Monday Devotion - 20th July 2020
Scripture Reading: Philippians 2:12-13
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
What is God doing right now in the life of a believer?
How would you go about answering that question?
It is not a trick question of such but it is one that causes us to think deeper about the already and the not yet. The chasm between our life on earth and eternity in Heaven. Think of it this way, since the day you were gloriously saved from your sin and until the day where you go to be with your saviour, what is going on in your life?
The Bible talks about salvation in three different ways; past, present and future. And it is important to be aware of what tense a particular biblical author is referring to. In the past tense, we are justified. Immediately saved from sin. In the present tense, we are sanctified. Progressively saved or rescued from sin and led toward holiness. And finally, there is the future tense of being glorified. One day we will fully realise and embrace ultimate salvation in Heaven, a place where sin will be no more.
The focus of the passage we have read is the second tense of salvation; sanctification. This is one of those classic Christian terms that many know of but when prompted for a definition are dumb-struck.
Sanctification is what is happening in the life of a believer right now. It is the process of putting sin to death and growing in holiness. It is, in essence becoming more like our saviour Jesus Christ.
American author Paul Tripp puts it aptly;
‘The power of sin has been broken, but the presence of sin still remains, so God is working by grace to progressively transform you.’
God is active in your life right now. He is working by grace to change and transform you. And the Apostle Paul gets that, hence why he brings it up at this moment of his letter to the Philippians.
As you read verses 12 and 13 it is crucial to read them in unison and not to force a wedge between them. If you just read verse 12, you may be left with the impression that your sanctification is all down to you. So you will pull up your socks and get to work. Pray more, read your Bible more, give more and so on. Though it may be done out of good intentions, you are placing the weight of your sanctification upon your shoulders. You will base your growth in holiness upon your performance.
However, if you read just verse 13, you may be left with the impression that this is all God’s work. So you can sit tight, enjoy life arms folded and wait for God to do his sanctifying work within you.
But these verses come married together. Two sides of the one coin.
They perfectly outline humanities responsibility and God’s activity. On our part, we are called to work out our salvation. To be clear, we are not to add to our salvation or earn it in some way. If that is what Paul is thinking then he is undermining the totality of Christ’s work on the cross. Instead, Paul is encouraging active faith within the Philippians.
The moment we are saved does not mean we become perfect. No, not at all. We still wrestle with sin. And we still do not fully comprehend the wonder of our salvation. We could spend the rest of our lives digging deeper at the depth of our salvation and we would we still only be at the surface.
It is like swimming in the ocean. We may be swimming and enjoying all the benefits but we can never fully comprehend its vastness. Our eyes can not take it all in and we can not swim to the bottom of it. That is a picture of our salvation. Christian, never think you have fully grasped the full extent of your salvation. There is plenty more swimming to do.
But finally, you are not left to your own devices. God is on your side. More than that, he takes pleasure in your sanctification. The creator of this world finds joy in your spiritual progress. Just like a loving father longs for their child to grow in maturity and knowledge, our heavenly Father longs to see you grow in your faith.
His grace comes in all shapes and sizes. Through his word in daily devotions or preached. It comes through our moments in prayer. We experience it in fellowship where genuine believers will offer encouragement and appropriate rebuke.
And because God is the standard of goodness, our sanctification could not be in safer hands. That is reason enough to be encouraged.