“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13)
The Bible leaves no room for doubt about how we obtained our salvation. It says we received our salvation as a free gift of God. The Bible however has a lot to say about the things we should do with the salvation we have received. It calls the business of doing those things “working out your salvation”.
How much and how well we work out our salvation depends on our level of spiritual growth and development respectively. Spiritual growth speaks of an increase in the release of the good qualities found within our born-again man while development speaks of the transformation of those qualities from one degree of strength to the next. We work out our salvation by what we do with the increase and development of the spiritual qualities in us.
So what should we be doing with the spiritual qualities in our born-again man?
Most people are only concerned about two things in life: their safety and comfort. If that describes your life, it is obvious that you have a lot more to do to work out your own salvation. Yes, you are forgiven and on your way to heaven. The problem is that your life is leaving no trace of your existence in this world.
Passionate living demands that you must have a higher reason for living beyond your physical safety and comfort. Here are three important areas where we need to be working out our own salvation as we pass through this world: family government; community engagement and global missions.
Family Government – for couples and parents: working out your own salvation means living the will of God for your life, and being intentional about imparting the ways of God to your spouse and children (Genesis 18:19).
Community Engagement – for all of us: working out your own salvation means being an answer and a solution in our communities (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).
Global Missions – for each one of us: working out your own salvation means having a vision of global scale in our plans, purposes and pursuits – always remembering that God has the world in mind even when He deals with an individual (Genesis 12: 1-2; Matthew 28:18-20)
