HOW SALVATION WORKS (Philippians 2:12-18)

Philippians 2:12-18; Key Verse: 2:12b-13

"...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose."

The One Thing Necessary: Sermon by Thomas Watson on Phil 1:12: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

1. To what is "therefore" referring (2:5-11)? What does it mean to "work out your salvation" (12)? "...for it is God who works in you" (13)? What is the difference between our "work" and God's "works"? What is sanctification (1 Th 5:23; 1 Pet 1:2)? How does salvation "work" (1 Cor 8:6, 12:6; 2 Cor 3:5; Eph 2:8-10; Php 1:6; Rom 6:17; 2 Th 1:11-12; Heb 13:20-21; 1 Pet 4:11; Gal 5:22-23)?
2. Notice and discuss the "signs" of salvation in Phil 2:12-16a:

• Daily practical work (12; 3:12-16).
• Fear and trembling (12).
• Without grumbling or arguing (14).
• Blameless, pure and without fault (15a).
• Shine forth the word of life (15b-16a).

3. Notice Paul's use of athletic imagery: run and labor (16b; 3:14; 2 Tim 4:8; 1 Cor 9:24-27), and religious sacrifice: poured out like a drink offering (17; 2 Tim 4:6). What does this tell us about Paul's life (1 Cor 15:30-31)? How should the Philippians view suffering (18; 1:19)?

1 Cor 8:6 "...yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live."

1 Cor 12:6 "There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work."

2 Cor 3:5 "Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God."

Eph 2:8-10 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Php 1:6 "...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Rom 6:17 "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance."

2 Th 1:11-12 "With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Heb 13:20-21 "Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

1 Pet 4:11 "If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

Gal 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."