God, Work, and Salvation: Part 1

Scripture — Philippians 2:12-13 (NRSV)

. . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Devotion

What is the relationship between God, work, and salvation? I expect you know that different religious traditions answer this question differently. Some emphasize the importance of human work, claiming that salvation is earned by our own efforts. Others insist that salvation is God’s work, something we receive by faith and not something we earn through our work.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians makes it clear that we do not earn our salvation through the work we do. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” This passage, among many others, counts strongly against the view that salvation is the result of human works. Salvation is the result of God’s grace received in faith.

However, if we continue reading in Ephesians, we find a curious and necessary connection between faith and work. Verse 10 reads, “For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” Right on the heels of making it crystal clear that we are saved by God’s grace, not by our works, Paul adds that we who are saved by grace are therefore “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Our works don’t lead to salvation, but they should follow from salvation. This is God’s will for us once we have received divine grace through faith.

Philippians 2:12-13 provides additional insight into the relationship of God, work, and salvation. In this passage Paul tells the Philippian believers to “work out your own salvation in fear and trembling” (2:12). Notice that he does not say work for your salvation, as if it were something we could earn. Rather, once we have been saved by God’s grace, we are to work out our salvation. We are to express it, embody it, demonstrate it, implement it, and live it out. Salvation isn’t something we merely receive. Rather, it transforms us and calls us to a whole new way of life.

I expect the writer of the New Testament letter called James would say “Amen” to this. In his letter, he responds to those who believe that faith is all that matters and that works are irrelevant. To these he writes, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?” (James 2:14). Even more strongly, James says, “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (2:17). Later, he adds, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead” (2:26).

What does this mean for us? It certainly doesn’t detract from the glorious fact that we are saved by God’s grace given through Jesus Christ and received in faith. Yet it does guard us from thinking that faith is somehow all that matters when it comes to our salvation. The truth is that once we are saved by grace through faith, God calls us to live out our faith through works of worship, service, and love. As Paul says to the Philippians, we are to “work out” our salvation with fear and trembling.

You may be wondering what’s up with this “fear and trembling” stuff. It can sound like we’re to live in fear of God’s judgment. But surely this is not Paul’s point. The New Living Translation gets closer to the original sense by the phrase, “obeying God with deep reverence and fear.” The Message urges us to live out our salvation “reverent and sensitive before God.” I believe that Paul wants to remind us that the God who has saved us by grace isn’t our little buddy. God isn’t someone we can ignore. Rather, our Savior is the God of the universe, the holy and awesome God who calls us to live our whole lives in response to what God has done in Christ. No matter what we’re doing, no matter where we are, in every sector of life we’re to honor our majestic God by living out the gift of salvation.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: What Does It Mean to Be Saved? Reading in Context.