Work Out Your Salvation

Philippians 2:12 “. . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
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Note: This is not working to gain salvation. It is the outworking of the inward salvation.

The Hebrew and Greek words for salvation imply ideas of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing and soundness. Salvation is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes: as justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification and glorification.

Salvation is in three tenses:

1. The believer has been saved from the guilt and penalty of sin. (Luke 7:50; 1 Cor 1:18; 2 Cor. 2:15; Eph. 2:5,8; 2 Tim 1:9) and is safe.

2. The believer is being saved from the habit and dominion sin. (Rom. 6:14; Phil. 1:19, 2:12-13; 2 Thess. 2:13; Rom. 8:2; Gal. 2:19-20; 2 Cor. 3:18)

3. The believer is to be saved in the sense of entire conformity to Christ. (Rom. 13:11; Heb. 10:36; 1 Pet. 1:5; 1 John 3:2)

Salvation is by grace through faith, is a free gift, and wholly without works (Rom. 3:27, 28; 4:1-8; 6:23; Eph. 2:8)

The divine order is: first salvation, then works. (Eph. 2:9-10, Titus 3:5-8)

Romans 11:6 says “and if by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise works is no more works.” You see, the nexus to salvation is Jesus. If there was a way for man to save himself, then God would not have sent His Son. When Jesus went to the cross, He bore your sins—past, present and future. Therefore, there is nothing we can do to maintain our salvation. You can’t lose it.

Ephesians 11:6 tells us “and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Do you think any man or demon can break the seal of the Holy Ghost? I think not. Jesus said that no one can pluck you from His hand. The day of redemption will either be the day we are raptured to meet the Lord in the clouds, or when we pass from earth to heaven.

Are you saved? What must we do to be saved? Well, it’s not repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38), because no one in Acts 2 asked what to do to be saved. The answer to the most important question is: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

Have you trusted Christ as your personal Savior? If you haven’t, you can do so now and know you have eternal life. Just come to Jesus Christ in simple faith and sincerity, saying something like this:

Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and unless you save me, I am lost forever. I come to you the best way I know how, believing you died for my sins and rose again to give me eternal life, and asking that you save me. I receive you as my Savior and trust you to forgive and justify me, and present me without fault before God’s throne in the day of Judgment.