We are not Quietists.

Steve Brown:
We are not Quietists, and I’ll explain on this edition of Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
This is Key Life, with our host, author, and seminary professor, Steve Brown. He’s nobody’s guru, he’s just one beggar telling other beggars where he found bread. If you’re hungry for God, the real God behind all the lies, you’ve come to the right place.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. You know, we’ve got two Matthews around here, the one you just heard from, and the one you heard from yesterday, and both of them are wonderful. Dr. Matt Heard was in yesterday, and we decided that we were going to celebrate Advent this year, and every Monday, we were going to look at some Advent themes. And so, I asked Matt to teach us on the names of the coming Messiah. And it was a great program yesterday. We’ve got two more of those during Advent. But right now, back to the study of Philippians. If you were listening last week, we took some time to define what Paul said in his, well, let me read it to you. This is Philippians 2:12 through 13.

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 own salvation

let me turn the page

with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Now, if you were listening last week, we talked about what Paul meant, that you could define it as sanctification, and that’s what he’s talking about. He’s talking about moving to maturity, and if I had been Paul, I would’ve used that word instead of salvation. But God refuses to check the theology books before he reveals truth, and he hardly ever checks with me. So, Paul was talking about salvation, but more than that. He was talking about growth, he was talking about maturity, he was talking about the bumper sticker that says, God is not finished with me yet. And then you’ve got to turn to the text itself. And that’s what we’re going to do this week and next week. And then talk about what Paul was saying about working out your salvation. How do you go about that? What do you do? And the first thing you need to note in this text is that we’re not quietest. And you say Brown what’s a quietest? Well, it’s actually a 17th century heresy founded by a priest by the name of Molinas. And what he said was cool, it was just wrong. He said, you don’t do anything, you just sit. You don’t do anything, you just be quiet and shut up. You don’t do anything, you just hang out. And God does everything. Now, that sounds really good, and I wish it were true. But it’s not true. It has an ultimate truth to it. Let me give you a principle that we have taught for years in our Born Free Seminar. This principle will change your life if you remember it. You take the first step, God will take the second step, and by the time you get to the third step, you will know that it was God who took the first step. Now, let me repeat that because it’s important. You take the first step, God will take the second step, and by the time you get to the third step, you will know that God was the one who took the first step. But look at Philippians 2:12a and we’re talking about a number of first steps.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but now much more in my absence,

continue to sit there, doesn’t say that. Continue to be still, doesn’t say that. He says to.

continue to work out your salvation.

One of the great dangers of the Christian faith is the danger of spiritual passivity. In other words, the danger of saying, Zap me God, I’m just going to sit here. I was talking to a friend of mine not too long ago, and he said he had seen a cartoon where a man was praying, Oh God, help me win the lottery. Then there was a ray of light and a voice said meet me halfway, buy a ticket. A lot of Christians have taken the truth of God’s working in us, and he is, and have moved it into the heresy I was just talking about, the heresy of quietism. Scripture is not passive. The Scripture is filled with first step admonishments that we have to listen to. Go into all the world. One thing I do, take the helmet of salvation, run the race. And I could go on and on and on. That doesn’t mean you did it, but it does mean that you took the first step. And there are a lot of first steps in our life. Someone tells about a man sitting on a tack. I love this. The psychologist says to the man who’s sitting on the tack, You have some horrible, traumatic past experiences that you were potty trained improperly, and that’s why you’re hurting. The teacher says, the problem is education. You need to know the pedagogy of tack sitters. And the sociologist says, the fault of your hurt is a societal structural change in society and you’re trying to change the individual. The philosopher says, you have an existential situation and you must contemplate the meaning of sitting on a tack and why you’re hurting. Some Christians say, we know it hurts and we have compassion for you. Trust God for the pain and it will eventually go away. And then a little girl comes up and says, why don’t you get off the tack? Well, that’s what Paul’s saying. Get off the tack. He’s saying take the first step. He’s saying be active. Charles Spurgeon said it well. He said.

Act as if everything in the world depended on you. And pray and trust as if everything depended on God.

That’s a wise statement. We are not passive Christians. You’ve got to take the step. Are you not growing? Are you doing anything about it? Never have a quiet time with the Father, what are you doing about it? Can’t stop doing so and so, what are you doing about it? I’m not a very good father, what are you doing about it? I don’t know much about the Bible, what are you doing about it? I would like to change, what are you doing about it? The important, it’s important that Christians understand the necessity of taking the first step. Let me give you that principle again because it’s an important life principle for Christians. God does it all. In fact, he’s sovereign and he’s done it all long before you were ever born and knew his name, but he says you take the first step, I’ll take the second step, and by the time you get to the third step, you will know it was me who took the first step. And so, Christians need to be actively involved, as Paul says, in working out their own salvation. Now, let me give you a second point, and I don’t have much time, so we’ll talk about it more tomorrow. Not only do I want you to note the activity of the believer in the process of salvation, I want you to note the attitude of the believer in the process of salvation. Philippians 2:12b, listen to this.

Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Let me read that from the Amplified Bible because it’s good.

Work out (cultivate, carry out the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, that is with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).

Well, I don’t know if I agree with all of the amplified additions. But there’s something to what is said. If you’ve never stood before God and been afraid, you’re probably worshipping an idol. But if you’ve never stood before God and been loved and knew you didn’t deserve it, you’re doing the same thing. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thanks Steve! Steve Brown there, resuming our exploration of Philippians 2:12 and 13. Hey, did you know about that quietism thing already? I didn’t. Always something new to learn and discover, right? And we’ll continue that discovery tomorrow, so be sure to join us, okay? So, what is God like? Well, God has answered that question, and Christmas is a big part of that answer. Steve gave a sermon a while back called Grace: The Heart of the Incarnation. And it speaks exactly to this subject. What is God like? What does it mean to live by God’s grace? What are the practical implications when you do? Well, all of this is based on the powerful first chapter of John, and we put that classic sermon on a CD and you know, just because we kind of like you, we’d love to mail it to you for free. So, claim your copy right now by calling us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD. Or if you’d like to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the U.S. and Canada. Again, just ask for your absolutely free copy of the CD called Grace: The Heart of the Incarnation. And finally, if you’ve been blessed by the work of Key Life, would you help share that blessing with others through your financial support? Giving is easy. Just charge a gift on your credit card, or you can include a gift in your envelope. Or, get by text. Just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 and then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And as always, we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.