Fear and Trembling

“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, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:12-13 NIV)

This passage is often confusing to people.  If we are saved by grace through faith, they ask, then why does Paul say we must work out our salvation?  You may be asking the same thing.  

Whenever we read the Scriptures, context is crucial, and whenever we see a “therefore” at the beginning of a paragraph, we should ask ourselves, what’s that therefore there for?  The “therefore” is there to alert us to look at what has just been written.  In this case, Paul had been telling his readers they should have the same attitude as that of Jesus. He then proceeds to describe exactly what that is.  

He says the attitude of Jesus was one of humility, demonstrated by His willingness to leave His home in Glory to come live in a sin-tainted world. But not only to live, but also to die in the most humiliating way as a common criminal.   Do you think you can live with the same attitude, caring less about yourself and more about others?

If you are honest, probably not.  This is not our nature and, so, what Paul is telling us to do is a very daunting task.  I am not sure I can do it, and this is where the fear and trembling comes in.  I am saved by His grace through my faith, but there are expectations of how I am to be once I surrender my life to God.  I am not to be the selfish, arrogant person I was before.  My attitude is to change and, thus, my life.  

But it is such a high bar to clear.  How will I be able to do it?  Let the fear and trembling begin!

Our humility will not come from what we are able to do to achieve God’s will for our lives, but from the recognition of our inability to accomplish it. The expectation is there, but we are unable to meet it.  The recognition of this leads to fear and trembling and continual striving to let God do the work He wants to do in us.   

Today, know God has great expectations of you, that He is not satisfied with just you being saved.  He wants to transform you into the person He created you to be.  But you are not up to the task.  That’s a humbling realization, isn’t it?  And with that, you can begin working to let Him change you. 

© Jim Musser 2014