Today, we will be able to worship together in the baptism of three individuals, as they profess Christ publicly in the manner prescribed by Scripture. And that’s exciting for a number of reasons. One (and maybe a lower one) is simply the link with history that we have through this act. Just think, because of the commission for baptism that came from Jesus to his disciples, we are witnessing a practice today that even believers in the first century practiced. These three are getting to worship the Lord through the same means that the 3,000 did on the day of Pentecost. It is an exciting thought me. It is an exciting day.

However, what really drives me is not simply baptism, but what should follow in the life of the church. For the church should be a covenant community of believers who are laboring in each other’s lives so that all of them are moving toward conformity to the image of Christ (that to which we are predestined). And as individuals are baptized they get to become a part of that glorious community where they too may be on the giving and receiving end of such labor. I think that is beautiful. In fact, I don’t know that I can imagine anything more beautiful than the thought of the church, the bride of Christ, working correctly so as to display the glory of God in the world.

And as I read Scripture, I think one individual who manifests this passion so clearly is the apostle Paul. His passion for the church being a community that displays the glory of God as revealed in Jesus Christ bursts forth in every one of his letters. And argument could be made that one of the chief places it comes through is in the second chapter of Philippians. Paul begins the chapter exhorting the church to reflect the attitude of Jesus Christ in being willing to lay down their lives for the good of the church. Then, he turns in our text this morning to drive home what this means they need to be about doing, beginning with his command for them to labor in “working out [their] own salvation” and ending with his thoughts on his own labors in such an endeavor in their lives.

And it is when all of this is taken together that I think we can sit back and behold a glorious vision of what the church can and should be. We can see Paul’s passion and what drives him as we consider the church as a display of God’s glory in Jesus Christ.

But, such a picture is not possible without labor amongst those who make up the church. Therefore, this morning I want to lay out to you a few challenges, why they are important, how they can be accomplished, and a glorious vision of the church as it is functioning according to the vision I think Paul communicates in his writings. Therefore, we will now turn to looking at Philippians 2:12-18 specifically and see what we are to be about so that God’s glory might clearly be displayed in the church.

We are commanded to labor toward the completion of our salvation

Paul writes in verse 12, “Therefore, my beloved, just as you always obey, not only in my presence, but not much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

Now, first we need to see what he is not saying here. Paul is not saying, “Work to acquire your salvation, because God is leaving it up to you.” He clearly teaches that salvation is by grace, not by works, lest anyone should boast. However, he is not simply saying, “Try to live a bit better.” He tells them to work out their own salvation. He is telling them to bring to accomplishment their salvation, to bring to completion their salvation.

In other words, if salvation is seen in the scripture as being born again, being justified, being sanctified, and one day being glorified (the state in which we will be conformed to the image of Christ), then Paul is telling them to move toward that goal. He is telling them to be more conformed to the image of Christ – the final goal of theirs [and our] salvation.

So, if we are to labor toward the goal of our salvation, and the goal of our salvation is to be like Christ, then it stands that what Paul is commanding here is that the believers think, live, and act in the manner of Jesus Christ. They are to live as Christians. This would fit with the context as this section begins in 1:27 with the exhortation, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel,” continues in 2:5 with the exhortation, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,” and is immediately preceded by a description of Christ’s work of sacrificial obedience, eventually giving his life on the cross in 2:6-11.

So, the command that comes to each of us is to move toward the goal of our salvation – being conformed to the image of Christ. One of the signs of true conversion is that there is a transforming power in our lives through the Holy Spirit by which we are being changed “from one degree of glory to another.”

We are to be different. We are, as Paul gives us an example, “To do everything without grumbling and questioning” (v. 14). So, as you are growing in Christ, there should be a growing tendency to be less and less self-centered and more focused on caring for the building up of the church. There is more of a self-less focus about our labors. Grumbling and questioning is built upon selfishness and self-centeredness. These should not be characteristic of a believer’s life. In fact, one of the blessings of having mature believers in our congregation should be seen in the fact that we have many individuals in our body who are easily edified, for mature believers are easily edified. They are not about grumbling and complaining, for such was not exemplified in the Lord. And it is to his image that they are being more and more conformed.

Thus, a sign of God’s grace in our lives will be that we are ever changing as God’s children, growing more and more into conformity to the image of Christ. This is the very command of Philippians 2:12 and because of the reality of this exhortation, we must feel the responsibility of this command.

But what is the nature of this command? Why is Paul concerned about this? Why does God command this?

God commands this because his desire is that we shine as lights in the world

The church is to be a display of God’s glory in the world. Consequently we should stand out in the midst of the world and draw attention to our God. Thus, Paul writes, “Do everything without grumbling and questioning in order that you might be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and depraved generation, in which you might shine as lights [or stars] in the world” (14-15).

We are to stand out amidst a generation that is crooked and depraved. In this sense, Christians should draw attention to themselves. Luther, quoting others comments on the believing community in saying that they are compelled by their own consciences to think well about Christians.

Can you imagine those who hate believers being compelled by their own consciences to think well of Christians? Oh that that were true in our day! And yet it must be more than just some hopeful wish. We must realize that it is a command of God that the church is this way. We must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, we must bring to accomplishment, completion our salvation. This is our command.

Therefore, we must be those in this generation who live strangely different from others in the culture. In the midst of a culture in which sexual activity outside of marriage is an accepted and expected practice, we must labor for purity. In the midst of a culture that mocks standards of right and wrong, we must stand on them and live by them. In the midst of a culture that treats divorce as a pathway to freedom and happiness, we must show forth marriages that reflect the gospel. In the midst of a culture that tells us it is okay to live for ourselves, we must display sacrificial love. In the midst of a culture that tells us money rules the world, we must show by our giving hearts that our treasure is not of this world. In the midst of a culture where everyone is looking to do the least amount of work possible and pass the time while they are to be at work, we must labor diligently with all our might, as unto the Lord. In the midst of a culture that does not think twice about violating copyright laws, we will adhere to them. In the midst of a culture that does not value eternal things, we must speak of them to our neighbors and around the world.

We are aliens and strangers in this world. We are to be holy, set apart. We are to live differently, and in many ways we may not be living this way. But it is crucial. And, at the end of the day, it is not crucial simply for yourself. Now, by this I don’t mean that holiness is not better for us than sin – it is. But your deep and lasting joy is not the only thing at stake here. We live differently so that even in a culture where our gods are numerous, our God stands out. People must know that he stands alone, distinct. And they will know this as Christians show themselves distinct in their living. Perhaps our claims that Christ is distinct among those whom men worship would carry more weight as the lives of his followers are more distinct in this midst of the world.

But this is a great task isn’t it? How can we do it? In some ways it seems even to be impossible. How are we to bring our salvation to its completion? Paul answers.

God will supply both the will and the ability to accomplish this commanded task

Immediately after the command of verse 12, he writes in verse 13, “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” God will supply both the will and the ability to accomplish this task for his people. That is to say, as God has a vested interest in the appearance of his church in this world, so he will provide the desire and ability for his people to carry out this command.

So imagine this for a second. Say you’re commanded to run a two-minute mile, and I can promise you that you will be provided the will and ability to run a two-minute mile tomorrow. Do you think that for one second you would think twice about throwing yourself wholeheartedly into the task of running the mile? No, you would probably go to sleep and dream about this great opportunity that awaits you, an opportunity that would be an impossible task for anyone else were he left to his own ability.

This is the incentive Paul provides for believers amidst this incredible task. He says, “Do it, because God will provide the desire and ability in you to do it. Live this way because God will provide the will and ability to live this way.”

In fact, if you’re sitting there right now, and you’re thinking, “I want to really put away this sin. I want to stop laboring toward these wasteful things. I want to follow Christ and devote myself to growing into conformity to his image.” then that is God willing that in you. That desire did not originate with you, it has come from God. He is willing in you this very moment the will necessary to be conformed to the image of his Son. Is that not an amazing thought? If he left you to yourself your desire would only be selfish and depraved. But he is intervening in your very heart to create this desire.

But he does not lead you there to let you fall. He will also work in you to perform it. Therefore, have great faith and indeed commit to labor in obedience to this command. He’s already provided will, why would we doubt that he will provide the ability as we set ourselves to this task of being conformed to the image of his Son? We have no reason to have little faith. So, commit even now to labor in obedience to the command of this text. Commit to set your heart to labor in ensuring that you are being conformed to the image of Christ. It is a command that comes to all of us.

But is this the picture for the church? Is the glorious picture everyone laboring to make sure they are growing, maturing, heading to the completion of their salvation? Only partially, for Paul adds that our focus must be in laboring in other’s lives as well for the same purpose.

Our blessed labor must also focus on others, sacrificially laboring that their lives might bear fruit of conversion

Paul writes to them in verses 16-18, “[Hold] fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.”

Paul reveals that one of the reasons he is so concerned that the completion of salvation is indeed accomplished on that final day is because he has invested toward this cause. He doesn’t want his labor to be in vain. He doesn’t want them to show at the end that though they might have said, “Lord, Lord,” they never really knew Jesus Christ.

But his thoughts show us that he was concerned not only for his own soul, but others’ as well. In fact, he tells them, in the last few phrases that if they will sacrifice and labor to this end and he can only be a drink offering on top of their sacrifice, he will be pleased and honored. That is, let me labor simply be the cherry on top.

It is like a dad who day after day comes home and takes his little boy, puts him on a bicycle, and aids him in riding it. Eventually, the boy (after days and days of laboring with his dad) rides off, leaving his dad behind, riding the bike successfully, and yells, “Dad, we did it! We did it!” And the dad yells, “No, you did it, I just gave a helping hand here and there. But you did it.”

That’s the picture Paul gives. He is modestly saying, “As you guys labor and sacrifice in this goal, and on that day when you are conformed to the image of your son, if my small sacrifice of labor in your life can be added on to your great labor and sacrifice, that will be enough for me.” For he loves Christ and he loves his church.

This is the heart of the apostle that I desire for us to have. We have a mission. We are laboring so that we might be complete in Christ on that day, conformed to the image of his Son. We are indeed to labor toward that, knowing God will provide the desire and ability to do so. And we are to labor in one another’s lives so that we all stand there without blemish on that day. That is the mission of this church. And I think it was the mission of the apostle. And I think if we truly set ourselves to such a task, we will be a beautiful display of God’s glory in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

I can think of nothing more beautiful than a church taking that task seriously. May God grant us such grace! Amen.

LABOR, DIVINE STRENGTH, AND A GLORIOUS VISION