Rev. David Holwick Book of Philippians series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
March 22, 1998
Philippians 2:12-13
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I. Getting through the pearly gates.
(Unbiblical idea, but good for jokes)
A man comes to the gates of heaven and is met by St. Peter.
"What do I have to do to get in?"
Peter says, "It takes a thousand spiritual points to get into
heaven.
What have you done?"
The man begins to recite his accomplishments:
"I went to church every Sunday,
attended every prayer meeting and fellowship dinner,
read my Bible each morning
and shared the gospel with everyone I met.
What is more, I tithed ten percent of all I made,
sang in the choir,
cooked Thanksgiving turkeys for the Senior Citizen's dinner
and EVEN HELPED WITH THE JUNIOR HIGH BAPTIST YOUTH..."
For two hours he went on reciting an awesome list of all he had
done for God.
Peter looked at with love and said, "That's very impressive!
It will add up to one spiritual point."
The guy was flabbergasted!
"You mean to tell me that everything I've done, the sweat I've
poured, money I've given and time I've spent is only worth
a SINGLE POINT??
"I've got one point and it takes ONE THOUSAND to get into heaven?
LORD, HAVE MERCY!!"
Peter replied, "Oh, that will be worth the other 999. You can
come on in."
#1446
A. Works approach.
1) Christianity (Catholicism and Orthodox).
a) Other religions (Buddhism and walking on knees).
2) Positive.
a) We feel we accomplish something.
1> Easy to grasp - Ten Commandments, go to church.
2> They usually don't set a [high] standard.
b) Change seems real, not fake.
1> Appeals to our ego and national character
- pull self up by bootstrap.
3) Negative.
a) Heresy known of "activism."
b) We end up trusting in ourselves.
c) We don't need God (at least, he won't help us).
B. Grace approach.
1) Salvation is God's doing.
a) Beginning to end.
b) No boasting.
2) Positive.
a) All on same level before God.
b) God looks good, because he does it all.
3) Negative.
Observations by a Chinese pastor:
One of the main problems of the church in China is not
enough leaders with adequate knowledge of the Bible.
Take Deacon Yin's grandson.
He's a young man, maybe 35, and destined to replace him.
You know what he's saying over and over again in
his sermons?
He says that grace is everything.
It is grace that saves and sustains us.
And nothing else matters.
Faith is totally divorced from conduct.
Christ on the cross overshadows us and everything we do.
Our thoughts and actions don't matter.
Man does not exist.
God sees only Jesus Christ, not us.
And we should rejoice, because human beings are filthy,
rotten to the core.
This is the message.
I can understand the experience behind it.
But it is neither biblical nor edifying.
What effect will this have on a young mind?
I tremble when I think of it. #4309
a) Heresy of Quietism.
1> God is totally responsible for our spiritual
progress, or lack thereof.
2> Motto is, "Let go and let God."
3> No struggle is necessary, no resistance to temptation
required.
b) We end up becoming puppets.
4) How to sort out the puzzle.
a) Paul gives deep insight in this passage.
b) When explained, most Christians say it makes sense.
1> (Salvation must be understood dynamically.)
2> (On-going aspect emphasized here.)
c) A mystery, but sensible.
II. God's part in changing me.
A. God works in us.
1) Individual approach.
a) Be you, not Billy Graham.
2) Work = energize.
a) God is the power for change in your life.
B. Both to will and to act.
1) Gives us desire.
a) Even our faith is a gift from him. Eph 2:8-10
b) The on-going aspect of salvation also depends on God.
2) Gives us ability to act on desires.
a) Will power.
1> God does not demand of us what we cannot do.
b) It is not always enough to "will" something, for
good intentions are not always carried out.
C. According to his good purpose. 2:13
1) Good purpose = good pleasure.
2) God wants love, and love must be a choice.
III. My part in changing me.
A. Obedience cannot be separated from faith.
1) They did obey, and need to continue in it.
a) Not just when apostle (or mom) is looking over your
shoulder. 2:12
2) God created us to be responsible beings.
a) Bible never reduces us to puppets.
b) "Whosoever will..."
3) We must choose to reject sin, and receive Jesus.
a) Prove repentance by our deeds. Acts 26:20
B. We work OUT salvation.
1) Something we already possess, not working for it.
a) Contrasted with God's working "in".
b) Philippians are already doing it, must "continue."
c) Work out the implications of salvation.
1> Physical workouts are not for a new body, but to
develop the body you already have.
2> Work out = bring to completion. Don't stop halfway.
IV. Three areas to start working on.
A. Devotion to God.
1) Spend time with God. (Prayer, Bible)
2) Challenge God.
a) Explore questions.
b) Think through some deeper issues in life. (Job)
3) Honor him before others.
B. Relationships with people.
1) Do any of them not honor God?
2) A need for reconciliation, extra love...
C. Attitudes inside yourself.
1) You can choose what you think about.
2) You can choose to depend on God moment by moment.
3) You can choose your response to circumstances.
Victor Frankl, the famous psychologist, was imprisoned in
a concentration camp in World War II.
He said one day they had stripped him naked, taken his
clothes, shoes, family, his wedding ring.
He said they had taken away everything physically that
they could.
But standing there in front of the Nazi soldiers he realized
there was one thing that could never be taken from him.
That was his choice to respond to the circumstances he
experienced in life.
This is ultimate freedom.
You cannot choose what is going to happen to you next week,
next month, next year.
You don't have that choice.
But you can choose how you're going to respond, how you're
going to react...
--Whether it's going to make you or break you,
whether you're going to be bitter or better,
whether it's going to be a stepping stone to maturity
or a stumbling block to failure.
What really matters in life the most is not what happens
to you.
What happens IN you is what matters most.
That is a choice.
We've all seen people put in the same bad circumstances.
One will come out a winner and the other will come out
a whiner.
#2052
V. It's no joke.
A. Don't be afraid of God.
1) Take it seriously, it's life or death.
2) Christian joy is the experience of every believer who is
living in line with God's will.
a) But holy fear of God that trembles at the thought of
sin is also the attitude of the careful Christian.
(James 4:8-10)
B. Power to change comes from God's power and our choices.
1) Don't belittle God's power to make dramatic change.
2) Don't belittle your ability to choose.
a) We do this to get ourselves off hook.
C. What do you need to change?
1) What can you do about it?
2) Have a plan of attack.
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