Note: the following is the manuscript for the message and will not match exactly the recorded message above.

Introduction

I grew up in a tradition that emphasized the moment of salvation, often marked by when a person prayed “the sinner’s prayer” or walked the aisle of the church in response to an invitation—or both. 

Every year at summer camp there was an invitation, usually on the third or fourth night around a campfire, to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Being someone who wanted to join in on the excitement, I must have gotten saved at least half a dozen times!

It is common for summer camps or churches to measure success by how many people “get saved.” But, when we look at the New Testament, salvation is about more than just one moment or one prayer. 

It’s about a whole life being transformed by God’s grace. It’s a journey that begins, continues, and grows as we walk with Jesus.

It’s true that God wants to save people through the work of Jesus in the gospel. The message of gospel is something to which people should respond. And, we see examples of immediate response to the gospel in the book of Acts. 

Romans 10:9–10 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” 

But salvation is so much more than what can be contained in a moment. It is not just about a decision that will keep you out of hell. It is about entering into an eternal covenant between God and humanity made possible through Jesus Christ.

Those who are a part of the new covenant have been saved from the hopeless fate of broken humanity, are being savedfrom the power of sin, and will be saved into an eternal renewed life free from sin. 

The section of Philippians we are looking at today, in 2:12-18, addresses how God’s work of salvation in us transforms us to be increasingly like his kingdom. This has to do with our present behaviour and why our behaviour matters.

Prior to this passage, Paul calls for the church to embrace unity by standing together in the face of a hostile world and taking a countercultural, selfless posture toward one another. 

He offers Christ Jesus himself as the first and foundational example of how to live this out, with the Christ Hymn of 2:6–11. 

This beautifully crafted passage traces the history of Christ’s outpouring of himself—from being equal with God in status prior to being born as a human baby, to his adult life of humble service and shameful death, and through to his exaltation and confession as “Lord.” 

Then, with Christ as their supreme example, in 2:12–18 Paul now calls for the Philippians to work out their salvation in community, even as they shine like lights in a fallen world.

In this message today, I want to draw out the practical result of Christ’s example and exaltation as described in 2:5-11. 

As we follow Christ’s example of humility and obedience, our daily choices become a response to who he is and what he’s done and is doing in us. And in living that way, we reflect God’s character and shine his light into the world.

To give us the broader context, let’s read 1:27-2:11 and then we will get into our passage.

Work Our Your Salvation

Philippians 2:12–13 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—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.” 

Paul here describes the need to obey as the means of working out the salvation offered through Christ. And he emphasizes obedience especially in his absence. 

People in those days often viewed letters, such as this one, as mediating the author’s presence. The letter carried with it the same level of authority as the person being there to deliver the message.

Paul urges them to get on with their obedience “all the more so” in his absence, so that it would not appear as if his presence alone prompted them to obey.¹

He uses this term, “as you have always obeyed,” which tells us that much time has passed since he first came to them with the gospel message. And since he first came to them, they have been faithful in their obedience to what he taught them.

And what does this obedience look like? In the broader context of Philippians and much of Paul’s writing, it is about imitating Christ and having our lives ruled by him.

In Romans, faith in Christ is ultimately expressed as obedience to Christ, not in the sense of following the rules, but of coming totally under his lordship, of being devoted completely to him. 

Paul saw his role as an apostle as someone sent by Jesus to bring the Gentiles to faith and obedience in the way of Jesus.

Romans 1:5 “Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.” 

Romans 15:18 “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done…” 

In Romans, obedience means something like “behaviour that characterizes true faith.” Right Christian behaviour is less about following rules and more about embodying our faith in Christ so that others will know Christ. 

We see this in how Paul uses the terms “faith” and “obedience” in Romans 1:8 and 16:19: 

1:8: “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.” 

16:19: “Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you…”

Thus obedience means to respond to God by receiving the gospel in faith not only in our minds but in our behaviour. This faith is nothing unless it is marked by a transformation of our lives. 

We often get caught up in obedience to a set of rules, or Christian ethics, because we see in Scripture certain pieces of instruction for God’s people, such as the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount. 

These sets of instructions are there to help us know what alignment with the character of God looks like. They do not save us nor do they transform us on their own. 

When God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, they were set free, but to what end? When God instructed Moses to go to Egypt to lead the people out, this is what he said:

Exodus 6:6–8 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’ ”

God’s plan for the Israelites, and his plan for us, is to be rescued from slavery not so that we can live however we like, but so that we can live as God’s own people. This is the true nature of humanity, to be devoted to God and for God to be devoted to us.

So, the laws of God are not the way we become rescued but they are evidence of our mutual devotion with God. 

Part of making him our Lord is subjecting ourselves to a certain pattern of life. So, while behaviour matters, it is as a response to the work of salvation begun in us.

Paul encourages the Philippians to “work out your salvation,” that is, they are to embrace a pattern of life that is aligned with the salvation God has brought them in Christ. Let me try to put this simply. This is really important and we need to be reminded of it often. This is the essence of Christian salvation.

This statement to work out their salvation echoes the call for them to live out their “heavenly citizenship in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” in 1:27.

He wants them to flesh out the kingdom identity offered to them by God in their daily lives so that others, particularly those who oppose them, will see the distinction between those who are saved and those who are not saved. 

This instruction is highly communal, as it is within relationship that most of the transformative work of Christ will take place.

We often think about salvation as an individual matter. And while each one of us needs to at some point decide whether or not we will trust in Jesus for ourselves, salvation is never an individual issue in Scripture. 

We hear and learn about the gospel within community. We are baptized and participate in communion within community. And, if we are going to stand firm in our faith, we need to work out our salvation into our daily lives in community.

While there are elements of privacy within our relationship with God, maturity in our faith is only possible within the community of faith. God’s intention is for us to live together as imitators of Christ. 

In doing so, we will show the world a radically different way of relating to others, particularly those with whom we disagree or have conflict. 

Without Grumbling or Arguing 

Philippians 2:14–16 “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.” 

For the sake of their witness in the world, they are to live among one another peacefully. 

It is so important for the church to make every effort to live as people united not by our opinions, perspectives, or passions, but by the grace of Christ, his transformative work within us, and our equal adoption into God’s family.

This was one of the great failures of the nation of Israel, right from the beginning. God’s purpose was for them to be a kingdom of priests of Yahweh, those who represent him to the world and offer his benefits and favour.

Paul wrote about their failure in 1 Corinthians as a warning for the church:

1 Corinthians 10:1–12 “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” 

Paul also used the language of being shining lights in the world. Jewish writers often compared the righteous with lights. 

Daniel 12:3 “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” 

The implication with this imagery is that Christian believers are meant to experience and provide for the world a foretaste of the future when all things are made right.

2 Corinthians 1:21–22 “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 

Hebrews 6:4–6 refers to “those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God…” 

Paul’s perspective is that we are living in an “already/not yet” time between Christ’s ascension and second coming. 

As the Philippians live out their calling as God’ blameless children, they already “shine as stars” as they “hold firm the word of life.” And the same is true for us.

This thinking accounts for Paul’s concluding with a word about the “not yet” side of our reality. They must persevere in obedience or else Paul will have no reason to boast at the end. He will have “laboured in vain.” 

In this way, I feel the same as Paul. I urge you to live out your calling as God’s blameless children, those who are being transformed in the image of Christ, do everything without grumbling or arguing so that you will shine in our community like stars in the sky. 

Then, on the day of Christ, I will be able say that I did not labour in vain. 

With Common Joy

Philippians 2:17–18 “But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.”

The image of being poured out like a drink offering would have been familiar to the Philippians. Both Jews and Gentiles poured them in memory of the deceased and, most often, at the beginning of banquets. One could pour water or other fluids but wine was most common.²

The image is usually assumed as referring to Paul’s death. 2 Timothy 4:6 has the same language: “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.” 

However, In Philippians 2:24 he writes, “I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.” So, because Paul is confident he will see them again, it should make us wonder if Paul means something else. 

He may be referring to the present suffering that he is experiencing and he then connects this offering to the sacrifice being made by the Philippians.

Perhaps he is suggesting that his imprisonment, besides being a “drink offering” to the Lord, is to be understood as his part of their common suffering, the “drink offering” poured out in conjunction with their “sacrifice.”

I’ll read Philippians 2:17 and notice the connection between the image of being poured out and the sacrifice of the Philippians’ faith: 

“…even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.”

Or, if we include the context, another way of saying it is this:

I, Paul, expect you, the church in Philippi, to be my grounds for boasting at the coming of Christ, evidence that I have not laboured in vain. (And presently my labour includes imprisonment, and yours includes suffering in Philippi.) But if indeed my present struggle represents a kind of drink offering to go along with your own suffering on behalf of the gospel, then I rejoice over that.³

The section ends with an invitation for the believers in Philippi to rejoice with, or in the same way, as Paul. As they and Paul suffer, they all should be glad and rejoice because they are partnering in the work of Christ.

This joy is not about finding some sort of pleasure from suffering itself. 

It is the joy known by those whose identity and purpose is built upon the unshakable foundation of the work of Christ, both past and future. 

Joy has nothing to do with circumstances, but everything to do with our place in Christ. And suffering for its own sake is not the point. 

The only suffering worthy of rejoicing over must be the direct result of us trying to bring others in on the joy and experiencing the difficulty associated with this task.

The is the only way we rejoice in one another’s suffering—as evidence that the proper “sacrifices” being poured out are actually being offered up to God.

Conclusion

To summarize this message as a whole, we should not speak of our salvation merely as a rescue from sin in the past. 

Nor should we only think of our salvation as a future rescue from the presence of sin and evil when Jesus returns. 

We need to think well about how God is working the gospel of our salvation in and through the dark corners of our lives and in our communities in the present. 

So, ask yourself, “How am I being saved by God continuously each day? How am I living out my salvation as a witness to the world?” 

This is not just an individual exercise of reflection. 

As a church, Do our relationships with one another demonstrate our salvation, or are we characterized as complainers and arguers? And finally, how can the joy of being partners with one another and Christ be a witness in our community?

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1. Gordon D. Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995), 234. ↩︎
2. Craig S. Keener and John H. Walton, eds., NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 2075. ↩︎
3. Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, 254-55. ↩︎