Work Out Your Own Salvation
by Joyce Nash


Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (kjv)

This was Paul talking to the Philippians (in a letter from prison).
So many people are afraid to even try to become a Christian because PEOPLE make it so hard to live the "Christian" life.
People -- Man-- put so many demands on a child of God, that it seems almost impossible. But the truth is that it is just very simple.
God calls us to come as we are! We don't need to change a thing to come to Him. What we need is to realize that we are a sinner, (read Romans 3:23)
believe that the Lord Jesus was sent by God, born of a virgin, lived on this earth, was crucified on the cross for all our sins, rose again on the third day, and is seated in Heaven at the right hand of the Father, and is coming back for us.
Romans 10:9-10 tells us that if we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead--
WE SHALL BE SAVED!
Jesus gave us a very simple way—man has tried to make it very complicated with all their "do’s" and "don’ts". the way to the Father is through the Son, and there is NO other way!
We can get all excited because "that woman’s hair is too short" or "that one is not dressing just ‘so so", "this one is smoking a cigarette", or "that one went to a football game"--- but I do not believe that God gets overly excited about any of those things. I believe that God gets excited when a lost soul is in on his knees, repenting of his sins and becoming a Christian! God is perfectly capable of taking care of all the rest.
I wonder if it doesn't annoy God when we are bickering back and forth about bylaws and denominations, much the same way as it annoys us to see our own children bickering and squabbling over games and toys, etc.




Romans 14:
12: So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
13: Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. (kjv)


So we need to not pass judgement on each other for the way we dress or the way we eat, or any of that, but instead, we need to work out our own salvation and make up our own minds not to cause anyone else to stumble. If God is able to accept someone, then we have no right to judge that person. Maybe they don’t look like we do, or like we think they should look, or they eat something that we have been taught not to eat—God accepts them! We need to leave them alone and He will work it out with them.
Our job is not to tell them what to eat or drink, or what to wear--- but rather our job is to tell them about Jesus. Once Jesus is in someone’s heart, then He and that person will "get it all worked out". I like the old song, "Me and Jesus got a good thing going—Me and Jesus got it all worked out".That's it. That's the way it is, and very simply put.
I know I already said this, but it is worth repeating: We need to love and to witness that Jesus Christ was sent by the Father, born of a virgin, lived on this earth and died on the cross for ALL OUR SINS, and rose again on the 3rd day to sit at the right hand of God and is coming back for ALL WHO WILL ACCEPT HIM INTO THEIR HEARTS to take us to Heaven to live forever with HIM!
"Work out your own salvation". It won't be so much the building, or the denomination sign hanging on the door.
It will be very simply praying with a sincere heart and an open mind, and reading and studying the Word of God, and He will let you know what is right. We have the greatest potter of all,'sitting on ready' to mold us into what He wants us to be. All we have to do is be a willing vessel and allow Him to.
That is what we need to do, and then all these other things will be worked out. It is personal. It is simple.
As we grow in faith, and as we open our minds and our hearts and allow God to speak to us and to teach us, then we will – with HIS help—work out our own salvation..