P.O. Box 53055    
Los Angeles, CA 90053   

WORKING SO HARD ON HEAVEN

There's a cute illustration found in the recent book by Adrian Rogers, entitled Believe in Miracles But Trust in Jesus. He pastors the 24,000-member Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, and has also served as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention. One of our team members met him at a luncheon held at the National Religious Broadcasters' convention, and managed to get an autographed copy of the book. We've been borrowing from it ever since!
And he writes rather openly - and maybe with a bit of tongue-in-cheek - about some of his own childhood naughtiness.

"I have been a Rogers all my life," he writes, "not because of my behavior but because I was born into the Rogers family." And then he makes his confession: "Sometimes even my bad behavior reminded me I was part of the family. My dad knew how to administer corporal punishment. He would say, 'Adrian, I do this because I love you.'" And then Pastor Rogers adds: "I think that I must have been his favorite!"

And then, in the next paragraph, he makes an amazing admission. Now, please bear in mind that this Christian pastor has served three terms as the president of one of the world's largest Protestant denominations. He appears on the Love Worth Finding television and radio ministry. He's written several powerful Christian books on salvation and Bible topics. But here's his confession, and this is word for word:

"I would not trust," he says, "the best fifteen minutes I ever lived to get me to heaven."

In other words, if God were to make a decision on whether or not to grant salvation to Pastor Rogers, and look only at his most perfect, mature, holy 15 minutes of life, he's not sure that would be good enough.
Well, that very humble sentiment seems to run headlong into a pointed Bible verse here in Philippians chapter two. We've enjoyed this week the wonderful news about how Christ DESCENDED and sacrificed and triumphed on the cross, and then was given the highest name, the crown of all Kingdom authority. But now, exactly one sentence later, in verse 12, Paul appears to do the biggest U-turn in history. Here it is:

"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."

And you know, this is a real head-scratching moment. "Work out your OWN salvation? With fear and trembling?" Is it possible, that despite the tremendous victory won on our behalf at Calvary, our salvation still depends on working and obeying? If that's the case, fear and trembling would certainly be in order. I'd be shaking like a leaf, and so would Pastor Adrian Rogers, who doesn't think even the best 15 minutes of his life, his most wonderful and obedient 900 seconds of existence, would be enough to "work out his own salvation."
I've been kind of embarrassed sometimes how often - almost compulsively - we've read to you something that's just one, two, three, four, five, SIX pages earlier in the Bible, written by this same Apostle Paul. Ephesians 2:8 and 9:

"For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith - and this NOT from yourselves, it is the gift of God - NOT by works, so that no one can boast."

And we wonder: how can the same man write two such opposite-sounding things? On Sunday he writes: "Your works CANNOT save you; not a chance." On Monday: "Work out your own salvation, mister, with fear and trembling."
Well, sometimes it's helpful to take a deep breath and see how other wise Christians respond to an apparent conundrum like we find here in Philippians chapter two. In the New International Version's text notes, we find this comment about working out salvation:

"Work it out to the finish; not a reference to the attempt to earn one's salvation by works, but to the expression of one's salvation in spiritual growth and development." Then they add: "Salvation is not merely a gift received once for all; it expresses itself in an ongoing process in which the believer is strenuously involved."

In other words, salvation isn't a gift which depends on our works, but it IS a gift which involves our works. There's a fairly lengthy, but extremely insightful, bit of discussion we found in the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, which covers the book of Philippians. Let me share it with you. They translate, first of all, the Greek word katergazomai, "work out," which can also mean "to carry out to completion." Then they add this thought:

"This does NOT endorse the idea of salvation by works. We are saved by grace, through faith. But this grace LEADS US to good works. Thus, such works are the outworking of the grace that has effected our salvation."

Now here's a bit more from that same passage - and this is rather hard-hitting, so be forewarned.

"Many are attracted to the Christian way, but are unwilling to meet the conditions by which the reward of the Christian may be theirs." And we say, "Conditions? Oh dear." But this is pure Bible. Notice: "If they could gain salvation without effort on their part, they would be more than happy to receive all that the Lord might give them. But the Scriptures teach that each individual must cooperate with the will and power of God. One must 'strive to enter in' (Luke 13:24), 'put off the old man,' (Col. 3:9), 'lay aside every weight,' 'run with patience,' (Heb. 12:1), 'resist the devil' (James 4:7), 'and 'endure unto the end' (Matt. 24:13)."

That's a powerful string of Bible directives, isn't it? And these scholars add one final thought:

"Salvation is not of works, but it must be worked out. It springs from the mediation of Christ alone, but it is lived out by personal cooperation. While we cannot be too deeply conscious of our ENTIRE dependence on the merits, the work, and the power of Christ, we must also be aware of our personal obligation to live daily, by God's grace, a life consistent with the principles of Heaven."

Well, friend, there's a lot to think about there. But you know, I think the safest perspective on this verse is to simply read again the ENTIRE verse . . . because we often skate off into the woods of discouragement by just noticing the first half. Here's the whole thing:

"Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for IT IS GOD WHO WORKS IN YOU to will and to act according to His good purpose."

And that second half is such a huge, horizon-expanding insight. God works in us and through us to achieve our salvation. Is obedience required? Yes, and God will work in us to make us obedient. If we cooperate. Do we need to resist the devil? Absolutely, but only God dwelling in us will make that happen. If we cooperate. Do we have to lay aside weights and move away from temptations? Without a doubt, but again, it's the indwelling power of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit where we will find that victory . . . THROUGH our cooperation with that heavenly power.
The very next line, verse 14, has some tough, jagged edges to it in terms of behavior.

"Do everything without complaining," Paul writes. "Or arguing." "Don't think you're the only one who has all the answers," says the Clear Word paraphrase.

And Paul goes on to challenge his new Christian friends to be blameless and pure. "Children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation," people who can "shine like stars in the universe." It sounds hard - and it is - but not nearly so bad when we know that God is at the helm, directing the life, determining the speed and the coordinates and the forward progress and all the rest. And that WE are simply cooperating.
And the part about fear and trembling . . . what about that? Are we scared about all this? Are we terrified? No, not in the least. But we ARE in awe. We're not joking around here in chapter two. We're sober and serious about the marvelous realization that God is interested in us, that He has made Himself responsible for making us pure and fit vessels for His kingdom. The NIV text notes add in referring to the "fear and trembling":

"Not because of doubt or anxiety; rather, the reference is to an active reverence and a singleness of purpose in response to God's grace."

The Christian writer C. S. Lewis has an exceptional essay on this very verse, and how to blend the "work out your own salvation" part with the clincher: "For it is God who works in you." And I can't include it all here, but elsewhere he writes with brimming but respectful confidence about how the Christian certainly DOES need to work and pray and study and obey and all the rest. He or she needs to TRY. But then Lewis adds:

"But trying [to obey] in a new, way, a LESS WORRIED way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you."

I like that a lot; don't you?