Introduction:
A. The year was 1968, and TV producer Bud Greenspan was packing away his gear following the marathon at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
1. It had been over an hour since he had preserved for posterity the elegance and poise of the iconic Ethioian runner Mamo Wolde as he cruised, almost effortlessly across the finish line in a time of 2:20:26.
2. An assistant came running up to him yelling: “There’s one left. You ought to film him.”
3. And sure enough, into the darkened and almost deserted stadium, hobbled a heavily bandaged and clearly injured competitor.
4. Each step caused him to wince in pain.
5. John Stephen Akhwani, the Tanzanian competitor, had fallen badly in the eleventh mile while jockeying for position.
6. In the fall he dislocated his knee and badly damaged his shoulder as it was rammed against the pavement.
7. The few remaining spectators inside the stadium began to cheer and clap as Akhwani struggled to reach the finish line.
8. As he crossed it, he fell for the second time, clutching his knee in agony.
9. The crowd roared their acclaim.
10. Greenspan had recorded every bit of that excruciatingly painful, courageous and emotional finish.
11. In addition, he got to ask Akhwani why he bothered finishing given his injuries and that he couldn’t win.
12. Akhwani said, “Mr. Greenspan, I don’t think you understand. My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish it!”
13. Although, Akhwani was the last to finish in 54th place, 75 runners started the race and 21 did not finish the race.
B. A former race car driver said, “No matter how well you start, or how many cars you pass, they’ll forget you before tomorrow if you don’t finish well.”
1. Dr. J. Robert Clinton, professor at Fuller Seminary, did a study of male leadership in the Bible and determined that only 30% of them finished well. Wow! That is not a promising percentage!
2. The Christian life is like a car race or a marathon – it is long and exhausting.
3. Unlike those races, we are not competing against each other, we are competing against ourselves, the enemy, and against the course of the Christian life.
4. Even though every step of the race is important - the beginning, the middle and the end - the most important thing is that we stay in the race until the end and cross the finish line.
5. The Christian life is a call to completion.
C. In our sermon series “Joy for the Journey – A Study of Paul’s Letter to the Philippians,” we are almost halfway through the letter.
1. So far in our study, we have explored Paul’s prayer for them.
2. We have seen Paul share his situation and seen him give his perspective on his life.
3. We have seen Paul challenge them to live in unity by following the example of Christ’s humility.
4. Now, as we turn to Philippians chapter two, verses 12 – 18, we want to explore Paul’s challenge to strive toward completion.
5. What we will learn today is that when we strive to bring our salvation to completion, while depending on the power of God, it results in a powerful witness and an everlasting joy.
D. Let’s notice that before Paul moved into his challenge, he began with a word of appreciation.
1. Paul wrote: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed - not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence…” (Phil. 2:12a)
2. Here we see that Paul addressed the Christians at Philippi in the warmest terms – he called them his “dear friends” which literally means “my beloved.”
a. Paul truly cared about them and he wanted them to know that, especially as he moved toward challenging them.
3. After addressing them so warmly, Paul then gave them a compliment.
a. He praised them for their obedience.
b. How admirable is it if our children are only obedient when we are with them and are watching them? That is not so commendable, right?
c. But how do we feel as parents if we hear how well our children behaved while they were away from us and on their own?
d. Similarly, it is a wonderful thing when people are obedient to the Lord at all times, not just when they are being watched by someone they respect, like the apostle Paul.
4. Paul truly loved and appreciated the Philippians and he took a moment to convey that before he issued his challenge to them.
I. The Aim of a Christian
A. As Paul issued his challenge, he gave them the goal or aim for every Christian, and what is it?
1. Paul wrote: “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” (Phil. 2:12b)
2. Some people get confused when they read this verse, saying: “But I thought we are saved by grace and not by works!”
3. I can certainly see how that can be confusing, but we must read the verse more carefully.
4. Notice that Paul said to “work out” your salvation, which is very different from “work for” your salvation.
B. The verb “work out” carries with it the meaning of “work to completion.”
1. In Paul’s day, it was used for “working a mine,” which meant getting out of the mine all the valuable material possible, or “working a field” so as to get the greatest possible harvest.
2. So what Paul was trying to tell the Philippians when he told them to work out their salvation was “don’t stop halfway” – go on to completion, go on to maturity, keep striving until the work of salvation is fully brought out in you.
C. I think this aim for us as Christians has implications for both the quality of our life in Christ and the duration of our life in Christ.
1. What I mean by that is that we must persevere to the end in our Christian life – we can’t quit; we must finish the race – that’s duration.
2. And as we persevere, we must strive for growth toward maturity and completeness –that’s quality.
3. I am heartbroken when I see people fall away from the Lord – and I have seen too many people start the Christian race and drop out along the way.
4. But I am also heartbroken when I see people remain in the race, but never really grow in Christ.
5. How sad it is when I see a Christian stunted in their growth, year after year making no progress, continuing to be slaves of the same habits and temptations, continuing to be guilty of the same failures and inactivities.
6. My dear brothers and sisters, this is not God’s will for us! AMEN!
a. Christians are not meant to be pew potatoes or spiritual dropouts.
b. Christianity is meant to be a life of growth and transformation.
c. It is God’s will for us to make progress, not to be stuck in the same place we were at the time of our conversion or where we were 10 years ago, or 5 years ago, or even last year.
D. Perhaps that’s why the Holy Spirit led Paul to include the words “fear and trembling” to his challenge of growth toward maturity.
1. Why should we work out our salvation with fear and trembling?
a. Are we to be afraid of God? Yes and no.
b. “Yes” in the sense of respecting a parent or judge, but “no” in the sense of being afraid of a monster.
2. We should work out our salvation with fear and trembling because spiritual things are serious business that has eternal consequences.
3. Our relationship with God should never be treated casually.
4. God deserves and demands our complete respect and obedience.
5. Changing our attitudes and behaviors to conform with God’s character demands our full and careful attention.
6. Working out our salvation with fear and trembling means that our relationship with God is the most important aim and goal in our life.
E. And so, Paul challenged the Philippians to work out their salvation – to move on toward maturity, to continue on until completion, but then Paul shared with them some good news.
II. The Ability of a Christian
A. The good news is that Christians are not completely on our own in this process.
1. Paul wrote: For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. (Phil. 2:13)
2. How wonderful is that? God has promised us that we have His help in carrying out His will!
3. The Christian walk is a divine/human encounter in which God’s power is at work within us and God lives in us through His Spirit.
4. However, this divine working in us does not nullify our human effort or will, but it assists us when we decide to act for God and in obedience to God.
5. Consider the illustration of power steering and power brakes.
a. How many of you remember driving a car without power steering and power brakes?
b. In the absence of power steering and power brakes, it was all human effort to steer or stop the car, and it wasn’t easy!
c. How much easier is it for us to steer and stop when we have power assisted steering and braking? It is a lot easier!
d. But consider this important clarification (and I know that this illustration is becoming outdated because of the new safety features of automatic breaking systems): the steering wheel and the brakes cannot work without human effort.
1. A person must decide to use them.
2. A person must begin the process by turning the wheel or pushing on the petal.
3. But once a person initiates the process the power assist comes on and makes the process easier.
6. And that’s the way it works for us spiritually.
a. The power of God is available to assist us.
b. And when we surrender to God’s will and take the first step to act in obedience, then God’s power steps in to assist us and multiply its effect.
B. Although I cannot explain exactly how God’s power dwells in us and works in us I believe in it and I am comforted and helped by it.
1. Look at these promises about God’s power that is available to assist us.
2. Ephesians 1:18-19: “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know…his incomparably great power for us who believe…”
3. Ephesians 3:20: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”
4. Philippians 4:13: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
C. Praise God that we have the ability to move on toward completion because it is God who works in us!
III. The Actions of a Christian
A. In the next three verses, Paul moved from the promise of God’s power into a description of appropriate actions for the Christian who is moving on toward completion.
1. Paul wrote: 14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life… (Phil. 2:14-16a)
2. As Christians, we are called to holy living in the midst of a crooked and depraved world.
a. There should be such a stark contrast between our behavior and the world’s behavior that we stand out like stars in the universe.
3. Paul employed several words to describe the holiness of our lives.
a. The first word is “blameless” – which expresses what the Christian is to be to the world.
1. Christians should live life in such a way that no one can find fault with it.
b. The second word is “pure” – which literally means unmixed or unadulterated.
1. Christian purity must include complete sincerity of thought and character.
2. We must strive to be holy inside and out.
c. The third word is “without fault” or literally without blemish.
1. This word was often used in reference to sacrifices offered to God.
2. Our goal is to have our lives be an unblemished sacrifice to God.
B. Then, with the goal of holiness in mind, Paul mentioned two specific actions that are unbecoming to the Christian – they are complaining and arguing.
1. I’m sure Paul mentioned these two because they must have been problems for the Philippians.
2. It appears that the Christians at Philippi were fighting among themselves and complaining and arguing must have characterized the conflict.
3. We can imagine how that kind of behavior would destroy the testimony of the church at Philippi as the people outside the church witnessed the church at war with itself.
4. Unholy living is always destructive – not only destructive in our individual lives, but destructive in the life of the church and destructive in the church’s witness to the world.
5. We are supposed to shine like bright, holy stars in a dark universe as we hold out the Word of God, but if we are not moving toward holiness, then we are no different from the world.
6. If our lives are characterized by the same sinful attitudes and activities as the world, then we don’t stand out as beautifully different and our testimony is destroyed.
C. Therefore, moving toward maturity and completeness must include moving toward holiness.
1. With God’s help, let us purity our attitudes and actions.
2. Let’s having nothing to do with sinful attitudes, habits or actions of the world.
3. In sharp contrast to the world’s bitter tongues, racial division, and sexual exploitation, let’s express graceful words, let’s express the value of all people, treating everyone with love and justice.
4. With God’s help, we can rise above petty arguments and division, and we can be freed from the sinful traps of substance abuse, pornography and the insatiable lure of materialism.
5. With God’s help, we can be holy like God is holy, and then we will shine like stars against the darkness of our crooked and depraved generation.
IV. The Assurance of a Christian
A. Paul concluded this section of the letter to the Philippians with a word of assurance.
1. He wrote: in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. (Phil. 2:16b-18)
2. Paul’s word of assurance is that if the Philippians have the right aim, and draw on God’s ability to work in them, then he will have the assurance that he has not labored in vain.
3. Paul was assured that whether his life was poured out in ministry or in death, it would not be wasted.
B. There is a twofold joy and assurance that comes to those whose walk is right with God – there is the joy of the “here and now” and the joy of the “hereafter.”
1. Paul’s relationship with God where he had worked out his salvation with fear and trembling allowed him to be so comfortable with life or death – He could rejoice in both.
2. We too can have that kind of assurance and joy as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling on toward completion.
Conclusion:
A. Let’s review what Paul challenged the Christians in Philippi to do back then, because it is the same thing that he would challenge Christians to do in the present.
1. The Aim of the Christian is the goal of completion and maturity – quality and duration.
2. The Ability of the Christian is to draw upon God’s power to carry out the aim.
3. The Actions of the Christian is to live holy lives as we shine in the darkness as good examples.
4. The Assurance of the Christian is the joy that comes from the assurance of our reward for faithfulness.
B. Allow me to end with another Olympic running story from last summer’s Olympic games in Rio.
1. Runners Abbey D’Agostino (USA) and Nikki Hamblin (New Zealand) left the world touched while competing in the women’s 5,000-meter semi-finals in Rio.
2. During the race, somewhere around 3,200 meters, runners Abbey and Nikki collided.
3. Nikki was running when she suddenly had to slow her pace to avoid contact with another runner and then Abbey bumped into her from the back, bringing them both to the ground.
4. But instead of appearing frustrated that their dreams of glory were apparently over, both women put on a display of the Olympic spirit that will live on long after the Games are over.
5. Abbey was the first to get up but instead of running ahead, she stopped to help Nikki up.
a. Abbey put her hand on Nikki’s shoulder and said, “Get up, get up, we have to finish this!”
6. As they started to run together, it became obvious that Abbey had a serious injury and she started limping and fell to the ground again.
7. This time, Nikki stopped and encouraged her to get up and finish the race.
8. Abbey urged Nikki to go on without her, and both girls eventually made it to the finish line.
9. Nikki was waiting at the finish line for Abbey and the two runners shared an emotional hug.
10. Even though Nikki came in second to last and Abbey came in last with her twisted ankle, their good sportsmanship got them both into the finals.
11. As it turned out, Abbey was unable to run in the finals because of her injury and Nikki came in last, although she ran her best time of the season.
12. Nikki later said in an interview: “I’m so grateful for Abbey for doing that for me. That girl is the Olympic spirit right there.”
C. I hope this story will inspire us to help each other move on toward completion of the Christian race.
1. We truly need each other along the way to pick each other up when we stumble and to give encouragement when we feel like quitting.
2. Let’s help each other on toward the finish line.
3. What matters is not how well we start, but how well we finish.
4. The Christian life is a call to completion.
