Based on Philippians 1:1-11 (New King James Version)
“Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
When we become born again in Christ, is there nothing else left to do? There has been much controversy through time regarding whether a person loses their salvation or not, of if good works count or not after receiving Christ, and if we will be judged for our good or evil works after coming to Christ. It’s understandable for there to be so much controversy and for two simple reasons: because the devil looks to cause confusion in what is simple and obvious to try to make the saints deviate from the truth, and because of the sin that still dwells in us, even after we have been born again in Christ. Our sin will always try to ensnare us, even until the last moment, until we breathe our last breath. The devil and our sinful nature are a terrible combination. To be able to get to solid answers, we need to go to the Word of God in conjunction with the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
The first thing we can see is through what the writer of the letter believed within himself, the Apostle Paul (of course, inspired by the Holy Spirit). It can be said quite assuredly that Paul was an exemplary life of what it means to not only believe in Christ, but also, what it’s like to follow the Lord faithfully, and such fidelity that it even cost him his life. And towards his physical end, Paul gave his life voluntarily for the Gospel, for his faith in Christ, because Paul could have simply not have been beheaded if he would have denied his faith. This is what Paul himself said about his faith and about his walk much before dying for the Gospel: “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” Philippians 3:8-13. So then, Paul never thought that receiving salvation was just a matter of time, but rather, he believed that it was something for which you had to fight for, that you had to move forward. So then, if Paul expressed that he had quite a way left to go and a fight to be fought to get to the goal, wouldn’t that apply to us also, to those of us that have not yet arrived and have much effort still left ahead? Otherwise, if salvation was a matter of sitting and waiting and living our lives the way we want to, why did Paul put forth so much effort? And why would he encourage us to do the same? Why did he pray for these Philippians the way he did?
The answer is quite simple: the salvation that can be obtained through God’s grace is not about simply waiting and doing whatever we want, but, quite the contrary. Having and following faith in Christ involves fighting for it, and using the gift of God’s salvation for however God wants to use us. It is not something that you put on a shelf somewhere, or a decoration, or a status symbol. These are all kinds mistakes that are committed when a person does not look faithfully into the Word of God to be able to understand and do the will of God, as we are guided to do so by His Holy Spirit. For it is written: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” Hosea 4:6. In order to be able to know God’s will, as the people of the Most High, and be able to individually become capable for the work, we need to believe His Word and fulfill it in our lives, as it is also written: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17. This is the first and constant step that every person that has decided to follow Christ must take, to be able to abound in what is necessary.
Following Christ to be able to get to what was promised consists of abiding precisely in Christ and doing things for Him, because this is what we are taught also: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:5-8. Here is where everything starts to work together, because for a doctrine to be sound, it must agree with the Scriptures in their entirety.
Salvation has an end, a purpose, a why, as it is also explained to us in the following: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. 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. The Word says this also: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.’ Revelation 14:12-13. “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:9-10. So then, are you living your life in such a way that you will be ready for the day of Christ, living for the glory and praise of God? Lord bless! John