September 22, 2021: Work Out Your Salvation; How is This Done? Can We Do It on Our Own, I Think Not!

When it comes to our "Absolute Surrender" to God, so many of us think, "How much more does God want from me? Haven't I suffered enough for His kingdom? There is still so much of my 'self-life' remaining for me to live for."

And there lies the problem of our "surrender" to God. We still want to hold on to our "self-life", our "self-will", thinking that by holding on to our self-will we will have better control of ourselves. This is so untrue, and this way of thinking comes only through our own fleshly desires. We must get rid of that way of thinking. But how is that possible, or is that even possible? Great news, it is possible, but not by our own power, but only through the power of the Holy Spirit. Read the following in Philippians:

Philippians 2: 12-13

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you 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; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

You see, so many of us have read and heard the 12th verse of Philippians, that we must "workout our salvation", and so we try to do. We begin trying to become "good" and "obedient" Christians to our God. But the most important part of what the Apostle Paul is say here, is in verse 13: "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure".

God knows it is impossible for us to work in trying to be "good children". That is why God gave us His "Holy Spirit" to do the work through us, not us trying to do the work by ourselves. All God wants us to do is to give up our "free-will", (self-will), that is, "absolutely surrender" all of ourselves to Him, and allow Him to work through us. Doesn't that sound much easier to do? Another verse that comes to mind that will help you grab this concept is in Ephesians:

Ephesians 2: 10

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Just as in Ephesians 2: 8-9, where Paul is speaking about our "salvation" is by God's grace, so are "our works" by His grace, that He will create through us if we will let Him. "We are 'His' workmanship created in Christ Jesus."

PERSONNAL COMMENT:

May we come to learn, understand, and most importantly, trust God to do the work through us. All He asks of us is to surrender ourselves to Him. It is only then will we begin to experience the peace and rest we are truly seeking for in our relationship with Him. Praise God for His everlasting love for us.