Along Interstate 10 in Louisiana there was, at one time, a large billboard that caught the eye of many a passerby. It stood high above the city just as you start up the Mississippi River bridge. On it was a picture of Jesus, hanging on the cross, head bowed. The caption underneath read in bold letters: “It’s your move!”
The billboard raises a counter-question in my mind: how will we respond to Jesus’ sacrifice?
Having focused on Jesus’ humiliation and exaltation in Philippians 2:5-11, Paul now calls upon his readers to respond to Jesus’ sacrifice. In Philippians 2:12-18, Paul tells us three things we need to do in response to Jesus. Listen for God’s word to you from Philippians…
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
The first thing Paul says we need to do in response to Jesus’ sacrifice is to work out what God works in. Notice, Paul does not say: work for your salvation. Rather, he says: work out your salvation. Paul is writing to people who are already followers of Jesus. He is not telling them to earn their salvation by good works. Rather, he is telling them, and us, to work out our salvation as an expression of love toward the God who has already given himself to us and for us. Paul wants us to work out our salvation to the finish. Salvation is not merely a gift received at one time. Salvation is an ongoing process in which we must be strenuously involved.
I have shared the story before, but I think it bears repeating. Theologian R. C. Sproul was walking across the campus of Temple University one day when he was accosted by a street preacher. The young man asked Sproul, “Sir, are you saved?” And R. C. responded, “Do you mean, ‘Have I been saved?’ ‘Am I being saved?’ or ‘Will I be saved?’”
When each of us trusted in Jesus, we were saved from the penalty of sin. As we grow in a relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit, we are being saved from the power of sin. And one day, when we stand before Jesus, we will be saved from the very presence of sin. So, what Paul is telling us is that we need to work out the process of salvation to its rightful conclusion. And we need to do that not merely as individuals, but together as the Body of Christ, the Church.
The great news is that we have help in this endeavor… “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” If God was not working in us by his Spirit, our efforts at working out our salvation would be fruitless.
I think I have mentioned before that one of my favorite movies of all time is Chariots of Fire. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is where the runner, Eric Liddell, is preaching to a crowd of people standing on a racetrack on a rainy day. In the scene, the crowd is all huddled together under umbrellas and in his message, Liddell asks: “Where does the power come from to see the race through to the end?” And in the movie, various scenes are shown of runners falling down or simply running out of energy as they compete in horrible conditions. Then Liddell answers his own question. He says, “The power comes from within. The kingdom of God is within you.” And as he finishes his sermon, as if on cue, the rain stops, the sun comes out, and the umbrellas go down.
The power to see our race through to the end comes from the Holy Spirit living inside of us. We need to respond to what Jesus has done for us by working out the salvation that God has worked into us.
The second thing Paul calls on us to do in response to Jesus’ sacrifice is to do everything without complaining or arguing. Paul is alluding to the story of Israel complaining and arguing in the wilderness when Moses led them from Egypt to the Promised Land.
The Israelites complained to Moses that they were going to be destroyed by the Egyptians as they approached the Red Sea… but God parted the waters. Next, they complained about only having bitter water to drink… but God made it sweet for them. They complained about not having enough food to eat… but God gave them manna. Then they complained about only having manna… so God gave them quail. They complained about Moses’ and Aaron’s leadership. Well, you get the picture. The complaining went on, and on, and on, and it made their journey in the desert miserable.
Have you heard the story of the man who decided to join a monastery? The monks were only allowed two words every ten years. At the end of the first ten years, when the monk had his interview with the Abbot, his two words were: “Bad food!”
Ten more years went by and at his second interview with the Abbot the monk said, “Hard bed!”
Finally, on his 30th anniversary at the monastery the monk said to the Abbot: “I quit!”
And the Abbot responded, “I’m not surprised. You’ve been complaining ever since you arrived.”
Why are we called to do everything without complaining or arguing? Paul’s reason is… “so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.”
Once again, Paul echoes the story of the Israelites in the Old Testament. (See Deuteronomy 32:4-5.) Paul hopes that unlike their spiritual ancestors, the Philippians will prove not to be a crooked, depraved, and blemished generation, but rather a beacon of light for Christ in a dark world.
We need to remember that we are the only Bible some people may ever read. So, we need to make our lives good reading.
When we spend our lives complaining and arguing with one another, it is a turn-off to those outside the church. How much better for outsiders to look at us as Christians and say: “Look at how they love one another!” When we love each other in word and deed it makes those outside the church want to get in on the love.
A former inmate in a Soviet prison once wrote this…
Among the general despair, while prisoners like myself were cursing ourselves, the camp, the authorities, while we opened up our veins or our stomachs, or hanged ourselves, the Christians (often with sentences of 20 to 25 years) did not despair. One could see Christ reflected in their faces. Their pure, upright life, deep faith and devotion to God, their gentleness and their wonderful manliness became a shining example of real life for thousands.
That inmate, when he got out of prison, became a Christian and later a church leader because he witnessed the joy of Christians in a difficult situation.
This leads to a third thing Paul says we can do in response to Jesus’ sacrifice. That is to rejoice in sacrifice. Paul says, “But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So, you too should be glad and rejoice with me.”
Paul talks about his life being like a drink offering. The drink offering in the Old Testament was an offering of wine or oil poured out on top of the sacrificial offering of a lamb or other animal.
At this point in time, Paul was writing to the Philippians from jail in Rome, where he was imprisoned for his faith in Jesus, and he was awaiting trial before Caesar. Paul looked at his life as a little offering added on top of the bigger sacrifice of the Philippian church. And Paul rejoiced in that sacrifice that he felt privileged to make. In fact, Paul uses the word rejoice four times in two verses. Paul counted it a blessing to share, in some small way, in the sufferings of Jesus.
Do we look at suffering that way? Do we look at sacrifices that way? Do we rejoice in them?
Warren Wiersbe says …
The world’s philosophy is that joy comes from aggression: fight everybody to get what you want, and you will get it and be happy. The example of Jesus is proof enough that the world’s philosophy is wrong. He never used a sword or any other weapon; yet He won the greatest battle in history—the battle against sin and death and hell. He defeated hatred by manifesting love; He overcame lies with truth. Because He surrendered, He was victorious!
Hebrews 12:2 says…
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus endured the cross because there was joy set before him, the joy of knowing that he was accomplishing our salvation, and the joy of knowing that the pain of the cross would be followed by the glory of resurrection.
There is a two-fold joy that comes to the person who sacrifices self to follow Jesus’ example. There is a joy hereafter and a joy here and now. Paul talks in verse 16 about being able to boast in the day of Christ that he did not run or labor for nothing. Paul was looking forward to the day when Christ would return and set up his eternal kingdom. Paul was looking forward to the fruit of his labor—seeing the Philippians in Christ’s eternal kingdom. That, for Paul, was the joy hereafter.
But joy can also be a present reality amidst our sacrifice. Normally, we would associate the word sorrow with sacrifice. But Paul associates joy with sacrifice. I think what Paul rejoiced in was the opportunity to become more like Christ through the sacrifice of his life for the good news…
When the starter raised the gun and said, “On your mark, get set…” it looked like every other hundred-meter dash. The contestants were lined up in the starting blocks. The crowd was on the edge of their chairs in keen anticipation.
When the starter fired the gun, the contestants sprang out of the starting blocks, and even the casual observer could tell something was different. This was the Special Olympics. It was special because the contestants were developmentally and physically disabled.
It was special for a far greater reason too. It was special because of the way that hundred-meter dash was run. The runners moved down the track shoulder to shoulder. Suddenly, one of the young women sprawled headlong on the track and turned over in some amount of pain and embarrassment.
The rest of the contestants moved on for ten or fifteen meters. Without any communication among themselves, they all stopped, turned around, and jogged back to their fallen friend. They picked her up off the track, comforted her, and then arm in arm they ran together to the finish line. Those runners preferred to finish together rather than win the race individually.
Did that require sacrifice for those runners to stop, go back, and pick up their fallen friend? You bet! Was there joy in the race at the end? Yes. I imagine their joy was greater because of their sacrifice.
Paul sacrificed his life by going around, picking people up, and introducing them to the Savior, Jesus Christ. The Christians in Philippi did the same. And by doing so, they discovered joy amidst suffering.
What about us? Are we discovering joy on our journey? If not, maybe what is missing is sacrifice. Maybe what we need to do is offer our lives to Christ as a living sacrifice, letting him use us as he will. If we do that, then we will be working out the salvation he has worked into us. And if our lives are focused on helping others find the Savior, we won’t have much time left to argue and complain.
Of course, the challenge in all of this is that the Christian life is not a thing of a moment. The Christian life is something that must be lived out over the long haul.
Fred Craddock captured the essence of this sacrifice in an address to ministers…
To give my life for Christ appears glorious. To pour myself out for others… to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom—I’ll do it. I’m ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory.
We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the table— “Here’s my life, Lord. I’m giving it all.”
But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $1,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Listen to the neighbor kid’s troubles instead of saying, “Get lost.” Go to a committee meeting. Give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home.
Usually giving our life to Christ isn’t glorious. It’s done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory; it’s harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul.
And because the self-sacrifice required to live the Christian life over the long haul is hard to muster, even impossible, that’s why we need God’s grace and power. Let’s ask him for a fresh infusion of his grace, and power, and joy, right now…
Comments