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with me in your Bibles to Philippians 
chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2 as we continue 
to work our way through Paul's letter to the church at Philippi. Our focus tonight will be verses 
12 and 13, but I want to read verses 1 to 18. So beginning in chapter 2 of 
Philippians, verse 1. Therefore, if there is any consolation 
in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the 
Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being 
like-minded. having the same love, being of 
one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish 
ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others 
better than himself. Let each of you look out not 
only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, 
being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be 
equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the 
form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being 
found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became 
obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 
Therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given him the 
name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every 
knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth 
and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should 
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the 
Father. 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. For it is God 
who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. 
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become 
blameless and harmless, children of God, without fault, in the 
midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine 
as lights in the world. Holding fast the word of life, 
so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not 
run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured 
out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your 
faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason, 
you also be glad and rejoice with me. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for this Lord's Day. We thank you for the beauty of 
the day and for the majesty displayed in the created order. We thank 
you for redemption through grace, or by grace, through faith in 
our Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray now, as we continue 
in this wonderful epistle to the Philippians, that your Holy 
Spirit would guide us, that you would cleanse us in the precious 
blood of the Lord Jesus. Even now, cause us to put to 
death those remaining corruptions, and cause us to live in light 
of passages like we find here. in Philippians chapter 2. Again, 
watch over us, guide us by the spirit of truth, and we ask in 
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Well, after a somewhat 
lengthy section there in verses 5 to 11, not lengthy in terms 
of actual word count, but lengthy in terms of exposition, we return 
to the sum and substance of Paul's epistle. He wants to exhort the 
Philippians to be faithful and to be godly. He picks up or he 
resumes in verse 12 with that reference, therefore. And as 
I said, we're just going to look at verses 12 and 13 this evening. It is a general exhortation to 
the people of God on how they are to live in light of so great 
a salvation. And then he gives some concrete 
application in verses 14 to 16, which God willing, we'll take 
up the next time that we look at Philippians chapter two. So 
two things that I wanna look at tonight with reference to 
verses 12 and 13. First, the responsibility of 
believers in verse 12. And then secondly, the divine 
empowerment in verse 13. And as I said, there's lots to 
consider. So we'll look first at the responsibility of believers 
under two heads. there is an encouragement, and 
then there is the duty. Note the encouragement. The connection 
is obvious in verse 12. Therefore, my beloved, as you 
have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much 
more in my absence. So beginning with therefore, 
he connects it to the previous section. He puts it in light 
of the overarching context, the mortification of selfish ambition 
and conceit. Remember back in verse 3, let 
nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness 
of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. He gives 
them these admonitions and these encouragements and these things 
that they need to implement in order for church life, unity, 
love, kindness, graciousness, not pride, not arrogance, putting 
others first. And then he points to the Lord 
Jesus Christ, that humility exemplified by our Lord in the Incarnation, 
specifically in the Passion. We see that in that section in 
verses 6 to 11. And it is an example. It's not 
always the case that Christ is pointed to. In fact, it's the 
minority of cases that Christ is pointed to in a way of example. The primary emphasis is on Christ 
and Him crucified and resurrected for the salvation of sinners. 
But here He is an example. So in verse 5, let this mind 
be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. He highlights the 
divinity of our blessed Savior, the fact that He took on our 
humanity, And in taking on our humanity, he humbled himself, 
and he humbled himself to the point of death, even the death 
of the cross. So his life was a life of obedience. So the apostle demonstrates obedience 
vis-a-vis Christ's incarnation and passion. And now he exhorts 
them to obedience, not brand new obedience, because he does 
commend them that they had already obeyed, but he wants them to 
continue to obey. So notice the commendation that 
he gives there in verse 12. Therefore, my beloved, as you 
have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much 
more in my absence. My beloved, I think at times 
we just think of Paul as this man who sat in an ivory tower 
and he wrote theology. He just wrote Romans 9, and he 
just wrote Ephesians 1, and he just refuted future Arminians 
and Pelagians, and he was a machine that only ever wanted to blast 
and obliterate all the false systems of man. I would suggest 
that he was that, but he was also a pastor. And you see that 
pastoral heart come out here when he says, therefore, my beloved. He loves the sheep of Christ. 
And remember, the particular situation that Paul finds himself 
in is that he's in prison. This is between AD 60 and 62. 
It's the first Roman imprisonment of the Apostle Paul. He is there. 
He writes Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon while 
he is incarcerated. And while he is incarcerated, 
he's making much of Jesus Christ, and he's encouraging the people 
of God. He's not calling his lawyer. He's not meeting with 
his lawyer. He's not complaining to the warden. He's not arguing 
with the fellow soldiers. He is rather edifying the people 
of God by the power of the Holy Spirit for the advancement of 
the cause of Christ and truth here on earth. It is the most 
blessed example of a pastor's heart. My beloved. And then he 
commends them in terms of their obedience. It's a blessed statement. 
My beloved, as you have always obeyed, Paul knew of their obedience, 
and it wasn't the kind of obedience that I think sometimes children 
render when they're told to go clean their room, and they just 
kind of sit on the bed until they hear mom or dad walk up 
the stairs, and then they want to look busy because mom is coming. These are not the kinds of believers 
that say, look busy, Paul is coming. These were faithful brethren 
in Philippi. He speaks very lovingly toward 
them and of them and approvingly in the second letter to Corinthians. So here he commends them for 
that obedience that they have had, and then he calls them to 
perseverance in it. As you have always obeyed, not 
as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. while 
I am away, while I am incarcerated, while you don't have my immediate 
supervision, you need to be able to continue to faithfully persevere. 
You need to shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation. 
That's the concrete application that he's gonna give in 14 to 
16. But he wants them to obey. He wants them to be faithful. 
And then that brings us to the duty. Notice, he says, work out 
your own salvation with fear and trembling. Now, this is a 
statement that can be abused. This is a statement that, taken 
out of context, can be misused. It can highlight something that 
is contrary to the Scripture. It can highlight, or at least 
seem to suggest or indicate, something of a self-salvation. 
But I want you to notice that he's not exhorting unbelievers 
here. He's not calling unbelievers to save themselves. He's not 
calling unbelievers to flip on a switch and to work out their 
own salvation. He's exhorting believers. Believers, 
by the way, he's already commended for having obeyed this. Notice, 
again, verse 1, "...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." He's reminding, he's calling them 
to steadfastness and to perseverance. The scriptures do not teach any 
form of self-salvation. And remember, in Scripture language, 
if it's me and Jesus, that's looked at as self-salvation. 
It's either all of Jesus or none of Jesus. It's either all of 
the sinner, by the covenant of works, gaining acceptance with 
God through his personal, exact, entire, and perpetual obedience, 
or it's Christ who renders that for him. And so this idea of 
self-salvation is not in the text. In fact, notice in verse 
13, the very impetus for the command in verse 12 is the reality 
that God is at work in us, both to will and to do according to 
His good pleasure. Self-salvation is a denial of 
the decree of God. It puts man's wisdom It puts 
man's plan, it puts man's purpose as uppermost and not God's. Self-salvation 
is a denial of election and predestination. Paul highlights this in Ephesians 
1, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the 
world, that, not because, but that we should be holy and without 
blame. In love, having predestinated 
us unto adoption as sons by Jesus Christ. Salvation is of the Lord, 
vis-a-vis the decree of God, His purpose and plan to save 
men, and then election and predestination. As Gill says, election doesn't 
find men in Christ. Election puts men in Christ. Self-salvation is a denial of 
the justice of God. It would predicate that God accepts 
less than perfect obedience. If it is the case that sinners 
can work in and then work out their own salvation, it would 
be assumed that God would be happy with that and satisfied 
with an obedience that was not rock-solid and 100%. Self-salvation 
is a denial of the work of Jesus Christ. Galatians 2 21 Paul says 
I don't nullify I don't set apart the grace of God for if Righteousness 
comes through the law then Christ died in vain to suggest Self-salvation 
is to call into question all these things and then supremely 
the very cross of our Lord Jesus Christ If we could save ourselves, 
then why the cross if we can save ourselves? Then why was 
Yahweh pleased to bruise him putting him to grief? This idea 
of self-salvation is not Philippians 2.12. I would suggest as well 
that self-salvation is a denial of the entirety of Paul's theology. 
One would be very hard-pressed to take the epistles of the Apostle 
Paul and read through them and conclude that Paul thought men 
could save themselves. Paul thought that men could participate 
in their salvation before a thrice holy God. He taught no such thing. In fact, he teaches the exact 
opposite. Romans 9.16, it does not depend 
upon him who wills, or upon him who runs, but upon God who shows 
mercy. He hardens some. He gives grace 
to some. It is about God, brethren. And 
so when we come to Philippians 2.12, it's not a self-salvation 
passage. I would suggest that self-salvation 
is a denial of Paul's rationale of verse 12 in verse 13. There is a close and inextricable 
connection between verses 12 and 13, not just because they're 
numbers in sequence, But because the theology is rock solid, Paul's 
point is work out that which God has wrought in. Work out 
that which God has done. Work out in the manner of doing 
the will of the Lord and obeying Him as Paul has already encouraged 
them and commended them for in verse 12 at the beginning. And 
I would suggest as well that self-salvation is a denial of 
Paul's doctrine of total depravity and total inability. So in other 
words, that's what the text does not mean. But what does it mean? The duty is something they already 
do, as you have always obeyed. The duty is simple. It's living 
in light of God's saving grace. It's living in light of God's 
saving grace. God begins this work. Go back 
to chapter 1 at verse 6, you'll see that. God begins the work. Philippians 1.6, being confident 
of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you 
will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. He does that 
through justification, by his grace, through faith in Jesus. 
And the faith itself is a gift of God. Notice in 1.29, for to 
you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe 
in him, but also to suffer for his sake. That not only to believe 
in him is incidental, Paul's point is it's been granted unto 
you to suffer for his name, but analogously, just as it has been 
given to you to suffer for his name, it has been given you to 
believe. We didn't come up with the faith 
that brought us to Jesus. We didn't come up with the faith 
that brought us justification by faith. We didn't, you know, 
figure out the best possible way to repair the ruins with 
God. No, we were dead in our trespasses 
and sins. God made us alive. God regenerated 
us. He changed our hearts. He granted 
us the graces of faith and repentance. So He begins that work, 1-6. 
He does so by giving us the grace of faith. in verse 129, and then 
we see this final transformation in 321. Notice, "...at the coming 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, 
that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the 
working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself." 
So God begins the work. God will complete the work. One 
of the means that God uses in the midst of the work is to call 
us as recipients of His grace, as men and women who have been 
born again, new hearts, new minds, new lives, new wills, we are 
to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. The 
duty is God's purpose and plan in the lives of His people. Sanctification 
is always the consequence of justification. Salvation is about 
justification, sanctification, and glorification. And so this 
ought not to cause us any fretting. Is Paul teaching here everything 
opposite to what he's taught everywhere else in his epistles? 
That there's some contribution that we make to our salvation? 
Remember, the only contribution we make to our salvation is the 
sin we need saving from. We do not contribute. It's not 
our wills. It's not our minds. We're dead 
in our trespasses and sins. Unless God, in sovereign grace, 
awakens us, grants us faith and repentance, we will perish eternally 
in hell. The duty is God's purpose and 
plan. We are supposed to be a working 
out our own salvation kind of people in this present evil age. If you turn to 1 Timothy 4, we 
see something similar. It's not the exact, but something 
similar. Notice in 1 Timothy 4. Verse 
six, if you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be 
a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith 
and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. 
But reject profane and old wives' fables and exercise yourself 
toward godliness. Very similar to our text. Work 
out your own salvation. Again, different words, but thematically 
connected. Paul is exhorting and admonishing 
that those justified freely by God's grace live in light of 
that reality and pursue the things that are pleasing to Almighty 
God. So he says, exercise yourself 
toward godliness. Work out your own salvation with 
fear and trembling. If we see somebody working out 
their muscles with big weights, we don't conclude that they made 
the muscles. We don't conclude that they originated 
the muscles. We don't conclude that they created 
them out of thin air. No, they're working out to make 
stronger, to make bigger, to attract more ladies. That is 
why they are working it out. So the working out of our own 
salvation is not to attain it, it's something that we already 
have. We need to live in light of that reality and pursue the 
things that God commands on a regular and consistent basis. Back to 
Timothy. So reject profane and carefully, 
sorry, keep looking at the upper line. You can see how scribes 
at times would make mistakes. But reject profane and old wise 
fables and exercise yourself toward godliness. And then he 
gives an argument or a rationale or a reason. For bodily exercise 
profits a little. Don't think he's speaking disparagingly 
about bodily exercise. He's not. Well, it just profits 
a little, so don't bother. No, comparatively, it profits 
a little in this age. Godliness, by way of comparison, 
profits in this age and in the age to come. This is not speaking 
down on physical exercise. For bodily exercise profits a 
little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise 
of the life that now is and of that which is to come. So similar, 
at least in terms of concept, we need to exercise ourselves 
toward godliness, 1 Timothy 4, And here we need to work out 
our own salvation with fear and trembling. So that's the duty. 
It's not self-salvation. It's living in light of the salvation 
that God has given to us freely in his sovereign grace. Now, 
before we move to verse 13, let's look at the manner prescribed 
here. He not only tells us to do something, but he tells us 
how to do it. It's a blessed thing that we find in Scripture. 
Work out your own salvation. Well, how am I supposed to do 
that? With fear and trembling. That's how you're supposed to 
do it, with fear and trembling. But before we get to that little 
phrase with fear and trembling, notice what he doesn't say. Work out everybody else's salvation. Work out your wife's or your 
husband's salvation. Work out your parents' salvation. 
Work out that wretch next to you in the pew's salvation. No, 
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Solomon rings 
this bell in Proverbs 4, keep your heart with all diligence 
for out of it spring the issues of life. There seems to be this 
tendency, and I could be misreading, well, I'm not, because I have 
the tendency, I might be misreading, I'm not projecting here, it's 
an actual thing, to want to busy myself pharisaically with, you 
know, assisting others. Right? We kind of have that in 
us. We're great at working out other 
people's salvation. You shouldn't do this. You shouldn't 
go there. You shouldn't look at that. You 
shouldn't read that or listen to that. Paul's emphasis here, 
and I'm not saying we can't help each other. I'm not saying that 
if your brother is going to put a knife into his head, you don't 
stop him. Your brother's gonna commit adultery. 
Well, I'm not supposed to work out your salvation, so you go 
right ahead. No, I'm not suggesting that. 
But this pharisaic tendency to meddle in other people's lives 
at the level of things typically that aren't salvific. It's usually 
liberty issues, liberty of conscience issues. We want to regulate everybody. Everybody's got to do it my way. 
Everybody's a Frank Sinatra when it comes to Christian salvation. Charles Hodge says, it is a common 
saying that every man has a pope in his own bosom. That is, the 
disposition to lord it over God's heritage is almost universal. Men wish to have their opinions 
on moral questions made into laws to bind the consciences 
of their brethren. He's right, brethren. This wasn't 
unique to first century Phariseeism. The church, in all of its history, 
has been populated by do-gooders, busybodies, meddlesome people 
that want to tell everybody else how they're supposed to live. 
Again, we can't not make encouragements. We can offer advice. We can give 
assistance. The emphasis of the apostle is 
very clear. Work out your own salvation. And then he moves into this statement 
with fear and trembling. They probably go hand in hand, 
but I'm gonna take them. to, you know, one by one. Notice, 
the believer is to work out his own salvation with fear. We just 
looked at this a bit conceptually in our study of the first commandment 
on Wednesday night. The fear of God is good. John 
Murray called it the soul of godliness. John Flavel says this 
fear of God is it, that's what's in view here. Work out your own 
salvation with fear. Not fear of Paul, not fear that 
Paul's coming, so look, busy, but with fear in light of God 
and His holiness and His awesomeness and His glory. So Flavel says, 
this fear of God is a gracious habit or principle planted by 
God in the soul, whereby the soul is kept under and holy awe 
of the eye of God, and from thence is inclined to perform and do 
what pleases Him. In other words, if we don't understand 
who God is, there will be no fear of God, and ergo, we won't 
work out our salvation. We just won't do it. We won't 
see him as the all comprehensive sovereign. We won't see him in 
light of Proverbs 15. The eyes of Yahweh are in every 
place beholding the good and the evil. He goes on to say, 
and to shun and avoid whatsoever he forbids and hates. It is planted 
in the soul as a permanent and fixed habit. To fear man is natural, 
but to fear God is wholly supernatural. It was grace that taught my heart 
to fear. The prophet Jeremiah 3240, God 
says, I will put my fear in their heart and they will not depart 
from me. So when Paul comes to encourage 
the people of God, work out your own salvation, it is intriguing 
that he doesn't say with joy, not that it isn't joyful. But 
it is intriguing that he says, with fear and trembling, this 
holy awe before the presence of God, this understanding who 
God is, this totality commitment from man toward Him relative 
to who He is and who we are before Him. Consider some passages where 
fear and joy are mingled together. Psalm 211, serve Yahweh with 
fear and rejoice with trembling. Matthew 28.8, so they went out 
quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to bring 
his disciples word. So when I say, when Paul says, 
work out your own salvation, he doesn't say with joy. I'm 
not saying don't have joy. I am saying though, the impetus 
here or the incitement here is fear and trembling. So as well, 
Acts 9.31, there's this brief summary statement by Luke, and 
it says, then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria 
had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the 
Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. 
Fear of the Lord, comfort of the Holy Spirit. Those are not 
at odds. There's no tension with those 
things in the heart of God's people. Sovereign grace teaches 
our heart to fear God and to do so with. joy, with gratitude, 
with thanksgiving. Look back at 2 Corinthians 7, 
something of a parallel passage in terms of what we're looking 
at in Philippians 2. 2 Corinthians 7, specifically at 
verse 1. Therefore, having these promises, 
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh 
and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This is the 
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling emphasis. 
This is the issue, and we're to do so with perfecting holiness 
and the fear of God. But it is intriguing here, verse 
1, having these promises. Notice he doesn't say having 
Leviticus 19. Not that Leviticus 19 isn't a helpful impetus. Notice 
that he doesn't say having Exodus 20. Not that Exodus 20 isn't 
a helpful impetus. He doesn't say, you know, having 
Deuteronomy 5. Not that Deuteronomy 5 isn't 
a helpful impetus in this. But notice the gospel, the glory 
of Christ, the cross of our Lord Jesus is the grand impetus for 
the people of God to perfect holiness in the fear of God. 
It's what Christ does according to Philippians chapter two, verses 
six to 11, that enables us to work out our own salvation with 
fear and trembling. So look back with me in chapter 
six of 2 Corinthians. Notice in verse 16, in what agreement 
has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the 
living God, as God has said, I will dwell in them and walk 
among them. I will be their God and they 
shall be my people. Therefore, come out from among 
them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, 
and I will receive you. I will be a father to you, and 
you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. This 
is one of those places where the chapter break is most unfortunate. I hope you don't ever just stop 
reading there in your daily Bible reading. But McShane said only 
chapter six. Well, please read chapter seven, 
verse one, two. Don't miss the connection. Therefore, 
having these promises that God will dwell among them, that God 
will dwell in them. God will walk among them. I will 
be their God. They shall be my people. Come 
out from among them. Be separate, says the Lord. Don't 
touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a father 
to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord 
Almighty. Now, brethren, my point here is not that the law is not 
helpful when it comes to sanctification. Jesus prayed in the high priestly 
prayer, "'Sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth.'" Law 
is helpful. The normative use of the law, 
the Spirit uses that to show us what God approves, what God 
delights in, and we willingly and joyfully comply. The gospel, 
the glory of the cross, the blessedness of Christ crucified and resurrected. This is Paul's point in Romans 
6. You can turn back there. We try 
to live in light of the cross apart from the cross. We try 
to live a life of sanctification without contemplating the glory 
of justification. We become functional, more or 
less. Oh, if we just do these things, 
then we'll be holy. No, we're Christians, blood-bought 
children of God. Notice in 6.1, what shall we 
say then, Romans 6.1, shall we continue in sin that grace may 
abound? Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin 
live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many 
of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his 
death? Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into 
death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory 
of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 
How does he initially combat that devilish proposition? Shall 
we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be the 
10 commandments save us. He's gonna do that in chapter 
six. Don't let sin reign in your members. No longer present your members 
as instruments of unrighteousness. But before that, he points us 
to the indicative of the cross. We died, we were buried, we've 
been raised again with Jesus. Again, my point is not, don't 
use the normative use of the law, but don't forget the cross 
in the life of sanctification. Jesus, keep me near the cross 
while I'm working out my own salvation with fear. And then 
notice he says trembling, fear and trembling. Typically theologians 
make a distinction with reference to the fear of God between servile 
or slavish fear and filial fear. Filial fear is the fear of a 
child to his father. Servile or slavish is the fear 
of a slave toward its master. The slave with its master wants 
to run and hide because he doesn't want to get whipped. The father 
and the son, the son relates to the father with that reverential 
awe, with that fear that is consistent with the dignity of his father, 
and with who he is before him. So with reference to filial and 
servile or slavish fear, this is a good distinction and a helpful 
distinction, but may I suggest that a filial approach doesn't 
necessarily exclude all of the bits of the servile. And what 
I mean by that is simple. We ought to be afraid to sin 
in the presence of God. Simple proposition. We ought 
to be afraid to sin in the presence of God. You say, well, of course, 
as a child to its father, he's afraid to sin in the presence 
of his father. But there's texts that would 
indicate that there's something to this servile fear. Again, 
I'm not saying that's all it should be, but Yeah, maybe a 
little bit. Listen to Matthew 10, 28. Do 
not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but 
rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in 
hell. He's with his disciples there, 
brethren. He's with his disciples. I mentioned Proverbs 15, the 
eyes of the Lord are in every place keeping watch on the evil 
and the good. Now turn to Proverbs chapter 
five for an illustration of this. Proverbs chapter five. Again, 
the argument is simple. Filial fear is definitely what's 
in view in terms of a Christian believer. But a component of 
the servile in terms of being afraid of God, in the right sense, 
not a running and hiding fear, but understanding the God with 
whom we have to do. Deuteronomy four and Hebrews 
chapter 12. How is the regular principle of worship undergirded 
in both passages? Our God is a happy, nice sort 
of a deity. So just go ahead and do whatever 
you want. Our God is happy with just you showing up and however 
it is you worship. Is that what they heard on the 
plains of Moab? Is that what the apostle enforces when he 
talks about acceptable worship in Hebrews chapter 12? They cite 
the same text. Our God is what? He's a consuming 
fire. Think Nadab and Abihu, Leviticus 
1-9, legislation on priesthood and sacrifice. Leviticus chapter 
9, acceptable sacrifice offered up to God, fire comes down out 
of heaven and consumes the sacrifice. Enter Nadab and Abihu, offering 
up profane fire before the Lord. Well, what happens now? Fire 
comes down out of heaven again, but it doesn't fall upon the 
sacrifice, it falls upon the sacrificers. It's a great illustration 
of our God is a consuming fire. So there ought to be something 
of that kind of fear when we enter into the holy place to 
do business with God. Yes, joy, yes, gratitude, yes, 
happiness, but not frivolity. Not joke hour, not drama hour, 
or entertainment hour. Our God is a consuming fire. So this impetus that God is nigh 
and that He's a consuming fire can and should help us when it 
comes to sexual sin, as we see here in Proverbs chapter 5. I've 
always referred to Proverbs 5 as the three R's of sexual purity. Remember the three R's in school, 
reading, writing, arithmetic. You've got remove your way far 
from her and do not go near the door of her house, Proverbs 5.8. 
You can't get in trouble if you're far from her. It's pretty simple. Remove your way far from her. 
Don't go near what? Not the bed of her house. Don't 
go near the door of her house. You're not holy and stable enough 
to even go near the door of her house, because if you go near 
the door, it's not going to be long before you're in the inner 
room. The second R is rejoice with the wife of your youth, 
518. Rejoice with the wife of your youth. God has given covenant. God has given blessing. God has 
given companionship. God has given marriage. It's 
the blessed arena for such activity. And then that third R, it's not 
in there, but I'm putting it there. Remember, Remove your 
way far from her, rejoice in the wife of your youth, and remember 
that God is nigh and that he's a consuming fire. Proverbs 5.21, 
for the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord. He ponders 
all his paths. His own iniquities entrap the 
wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin. He shall 
die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly, 
he shall go astray. So back to our text, when Paul 
says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, he's 
serious, brethren. He is serious about this. Just 
like let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh 
and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. What does 
the apostle say in Hebrews 12? Pursue holiness, without which 
no man will see the Lord. Again, this is not an argument 
pro-man saving himself, but God, who has justified us freely by 
His grace through faith in Jesus, is sanctifying us, as we're going 
to see here in just a moment in verse 13. And one of the means 
by which He does that is that the Spirit-enabled believer lives 
in light of God. lives in light of salvation, 
lives in light of the cross, and therefore works out his own 
salvation with fear and trembling. And notice that empowerment by 
God in verse 13. Again, close connection between 
the verses. You've got an explanatory four 
starting verse 13. So the first half of verse 13 
is the declaration of God's power, and the second half is the comprehensiveness 
of God's power. Note the declaration, for it 
is God who works in you. We've already seen 1.6, God begun 
this work in you. 1.29, faith is a gift. 3.21, 
Christ will transform us. Look as well at 4.13. 4.13, which 
by the way, doesn't mean you're gonna be an NBA basketball player. 
It doesn't mean you're going to be a Fortune 500 CEO. It doesn't 
mean you're going to marry the prettiest woman and the most 
handsome man. It doesn't mean that. We rip it right out of 
the context and we sloganize the verse, and we have this idea 
that I can be an astronaut because Jesus strengthens me. don't do 
that. You could be an astronaut, but 
it's not directly connected. Well, it's providentially connected 
to Jesus strengthening you, but you don't have a Bible verse 
in the scriptures that tells you, you're going to be an astronaut, 
and it's Jesus that's going to make it so. Paul's talking about 
contentedness in whatever state he finds himself. Notice, let's 
just pick it up, verse 10. not be an astronaut, but know 
how to be abased, know how to abound. know how to function 
in whatever your lot is in life. Why? Because Christ strengthens 
me. So back to 2.13, we notice that 
this is not a work out your own salvation onto the next subject. The four indicates that it's 
God's power in us that is the overarching impetus for us to 
work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Work out 
your own salvation. Why, Paul? Because God's at work 
in you. Okay, makes perfect sense. God is at work in you. He begun 
the work, gave you the grace of faith, gonna transform you 
at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In that interim, 
between justification and glorification, we call that sanctification. 
And here in sanctification, you're not just slugging it out on your 
own. God is at work in you. That's Paul's point. The fact that God works in us 
indicates that salvation does not originate with man. Work 
out your own salvation as if it's entirely up to you? No. The fact that God works in us 
indicates that sanctification is dependent upon God. Now, it's man that does perfect 
holiness in the fear of God. It's man that does work out his 
own salvation with fear and trembling, but it's not commendatory upon 
that man for that. It's God who gets glory. Good 
rule of thumb in the Christian life, whenever you do the right 
thing, give glory to God. Whenever you do the wrong thing, 
blame yourself. If you just keep that simple metric in mind, you're 
going to be fine. Any good in you, any good thoughts, 
any good deeds, any good actions, any good words, God gets glory. 
That's the design. When you sin, you're a wretch, 
and you need to repent. But you know, God even has his 
purposes there. Because the verse is going to 
tell us both to will and to do for his good pleasure. But I 
don't always will and do good. How could that be his good pleasure? I didn't come up with the plan 
of salvation. God did. In that, what we call 
sanctification, it's imperfect. Justification, one time good 
deal. Paul's no more justified than you and I. John Calvin, 
no more justified than you and I. Spurgeon, no more justified 
than you and I. Justification doesn't grow. Justification 
doesn't ebb. Justification doesn't flow. Justification 
is justification. It's an act of God's free grace 
wherein He pardons all of our sins and accepts us as righteous 
in His sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received 
by faith alone. Now, sanctification, however, 
it's a process. You don't just believe the gospel 
and then happily die and go to heaven. It just doesn't work 
that way. Somebody's gonna, some people, 
we saw that text recently, 2 Peter chapter 3, consider the long-suffering 
of our Lord to be salvation. There's going to be the last 
elect that believes, and then the end of all things. Imagine 
being that guy. You believe, and then the consummation. 
It's kind of an interesting thought in my head. But in this thing 
we call sanctification, there is ebb and flow. There is forward 
movement. There's backward movement. There's 
sometimes three steps forward, five steps backwards. There's 
trials, there's afflictions, there's hardships, there's difficulties, 
there's the Roman 7 reality that Paul speaks of, very much encapsulated 
in that last hymn that we sang, prone to wander, prone to leave 
the God I love. Paul says, the good that I wish 
to do, I don't do. The evil that I don't want to 
do, I find myself doing. He says in Galatians 5, the flesh 
lusts against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh. These 
are contrary to one another so that you don't do the things 
you want. We've got this war going on, which is sanctification. 
So does God's purpose include even the, I guess it would be 
the ebbs. The flows must mean go forward, 
the ebbs is go backward. Does his plan and purpose include 
the ebbs? Of course it does. We know based on Romans 8.28 
that God causes all things to work for good to those who love 
God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. I'm 
not gonna sit here and give us a list of every good thing that 
comes out of our remaining corruption, but the one thing I do know that 
comes out of our remaining corruption is that it always casts us back 
into the lap of sovereign grace. It always consciously brings 
us to that confession with the Apostle John in 1 John 2. My little children, I write these 
things so that you do not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have 
an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. 
If we got to the point where our sanctification was just chugging 
right along, it'd be that problem that you see in Proverbs 30. 
Give me neither poverty nor riches. If I'm poor, I'm gonna go out 
and steal and dishonor Yahweh. If I'm rich, what's my tendency? 
To forget Him. When I'm trucking along and I'm 
checking off boxes and I'm dotting I's and I'm crossing T's and 
I'm doing everything just right, Do I think 1 John 2? Do I think 
we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the 
righteous? Do I think Psalm 130 verses 3 and 4? If you, Lord, 
should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is 
forgiveness with you that you may be feared. Or Psalm 25 11? For your namesake, O Lord, pardon 
my iniquity, for it is great. Two arguments that the psalmist 
offers there for the forgiveness of sins. The glory of God's name 
and the greatness of his own sin. Again, I don't have a list. I don't suppose that book exists. 
Here's all the positive things that come out of our remaining 
corruption. But a positive thing that comes out of our remaining 
corruption is our constant dependence upon the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. We need to live in light of that 
blessed reality. So notice, he moves on. Well, before he moves on, let 
me just say this. Four, in verse 13, it is God 
who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. The four at the beginning indicates 
that it is the impetus for the obedience of verse 12. So because 
God is at work in you, work out your own salvation with fear 
and trembling. But as well, the falsity of hyper-Calvinism, at 
least in the category of sanctification, should be obvious. What's hyper-Calvinism? God's at work in you, both to 
will and to do, for His good pleasure. They act like there's no verse 
12. If you only had a verse 12 and a no verse 13, it might suggest 
Arminianism or Pelagianism. Therefore, my beloved brethren, 
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." If there 
was no verse 13, again, the overwhelming evidence of Paul's writings would 
suggest we could do just fine with a verse 12 and no verse 
13. But those with filthy hands like to twist the scriptures. 
Imagine a verse 12 without a verse 13. Work out your own salvation 
with fear and trembling. It might suggest it's all up 
to you. But if there's no verse 12 and only a verse 13, it might 
suggest that it's only God. So it really doesn't matter how 
you live. It doesn't really matter if you read your Bible. It doesn't 
really matter if you pray. It doesn't really matter if you 
show up at church. God's at work in you, both to will and to do, 
for His good pleasure. You see, Paul includes both. 
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is 
God who is at work in you both to will and to do for his good 
pleasure. So note that comprehensiveness 
to will and to do. To will and to do. The will of 
man in his unregenerate state does not attain salvation. John 1, 12 and 13. John 6, 44. No one can come to me unless 
the Father who sent me draws him. Romans 9. It doesn't depend 
upon him who wills or upon him who runs, but on God who shows 
mercy. Man dead in his trespasses and 
sins is dead. He's not mostly dead. He's not 
just partially dead. He's not just a little bit dead. 
It's kind of an interesting concept, a little bit dead. That's like 
a little bit pregnant. You either are or you aren't. 
Man's will is bound by his wretched, God-hating, dead heart. So the 
unregenerate doesn't will good things. The unregenerate may 
cut his lawn, he may pay his taxes, he may abide by the laws 
of the land, he may have an external common grace appearance of obedience 
and compliance, but in terms of God, The carnal man or the 
carnal mind is at enmity with God, Romans 8, 7. You cannot 
please God. Listen to our confession, man 
by his fall into a state of sin has wholly lost all ability of 
will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation. So as a natural man 
being altogether averse from that good and dead in sin is 
not able by his own strength to convert himself or to prepare 
himself thereunto. So again, he's not talking to 
unbelievers, verse 12, on how to get saved, work out your own 
salvation, with fear and trembling. He's speaking to believers that 
have been born again. Believers whose minds and wills 
and affections have been renewed by the changing of their hearts. 
The will is changed by God in regeneration. Ezekiel 36, 24-27. 
John 3, 5-10. Nicodemus comes to the Lord Jesus. 
Jesus says, unless a man is born again, he shall not see the kingdom 
of heaven. Nicodemus is puzzled. He's perplexed by this. Jesus 
chides him. He rebukes him. You're the teacher 
of Israel and you don't know this? Well, why does Jesus do 
that? Because of Ezekiel 36, the prophetic announcement, I 
will take out their old stony hearts. I will remove them. I 
will put in new fleshly hearts. I will give them a mind. I will 
give them a will. I will give them affection. So 
God is at work in us both to will and to do for his good pleasure. The will that was in bondage 
to sin is now made willing in the day of God's power. Listen 
again to our Confessions, chapter 9, paragraph 4. When God converts 
a sinner and translates him into the state of grace, He frees 
him from his natural bondage under sin. and by his grace alone 
enables him freely to will and to do, notice the hint or the 
hat tip there to Philippians 2, that which is spiritually 
good. Yet so as that by reason of his remaining corruptions, 
he does not perfectly nor only will that which is good, but 
does also will that which is evil. In other words, man in 
a state of grace can, by God's grace, now will to do that, which 
is good. Unfortunately, still got remaining corruption, and 
the confession is smart, or rather wise, to comment on that, as 
does Paul in Romans 7 and Galatians 5. But not only does God work 
in us both to will, but also to do for His good pleasure. 
The will that was in bondage to sin governed our works. See, it's real simple. The will 
that was in bondage to sin is that which governed our works. 
So our works were never positive toward God. Our bent, our inclination, 
our tendency, our direction was always away from God. The will 
liberated by God in regeneration governs our works as believers 
in Christ. It's a blessed reality that Paul 
sets forth here. The one who began this work, 
who gave you the grace of faith, the one who's gonna transform 
you at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, that one in the 
midst of sanctification has not left you to yourself. He is at 
work in you, both to will and to do for His good pleasure. 
He calls upon you to work out your own salvation with fear 
and trembling, but don't do it disconnected to the reality that 
He's at work in you, that Christ died, that Christ was raised, 
that Christ is coming again in glory to judge the living and 
the dead. In other words, work out your own salvation with fear 
and trembling in the orbit of the Christian gospel, empowered 
by the Holy Spirit to comply with the law of God as revealed 
at Sinai. This is sanctification. And there 
is that. And there is flow. There is forward 
movement. There is backward movement. There 
are times when we fall. There are times when we're a 
mess. There are times when we are perplexed. There are times 
when we say with Paul, oh, wretched man that I am, who will deliver 
me from this body of death? but praise God for the Lord Jesus 
Christ and the provision that we have in the gospel. Brethren, 
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, by all means, 
but never forget that God is at work in you, both to will 
and to do, for His good pleasure. He is perfecting us. He is conforming 
us. He is shaping us. He is using 
these things in our lives to get rid of the rough edges. We 
may not see it, most often we don't, but it doesn't change 
what Scripture reveals. God has a purpose and a plan. God is working in us. God is 
successful at what He undertakes. And the God who began this work 
is gonna complete it on the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. This 
period of sanctification calls upon us to work out our own salvation 
with fear and trembling. Well, brethren, may God bless 
and help and strengthen us with this. May we understand that 
pattern of Christ Jesus in terms of His incarnation and passion 
And then, exaltation. You're not supposed to forget 
that pattern either. Jesus, in that act of obedience, 
both active and passive, life of obedience to every jot and 
diddle of God's law, passive obedience in his death to satisfy 
divine justice, Jesus' death and resurrection brought him 
to that current session, an exaltation at the right hand of the Father. 
You think Paul might be suggesting by way of connection here that, 
yeah, There's some tough times in that life of obedience. There's 
some tough times in that working out your own salvation with fear 
and trembling phase. But at the end of it is exaltation. At the end of it is to reign 
with Jesus Christ. At the end of it is the triumph 
of the sons and daughters of God Most High being in Emmanuel's 
land. Don't miss that connection, the 
humility of our blessed Savior, the exaltation of our blessed 
Savior. In the broader context, Paul 
is telling us to do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit. 
In other words, be humble, prefer others before yourselves, Count 
them better as yourself. We don't want to do that. It's 
only ever, never going to be fun. There's exaltation. There's a crown. There's heaven. 
There's glory. You see that in Jesus. His obedience 
led to exaltation. Your obedience in the hand of 
God is a blessed event to shape you further to the son of God, 
which at the end of it, whether you die or Christ returns, you're 
going to be ushered into the very presence of God. It's only 
ever exaltation for the believer in Christ Jesus the Lord. And 
then in terms of sanctification, it is necessary to work out our 
own salvation with fear and trembling. The theological connection here 
is justification and sanctification, all considered under that heading 
salvation. Justification, sanctification, 
glorification. Of course we need to work out 
our own salvation with fear and trembling. Of course we need 
to live in light of what God has done in saving us from our 
sins. I would suggest that dependence 
on God who is at work in us, both to will and to do, for His 
good pleasure, is absolutely requisite. Why should I put to 
death this deed of the body? Because God is at work in you, 
both to will and to do, for His good pleasure. Why should I remove 
my way far from the door of her house? Because God is at work 
in you both to will and to do according or for his good pleasure. 
Why should I not rob that bank? Because God is at work in you. Do you get it? That's what he's 
commending here. I would suggest the presence 
and the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of sanctification. 
The Holy Spirit, it's appropriated to Him. We're sanctified by the 
Spirit of holiness. We're dependent upon Him. We 
need Him, we need His presence, we need His power. And it doesn't 
offend God for us to go to the Father through the Son asking 
for fuller measures of the Spirit so that we don't go near the 
door of our house, so that we don't click that particular button, 
so that we don't go into that particular place, so that we 
don't dishonor God in our walk that is supposed to be characterized 
as one working out our own salvation in fear and trembling. We mustn't 
ever forget the provision of forgiveness through Christ our 
advocate. Never forget that, brethren. It becomes a mercenary 
enterprise. If you forget, we have an advocate 
with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. If you forget, 
there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. If 
you forget, pardon my iniquity, O Lord, for your name's sake, 
for it is great. If you forget those things and 
it's all about you obeying, you're going to be miserable. And I 
would suggest finally the promise of glorification in the age to 
come. 1 John 3, 2 and 3. Beloved, now we are children 
of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But 
we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we 
shall see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope 
in him purifies himself just as he is pure. looking forward 
to that glorious transformation that Paul speaks of in Philippians 
3.21. That's impetus. That puts a spring 
in the step of sanctification. That causes us to fight onward 
and to go forward and to do so with fear and trembling. If you're 
an unbeliever, Paul is not telling you how to get saved in Philippians 
2.12. Paul is telling saved people 
on how they're supposed to live in light of that great salvation. 
For unbeliever, the very necessary emphasis, as simple as I can 
make it, is to believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. 
to look to him, that one in whom alone there is forgiveness and 
a righteousness that avails with God. He puts it so beautifully 
in John 3. John 3, he goes back to the book 
of Numbers. He says, just as Moses lifted up the serpent in 
the wilderness, so must the Son of Man also be lifted up. And if you've read that passage 
in the book of Numbers, when Moses lifts that serpent, that 
brazen serpent, it's because they had been bitten. The Israelites, 
they were, I don't get this, they were whining and grumbling. 
In fact, Philippians 2, 14 to 16, it's old covenant Israel 
in the backdrop. It's the same language used in 
Deuteronomy 32 about the unfaithful covenant people. But with reference 
to these whining, grumbling Israelites, they're murmuring, they're constantly, 
I mean, we went through numbers. Moses was the most humble man 
on all the face of the earth. There is no doubt in my mind 
that he was thus. They whine. So God sends fiery 
serpents to bite them. God says to Moses, make the bronze 
serpent, lift it up in the wilderness. Whoever looks will live. It's 
not whoever looks, drags himself over there to that brazen serpent 
and kisses the base of it will live. Or that one who sucks the 
venom out of his arm if he got bit by a snake in the arm, spits 
it out and then looks. It's look and live. That's the glory of the gospel. 
It's not that you accepted Jesus into your heart. It's that God 
is in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. That's why 
it's good news. And the scripture is clear. Paul 
and Silas in that jail, the Philippian jailer. Sirs, what must I do 
to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. We heard this morning about the 
nature of the father. It says when the son was a long 
way off, He doesn't pick up rocks and chuck them at him. He doesn't 
say, stay off my yard. You wretch, you took my share 
of the inheritance. You squandered it. No, the father 
runs to him. As our brother pointed out, that 
is undignified. That's shameful. The whole episode 
is shameful. And yet the father runs to him. 
The father falls on him. The father kisses him. The father 
places a ring on his finger. The father puts a robe on his 
back. The father orders the slaying 
of the fatted calf. There's rejoicing tonight. My 
son who was dead is now alive. My son who was lost is now found. That's the nature of the God 
of heaven and earth. believe on his Son, and you will 
be saved. It is that clear, it is that 
simple, it is that much presented in the Bible, always. Well, let 
us pray and ask the Lord to bless us in our work of working out 
our own salvation. Father, we thank you for justifying 
us freely by your grace, According to your decree of election and 
predestination, all of these great emphases we see in Scripture, 
and then we see Paul come here and tell us to work out our own 
salvation with fear and trembling. We're not to do so disassociated 
from the power of God that is at work in us. Help us to remember 
this, help us to be faithful, help us to be persevering, and 
help us when we do sin to remember that we have an advocate with 
the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. And for any and 
all here that are dead in their trespasses and sins, we pray 
that you would awaken them, that they would look, and that they 
would live. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.