you should rejoice.

There is great joy that comes with

obedience.

It's not that we're proud of

ourselves.

It's not that we pat ourselves on the

back.

It goes back to this process of the

evidence that God is at work in us.

Paul wasn't rejoicing in the

righteous actions themselves so much

as he was rejoicing in what those

actions gave evidence to.

And that was their genuine conversion.

It wasn't that he wanted them to

conform to a set of rules.

So many people make that mistaken

judgment about the Christian life.

It's not about a set of rules.

It's about who is affecting that

change.

And for them to follow the Lord in

obedience meant that the Lord was at

work in their lives.

And he rejoiced in the fact that God

was working.

And when you find yourself falling in

obedience in a way that you hadn't

done previously, rejoice in that, not

because you did something good, because

it really wasn't you that did it.

It was God fashioning your heart and

working in your will and working in

your actions in order to accomplish his

purposes.

And in that moment, we rejoice at the

fact that God would help us.

Rejoice in the fact that God is

helping you and he's helping me.

How awesome is that?

What a God is that?

That not only is he the Lord and

judge, but for those that belong to

him, he's the helper.

And he's the encourager.

And that certainly is worth rejoicing

in.

Thank you for listening to this sermon

made available by Lakeside Bible

Church.

Feel free to share it wherever you'd

like.

Please do not charge for it or alter

it in any way without express written

consent from Lakeside Bible Church.

Don't forget to visit us online at

lakesidebible.church or find us on

Facebook and Instagram by searching for

Lakeside Bible NC.

If you live in the Charlotte or Lake

Norman area, we'd love for you to

attend one of our worship services.

We meet every Sunday morning at 10 a.m.

in the gym at Cornelius Elementary

School.

We'd love to meet you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.