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Sermon Notes of Rev.Dr.I.J.W.Oakley (26-5-1991 Cleland Baptist Church)
Paul had a great love for the people in the church at
Philippi. They owed him a lot, for he had brought them the Gospel, taught them,
helped them, and kept in touch by letter. But they had leant on him too much.
This can easily happen to pastors or missionaries. People expect to be
spoon-fed.
Now Paul is in prison, and some
felt this spelt the end for their Christian life and their church. Paul stresses
to them that God is what matters, not him. God had used Paul to help them, but
their Christian lives did not stand or fall with Paul. God was the one who
mattered, Paul was only an instrument. They must learn to rely on God, not on
Paul. He urges them to stand on their own feet, and cultivate spiritual
independence. Paul was only the channel God had worked through, but he was not
strictly necessary. God, on the other hand, is always necessary. Therefore dig
your roots deep in the Lord.
Paul gives these people a perfect summary of the Christian life. He commands them to continue to work out their salvation. The method is by fear and trembling. And the reassurance is that God is at work in their lives. This is a very practical and needful subject. Although it underlines our responsibilities, it also shows us our privilege. This message encourages us and supports us. It also introduces us to the mystery of the Christian life – 100% of me, and 100% of God.
It is necessary to begin with a
negative to avoid this text being misunderstood and misused by preachers. It is not
saying, “work for your salvation”. There is no suggestion of doing your
best, gaining merit, winning your salvation by works. The teaching here assumes
that you have got your salvation already. By God’s grace, you have already
been forgiven and justified, and are in God’s family, you are already saints.
The instruction is to work out
all that is involved in being Christians. When you started in God’s family,
you were spiritual babes. Now go on to be mature spiritual men and women. You
have received spiritual life – now you need to grow and develop, to become
strong and be spiritual adults. The seed must grow to become a tree. The stream
eventually becomes a mighty river.
In one sense our salvation is
already complete. Christ’s work for us is finished and perfect. But the work
of the Holy Spirit in us is never complete till we reach perfection. Our
justification is complete. Our sanctification will never be complete till
heaven. We are saved from guilt and penalty of sin. We are being saved daily
from its power. We have to work out what God has worked in. We have to practice
what we have been given – this New Life which God has given us.
Note that we are meant to be active in this new life. We
are responsible for this new life and new nature, new outlook and new values,
new strength and new power. We have to see that these things grow and develop,
and move forward to perfection. We have to live the Christian life to the full,
bring it to fruition. God in saving us has a plan and programme for our lives, a
purpose in saving us. We have to find out what it is, and do it.
There needs to be development of
Christian character. Daily we have a battle on our hands against the world and
the flesh and the devil. We must fight the good fight of faith, put on the full
armour of God, ensure we are increasingly more like Christ, make sure more and
more of His image is seen in us, cultivate the fruits of the Spirit, live lives
of obedience, consult Him in everything, act the way He would want.
It is said that when a sculptor sees a piece of marble, he believes there in a statue inside it. His job is to take away the superfluous material. So we are to chisel away to reveal the image of Christ. Realize the full potential of our Christian lives. Possess our possessions. Fight the fight. Win the race. By grace you have been saved, not of works.. for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10). Cultivation of our relationship with the Lord, and development of Christian life, is our first responsibility. If we neglect our own souls, we will be of no use for others. R.M.McCheyne said, “Your own soul is your first and greatest care. Seek advance of personal holiness.” He said this to a fellow minister, to point out that the healthiness of his own soul was absolutely needful to the vigour and power of his ministrations.
We are to do this with great reverence for God. We belong
to God, He is at work in our lives, and we are answerable to Him for our life.
We should be trembling lest we miss His will, fail Him, disappoint Him. Those
things are in short supply nowadays. We can be so “pally” and familiar with
God; we know so little of putting off our shoes for we are on holy ground. We
can easily trivialize sin, and put our self on centre stage rather than God. We
make decisions without Him and think nothing of it.
I must submit my whole will to Him. I am not my own. He
is at work in me for His own purposes. I must not work on Him to get Him to
agree with my plans. I must work out my salvation, not in a careless
happy-go-lucky manner, but with utter seriousness and respect for God. Do I fear
the Lord? Do I tremble at His word? Am I concerned lest I grieve the Holy
Spirit? Am I anxious not to displease Him or disappoint Him? Am I concerned that
after I have preached to others, I
myself will not be disqualified for the prize (1 Corinthians 9:27)?
We all need to ensure we utterly submit our wills to the Lord, and avoid everything that is opposed to God. Do not love the world, or anything in the world (1 John 2:15). “God-fearing” and “godly man” need to be restored to the Christian vocabulary.
…to will and to act according to his good purposes. He
began the work in our lives in the first place. He made us aware that something
was wrong. He created the desire within us for Himself. He convicted us of sin.
He brought us to Christ and gave us new life. All things are new because of God.
And He is still carrying on His work. He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the
day of Christ Jesus
(Philippians 1:6). God has not just done His bit, and now handed over to us. We
must carry on giving 100% of ourselves, as He gives 100% of Himself. God is the
great consistent worker and energizer in our hearts. He speaks to us and
nourishes our souls through His Word. He prompts us to pray. When He gives a
command, He enables us to obey.
Jesus commanded
the man with a withered hand to stretch out his hand (Matthew 12:13), and when
he did so, it was completely restored. In God’s hands, we are as clay in the
potter’s hand.
“Every
virtue we possess
And
every victory won
And
every thought of holiness
Are
his alone.”
It is an amazing
fact that we are indwelt by the power of God. He is in the living depths of our
being, giving us the desire and power to do His will. Yet we must work also. I
labour, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me (Colossians
1:29).
“Fight
the good fight with all thy might.
Christ
is thy strength and Christ thy might”
Christ is living
in us, and is constantly at work. We can count on this as we live our Christian
lives. We can look to Him to supply whatever we need. When attacked and tempted
by the Devil, He can give His purity. When faced with difficult questions and
problems, He can give His wisdom. He constantly waits for us to take from Him
just what we need at that moment. Let the Lord into every situation.
Do you feel God is
at work in you? Do you know that the hand of the Lord is on your life? And that
God’s power is in you through Christ? This is one of the reassuring proofs
that we are Christians.
There is a great mystery here – human responsibility, yet divine sovereignty. There is a perfect balance. Because God is at work, we can have assurance that we are His, that we shall persevere to the end, and that He will meet all our needs. He indwells us, and all fullness dwells in Him. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure (1 John 3:3).
