Christian Living

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What Are You so Afraid of?

12Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ). – Philippians 2:12

Have you ever had someone give you a gift, something your heart truly desired, only to have it held over your head? The gift loses all of its pleasure. It becomes a despised thing and you wonder why you wanted it in the first place. The strings that are attached often times cause us to resent the giver of the “gift”.

The Salvation message is nothing new. The gift of Salvation is free to those who believe in the heart and confess with their mouths… this is what we offer to those we are trying to lead to the Lord. Then somehow, somewhere along the line, things split and become twisted. Once saved always saved or grace covers everything no matter what you do: are two ends of the spectrum where a mass of Christians split.

Get them in the door, to the altar, to Jesus, and on the church roster, with this free gift and them beat them over the head with the bricks of hell, fire and brimstone if they don’t conform to the church’s scale of how saved they are.

Salvation by works, salvation by grace: which one is it? What does the Word say? I love this Scripture. To me, it is the key element in clarifying.

work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).

Salvation is a free gift of God by grace! But at the same time, Paul offered encouragement to the Philippian Church to cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete this gift of salvation!

How: with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).

These are not strings. This is a lesson, a guide to guarding, growing that precious gift that we have been given.

Do you watch your children? When you gave birth, did you set them aside and say, “thank you God for that gift, I’ve got it, now I’m just going trust you to take care of it no matter what I do, or what choices I make, because Your grace will cover it”. I don’t think so.

How about a car, a home or even a spectacular new outfit that you just feel fabulous in? Absolutely not! You don’t even want that car to lose the “new car smell”. The house? You can forget about cooking in that kitchen for a while, it’s too new and you don’t want to mess it up! And I can practically guarantee you, if that outfit goes through the dryer, when it should go to the dry cleaner, there is going to be a price to pay!

Do you love your children with strings attached? I can only love you if? Do you stop loving them when they make wrong choices or mistakes? No. But how do you feel when they continually use your love as an excuse to get away with what they are doing? Anger, frustration, hurt and even fear of where their choices might lead them: where you can’t protect them.

I fear sometimes as a church, we lack reverence for the ways of God under the guise of grace, when there should be growth. Self–esteem has replaced the esteeming and high honor of God.

Isaiah 50:11 reads:

11Behold, all you [enemies of your own selves] who attempt to kindle your own fires [and work out your own plans of salvation], who surround and gird yourselves with momentary sparks, darts, and firebrands that you set aflame!--walk by the light of your self-made fire and of the sparks that you have kindled [for yourself, if you will]! But this shall you have from My hand: you shall lie down in grief and in torment.

Do you find yourself in grief and torment most of the time? Are you claiming that this is “just your cross to bear”? Weigh it against the Word.

Paul refers to, “reverence and awe and trembling”. Are those things reserved only for Hollywood, sports stars and maybe for the couple you’ve been vying to get a dinner invitation from?

What about “self-distrust and serious caution”? Are you talking to yourself or the Holy Spirit?

“Tenderness of conscience” is not qualified because you cried at the movie of the week! “Watchfulness to temptation”, we have labeled temptations as sweet in today’s society, from diet candy to the aforementioned movie of the week.

And the grand finale: “shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ”. The reality of it is, most won’t even ask a blessing over their food at lunch today, for the shrinking fear that someone will be offended or label them a religious fanatic.

Grace (God’s unmerited favor and mercy) is an inexplicable gift of God. Just as a parents love for a child should be. But how would you feel? How does He feel?

The truth of the matter is that fear of offending people is really the fear of them rejecting you. But are you rejecting the Father’s heart in honor of your own self- preservation?

What are you so afraid of?

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