Work of the Believer

Introduction and Review

0:03 If you are here this morning as one who perhaps just began to come into our Sunday morning worship services a few months ago and attend only on the Lord's Day morning, by now you may be asking the question, do they teach any other doctrine in this place but the doctrine of sanctification? Because for the past...

0:27 couple of months each Lord's Day morning that I have been privileged to open up the scriptures with you, the focus of our attention has indeed been upon this vast and glorious doctrine of God's saving grace as expressed in the doctrine of sanctification. Well, those whose involvement in the public ministries of this church is more lengthy and more comprehensive know the answer to that question, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no We do not teach only the doctrine of sanctification, and this is one reason why we urge, not only upon our members' expect, but upon our friends' and visitors' urge, attendance at all of the public meetings, because as elders we seek to map out a field of study and exposition that will be comprehensive in its treatment of the whole counsel of God's truth.

1:25 And so in the adult class, in other Sunday school classes, there is consecutive ministry. Our adult class now in the latter part of the book of Romans. Sunday afternoon there is a class dealing right now with very fundamental issues in our confession of faith. In the Lord's Day evenings, I'm going through a study in the life and ministry of Elisha. We've had a study in Peter's words concerning Jesus.

1:51 adding to our faith these various graces, a series on the Lord's Day or the Christian Sabbath, and we do indeed attempt to have a comprehensive ministry. But for a number of weeks now we have been engaged in a study of the biblical doctrine of sanctification because in the course of our consecutive Lord's Day morning ministries we have been examining what I have called the cardinal blessings of salvation

2:20 in Jesus Christ. We have examined the blessings of calling and regeneration, the great blessings of justification and adoption, and now convinced that the Scriptures teach that all who are called and regenerated and thereby justified and adopted are also sanctified. It is important that we understand the teaching of the Word of God

2:46 this great provision of God's grace. Now, I've suggested that the vast amount of biblical teaching concerning this doctrine can be helpfully conceived of in the figure of a vast mountain of gracious provision, a mountain with three great peaks. Sanctification is the mountain, the peaks are sanctification begun, continued and completed, and Sanctification begun, we have studied under the title of definitive sanctification, that work of God in which the dominion and power of sin is broken in every person who is united to Christ in effectual calling. Now we're examining that second great peak, sanctification continued or progressive sanctification continued.

3:41 In our two previous studies, we've underscored the fact of progressive sanctification, the necessity of progressive sanctification, the essence and the goal of progressive sanctification. And then last Lord's Day, we began to consider this very vital question, which pertains to the agents of progressive sanctification, or the questions. Who is responsible for this process of sanctification? And our study in the Word of God last week led us to the conclusion that the living God, in the Trinity of His being, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is active in the process of sanctification. In one sense, it is true to assert that

4:31 that we no more sanctify ourselves than we justify or adopt ourselves. Sanctification, in the language of the old shorter catechism, is a work of God's free grace, along with justification and adoption. But we noted last Lord's Day that that's only half of the truth. For the Scriptures teach that not only is God the active agent in the progressive sanctification of His people, but His people are active agents in that process. And so in answer to the question, who is the agent or who are the agents of progressive sanctification, any accurate biblical answer will be that God and His people are the active agents in

5:28 in that process. And noting last Lord's Day the tragic, the tragic history in the Church of Christ for failure to come to grips with this, teaching on the one hand that asserts sanctification by naked human effort, and on the other hand, sanctification by the negation of human effort, I sought to convince you of the vital importance of thinking clearly with respect to this great issue. Well, now, this morning, we come to consider the fact that the new man in Christ, the believer, in the totality of his redeemed humanity, is an active agent in the process of sanctification. And in opening up this truth, I have but two divisions or categories of thought this morning. First of all, we will consider the general emphasis of Scripture and

The General Emphasis of Scripture: Believer as Active Agent

6:26 and then secondly, the pivotal text which epitomizes the entire teaching of Scripture. First of all then, the general emphasis of Scripture. It is accurate to assert that the general teaching of the Word of God is that the redeemed sinner is an active agent in the process of his sanctifications.

6:54 I hope you will remember back to last Lord's Day when we noted under the heading of the essence of progressive sanctification that it is both negative and positive. Progressive sanctification involves, on the one hand, the mortification or the putting to death of remaining sin. Romans 8 and verse 13. It involves the continuous cleansing from sin. 2 Corinthians 7.1

7:23 But it involves positively the conformation of the believer to the image of Christ. That is, the perfecting in the believer of those graces which make him like his Saviour. Or, to use the category that Mr. Nichols set before you, the essence of sanctification is the restoration of the image of God, which means dealing with everything that is unlike Him and seeking to put on all that is positively like Him. Well, if that is the essence, and I think we've established from the Scriptures that it is,

8:04 Notice the general teaching of Scripture then with respect to the agency of the believer in these two dimensions of the process of sanctification. Does progressive sanctification consist in the mortification of sin? Yes. Well, who is to be active in that process of mortification? Turn with me please first of all to the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.

8:35 as we consider three pivotal texts which set forth the general emphasis of Scripture with respect to the agency of the Christian, the believer, the new man in Christ, in his progressive sanctification. In the fifth chapter of Matthew, our Lord is found in this section stripping away

Three Pivotal Texts on Active Engagement

8:58 the shallow concepts of the law of God as taught by the scribes and Pharisees and understood by many in our Lord's day, and having opened up the significance of the seventh commandment with respect to sexual purity, our Lord goes on to say in Matthew 5, 29, And if by right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out,

9:27 and cast it from thee. For it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand causes thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee. For it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body go into hell. Now surely,

9:55 Whatever these verses contain of figures of speech, whatever they reflect of powerful verbal imagery, one thing is abundantly clear, and it is this, that in dealing with remaining sin and all of the occasions to sin, in the way of mortifying that sin, the believer is to be consciously

10:25 deliberately and seriously acting. Now whatever teaching one derives from this passage, certainly that's the minimal teaching to be derived. Jesus is speaking of the utter necessity of the evangelical obedience to the seventh commandment, that the subjects of His kingdom who hunger and thirst after righteousness and hunger and thirst after a righteousness that finds expression in the commandment, Thou shalt not commit adultery. And it finds expression in an evangelical obedience to that commandment in terms of the true meaning of that commandment. That is, it touches the deepest springs of thought and desire as well as the outer reaches of the conduct of the life and the passions and appetites of the body.

11:18 And so our Lord says to the subjects of His kingdom, in pursuit of an evangelical obedience to the seventh commandment, you must be prepared for this whole-souled engagement of all of your faculties to render an obedience to that commandment commensurate with the depth and the breadth and the length of that commandment. Notice He does not say, If your eye offends you, spend a day in prayer that God will help you to overcome your offending eye. Now, spending a day in prayer may be an essential ingredient of overcoming a stubborn lust. But our Lord does not say that. He focuses upon our responsibility in the concentrated, serious engagement of all of our faculties

12:17 to deal with that sin at any cost. And here you see the believer is assumed by our Lord, yea, commanded to be active in this dimension of progressive sanctification. Turn to the 26th chapter of Matthew, where we have a similar emphasis, but from a differing perspective.

12:43 Our Lord has gone into the garden of Gethsemane. He has taken with him his inner circle of companions, Peter, James, and John. And as he's about to go yet further to be alone and wrestle through these great mysterious transactions within the Trinity, he gives a command to the three, verse 41. Matthew 26, 41. Watch!

13:13 And pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Now here is a situation in which our Lord knows that there will be great solicitation to sin. There will be temptation. There will be the pressure to that great sin of denying his name.

13:42 That great sin of placing a higher premium upon the worth of the body than the worth of the soul. And in the face of that coming temptation, fully cognizant of the weakness of the flesh of His disciples, as well as the willingness of their spirits, for they are regenerate men who will to follow Christ at any cost. Notice what our Lord commands them to do.

14:11 In preparing themselves for temptation, he commands them to watch as well as to pray. Now the word watchfulness, if it has any significance, bristles with the whole concept of a man who is appointed by his superior in a time of conflict to sit watch, to keep watch for the approach of an enemy. He may be placed at the outpost of the camp of the soldiers with whom he is identified in conflict. And to be watchful means he is to bring to bear upon his post the conscious, concentrated engagement of all of his faculties, peering out into the darkness,

15:01 looking for the slightest motion of abnormality, listening, straining his ears to hear the slightest abnormal sound that may indicate that there's someone out there that we ought to be aware of. Now surely, if our dealing with temptation is a matter of quiescence, is a matter of passivity, if it is a matter of simply relying and relaxing, simply a matter of letting Christ encounter the temptation through us, then our Lord gave false directions. In the face of temptation, He commands them to watch as well as to pray. And both of those activities are activities which demand the most heightened

15:54 the most intensified engagement of all of our faculties as new men and women in Jesus Christ. And then, if you will, please, over to Romans chapter 8 and verse 13. Remember now, all we're seeking to establish is that the general emphasis of Scripture indicates that the agent of in progressive sanctification, is the believer in the totality of his redeemed humanity. Looking at the negative side of progressive sanctification, mortification, we see that this is indeed the general teaching and emphasis of Scripture, and perhaps no text is more pivotal than Romans 8 and verse 13. Here in Romans 8 and verse 13, we are told, But if ye by the Spirit...

16:48 do mortify or put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Now it is by the coming of the Spirit that we are delivered out of the realm of the dominion of the flesh and into the realm of the dominion of the Spirit. Verse 9, But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

17:18 Those who are still under the dominion of flesh are none of Christ's. Those who have been brought out of that dominion and into the realm of the Spirit are His. And it is to such that the apostle writes saying, But if ye by the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh, ye shall live. But now this text is so pivotal for this very simple reason. It brings forward...

17:46 The divine agency in a very prominent way. It is by the Spirit that the deeds of the flesh are to be put to death. But notice he does not say, But if ye allow the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the flesh, ye shall live. That isn't what it says. You look at your Bible. See if that's what it says. Does it say, If ye allow the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the flesh? No. There is a form of the verb used...

18:16 which points to the present continuous activity of the believers. If you put to death the deeds of the body, it is you believers who must put them to death. Now grant it. It is by the enablement, by the divine agency and efficacy of the work of the Spirit. But you see, the Spirit does not so operate in us or upon us as to negate the full engagement of all our faculties. We mortify in all that makes us us. We put to death the deeds of the body.

19:05 Now to the testimony of these three texts could be added many others. We could add 2 Corinthians 7.1. Let us cleanse ourselves of all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

19:19 1 John 3, 3, Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. But I'll not multiply texts. You simply speed-read through your own New Testament, and you will see that the pervasive emphasis is that the believer in the totality of his redeemed humanity is an active agent in his progressive sanctification, considered first of all in its negative aspects, mortification, but the same emphasis comes through in terms of the positive aspect, conformation to the likeness of Christ. Now again, several pivotal texts, 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18. 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18. But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,

Galatians 2:20 and the Faculties of the New Man

20:14 are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. Now notice the element of passivity. The actual work of transformation is a work that is done upon us. We are transformed. But our part in this process is the beholding, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord.

20:44 And it is our responsibility to behold Him. The beholding is our task, and it is a task which involves the engagement of all of our faculties as the people of God. And that work of transformation does not take part unless there is the beholding, which is the believer's conscious and responsible activity. A parallel to this would be Romans chapter 12, in the first two verses, particularly verse 2, in which we are entreated to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Well, you see, if we have no activity in this, how can we be entreated and exhorted to that transformation? And if we view conformity to the image of Christ in terms of cultivating Christ-like graces,

21:42 then surely our responsibility is patent in such passages as the one that Mr. Garlington opened up to us a few weeks ago. We read in 2 Peter chapter 1, God has given to us exceeding great and precious promises. Everything that pertains to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us has been given. Yet we read in 2 Peter 1.5, yea,

22:11 And for this very cause, adding or bringing in alongside on your part all diligence in your faith, supply virtue. It doesn't say let God supply virtue. And in your virtue, let God supply knowledge. The responsibility is placed upon us.

22:35 And so if we view progressive sanctification in terms of this positive conformity to the image of Christ, whether under the dimension of this gradual transformation or conformity of our minds to the will of God or the adding of these virtues, in every one of these instances, we are to be active. And so the witness of Scripture is profuse. It is clear and it is a unanimous testimony that the believer as a new man in Christ is an active agent in his progressive sanctification. And perhaps no text is more appropriate to just close this section of our study than is Galatians 2.20. I have been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Well, is he dead or is he alive?

23:31 I have been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet, not I, but Christ liveth in me. Ah, you see, Pastor, that destroys all you're talking about. Christ lives in me. We're passive. He lives his life through us. Oh, it doesn't say he lives his life through us. It says Christ liveth in me. Now look at the next part of the verse. Look at it. Christ liveth in me, and the life which I...

24:01 I now live in the flesh. Who lives Paul's life in the flesh? He says, I do it. I do it. I live this life in the flesh. And who's the I? It is the new I. That is, it is Paul in the totality of what he is as a new man in Jesus Christ who lives this life in the flesh.

24:29 Granted, he lives it in the power of the Spirit. He lives it in the virtue of the indwelling Christ. But he lives this life. And so the mind and the understanding and the judgment are involved in the process. That's why Paul continually prays in his prayers that the Spirit will open the understanding and influence the minds of believers. Ephesians 1, Philippians 1, Ephesians 3...

24:59 We are commanded to grow in grace and in knowledge. Our minds are to be vitally active in the process. Our consciences and sense of moral judgment is to be active. Hebrews 5 speaks of those who are still babes when they ought to be full grown. Why? Because they've not exercised themselves. They've not exercised their faculties of moral sensitivity.

25:24 And those who are full grown are described as those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. And even our bodily actions, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9, 27, I keep under my body. He doesn't say the Lord does it. He says, I keep it under and I bust it myself, lest in preaching to others I myself should be a castaway.

25:50 We are commanded in Proverbs, enter not into the path of the wicked and walk not in the way of evil men. Turn from it, avoid it, and pass on. So you see, when I use the term, the totality of what we are, I'm speaking of our mind, our judgments, our conscience, our affections, our hands, our feet. Everything that makes you you is to be actively, consciously, continuously engaged as an agent, in the process of your sanctification. John Owen, in his very perceptive way, addressed himself to this very point in the opening chapters of his classic work on this problem of dealing with remaining sin. And he says this, "...he does not so work our mortification in us as not to keep it still an act of our obedience."

John Owen on the Manner of God's Operation

26:46 The Holy Spirit works in us and upon us as we are fit to be wrought in and upon. That is, so as to preserve our own liberty and free obedience. He works upon our understandings, our wills, our consciences, our affections agreeably to their own natures. He works in us and with us, not against us or without us.

27:14 so that his assistance is an encouragement to the facilitating of the work and no occasion of neglect as to the work itself. Do you see the point that he's making? The one I've been seeking to establish in the past twenty minutes, that the unanimous testimony of Scripture is that the believer is an active agent in the process of of his sanctification. Now listen carefully as I make this word of observation and exhortation. We must never flirt with any teaching which seeks to negate or minimize the agency of the redeemed man in the process of sanctification. Such teaching may have the semblance of exalting Christ and the Spirit.

28:10 But in reality, it is an insult of Christ and of the Spirit because, now follow closely, it has a controversy with the way God has ordained to accomplish His sanctifying work in us. And the thing that makes the teaching of sanctification by the negation of human efforts so attractive to true believers is

28:38 is that it seems to exalt Christ to such a high point in the eyes of those who listen to it. And to hear someone talk of Christ living His life through us so that we have no thoughts but Christ, no mind but Christ, no will but Christ. And if you see your Lord in the perfection of His humanity, and if you love Him, and if you long to be like Him, there's something so attractive about all of that.

29:08 And I plead with you out of pastoral concern, don't flirt with any teaching that tries to establish sanctification by the negation of human effort. Beware of it as much as you beware of any teaching that tries to establish sanctification by naked human effort. And make sanctification only a matter of resolutions and of personal disciplines and external activities. No, no. The teaching of the Word of God is that God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are mightily, presently, and perpetually active in the process of our sanctification. And we as believers are continually, constantly, even as sanctified,

Philippians 2:12-13: The Pivotal Epitome Text

30:02 that is, with the full engagement of all our faculties, we too are active in the process. Well, having examined the general teaching of Scripture in the time that remains, consider with me what I'm calling the pivotal text which epitomizes this fact. The pivotal text which epitomizes this fact. Some of the kids say, Pastor, what's that word epitomize mean? Well, simply this. We say the Ten Commandments...

30:31 epitomize or summarize in a short form the changeless moral requirements of God. When something is the epitome of something, it's what the thing is in its boiled down essence in summary form. Well, what I want to do in the time remaining is to examine with you the pivotal text which epitomizes the fact of the human agency in

31:01 progressive sanctification. Some of you have already guessed the text. Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. Verses 12 and 13. So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, I Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Concerning this text, Professor Murray accurately says, and I quote him, Nothing shows this truth more, the truth I have been seeking to establish,

31:56 Than the exhortation of the apostle in Philippians 2, 12 and 13. Nothing, nothing demonstrates more clearly the divine, I'm sorry, the human agency than does this text. Now as we seek to open it up this morning, consider the major exhortation, that's verse 12. And the major motivation, that's verse 13. First of all then, the major exhortation, what is it?

32:25 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not in my presence only, now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and tremble. The major exhortation is bound up in the present imperative verb to work out. So then, my beloved, work out. your own salvation. That's the heart of the exhortation. Now, he is not saying work for your salvation. He's writing to people who are already in Christ Jesus. Chapter 1 in verse 1. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus that are at Philippi. They have been effectually called into union with Christ and

33:20 In union with Christ, they are justified and adopted. And so what he is calling them to in this passage is not the attainment of the justified state, but to work out to its completion the salvation which God has freely granted in Christ. It has to do with this whole matter of progressive sanctification. Now the exhortation that comes to the Philippians is...

33:49 in the form of a present imperative, be continually working out your own salvation. That is, put forth continuous and strenuous effort in the outworking of your salvation in Christ. Now, the two conditioning aspects of the exhortation are, do it all the time and do it in the right way. So that's why he says...

34:15 even as you've obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Do this at all times, in all circumstances, not just when I am there. Don't do it simply to please me. Don't do it simply because there is the pressure of my affection for you and yours for me visibly present. Do it at all times.

34:37 And then he says, do it in the right manner. In fact, in the original, the emphasis falls very strongly upon the right manner. These words come first. If we were to translate as they come in the original, we would translate this way. Now much more in my absence, with fear and with trembling, work out your own salvation. And the words fear and trembling are thrown forward in the construction for emphasis.

35:05 although the major exhortation is, work out your own salvation, put forth continuous and strenuous effort, it is to be done at all times and in all circumstances, and it is to be done with the deepest kind of religious devotion. This little coupling of fear and trembling is common in the language of the Apostle Paul. He uses it in Ephesians 6 and

35:29 He uses it in 2 Corinthians 7 and with a little adjustment and addition he uses it in 1 Corinthians chapter 2. Someone has translated it this way or paraphrased. Do it with profound reverence and with wakeful conscience. Profound reverence and with wakeful conscience. And isn't it interesting? What is the word you generally associate with the epistle to the Philippians? A little three letter word. What is it?

36:00 Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, rejoice. The word peace. These softer, more mellow aspects of the Christian life. The peace of God shall garrison your hearts and minds. The gracious promise, my God, shall supply all your need. There is nothing inconsistent in the mind of the apostles.

36:23 between a Christian life characterized by solid joy, sustained peace, the constant comfort of the provisions of God, and fear and trembling. Not the fear of a guilty criminal who wonders if the judge will apprehend him and put him behind bars. Not the trembling of an abused child who never knows when he'll come home and find his father drunk and going around the house with a scourge. No, no.

36:53 But the fear and trembling that grows out of this profound reverence and this wakeful conscience, being a Christian in a holy manner, woman in an unholy world, is dangerous business. Seeking to be holy with that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord is not kid stuff. It's serious business.

37:22 To provide a basis for that holiness, the Son of God had to go into the awful abyss and abandonment of Golgotha. For He gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity. purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. He loved the church and gave himself for it that he might sanctify it, purify it, present it to himself. My friends, this is why no biblical Christianity will be characterized by jocularity. It is a solemn joy. It is a serious peace. There is the fear

38:09 Of profound reverence. And the trembling. Of a wakeful conscience. So that exhortation comes then to the Philippians. Work it out. At all times. And. With a proper attitude. But now notice the major motivation given. To support that exhortation. Verse 13. For. For. It is God who worketh in you. Both to will and.

38:40 to work for his good pleasure. In other words, Paul says to the Philippians, this may seem to be an awesome exhortation. You are responsible continuously to put forth strenuous effort in the working out of your salvation. At all times and circumstances, whether I'm with you or any other man of spiritual stature is with you or not,

39:09 You are to do it with profound reverence and wakeful conscience. But, O Philippian believers, don't be discouraged at the magnitude of the task. Don't throw up your hands in despair, saying, Who is sufficient for these things? For it is God Himself who is at work in you. For two things, to will and to work for that which pleases Him.

39:39 And accomplishes his will. In other words the motivation to obey the exhortation. Is the reality of the constant efficacious work of God. On our behalf and in us. Work out for it is God who is working in. Now what are the inescapables.

Four Conclusions Drawn from the Text

40:07 conclusions drawn from this text? Well, the first one is this. God's working and our working are concurrent realities. God's working and our working are concurrent realities. His working is not suspended because we work, nor, follow closely now, is

40:36 working negated because He works. You say, that's double-talk. No, that's simply telling you what's in the text. God's working and our working are concurrent realities. His working is never suspended or negated because we work, and our working is not suspended or negated because He works. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, Beware of any theory of progressive sanctification which says that our working negates His or dishonors His and is therefore unscriptural. I can remember being told the problem with you is that you're trying to do too much. You're struggling too hard against sin. You're wrestling with too much fervor against remaining corruption. Just rely and relax. Let go and let God.

41:34 What's behind the let go and let God teaching? A failure to grasp the teaching of this text. His working, my working, are concurrent realities and neither negates the other. Second, obvious teaching of the text is this. God's working is the incentive and motivation for our working. Work out! Why?

42:01 Because God is always working in you. Notice now, not bypassing the functions of your will or your doing, but so working in you as to enable you to will what is pleasing in His sight and to do what is pleasing in His sight. You see, we could change the order and the teaching would not at all be disrupted. Paul could have said...

42:35 He could have put the indicative, what is, before the imperative, what ought to be. Now listen, kids. You listening now? Is there any difference if mom or dad says, Hey, kids!

42:59 to the table, that's a command, supper is ready. That's a statement of a provision. They could change it and say, hey kids, supper's ready. That's a statement of a provision. Now the command, come to the table. Now is there any essential difference in the two? Let the kids answer me. Any difference in those two things? If dad or mom says, supper's ready, come to the table, or come to the table, supper's ready, What you have is essentially the same thing. A command that is based upon the reality of a stated provision. And in this passage, the apostle is saying, it is the reality that the supper is ready that God calls us to the table. He summons us to work out. Why? Because he is previously and constantly at work in us to will and to work out.

43:57 For his good pleasure. So God's working is the incentive and motivation of our working. Then the third principle that's obvious in the text is this. Our working is the evidence of his working. You see God works in us to will and to work. That is to perform the things which he has commanded. Because he has commanded them.

44:25 Has he commanded us to put to death the deeds of the body? Has he commanded us to put off and to put on? Well, as I find myself in the whole-souled engagement of all of my faculties as a Christian seeking to put off and put on, it is my working that is the evidence of his working. You see, the Bible says God gives to all life and breath and all things. Now, how do I know God's giving me breath?

44:57 Well, because I'm breathing. And that's the only way I know it. How do you know God's giving you breath sitting there this morning? Well, because you're breathing. It isn't because you feel the flutter of His fingertips across your lungs. Ooh, God just gave me another breath. Isn't that wonderful? Ooh, I feel another one coming. Ooh, oh, there comes another one. No, you just breathe. And in breathing you know that God is giving you breath. God's giving comes to light in your breathing. Likewise...

45:27 God is working in me to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do I feel some divine flutter? No. All I'm conscious of is that with my mind and heart I want to know His will. And I search it out. And when His word impinges upon my conscience in a given situation, I seek to choose to do what is pleasing in His sight. And as I do, it is in the willing and the doing that

45:56 that I know He is working in me, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Our working is the evidence of His working. Fourthly, God's working is to be the focus of our confidence and our praise. You see, if we're working out with fear and trembling, it's because we know we're not adequate for the task. And our great focal point is for confidence and therefore of prayer as well as of praise is God's working. How am I to be the kind of man or woman in Christ that the Scripture commands me to be with all of my remaining sin and with the pressure of a world that is hostile to God and His law and with a subtle, experienced, wise devil who is after me to ensnare me?

46:53 Well, my friend, there's no hope apart from the fact that God is at work in me to will and to work for His good pleasure. So God's working is to be the focus of our confidence and of our praise. But, finally, our working is to be the focus of our conscious, whole-souled endeavors. Our working is to be the focus of our conscious, whole-souled endeavors.

47:20 The exhortation is addressed to the beloved of the apostles. So then, my beloved, those who are in Christ, those of whom he can speak in verse 6, I'm confident that he who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. But he says to such, work out with all the engagement of all of your faculties that salvation which God has impart.

47:47 I'm convinced that much of the slow rate of growth among some of you is rooted in sheer spiritual laziness. And it's hidden behind a cloak of devotional language. Well, you know, I can't grow any more than God works in me. My friend, let God's work in you be the focus of your confidence and therefore of your prayers and of your praises. But let it be your working...

48:16 with all the faculties of your being, as the focus of your conscious, whole-souled endeavors. Now do you see how this text is the epitome of the whole teaching of the Word of God? And any Christian who can sit down with some degree of intelligence and think through this text and explain it to another should be guarded on the one hand from the heresy or the crippling error

Two Errors Refuted and Pastoral Application

48:46 Sometimes it does drift into heresy, but the crippling error of sanctification by naked human effort. How can such a theory exist in the face of this text? God works in you both to will and to work. His working is inward at the deepest springs of my personality, my will, my choosing, my performing. There God works. Bless God for the efficacy of God's work.

49:15 In my sanctification. Likewise with a text like this. How can anyone buy the theory of sanctification? By the negation of human effort. We are commanded in all circumstances and relationships. To work out our salvation. With fear and with trembling. So there is no sanctification by naked human effort here.

49:41 nor is there sanctification by the negation of human effort. Let me close with a quote from one that you would never think would write words like this. He has the reputation of being a dry as dust Dutch theologian. No relationship between the dry of dust and the fact that he's a Dutch theologian. It's just the reputation he's gained, and I don't believe it's a fair reputation. Speaking to this issue, listen to his words.

50:09 When we are called upon to speak, to act, or fight, that's not fighting with your brothers and sisters, kids, that means fight in the battle of the Lord. When we are called upon to act, to fight, we do so as though we were doing it all ourselves, not perceiving that it is another who works in us both to will and to do. But as soon as we finish the task,

50:37 successfully and agreeably to the will of God, as men of faith we prostrate ourselves before him and we cry, Lord, the work was thine as were the prayers in which we sought thy help for it and the praises which we now render for what you have enabled us to do. Beloved, that's biblical. sanctification. It affects one's perspective on the whole of life. On the whole of life. It affects one's view of preaching. And I'm convinced that there is a defective theology of preaching that in great measure is keeping from the emergence of a powerful gift of preaching. People so afraid that they'll intrude the flesh

51:36 if somehow the totality of their being is caught up in the wonder and the glory of that which they proclaim. No, there is no contradiction between the whole souled engagement of your entire redeemed humanity in any task, from changing your little one's diapers, to washing the clothes, to going to the office, driving down Route 80, There is no contradiction between the whole-souled engagement of all of your faculties in whatever task you are called upon to perform and the blessed reality that God is working in you to will and to work for His good pleasure. But you see, that is only for those who are in Christ. And God doesn't work in us to will and to work for His good pleasure inwardly, subjectively, powerfully.

52:32 Until first of all we have embraced that objective work that has been accomplished in His beloved Son. Until we have come to grips with that objective provision of Christ as the Savior of sinners. Until we have come to grips with that objective unfettered free offer of mercy. The command to repent and to believe the gospel. We can never know His working in us. Until we have embraced His work for us.

53:03 In his own dear son. And if you're a stranger to that more elementary work. I plead with you. To believe the gospel. To embrace the Lord Jesus Christ. And if in grace you have embraced him. Child of God. Listen to the word of God. With fear and trembling. Work out your salvation. Am I talking to some young people. Who've got this racy hot shot. Cavalier attitude to the Christian life.

53:32 My friends, square it with this text this morning. Square it with this text. Where is the fear and trembling of your Christian experience? I had a dose in a ministry elsewhere this week of that kind of a racy, jocular approach to the Christian life that nauseated me. The glib song leader can get you all laughing. Get the troops with dust.

54:02 a little. My friend, what does that have to do with a text like this? We are dealing with the living God in all the plenitude of grace, in all the tenderness, in all the compassion. Yes, but it is God who is at work in us. May God grant that with fear and trembling, we shall work out our salvation in the confidence that He is working in us. Let us pray. Our Father, we confess again this morning our sense of amazement at the vastness of the provisions that have been made for needy sinners.

Closing Prayer

55:03 We thank you for the promise that you do work in your own, both to will and to work, for your good pleasure. We thank you that it was your good pleasure that marked us out in Christ before the foundation of the world. We thank you it was your good pleasure to send your beloved Son to die for us. It was your good pleasure in time to awaken us and to draw us to yourself.

55:32 And we thank you that you continue to work in us for your good pleasure. Oh, teach us as your people what it is to engage with every fiber of our being in this blessed privilege of progressive sanctification. Teach us how to hold in proper tension these lines of biblical truth. Oh, Lord.

56:02 Seal your word to our hearts and may it bear much fruit in all of our lives until we stand in your presence.