Articles from Philippians

All of us struggle with motivation from time to time. That’s why we allow God to work in us and give us the motivation we need to do and act how He wants us to act.

            Paul has just told the believers in the city of Philippi to work out their salvation in Phil 2:12, now he says that they can do this by allowing God to work in them. “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13, NASB).[1]

            The phrase beginning of this verse, “for it is God” supplies the basis for how we act out our salvation. God does it all, but he puts us to work too.

            Pastor J. Vernon McGee writes, “So God works out that which He had worked in. If God has saved you, He has saved you by faith—plus nothing. God is not accepting any kind of good works for salvation. But after you are saved, God talks to you about your works. The salvation He worked in by faith is a salvation He will work out also.”[2] The swiss reformer John Calvin famously has said, “Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone.” James put it another way, “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:17–18).

            God puts the will and the work in us. God is the one energizing us to do the work. “The Christian life is not a series of ups and downs. It is rather a process of ‘ins and outs.’ God works in, and we work out.” (Wiersbe, Be Joyful, p. 74).

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[1] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

[2] J. Vernon McGee, Philippians and Colossians (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 54.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie, Fireproof,[1] is when two firemen are eating lunch and talking about marriage. One fireman takes a saltshaker, puts some super glue on the side of it, then adheres it to the pepper shaker. That scene describes God’s view of marriage—two people joined inseparably together—but it describes our relationship between salvation and works as Christians too!

            Paul writes to the believers in the city of Philippi, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12, NASB).[2]

            That statement “work out your salvation” can be perplexing for us protestant evangelical Christians because we’ve always been taught we are saved by faith, not by works. And that is true! Salvation is by faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone.

            However, that salvation leads to work. The study Bible that I use has a note that explains that the Philippians were told, “Not work for it, but work it out in the personal and church problems at Philippi.”[3] Those problems in the church are described throughout the letter. They were struggling with rivalries and personal ambition (Philippians 2:3-4; 4:2), the teaching of the legalistic teachers (Philippians 3:1-3), perfectionism (Philippians 3:12-14), and the influence of people that said sinning was okay (Philippians 3:18-19). They were working out the issues in the church.

            “Work out” means to do something as a result of what was done. You do it from a state of possession, in other words, “you have it, so this is what you do because of it.” That’s what “work out” means here in this context because we know these people Paul writes to are saved, “Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons” (Philippians 1:1, emphasis added). Paul is saying salvation and good works go together.

            And of course we need to mention this “fear and trembling” phrase too. These words are not meant to scare us. They are meant to remind us how awesome God is and that we are privileged to be called His sons and daughters. In light of that, we are to work out our salvation. Another way to translate it would be to work out our salvation with “awe and reverence.”[4]             God doesn’t want us to do things with fear in order to get saved. He has saved us and we do things from a position of security and the fear and trembling is because of how awesome He is.  

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[1] “Fireman Lunchroom,” Fireproof, directed by Alex Kendrick (Albany, GA: Samuel Goldwyn Films, 2008), DVD.

[2] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

[3] Charles Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, expanded ed. (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1995), 1470.

[4] Biblical Studies Press. The NET Bible First Edition (Biblical Studies Press, 2005).

Most of us admit that the quality of our work is better when our boss is watching. We pay closer attention to details, make less mistakes, check our cell phone less often, work longer, and take fewer breaks when our boss is watching.

            Paul mentions to the Philippian believers that he wants them to live obediently to God even though Paul was no longer with them physically in person.

            These believers in the city of Philippi had been obedient to their spiritual leader, Paul, and he was grateful for it, writing, “my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence” (Philippians 2:12a, NASB).[1]

            This is a gentle reminder for all of us to act the way we should when our spiritual mentor or spiritual leader is not around. 

            Paul founded the church in Philippi on his second of three missionary journeys. It was the first church established in Europe. In Acts 16 Paul meets a lady named Lydia and other women who were meeting outside the city. He shared the gospel with them, they accepted, and he helped them start a church.

            But when Paul writes this letter—Philippians—he is under house-arrest in Rome awaiting trial before Nero. He’s chained to a soldier day and night. While under house-arrest he writes the letters Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Philippians is one of what we call the “prison letters” that Paul writes to instruct and encourage believers that were in locations he could not visit.             As the Philippians learn to obey the teachings of Paul even though he was not around, we too need to obey our spiritual mentors even if they are not present with us. Spiritual mentors might have been a small group leader that shared wisdom we needed, someone that discipled us one-to-one for a period of time and gave us guidance, a pastor that gave us instruction in a sermon, or a Bible study facilitator that helped us understand God’s Word on a deeper level. Even though those people might not be with us now, we still should abide obediently to their teachings just as the Philippians were encouraged to do.

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[1] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

Headlines from a local newspaper reveal the dark world in which we live. Take a quick glance at these: “Golden State killer returns to valley,” “Riverbank homeless population a rising concern for city,” “Residents want gym to pump down the volume.”[1] Two weeks later these appeared in the same newspaper, “Freight train derails near Goshen” and “Police arrest 13 men for human trafficking.”[2] These are all examples of the corrupt, dark, evil, and fallen world in which we live.

            Christians have found themselves surrounded by these types of things for 2,000 years. In one of Paul’s letters he tells the believers in the city of Philippi and he tells us alive today about our job as Christians in this dark world.

            First, Christians have a good attitude. “Do all things without grumbling or disputing” (Philippians 2:14).[3] The word “grumbling” describes an utterance made in a low tone of voice. The word “disputing” describes a verbal exchange when conflicting ideas are expressed. As Christians we must have a good attitude and not grumble or dispute.  

            Second, Christians live upright among a crooked culture. “so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation” (Philippians 2:15a). The Greek word for “crooked” is skolios (σκολιός) which sounds familiar to scoliosis. Skolios is used here morally to describe someone who is crooked, unscrupulous, and dishonest. It means bent, curved, or crooked as opposed to the Christian that is straight and morally upright.

            But we as Christians are to be, “Blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach.” We are already in this state right now spiritually, but we need to prove it physically to the world. The word “blameless” relates to a solid and righteous conduct. The word “innocent” here means unmixed and pure. When it says “above reproach” it means being without fault and therefore morally blameless. The New Testament uses this word to describe the Christian community (Eph 1:4; 5:27; Col 1:22). The Greek scholar AT Robertson says this means “without a spot.”[4] Another Greek grammarian says it means “unblemished in reputation and in reality.”[5]

            Third, Christians shine among the darkness. “appear as lights in the world,” (Philippians 2:15b). Among that crooked and perverse generation, we should “appear as lights in the world.” We don’t need a Ph.D. to figure out how to look different as a Christian in our culture. The idea Paul is explaining here is to shine or produce light as luminaries or stars.

            Here are some ways we can shine bright in the darkness: quietly pray over our lunch in the breakroom at work; when some classmates or friends gossip, we politely excuse ourselves; when someone is struggling we stop what we are doing and pray with them; or we write an encouraging note in a card to a non-Christian friend that we know has been having a hard time.

            The potential to shine is easy, but it is hard work because it doesn’t come naturally, it is the opposite of everyone else, and because it often has a cost (either financially, emotionally, socially, or with time).  

            Fourth, Christians hold on to the word of life. “holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain” (Philippians 2:16). When it says “holding fast the word of life” that could be translated as “holding forth.” It likely means that we hold on to the word of life as it helps us live righteously. Pastor J. Vernon McGee describes the important point for us, “Life and light are related. When we hold forth the Word of Life, we are lights in the world.”[6]

            Our job as Christians is not to wave our “white flag” and retreat from our culture and community (even though that’s tempting to do). Yes, there are certain things we should abstain from, but we are supposed to be engaged in our culture so that we can stand out and look different. Our job as Christians—according to the apostle Paul in Philippians 2:14-16—is to have a good attitude, live upright in a crooked culture, shine among the darkness, and hold onto the word of life.

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[1] The Sun-Gazette Newspaper, Exeter, CA. November 11, 2020.

[2] The Sun-Gazette Newspaper, Exeter, CA. November 25, 2020.

[3] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

[4] A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933).

[5] Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, vol. 3 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887),  439.

[6] J. Vernon McGee, Philippians and Colossians (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 55.