Dr. Ron Sumners
July 11, 2010
I grew up in Vincent, Alabama. It is a small hamlet about 25 miles southeast of here, on the poor side of Shelby County! In the past months a great controversy has been raging there: Quarry yes! Quarry no! I no longer live in Vincent, so I don’t have a dog in the hunt. My opinion is neither wanted nor needed, but I have observed a constant in human nature: people fight change! It may even be change for the good; but they will resist it!
Vincent Hills Limestone Quarry proposes to build a limestone quarry on the outskirts of the town. The quarry would bring an opportunity for much needed jobs and tax revenue. The little town attempts to provide some city services such as a volunteer fire department and one police officer. However, there is little business to provide tax revenue for school improvement or garbage pick-up. The revenue from Vincent Hills would greatly help that situation. So, what has been the issue for those against it? Change!
There is a combative group vehemently opposed to the Quarry. You will find “Quarry No!” placards in yards throughout the town. My dad’s neighbors have at least ten “Quarry No!” signs in their yard with a couple as close to dad’s property line as possible. My Dad is not against the quarry. This group has voiced several tired, old retread arguments as to why the quarry is a bad idea. All the objections, which are baseless and merely emotional responses, have been answered by other communities that have a quarry. What is the real issue? People resist change; even when it would be the very best thing!
Faced with the daunting challenge of obedience and the recognition that change is hard, let’s look at Philippians 2:12-13 to see the importance of change as well as the power to change.
When it comes to change, there are often two extremes into which Christians fall: Quietism and Pietism!
Quietism teaches that the believer is passive and is characterized by the saying, “let go and let God!” The mysticism and subjectivism of quietism was originally popular among the Quakers and then became a part of the Pentecostal movement. They believed you could come to a place that you completely surrendered to God and you never sinned again – what some call “sinless perfection.”
All this requires is total surrender to God. God does all the cleansing and preparation. Effort, it was thought, was a hindrance to the process of sanctification, so self must get out of the way. You have heard the phrases associated with this idea: “die to self,” “crucify self,” “put self on the altar.”
Pietism, on the other hand, teaches that it is a diligent effort toward personal piety. You are active, aggressive and working in all your power to live the sanctified life. Pietism has its roots in 18th century Germany as a reaction to the lifeless and detached theology of the church at that time. There was a strong emphasis on the personal study of the Bible, holy living, practical Christianity, spiritual exercise and self-discipline. They took the opposite view of the Quietists. They said that if there was a belief that did not lead to works, it was not a worthwhile belief. If passivity was the hallmark of Quietism, activity was the key to Pietism.
The problem arises; when you believe that all your spiritual progress is based upon your ability to dedicate yourself, and move yourself in the right direction, then you’re going to experience two things: When you succeed, you’ll be proud! “Look what I have accomplished. I am righteous!” When you fail, you’ll have despair. If you are the only resource, where do you go when you fail? If you fail you have no place to turn and there is a good chance that you will give up!
Both sides are problematic. When you read verse 12, it looks like Paul is a Pietist. When you read verse 13, it looks like he is a Quietist. These verses must be taken together, not separately.
God commands us to change and change comes when we are obedient.
People look for a variety of fix-its to their problems. Some will spend large amounts of money on therapists or consult psychics to find the right solution. Americans spend $50 million a year on subliminal message tapes designed to help them do everything from improve their self-image to stop smoking. The National Research Council concludes that they don’t work.
Paul is matter-of-fact with his advice: obey! It is not stated as an option. If we profess faith in Jesus Christ, obeying Him is not optional!
Change demands the right effort – working out our salvation. This is a hard one to swallow. Why would God command us to work out our salvation? We believe that salvation is by faith alone through the grace of God through Jesus Christ, what does Paul mean?
First, we’ll misunderstand this verse when we read it as good, individualistic Americans, privatizing Paul’s corporate imperatives. Don’t forget the context; Paul is warning against an individualized faith which seeks its own while ignoring everyone else. In Greek, the “your” is a reflexive plural “work out among yourselves.” The context of the chapter won’t allow for introspection, but that we should look out for each other. Rather than fighting with each other, we should be encouraging each other to grow as believers. This command to work is a command to the church to apply the truths Paul elaborated upon in verses 6-11.
Also, the command to work out your salvation must be understood in the proper context. We sometimes mistakenly conceive of salvation as a one-time event of justification. We are made right by the atoning action of Jesus Christ on the cross. But Paul often encompasses a wider range of concepts when he talks about salvation. Salvation is what God did in eternity past with His plan to send His Son to the cross. The purpose of that act is to bring us to glorification; a reunion with our creator God. The process of living this life in the flesh as we make our way to glorification is called sanctification!
The context of Philippians 2 is not the justification of those believers, but the sanctification; the working and maturing of the believers in their faith.
In sanctification, salvation is not a benefit that we can merit or earn, but a possession to be explored and enjoyed as we mature in it daily. The concept Paul is trying to get across is this: “carry to completion, see it through.” His command is in the constant present tense – meaning that this is an ongoing work. We are to be doing it and continue doing it as long as we live!
I have never been a good math student. When the teacher gave a math quiz, they might say, “Work out this problem.” That is, you hold in your hand, Ron, all you need – now unravel it; work it out. I talk to many married couples and advise that they “work at their relationship.” That is, you hold in your hands, all you need – “now unravel it!” They possess the marriage, but the benefits demand a lifetime of exploration, enjoyment and discovery.
Paul is not asking the Philippians to find salvation; they already have it. He does not mean to work for their salvation they have already received it as a free gift from God. He says, “work out your salvation!”
Change demands the right perspective – fear and trembling. This fear and trembling are not anxiety attacks; the nervous bewilderment so common in our lives when we are uncertain what the future holds. Paul means that we should take seriously the demands of the sanctification of our lives for Jesus Christ!
This is the best remedy to the pride, the self-assurance, the overly comfortable laziness which plagues most of us. We work out our salvation when there is time, when it is convenient, when we feel like it. Too often we are overly confident and comfortable and careless. A good measure of distrust of ourselves should cause us to lean more confidently on the mercy of the Lord.
How often do we hear of the need to: “fear God?” Christian churches and preachers today present a God who is far too much our friend and buddy to ever evoke a reason to tremble. The ancient Israelites feared and reverenced God so much that they would not even speak His name.
The tetra gram YHWH, was written to be unpronounceable. When they spoke of God they used the term “Adonai” which means “Lord.” We need a proper reverence and awe of God! When we see the darkness of our own heart, the weakness of our own resolve, the power of temptation, we should be filled with the dread of offending God. There should be fear. Not of what He might do to us, but fear that we will fail and offend Him!
The right response to God is always obedience! We must have a sense of what is right and wrong and we know that by knowing God’s law. Then there must be a commitment to change, but that commitment, in this passage is worked out in the context of working with others. Working out our salvation is an individual and group effort!
God causes us to change as we work out our salvation!
Obedience to God is not optional in the Christian life. Augustine said, “God gives us commands we cannot perform, that we may know what we ought to request from Him.” A consciousness of our powerlessness must break us of self-assurance and force us to look to Him who has all power!
What follows in verse 13 is the means by which we work out our salvation. The word “for” connects this verse to verse 12 – we are to work out what God has worked in. In verse 12, we feel the weight of the law and in verse 13 we find the help and hope of the Gospel: God is the One who is at work; He indwells, empowers, controls and directs.
John Calvin said, “This is the true artillery for destroying all haughtiness; this is the sword for killing all pride, when we hear that we are utterly nothing and can do nothing except through the grace of God alone.” I can quote John Calvin without being a Calvinist. He had some great ideas about the power and sovereignty of God. I accept those without adopting his whole theology of salvation.
We must change and it is only God that can change us. We must allow Him to do so. No reading of a self-help book or a New Year’s resolution will bring about the change that is needed as we work our salvation!
Change is certainly hard, but we do not have to do it alone! It is not “I must control my tongue!” If that is our cry, we will likely fail. Rather, we should say, “Lord, please control my tongue.” Control comes in knowing what God desires, confessing our weakness and constantly asking God for grace to obey.
God supplies not only the will we need to change, but also the power to respond. In order to rip every last shred of self-pride from us, God reminds us of the necessity to change and then tells us the only way we will ever change is by God’s work of grace. God is working from above and within to make you both; to will and to do. When we grasp this, obedience ceases being rules that regulate, conduct and becomes another opportunity for God to mold us like Christ!
Have you ever watched a little child trying to push a grocery cart, his hands barely reaching the bar, his vision blocked by the wire mesh and the accumulation of packages and boxes? While he is proud of his efforts in controlling the cart, it is Mom or Dad standing behind who is actually directing the shopping cart!
When it comes to change in your life, you know what God demands; you know what is necessary. You must change. For real change to occur you must yield to God’s law, confess, repent from sin and as you look in faith to Christ, as you consider and seek to conform your life to God’s revealed will – your life will change!
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