“Wherefore, 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 which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure,” Philippians 2:12-13.
Paul looks at the obedience of the Christians at Philippi. ‘You have always obeyed [Me, God] when I was with you,’ because the church at Philippi was established to strengthen the believers by showing them that true joy comes from Jesus Christ alone. On Paul’s second missionary journey Philippi was the first church established for the joy of the Lord.
Paul said that ‘now that I am in prison in Rome, it is even more important that you obey God now while I am away from you. Keep on working to complete your salvation. Keep working on your deliverance your preservation from sin and its consequences given to you by having faith in Christ and Him only—salvation in God’s grace because it is the gift of freedom that is made by Christ who took on the punishment for our sins on the cross.’
Work on your salvation by:
1) Hearing the word is where faith comes from. Faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17).
2) Believe the word. This was written so that you may believe and you may have life in His name. You must believe that Jesus Christ is savior and the Son of God (John 20:31).
3) Repent of your sins. You need a change of mind and the change of action and ways. “I tell you unless you repent, you will perish,” Luke 13:5. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will saved, you and your household (Acts 16:31).
4) Be baptized, because this is an outward showing of an inward faith. “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in the newness of life,” Romans 6:4.
5) Confess Jesus to others. “Therefore everyone who confesses Me [Christ] before men, I will also confess them before My Father who is in heaven,” Matthew 10:32.
As you work on it, do it with fear and trembling. Be responsible, be reminded. Remember what is right, and be careful about what is right—especially when you are on your own. We must focus our attention and devotion on Christ, so as faith walkers we won’t be sidetracked. God is working in you, and He has not left you alone as you do His will. He will help you to do and be able to do what pleases Him with changed lives.
You must have a Christ consciousness. We must condition ourselves to think like Christ, to have the desires of Christ, and to be like Christ. It’s the in-dwelling spirit that influences our faith in God.
