God's Work Out
Introduction Phil 2:12-16
It is better to earn than to receive a free gift. The reason for this is that if a great prize is paid for something we learn to value it. My son purchase a car that he worked for as a teen. The cost was not great but for him it was an outstanding accomplishment. This car has become a source of pride for him.
1. Building Spiritual Muscles (Phil 2:12-30)
· Salvation is unmerited mercy given to us by God's, Jesus dying on the cross was the price paid in full
· We understand this as believers and are justified by God's word and sacrifice on Calvary (John 3:16-19)
· We need to understand that it is a free gift from God and nothing we could ever do for God would give us a place in heaven, expound
I. (Eph. 2:8-10) Not of works but in Phil we are commanded to work out our own salvation, a contradiction, no
ii. Even though salvation if free we have to maintain it by the works that we do, expound
iii. Just because you repented one time does not mean that your service stops there, it is a lifestyle of repentance, or a work out (Heb. 10:23-25)
iv. God commands us to labor for his kingdom, this means all areas of life and service to God
v. Contending in pray, worship, service, follow up, mercy, grace, forgiveness, sacrifice this list goes on and on
vi. (Matt 25:1-13) Consider the ten virgins - this illustrates what can happen to those that are foolish and do not maintain service unto God
· Our generation is still practicing this type of service to God, Christian in name only but not in works
· You can not separate the two they go hand in hand
· (Gal 3:1-6) Many people try to use the bible to justify their sins but the Word is clear
· This follows carnal laws in place like water and food, you just don't eat and drink ounce and are fill, correct!
· This generation seeks after nutrition and physical fitness and to those that are serious they understand that it is a daily discipline
* Some victories must have a lifestyle of contention, Jesus address faithlessness in seeking God first (Matt 17:14-21)
2. Godly Attitude ( vs. 14)
· God calls us to right attitude, a trait lost in this present age
· In order to accomplish spiritual muscles the focus must be taken off self interest and unto God Kingdom
· To many times we begin in the spirit by end up in the flesh, (I Sam 10:19-24)
- Saul's life is a classic example of the long run and what is spoken by in scripture he started out humble
- Satan himself at one time had the right idea service to God but then came the rebellion and we know the story
- We as believers in Christ must have Godly mindset of master - Lord relationship
- (I Cor. 6:9-14) Liberty is wonderfully but we must always understand that it is your duty to obey the laws of God this will never change
- The danger we face is that as we grow older and wiser in the Lord we begin to take things for granted
- We understand his grace and walk in confidence this is not a bad thing but can lead to a dangerous philosophy of compromise
- Rev. Wright, Barak Obama pastor, is an example of this he preaches hate in his pulpit and raises the issue that this is the black church
- There is no such thing as a black church in Christianity it is and always will be God's church
- How can one justify hatred? Because man does not have a godly attitude and is lifted in pride with murmurings of sin for a season
- (Matt 18:1-5) The greatest in the kingdom - Jesus say are those that come as a child
- Those that are in need and come to God for direction and comfort and desire the protection of God, need for Jesus in their lives
- What is God trying to teach us that the issue is not the greatest but the family of God, father and his sons and daughters
- We serve God because he is our father and as you respect your earthly father so must you respect your heavenly father
- Small children love their parents, kisses and hugs and hanging on their legs, carry me, tickle me etc.
- The simple thing things in life, yes we do grow up but we must maintain the child relationship of loving God, never to old to love God
- Sometimes we must put down our defenses and just love God as a child, this is godly attitude he seeks
3. Joy of The Prize (vs. 16)
· The end result of this story is the joy we will have when we enter eternity
Our efforts is the long run or the end of the story
The children of Israel did not enter the promise land because of their mindset of rebellion and disobedience
Example after example in scripture of those you fell by the way - Judas, Korah, Saul, Demas, Samson
Their is no joy in this but great sorrow, lost sinner do not please God, he is the God of the living not the dead
Paul envisions this that at the end of the day he will count the cost of those who will miss God and those who will win
Paul's desire is that he can give a good report and this is the desire of all men of God, that none will be lost
In order for us to be saved we must take all this into consideration
It is a joy to men of God when we see people strive to the Kingdom, faithfulness, witness, prayer etc.
This are signs of a healthy church with a strong possibility of salvation
Heaven is a privilege and given to those who endure
_____________________________________________________________________
Phil 2:12-16
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye 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.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good
pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in
the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the
world;
16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that
I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
KJV
John 3:16-19
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the
world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
KJV
Eph 2:8-10
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Heb 10:23-25
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is
faithful that promised;)
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is;
but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
KJV
Matt 25:1-13
25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took
their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out
to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are
gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and
you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready
went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of
man cometh.
KJV
Gal 3:1-6
3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the
truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified
among you?
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the
law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the
flesh?
4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among
you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Matt 17:14-21
And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man,
kneeling down to him, and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes
he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long
shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was
cured from that very hour.
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him
out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto
you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this
mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall
be impossible unto you.
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
1 Sam 10:19-24
19 And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your
adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a
king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes,
and by your thousands.
20 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe
of Benjamin was taken.
21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the
family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they
sought him, he could not be found.
22 Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come
thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.
23 And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he
was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that
there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and
said, God save the king.
1 Cor 6:9-14
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not
deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate,
nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners,
shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye
are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things
are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it
and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord
for the body.
14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own
power.
Matt 18:1-5
18:1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is
greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gal 3:2; Gal 3:3; Gal 3:4; Gal 3:5; Gal
3:6; Gal 3:7
Galatians 3:2
This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law,
or by the hearing of faith?
[This only would I learn of you] I would ask this of you; retaining still the
language of severe reproof. The design here, and in the following verses, is, to
prove to them that the views which they had at first embraced were correct, and
that the views which they now cherished were false To show them this, he asks
them the simple question, by what means they had obtained the exalted privileges
which they enjoyed? Whether they had obtained them by the simple gospel, or
whethcr by the observance of the Law? The word "only" here monon (NT:3440)
implies that this was enough to settle the question. The argument to which he
was about to appeal was enough for his purpose. He did not need to go any
further. They had been converted. They had received the Holy Spirit. They had
had abundant evidence of their acceptance with God, and the simple matter of
inquiry now was, whether this had occurred as the regular effect of the gospel,
or whether it had been by obeying the Law of Moses?
[Received ye the Spirit] The Holy Spirit. He refers here, doubtless, to all the
manifestations of the Spirit which had been made to them, in renewing the heart,
in sanctifying the soul, in comforting them in affliction, and in his miraculous
agency among them. The Holy Spirit had been conferred on them at their
conversion (compare Acts 10:44; 11:17) and this was to them proof of the favor
of God, and of their being accepted by him.
[By the works of the law] By obeying the Law of Moses or of any law. It was in
no way connected with their obeying the Law. This must have been so clear to
them that no one could have any doubt or the subject. The inestimably rich and
precious gift of the Holy Spirit had not been conferred on them in consequence
of their obeying the Law.
[Or by the hearing of faith] In connection with hearing the gospel requiring
faith as a condition of salvation. The Holy Spirit was sent down only in
connection with the preaching of the gospel. It was a matter of truth, and which
could not be denied, that those influences had not been imparted under the Law,
but had been connected with the gospel of the Redeemer; compare Acts 2. The
doctrine taught in this verse is, that the benefits resulting to Christians from
the gift of the Holy Spirit are enough to prove that the gospel is from God, and
therefore true. This was the case with regard to the miraculous endowments
communicated in the early ages of the church by the Holy Spirit; for the
miracles which were performed, the knowledge of languages imparted, and the
conversion of thousands from the error of their ways, proved that the system was
from heaven; and it is true now. Every Christian has had ample proof, from the
influences of the Spirit on his heart and around him, that the system which is
attended with such benefits is from heaven.
His own renewed heart; his elevated and sanctified affections; his exalted
hopes; his consolations in trial; his peace in the prospect of death, and the
happy influences of the system around him in the conversion of others, and in
the intelligence, order, and purity of the community, are ample proof that the
religion is true. Such effects do not come from any attempt to keep the Law;
they result from no other system. No system of infidelity produces them; no mere
system of infidelity can produce them. It is only by that pure system which
proclaims salvation by the grace of God; which announces salvation by the merits
of the Lord Jesus, that such effects are produced. The Saviour promised the Holy
Spirit to descend after his ascension to heaven to apply his work; and
everywhere, under the faithful preaching of the simple gospel, that Spirit keeps
up the evidence of the truth of the system by his influences on the hearts and
lives of people.
Galatians 3:3
Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the
flesh?
[Are ye so foolish?] Can it be that you are so unwise? The idea is, that Paul
hardly thought it credible that they could have pursued such a course. They had
so cordially embraced the gospel when he preached to them, they had given such
evidences that they were under its influence, that he regarded it as hardly
possible that they should have so far abandoned it as to embrace such a system
as they had done.
[Having begun in the Spirit] That is, when the gospel was first preached to
them. They had commenced their professedly Christian life under the influence of
the Holy Spirit, and with the pure and spiritual worship of God. They had known
the power and spirituality of the glorious gospel. They had been renewed by the
Spirit; sanctified in some measure by him; and had submitted themselves to the
spiritual influences of the gospel.
[Are ye now made perfect] Tyndale renders this, "ye would now end." The word
used here epiteleoo (NT:2005) means properly, to bring through to an end, to
finish; and the sense here has probably been expressed by Tyndale. The idea of
perfecting, in the sense in which we now use that word, is not implied in the
original. It is that of finishing, ending, completing; and the sense is: "You
began your Christian career under the elevated and spiritual influences of
Christianity, a system so pure and so exalted above the carnal ordinances of the
Jews. Having begun thus, can it be that you are finishing your Christian course,
or carrying it on to completion by the observance of those ordinances, as if
they were more pure and elevating than Christianity? Can it be that you regard
them as an advance on the system of the gospel?"
[By the flesh] By the observance of the carnal rites of the Jews, for so the
word here evidently means. This has not ever been an uncommon thing. Many have
been professedly converted by the Spirit, and have soon fallen into the
observance of mere rites and ceremonies, and depended mainly on them for
salvation. Many churches have commenced their career in an elevated and
spiritual manner, and have ended in the observance of mere forms. So many
Christians begin their course in a spiritual manner, and end it "in the flesh"
in another sense. They soon conform to the world. They are brought under the
influence of worldly appetites and propensities. They forget the spiritual
nature of their religion; and they live for the indulgence of ease, and for the
gratification of the senses. They build them houses, and they "plant vineyards,"
and they collect around them the instruments of music, and the bowl and the wine
is in their feasts, and they surrender themselves to the luxury of living: and
it seems as if they intended to perfect their Christianity by drawing around
them as much of the world as possible. The beautiful simplicity of their early
piety is gone. The blessedness of those moments when they lived by simple faith
has fled. The times when they sought all their consolation in God are no more;
and they now seem to differ from the world only in form. I dread to see a
Christian inherit much wealth, or even to be thrown into very prosperous
business. I see in it a temptation to build himself a splendid mansion, and to
collect around him all that constitutes luxury among the people of the world.
How natural for him to feel that if he has wealth like others, he should show it
in a similar manner! And how easy for the most humble and spiritually-minded
Christian, in the beginning of his Christian life, to become conformed to the
world (such is the weakness of human nature in its best forms); and having begun
in the spirit, to end in the flesh!
Galatians 3:4
Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
[Have ye suffered so many things in vain?] Paul reminds them of what they had
endured on account of their attachment to Christianity. He assures them, that if
the opinions on account of which they had suffered were false, then their
sufferings had been in vain. They were of no use to them-for what advantage was
it to suffer for a false opinion? The opinions for which they had suffered had
not been these which they now embraced. They were not those connected with the
observance of the Jewish rites. They had suffered on account of their having
embraced the gospel, the system of justification by a crucified Redeemer; and
now, if those sentiments were wrong, why, their sufferings had been wholly in
vain; see this argument pursued at much greater length in 1 Cor 15:18-19,29-32.
If it be yet in vain. That is, I trust it is not in vain. I hope you have not so
far abandoned the gospel, that all your sufferings in its behalf have been of no
avail. I believe the system is true; and if true, and you are sincere
Christians, it will not he in vain that you have suffered in its behalf, though
you have gone astray. I trust, that although your principles have been shaken,
yet they have not been wholly overthrown, and that you will not reap the reward
of your having suffered so much on account of the gospel.
Galatians 3:5
He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you,
doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
[He therefore that ministereth ...] This verse contains substantially a
repetition of the argument in Gal 3:2. The argument is, that the gift of the
Holy Spirit to them was not imparted in consequence of the observance of the Law
of Moses, but in connection with the preaching of the gospel. By the word "he"
in this place, Clarke, Doddridge, Bloomfield, Chandler, Locke and many others,
suppose that the apostle means himself Bloomfield says, that it is the common
opinion of "all the ancient commentators." But this seems to me a strange
opinion. The obvious reference, it seems to me, is to God, who had furnished or
imparted to them the remarkable influences of the Holy Spirit, and this had been
done in connection with the preaching of the gospel, and not by the observance
of the Law. If, however, it refers to Paul, it means that he had been made the
agent or instrument in imparting to them those remarkable endowments, and that
this had been done by one who had not enforced the necessity of obeying the Law
of Moses, but who had preached to them the simple gospel.
Galatians 3:6
Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
[Even as Abraham believed God ...] see this passage fully explained in the notes
at Rom 4:3. The passage is introduced here by the apostle to show that the most
eminent of the patriarchs was not saved by the deeds of the Law. He was saved by
faith, and this fact showed that it was possible to be saved in that way, and
that it was the design of God to save people in this manner. Abraham believed
God, and was justified, before the Law of Moses was given. It could not,
therefore, be pretended that the Law was necessary to justification; for if it
had been, Abraham could not have been saved. But if not necessary in his case,
it was in no other; and this instance demonstrated that the false teachers among
the Galatians were wrong even according to the Old Testament.
Galatians 3:7
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of
Abraham.
[Know ye therefore ...] Learn from this case. It is an inference which follows,
that all they who believe are the children of Abraham.
[They which are of faith] Who believe, and who are justified in this manner.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)