“work out your salvation with fear and trembling”(Philippians 2:12).
This short sentence from Paul’s letter to the Philippian church has often been misused by those who have sought to teach that we are responsible for saving ourselves through our own works. Sometimes it is also used by those claiming the Bible contradicts itself – as evidence of Paul contradicting his clear teaching in other places that we are saved by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9; etc).
Because of these wrong views, some Bible versions have changed the translation of the verse to try to avoid such misunderstandings. For example, the New Living Translation has “Work hard to show the results of your salvation” which might be close to Paul’s intent, but is not what the verse actually says.
But the answer to the problem is simple enough when we look at the verse in context. Paul was telling the Philippians that now he is no longer with them, they must take on the responsibility of their own spiritual lives. This is why he wrote, directly before the words in question: “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” (verse 12, emphasis added), or, as the ESV translates the verse: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (emphasis added).
Paul is certainly not intending his readers to think they somehow save themselves. In fact, in the very next verse he says “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (verse 13).
Paul’s use of the phrase “your own salvation” is strongly emphatic. He was urging the Philippians to learn to walk by themselves without his support – instead of leaning on his ongoing presence and personal guidance. Paul was simply urging them to develop spiritual maturity to enable them to walk by themselves.
There is also, of course, an aspect of these words in which we do “work out our salvation” – not the actual saving of ourselves from sin and death, but the application of our wills to choose the salvation that is offered to us. As Jesus himself said, we must strive to enter in at the narrow gate (Luke 13:24) and in this sense we do “work” to choose to repent and turn from sin while accepting Christ as our savior – even though it is God who leads us to that point (Romans 2:4).
In saying “work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” Paul was simply urging the Philippians to understand that they should continue to grow even without his presence and direct help, and that they needed to take responsibility for choosing to do what was necessary for spiritual growth.
Just as God disciplines his earthly children when he must (“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline” – Revelation 3:19 and see Hebrews 12:6), so he tells us we must also discipline our children when necessary. The book of Proverbs assures us “If you don’t punish your children, you don’t love them. If you do love them, you will correct them” (Proverbs 13:24 GNV). The same book says “Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death” (Proverbs 19:18) – showing that discipline or the lack of it can be a matter of life or death regarding the eventual outcome of a child’s life.
But what is the most important aspect of punishing children when they have to be disciplined? Many would probably say “restraint,” and in this day and age – when restraint is lacking in the lives of so many – that would not be a bad guess. Restraint is obviously vital in any kind of child discipline, and there is never any reason or excuse for unbridled anger or frustration that ends in child abuse – whether physical or mental.
Hopefully we can take the matter of restraint in punishment as being a self-evident necessity in child rearing as in any other part of life, and if we can do that, we can probably say that the most important aspect of child-discipline is simply the principle of punishing in love. We saw this principle in the scriptures quoted above, and the Bible often speaks of love and punishment in the same breath. But how do we apply this basic principle? What does it mean to administer correction and discipline in love? Apart from the matter of restraint which we have already discussed as foundational to any kind of discipline, parents – and especially Christian parents – can apply a number of practices that equate with punishing in love, but three are particularly important.
1) First, we must separate the person from the problem and make sure our children know it is their behavior we are not happy with, not them. Paul shows this is God’s attitude toward us when he wrote “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). We too should remember to love our children – and show that love to them – even when they must be corrected. There is a world of difference between telling a child “You are ….” and “You should not…” Our correction should always guide rather than cut down the one being corrected.
2) Another thing we can do to root discipline in love is to always be sure to make the punishment fit the problem. Just as civil law is based on the principle of the punishment fitting the crime, so we should be careful to measure corrective punishment against the level of what our children do wrong. A helpful principle to follow is that whenever possible, punishment should only be given for rebellion – refusal to follow a direct parental directive rather than simply for failing to perfectly keep a household rule. A messy room and a rebellious attitude are not the same and should not be treated in the same way.
3) Finally, another vital aspect of balancing punishment with love is to be sure that we always combine the two and make sure they are never separated because of anger or thoughtlessness on our part. Time and again we find that when God had to discipline the people of Israel, he also spoke to them of his love. Notice in the book of Jeremiah, for example, God says “I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness. Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security” (Jeremiah 33: 5–6). Here, we see God combined a message of discipline with one of assurance and love – something we see a great many times throughout the book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 46:28; 48:46–47; etc.) and in all the prophetic books of the Bible.
We should always apply this principle by reassuring our children of our love after applying necessary discipline. Sometimes it may help to hug them, but we should always remind them that our punishment is based on our love for them.
These practices are simple enough, but they are also vital parts of what it means to discipline properly – for the child’s ultimate well being – and to truly punish in love.
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