Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Isaiah 66:2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.
Hebrews 12:28-29 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire
Romans 13:11-14 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
We know that Paul did not mean “work so as to earn your own salvation.” Such a statement would contradict the whole of Paul’s gospel. What Paul did mean is to call the Philippians to put forth real effort into their Christian lives. This is not to work their salvation in the sense of accomplishing it, but to work out their salvation – to see it evident in every area of their lives, to activate this salvation God freely gave them. (Guzik)
“Some professors appear to have imbibed the notion that the grace of God is a kind of opium with which men may drug themselves into slumber, and their passion for strong doses of sleepy doctrine grows with that which it feeds on. ‘God works in us,’ say they, ‘therefore there is nothing for us to do.’ Bad reasoning, false conclusion. God works, says the text; therefore we must work out because God works in.” (Spurgeon)
Paul said our salvation is not by works lest any man should boast. James said faith without works is useless. Working out our salvation means there is a demonstration of our faith by the works we do, what we say, what we think. We do this out of reverence and awe and for the singular purpose of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ. Read again what Spurgeon penned above. It is sad we find little to no need for continued growth in our faith, knowledge, understanding, in Jesus Christ. We sit idly by day after day with no growth and no desire to grow. Examine your thoughts, words, and actions over the last 24 hours and try to determine how much of your time was “working”, with mindful attention and purpose, to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. Until we dim the bright lights of what this world has to offer and intentionally choose to keep our focus on honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ, our works, or the lack thereof, will do nothing of eternal value.