The Old Testament book of Job is not only a mysterious and fascinating one, it is also perhaps the most important book in the Bible when it comes to understanding suffering. Why is there suffering in this world? Why does God allow even seemingly righteous people to suffer? What can we do to help ourselves or others who are suffering? Our new book Job: Answering the Question of Suffering gives a short, but in-depth, look at this biblical book – and the answers Job provides to some of life’s most difficult and important questions. You can download a free copy of this greatly encouraging book to read on any smart phone, e-book reader, tablet, or computer, here.
“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.
The desire to live – to stay alive – is hardwired into the human brain. Even those who have experienced a lot of suffering and problems in life will still strive to stay alive. The desire to live is also seen in another way. Since the beginning of recorded history, we see evidence for the quest for immortality. The pyramids, tombs, and golden coffins of the ancient Egyptians and many other cultures bear striking witness to these peoples’ attempts to maintain their existence after death. Ancient stories such as the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh also focus on the heroic quest of individuals to find eternal life – the same quest still followed today by much modern medical, genetic, and cryogenic research.
But the story always ends in the same way. Eternal life is sought in many ways, but always lies beyond the grasp of humanity. The Bible clearly indicates that this is because humans have been looking in all the wrong places and do not naturally grasp how immortality could be gained. The apostle Paul puts it this way: “but it has now been revealed through … Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10).
This fact underscores something else the Bible is adamant about – that immortality and eternal life is not something we can get, it is something that we can only begiven. We see this mistake in the biblical story of the young man who approached Jesus saying “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16, emphases added here and below).
The apostle Paul speaks to this truth when he writes to the Christians in Rome “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23) and “To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life” (Romans 2:7). Notice that Paul is clear that we do not have eternal life – it is something that must be granted to us.
Paul is just as explicit in writing to the Corinthians “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory’” (1 Corinthians 15:53-54).
So, the Bible is clear that this gift of immortality is not something we can earn, rather it is the result of the undeserved grace of God that he bestows on us. Nevertheless, that does not mean that there is nothing we must do in order for God to choose to give the gift. We are not granted eternal life automatically simply because we want it and God desires to give it to us – as Jesus himself confirmed: “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:40). Here we see the primary prerequisite to receiving the gift – faith in the Son of God.
Paul wrote about another prerequisite “To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life” (Romans 2:7). This is not a teaching of gaining immortality through works – Paul is perfectly clear that we are not saved through our own deeds (Ephesians 2:8-9; etc.). But he acknowledges that doing good is the outward fruit that proves we have inwardly turned to God and accepted his will in our lives. That is a truth as old as the Old Testament proverb “In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality” (Proverbs 12:28). We do not earn eternal life, but God will not give it to those who do not show they have accepted his will in their lives.
It is then, and only then, that humans will find the eternal life they so deeply desire. Not because we have earned it, or get it in some way through our own efforts, but – as the apostle John wrote – because “this is what he promised us – eternal life” (1 John 2:25).
“All you need is love, love, love is all you need, love is all you need …” – The Beatles.
It may have been a smash hit in its day, but the Beatles’ 1967 song “All you need is love” is not exactly good theology! When we think of the biblical importance of love, many scriptures come to mind – ranging from “God so loved the world …” (John 3:16) to the apostle Paul’s great summary statement in 1 Corinthians 13:13 – “now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Love, of course, is of supreme importance because it is perhaps the central defining characteristic of the nature of God himself – “God is love” (1 John 4:7) – so its centrality in the Christian faith cannot be argued.
But does the supreme importance of love mean that love is all the Christian needs? Many actually think this and go about their lives thinking that as long as they have love, they are “good Christians.” The Bible, however, shows that this is not really true at all. To imagine God as only as God of love is to limit his nature and to entirely miss the fact that the God of love is also, for example, the God of Justice (Isaiah 30:18, Psalm 33:4-6, Isaiah 61:8; etc.) as well as light or truth ( 1 John 1:5; etc.) and many other things. When we remember this, we can better understand what Paul had in mind when he wrote to the Philippian church:
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11).
Paul had already told these Christians he knew they had love (verse 8), but then he emphasized the knowledge they needed. The word “knowledge” that Paul uses in this passage is not gnôsis which connotes simply “knowing” but epignôsis, which is used in the New Testament to connote full discernment and spiritual knowledge. Paul echoes the need for this kind of knowledge that guides love in his letter to the Colossians:
“we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9-10).
These two passages both show that we need to grow in the knowledge of God and his will if we are to please him and bear the fruit of good works based in love. It is perfectly possible to have love in our lives – to be sincere, dedicated, loving – and still wrong. We can love mistakenly or unwisely and as Paul and many other biblical writers show, our love should be coupled with the spiritual knowledge that guides us in seeing how, when and where to show love.
If we were to believe the advertising of this world (especially around Valentine’s Day), we would believe that all a relationship needs is love (and perhaps expensive gifts to “demonstrate” that love). But any married couple can confirm that a healthy and strong relationship needs far more than just love. Our relationship with God is no different. We cannot be truly “one” with God by simply having love that we “demonstrate” through sacrifices, gifts, or other works. The Old Testament prophetic books are full of statements to this effect, and the principle is clear in the New Testament also.
When the Bible tells us that “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:5) it shows that we must come to know – and know deeply – how to love. Saying “all you need is love” is like saying “all you need is air.” Of course we need air, and of course we need love, but they are not the only things we need. As the apostle Peter summarized, we must “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). We must have love, but to be effective Christians we must always remember that love is not all we need.
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