Wherefore my beloved, wherefore
my beloved. This is a man writing to some
folks that were very precious to him. He calls them my beloved,
and that's not just rhetoric. He wrote in chapter one, God
is my record, how greatly I long after you all. Of course, that's
God's promise to all of his people. We live in a wretched world that's
full of danger and evil discouragement, affliction, unrest, fear. But look how the Lord has blessed
us in this world with his grace by preaching of the gospel, by
being reminded constantly of his love for us and his power,
powerful love, love that doesn't wish the best, but love that
does something about it. working all things for our good
and he said this, I'll give you pastors that love you like I
do. Not as much as he does, but like
he does, like he does. I'll give you pastors after my
own heart. If you ever run across somebody
who presumes to preach the gospel and speak for God and all they
care about is indoctrinating you that there's no real compassion
or love or gracious concern for your soul, then that's not God's
preacher. His promise is contrary to that.
And what Paul is beseeching them here regarding and exhorting
them to is works that accompany salvation. To obey, and we know
what he means by obey here. He doesn't mean obey me, do what
I tell you to do. If the preacher's telling you
something God said, then obey. But that's who he's talking about,
obeying here. The word perform, when he says
work out, the word work out your own salvation, it means perform
it. And we know the whole Bible is
clear that not, that's not in the sense of saving yourself
by your works. That's contrary to everything. Go back to Cain and Abel and
find that out. Go back to the Genesis chapter
four and understand that not by the deeds of the law can any
man be justified, but by faith without the works of the law.
So he's not saying that, that you perform the saving of yourself. Throughout the scripture, that's
the opposite of how a sinner is saved. Grace without works
is the message of every book of the Bible. No, Paul is exhorting
them in all of the general context of this the same way. Perform
like you're saved. Do according to what you are,
what's happened to you, what God has done for you. And remember
chapter one, verse 27, we keep referring back to this, but this
is exactly the context of our of this exhortation in our text. Only let your conduct be as it
becometh the gospel of Christ. And he gives so many examples
of that in these next verses, and one of them, of course, is
in our text here. And in this same chapter, in
chapter one there, humility, walk and behave, obey according
to the gospel of Christ. And he says that that has to
do with you coming down. Let this mind be in you, which
was in Christ Jesus when he thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, but made himself of no reputation and became obedient unto death.
That the word obedient goes back to what we just read. Your obedience, his obedience
inspires Your obedience, if he died for us, we ought to henceforth
not live unto ourselves, scripture says. So that's the clear teaching
here. And it's by Christ's one sacrifice
for sins, his obedience unto death, that salvation is finished,
perfected, complete, we're complete in him. The wording here, an
exhortation to these believers in Philippi to act according
to the salvation which was wrought in them by God and as we see
in the next verse Even that performance now even that performance as
a saved sinner That's also wrought by God Christ accomplished the
work of salvation for us that was a transaction that took place
between the father and the son and Father and the Son. Christ's sacrifice on Calvary
was not an offer to sinners, it was an offering to his Father,
an offering to God for our sins. He saved us without us. His salvation is for us, and
we don't contribute to that, we don't participate in that,
but also Christ accomplished the work of salvation in us.
As we live in the spirit, walk after the spirit, bear the fruit
of the spirit, that's God working in us, the scripture said. That's
not unclear. That's not unclear. So for us
and in us, we're saved by Christ. That's how thoroughly saved we
are. We're not getting any glory out
of any of that. Paul speaks of his absence here
in this verse, which we know is because of his imprisonment
that he speaks of in chapter one, his bonds. And he expresses
here that he's anxious that they be not removed from the simplicity
that's in Christ. He's in bonds, he's unable to
visit them. And so he talks not of obeying
him, but obeying God in my absence. much more even than in my presence,
that you obey God. Now this was a great concern
of Paul's for all of the churches, and that's the thing I want us
to see next here. I guess I'll have you turn to
these. Look at Galatians 1.6. Well, Paul, he's saying much
more in my absence now, much more in my absence. Work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling. We'll talk about
what that is in a minute. But he's saying, in my absence,
don't be removed from the simplicity. He was concerned for their souls. Obey God. Galatians 1.6, I marvel
that you are so soon removed from him that called you into
the grace of Christ unto another gospel. which is not another,
it's not like there's alternate gospels, but there be some that
trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though
we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than
that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. You
see his concern for their souls. Don't be removed, I'm concerned
about you. I marvel that you've been removed
to some extent or some among them had from the simplicity,
that word is, without addition or subtract. Christ alone is
our hope. And you don't complicate that,
it's a simple thing. It's all inclusive. The salvation
that's ours in Christ is all inclusive. We don't look to Christ
in our works. We don't look to Christ in our
obedience. We don't look to Christ in anything else. We look to
Christ, the simplicity, the all inclusiveness. that's in the
Lord Jesus Christ. You see his concern there. That's
what's happening in our text. I would that you obey even much
more in my absence. Turn to 2 Corinthians 11 too. And I want us to think about
ourselves here. Start thinking about us in this. This is not a history lesson.
This is teaching us something that's relevant, and not only
relevant, but vital, right here today as we sit here. 2 Corinthians
11, two, for I am jealous over you with godly jealousy. Again,
you see Paul's concern for them. For I have espoused you to one
husband. And this is figurative language,
that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear
it bothers me. I worry about it, lest by any
means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so
your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ. Simplicity. So our text is for
the church in Philippi. Paul wrote of that same concern.
to the churches in Galatia where we were at, to the church in
Corinth, and also Colossians 1 if you want to turn over there.
So you see this recurring exhortation of Paul's in his
concern for them being removed. It doesn't mean you can be unsaved
if God saved you, but we're experiencing life here. And Paul had seen
some fall away. Doesn't mean they were saved
and then they got lost. It means they were never saved.
They were pretenders. They were hypocrites. Judas,
did God unsave Judas? No, he said he was a devil from
the beginning. He's always been a devil. He
just showed us that he was. So it's not that, but there is
that concern in there. I've seen people fall away. You
have too. Colossians 1.20, and having made
peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all
things unto himself. By him, I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were at
one time alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,
yet God, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through
death to present you holy and unblameable and irreprovable
in his sight. And I'm talking to you if, you see that? If you continue in the faith
grounded and settled If you don't, if you fall away
from grace and faith, from a footing of grace before God, then he
didn't do that for you, and it's evident that he didn't. Not moved
away, be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which
you've heard, and which was preached to every creature which was under
heaven, whereof I, Paul, am made a minister. So you see this text,
we just read it while ago in another sense, seeing another
aspect of it. But this aspect from our text,
I want us to see now and to think on this, that you be not moved
away. Simon Peter had the same concern.
2 Peter 1.10, if you want to turn there, I'll read it. 2 Peter
1.10, wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling
and election sure. That's what he's talking about
in our text. Work out your own salvation. He doesn't say here,
brethren give diligence to make sure you're being good enough.
Make sure that God has called you. Make sure in your heart
that God elected you. How can I know that? Because
those whom he chose, he loved and predestinated and called
and glorified. He gives us faith in life. The
fruit of His Spirit will be in us. And that is an earnest of
our expectation of eternal glory with Him. Is that there? Does
your Spirit bear witness with the Spirit of God that you're
His? For so an entrance shall be ministered
unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. Wherefore, I will not be negligent
to put you always in remembrance of these things." That's part
of what's happening here this morning. Always in remembrance
that Christ is your righteousness, that Christ is your sin offering,
that Christ is your hope before God, that Christ is your refuge.
He's your comfort. He's your peace. Don't fall away. Don't be moved away. Don't start
adding things. I'm going to keep putting you
in remembrance, though you know them. You know Christ is all
right. Are you going to know it tomorrow? If you're reminded, you will.
If you're reminded. And here's another way of looking
at that. If he is all in all to you, the
Lord's going to remind you of it. That's the way that he keeps
us looking to him because he knows our frame. Yay, Simon said, I think it meet
as long as I'm in this tabernacle to stir you up by putting you
in remembrance. I'm gonna keep preaching Christ
as long as I'm in this body, as long as God gives me breath. I pray that's the sincere and desire of my heart. As long
as I'm in this tabernacle, I'm gonna remind you, knowing shortly
that I must put off this, my tabernacle. Not gonna be long,
is it? Even as our Lord Jesus Christ
has showed me, he revealed to Simon, it's not gonna be long.
But look, hadn't he revealed that to all of us? We're dust. The flower fadeth, the leaf is
gonna shrivel up. This life is a vapor. But look
at what Simon said in verse 15. Moreover, I will endeavor that
you may be able even after my decease to have these things
always in remembrance. I'm gonna do everything in my
power to make sure that after I'm dead, you hear the gospel. Every pastor that God gives has
this concern Don't fall away, don't be removed. If you continue,
it's not about numbers. There've been those who have
left the church and it was a relief. Can I be honest with you? We're
not just trying to rack up numbers. We don't want the world here.
If you're interested in hearing from God and you'll shut up and
hear from God, absolutely you're welcome. It's not about numbers. This is about honoring the Lord
and hearing from him and him saving us and keeping us and
teaching us and comforting us with his gospel. Many more though
than have left and it's been a relief that they did. I'm just
honest with you. There's a lot more than that
that are heavy on their pastor's hearts because they seem to drift
away or to be negligent of the need for constant reminding. You're not gonna stand in this
world that way. It's not gonna happen like that. The nature of sinners is not
such that you can acknowledge some truth and get saved and
then get on with your life. Either Christ is your life or
you don't have life. and take that as a warning from
the word of God, not from me. That's the reason for the concern
in Paul's heart and Simon's, and by the grace of God, mine. Notice there is to be fear and
trembling in your heart in this matter of living the gospel.
work out your own salvation or perform that. In other words,
walk worthy of the calling where with your call, with fear and
trembling, not lackadaisically, not take it or leave it, not
hit and miss, with reverence, with devotion. This is not saying that we should
obey God because we're scared of Him. That's not it. It's that you reverence Him as
God, and therefore, I tell you, and I said a while ago, it just
comes down to whether God is God or not. If in your heart,
if in the recesses of your heart, in reality, God is God, God is
God, you're gonna worship Him. You're gonna worship Him all
the time. You're gonna worship him publicly. You're gonna honor
him in that because clearly from the days of the Passover, God
called a holy convocation. That's a gathering of the people
to worship him. It's called a church. That word
simply means assembly. we assemble to hear from Him,
to learn of Him, to sing His praises, to worship Him, to seek
Him in prayer, to find in Him, in the remembrance of Him. He gave us an ordinance that's
dedicated to the remembrance of Him. And all of this is about
remembering Him and honoring Him in our lives as who He is.
To know that He's God is to worship Him. To know that He's God is
to not argue about how He saves sinners. If He's God, He doesn't
do the best He can and leave the entire purpose for all of
existence in the hands of a wretched sinner. He saves who He wants
to. He said, my arm is not short
that it can't save. That just simply is an acknowledgement
that He's God. That's all it is. The way that we normally understand
the word fear is what happened to Adam and Eve in the garden
when God came and saw them in their nakedness and they were
afraid and they hid themselves. That's not what happens in Christ.
We're not hiding from God anymore. We're hidden in the cleft of
the rock. We're not afraid of men because
we're not afraid of God in that sense. We reverence Him as God,
though. We glorify Him as God, and that
means we worship Him. We serve Him. We're in His army. Him that woreth entangleth not
himself in the affairs of this life, that he may please Him
who hath chosen him to be a soldier. Who chose who? And what do we
do about it? We live for Him. That's the plain teaching that
God honoring him, obeying him, serving him, worshiping him is
not a trifling matter. It's to be done with fear and
trembling, with all your heart. Seeking with all your heart,
God said, and you'll find him. His worship is not an afterthought. He's not gonna give his glory
to another. I don't care if it's your children or anybody else.
I don't care who it is. He's not gonna give his glory
to your mama. It's gonna be his glory. It says, though many with their
lackadaisical attitude toward the things of God are playing
games with God. You don't do that. If God has saved you, His worship service and glory
will be embedded deep within your heart And will be your continual North
Star Look with me at Proverbs chapter
3 You see what he's saying here
work out your perform Perform like God saved you with fear and with trembling. Proverbs 3.5, trust in the Lord
with all your heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. You see that? Trusting. Trusting. Don't lean to your own understanding.
Don't trust yourself with regard to what's the right thing to
do. Trust him about that. Don't trust yourself about how
God saves a sinner and how he's pleased with a sinner. Trust
what he said about that. It's only in Christ. Don't lean
to your own understanding with regard to how you conduct yourself
in this world. Trust him on that. Trust in the
Lord with all your heart. If it's completely contrary to
your flesh, do it anyway because you trust God in it. Lean not to that own understanding.
Don't sit there and think it through and say, well, here's
what I think. No, here's what God said. If how you think lines
up with what God said, then do what you think. And look at verse seven, be not
wise in thine own eyes. Don't trust yourself. Don't think
that you're the wise almighty be all end all. Well, my heart
is telling me to do this. It's probably horrible then. Be not wise in thine own eyes,
be like a little child. Except you've become as a little
child, you're not gonna enter the kingdom of God. Fear the Lord. You see our text
in there? All of that is another way of
saying it is fear the Lord and depart from evil. What's evil?
Don't trust yourself, you're evil. Don't be wise in your own
eyes. Don't look at your evil, look
to your evil thoughts and your evil thought, a heart and say,
that's what I should do. Depart from evil, depart from
your own evil. It'll be health to your navel
and marrow to your bones. Honor the Lord with thy substance
and with the firstfruits of all thine increase. You remember
about the firstfruits? You labored even in the wintertime,
even when it was snowing and sleeting, you were breaking up
the ground. You were getting ready, weren't you? You toiled
and labored and froze to death. Your fingers felt like they were
gonna break off and then the spring came. and you planted,
you pulled up weed, you planted, you sowed, you plowed again,
and sowed seed, you worked, and you fretted, you looked to the
skies to see if it would rain, to see if the sun would come
out today, and cause your garden. You look to God, in other words.
And then here comes the first fruit, you're like, boy, after
all that work, you know, here it is, you give that to God. with the understanding in your
heart that there may not be any second fruits. You know why you
do that? Because it's not the earth that
sustains you, it's God. Is that clear enough? It's not your boss that pays
you, it's God. It's not good fortune. It's not
your lucky stars that guide you and make things work out for
you. It's God. Give him that. Acknowledge that. In other words, trust in the
Lord with all your heart. Saying that is one thing and
giving him the firstfruits knowing that that there may be pestilence
that there may not be any second fruits That's trusting in the
Lord with all your heart Can we do that spiritually? So listen honor the Lord with
that substance and with the firstfruits of all that increase Nobody has
ever been the loser for doing that look at verse 10. So shall
that barns be filled and David said, I'm old. I used to be young
and now I'm old and I've never seen the Lord's seed begging
bread. And you're not fixing to. Not
physically, not spiritually. And thy presses shall burst out
with new wine. And look, if it's not wine and
roses and plenty, if the Lord chastens you, Don't be mad about
that. Neither be wary of his correction.
For whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth. Even as a father, the son in
whom he delighteth. You can't lose by honoring God's
son. You can't lose because he loves
you. Not because you did the right
thing, because he loves you. like a son. Well, verse 13 in our text, I'll
be brief. For it is God which worketh in
you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all of
that and then understand all the glory goes to him. The word
worketh here is not the same word as in the previous verse.
Our work is a performing consistent with what God did in us and for
us. The love of Christ constraineth us, 2 Corinthians 5, 14 says.
That's our working. This working of God in us means
this, to be operative, to put forth power. You don't have the power to do
anything for God, but he has the power to do something for
you. And the text plainly states that when you want to worship,
when you want to serve, that's when we thank Him. Well, thank
you for giving us the desire to be here, giving us any hunger
for your word at all, because that's Him. Whenever you want
to serve Him, notice the word will in the verse, verse 13,
to will. It's God working in you to even
want to. When you desire in your heart
to be a blessing in some way to one of the Lord's sheep, when
you're motivated to an act of love, forgiveness, faith, any
of the fruit of the spirit. As Paul put it in Galatians 2.20,
it's not I, but Christ that dwelleth in me. He gets the glory. We're not getting any of it,
whether we like it or not. We're not getting any glory in
God's work of salvation for us. We're not getting any either
in the work of God and causing in us obedience, faith, service,
and honor. It is God which worketh in you. It is God. In our study in 2
Corinthians 5, last week, Paul wrote all things, all these things,
salvation, redemption, or of God, of God. So to will, but
also, even if we want to, as Paul wrote
in Romans 7, he said, to will is present with me, but how to
perform that I find not. If you're able to perform your
will in honoring the Lord, that's God. To will and to do. You can't do it, and you can't
even want to, except that Christ worketh in you for his glory
and for your good. What a marvel of his grace. And
what a marvel of his grace to like it that way. Not unto us,
Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, O Lord, for
thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. Amen.