Devotional #12: Work Out Your Salvation
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.
- Philippians 2:12 NIV
I was always perplexed that the Apostle Paul would urge Christians in Philippi to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” After all, Paul is the very one who also told the church in Ephesus, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV. Surely then, Paul was not instructing the Christians in Philippi to replace works with grace. When I was hit with the news of a diagnosis of terminal brain cancer, I suddenly understood what Paul was saying. Paul was speaking of resolving doubts to overcome any uncertain about your place in eternity. This is a very real consideration to anyone who has looked at death in the face. When it comes to people with cancer, I have heard stories of people who wake up every day to this question. Many delve into multiple religions to work out the uncertainties regarding life after our time on Earth.
For me, I was fortunate in that I had already worked out my salvation with absolute confidence before the tumor in my brain was discovered. I now encourage you to do the same, if you have not. When you are unexpectedly facing emergency brain surgery, you do not have time to suddenly “get right with God.” We don’t tend to feel the need to think of these things when we are young and healthy, but tomorrow is never promised. When I was going into anesthesia, I didn’t know whether I would wake up in heaven, wake up in a vegetative state, or wake up normal. Facing this, I was in a state of absolute peace because I knew that Jesus was with me. I know the possibility of death is a very scary thing for many people to face, for me I was comforted by the fact that if the worst happened, I would be in eternity with my Savior, Jesus.
Dwight L. Moody, likely the most prominent preacher and evangelist in the 19th century had this to say:
“Some day you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody, of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. I shall have gone up higher, that is all; out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal—a body that death cannot touch; that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body.”
What an amazing peace those of us who have worked out our salvation have! If you do not have this peace, I hope you will start today to work out your salvation.
Accepting the free gift of salvation provided in Christ only requires two things: 1. Confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord,” and 2. Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. “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.” Romans 10:9.
The harder of these two requirements for most people is #2. Believing in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, for most people needs to be worked out in both one’s heart and mind. On the heart matter, I believe praying to God to reveal himself to you will feel that prompting in your heart toward Him. This is a promise of God, “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” – Matthew 7:8 NIV. On the mind matter, we live in a society that constantly bombards us misconceptions about whether Christ was raised from the dead.
Several excellent books have been written to help someone genuinely seeking to resolve their beliefs about Christ. A favorite of mine for years has been Lee Strobel’s “The Case for Christ,” in which 14 of the most common questions regarding whether Christ existed and whether the Bible’s account of Jesus is accurate. Another good one is Norman Giesler’s “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist.”
Listening to the testimonies of others who have come to Christ is also helpful. Some of my favorites are:
· Lon Solomon (young Jewish man finds Christ and become a Christian Pastor): https://lonsolomonministries.com/ (Scroll down to “Listen to Lon’s Story.”)
· Ravi Zacharias (young Indian student who found Christ after attempting suicide): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDSOnaMeG70.
· Chuck Colson (Convicted in the Watergate scandal and found Christ before going to prison): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_0mk16wNfs
· “I am Second”-multiple stories of God’s power in people’s lives: https://www.iamsecond.com/film/.
Once you have resolved your beliefs enough to say that you believe in your heart that God raised Christ from the dead, you are ready to take the next step of accepting the gift of Salvation and following Christ. Very simply, you pray this, or something similar to God:
Dear Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe your son Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has a more detailed step-by-step explanation here: https://peacewithgod.net/?utm_source=bgmainsite&utm_medium=pwg%20link&utm_campaign=pwg%20internal&utm_content=do%20i%20need%20to%20accept%20jesus%20what%20does%20this%20mean%20062017&outreach=accept%20jesus%20what%20means
Once this has been prayed, your salvation is secure; however, you should find a church and a community of Christians to continue your faith walk. Christian friends, co-workers or family can be helpful. An online search tool: https://www.churchfinder.com/christian-church-directory may also help. The article, “I just decided to follow Jesus. Now What?” is also helpful, and found here: https://www.compellingtruth.org/Jesus-now-what.html.
For Additional Study & Discussion
1. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? If so, how are you working out your salvation? If not, what steps do you need to take to reach that decision?
2. Which testimony mentioned above was most compelling to you and why?
3. What do you think is the most significant hurdle for people to come to Christ in today’s world?