Does Philippians 2:12 prove that you can lose your salvation?
Philippians 2:12-13
“continue to WORK OUT your salvation
with fear and trembling,
for it is God who WORKS IN YOU
to WILL and to act
in order to fulfill HIS good purpose.”
Without further ado, let’s test this idea with Bible understanding in the full context and in the full gospel of Jesus Christ.
Well, first we must realize that “work out your salvation” DOES NOT mean “work for your salvation”? There’s a big difference. But to truly see this scripture through the lens of love, and grace, we must understand the dynamics of grace, faith, and works.
Ephesians 2:8-9
“For it is
by grace
that you have been saved
through faith.
It’s NOT OF YOURSELVES.
It is a gift.
Not by works
so that no man can boast.“
The idea is that salvation is a gift of God, it is by the grace of God, and only comes through faith. But if you believe that it comes any other way than grace through faith, or you believe that you have to earn it, or you believe that you can add to it, “Christ did His part, now it’s up to me to earn the rest of it,” then you don’t believe in grace.
Grace is the unmerited, unearned, favor of God. It is unearned. You cannot earn or work for God’s grace. YOU CANNOT WORK FOR YOUR SALVATION. Our trust and our faith must be in His Grace, and according to Romans 11:6, grace cannot be based on works, otherwise it would no longer be grace.
Romans 3:27-28
“Where, then is the boasting? Is it excluded? On what principle? On that of works? No but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified and made righteous apart from the works of the law but is MADE righteous and receives the gift of righteousness that comes by faith.”
You can’t boast, “Well, I did this to be saved and I’m doing this to be saved and if you do what I do, then you can be saved.” No, it’s if you have trust and faith in Christ and what He’s done for you and what He can do through you, then you shall be saved. You cannot earn nor can you WORK FOR your salvation. However, you can work OUT, your salvation.
Philippians 2:12 says, “Work OUT;” it doesn’t say, “Work FOR your salvation.” So, you cannot earn your salvation and you cannot work FOR your salvation. It does not say, “Work FOR your salvation with fear,” that is, fearing that you’re going to be punished by God, that you’re going to miss it, you’re not going to be able to make it, you’re not going to trust enough, you’re not going to have enough faith, you’re not going to have enough works and in the end.
You might have even been misled to believe, God is going to say, “I’m taking your salvation back.” Lie! It says, “Work out;” it doesn’t say “Work for.” The Bible says we do not work for our salvation but we DO the work of salvation, because it is the Lord working in and through us to do his purpose and will! Amen.
Now I’ll say this, those who are proponents of loss or forfeiting of salvation, say, “Work, work, work, work.” They get into legalism. Those who are all the way extended over to grace without any works, say, “Grace, grace, grace, grace.” When Paul says, “Work out, for it is God who works in you.” I see a perfect balance between the two.
For example, working out means going out there to lay hands on the sick, cleanse the lepers, and do what God’s called you to do in faith because He’s already saved you. It is God who works in you and you should see that as a promise and motivation that GOD WORKS IN YOU and that He can come out of you and flow through you.
The promise of God says, “Those WHO BELIEVE in my name, rivers of living waters shall FLOW FROM WITHIN them…For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God has preordained” (John 7:38; Ephesians 2:10).
God has preordained the works that He’s called you to do. Why? It’s God Himself doing the works—not you doing the works for Him—through you, lest any man should boast about how he did his works and how his works saved him. We don’t work for our salvation, we receive it by grace.
We work out our salvation.
So, they say, that sounds good Pastor Craig, but what about when James said, “Faith without works is dead? Well, let’s see..
James 2:17
“Faith without deeds is dead.”
Faith without deeds is useless. There are two types of faith. Here, James is saying basically that if you have genuine faith, if you are truly born of God, since every good tree bears good fruit, you cannot go on sinning. Everyone born of God overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). If you truly received the Lord and have been born again, you should see a manifestation of it.
You might say, “Why am I struggling with my sin? Does it mean I am unsaved?”
No, it still doesn’t mean you’re not saved. Do not accept condemnation. Keep trusting that Christ is able to save you and that you’re not saved by your works, nor your obedience but YOU’RE SAVED BY HIS WORKS ON THE CROSS AND HIS OBEDIENCE, and receive the finished work of Jesus Christ and be set free. The power to overcome, the power for cleansing only comes by Faith, that HE IS ABLE TO DO IT, it’s this mindset that allows the power of God to flow to you from in you. Amen.
Trust that your deliverance is coming, your healing is coming, and the renewing of your mind is coming, and that God will surely do it!
The Bible says, “You’ve been MADE perfect forever” and He has done that. This scripture refers to those who have been made holy, which means holiness is a gift from God and so is the gift of sanctification; and it comes by the grace of God.
And so, no man can boast about how he’s so holy and nobody else is holy like him; Nobody gets into heaven because they deserved it based on their holiness. That is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s the bad news, not the good news!
“Well, faith without deeds is dead,” they say.
Well, are two types of faith. Inactive faith which means it hasn’t been stirred. Paul told Timothy, saying, “Stir up the gift WITHIN you.” You have to stir it up through meditation, getting in God’s presence, and hearing the Word and then all of a sudden, you’ll release the power of God and you’ll start operating in it and by it. And it will click within you and your consciousness will change from the inside out.
Then there’s also “Faith without deeds is dead” type. That means your faith, not only has it not been stirred but also, you have not been born of God. If you don’t do any deeds, it could potentially mean you weren’t born of God. If you are already saved and you don’t do good works, it doesn’t mean that God is going to take your salvation from you and you’re going to forfeit it.
Nevertheless, James is saying if a person is born of God, they will do the works of God with a right attitude and a right faith, trusting and knowing that He’s already done it and that He’s going to do it through them. It’s not that they must work for salvation, they’re going to work out their salvation.
Let’s go on. Faith without works is dead—it means that if there’s not a MANIFESTATION, you might have to check your salvation. Make sure you’re truly trusting in Him and receive Jesus Christ and become born of God through faith in Him, not faith in what you need to do to be born of God. Just trust in what He’s done and what He’s going to do in your life. It’s that simple. It’s not that hard.
So, the conclusion…
You’re saved by grace through faith, not by works. However, you are saved FOR good works—not by good works—and you’re saved unto good works which God will release OUT OF you. As you continue in faith, you’re going to see the power of God released from the INSIDE OUT and you will understand what it means to work out your salvation and not have to work for your salvation. Big difference.
Back to Philippians 2:12 paraphrase — “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you in order to fulfill His good purpose.“
What a promise! That means, for example, if you step out in faith to lay hands on the sick and preach the Kingdom, signs and wonders shall take place. You shall see demons cast out because you are stepping out and WORKING OUT WHAT’S INSIDE OF YOU. Now the word, “work” in the scripture means literally to make a connection and a light bulb. It means literally to BECOME ENERGIZED. It means to put a demand on what’s IN you and literally ground OUT the electricity. The moment you step out and the moment you lay hands and the moment you touch somebody, what’s in you comes out and literally, you work out what’s on the inside of you.
Okay, you don’t believe me? Let’s look at fear and trembling. The only time, the only case in any of the gospel accounts that anybody trembled, was that of a lady who was healed of her hemorrhaging after 18 years. The Bible says, “She trembled.”
Mark 5:33
Then the woman,
knowing what had happened to her,
came and fell at his feet and,
trembling with fear,
told him the whole truth.
Why was she trembling? This is the only lady that pulled out of Jesus what was in Him by touching the hem of His garment, of which He said, “Virtue came out of me.”
That woman had to fear and to tremble, though she desired to touch Jesus despite what people were going to say, in spite of her own personal fears of how they were going to reject her and what Jesus was going to think if she touched Him and what they were going to think if she pressed through the crowd.
She literally stepped out with “trembling with fear.” And she received her miracle by drawing on the virtue in Jesus; she understood how to work out her salvation. Her salvation was in Jesus. She worked it out of Him into herself and received her blessing. What a promise from God!
Now, Scripture doesn’t say, “Fear will make you forfeit the gift if you don’t do works.” It does not say that.
First off, let’s talk about what fear is. There’s positive fear and there’s negative fear. I’m not going to get into the debate about that but it is true and it is obvious that fear is translated in the Greek to mean both “fear and terror” but it also means “reverence.” I submit to you today, if the Lord has told you to do something in fear and trembling, it doesn’t mean in terror! Is our loving Father a terrorist? Absolutely Not! He desires that we approach him with boldness and confidence. Not come to him in terror!
So what’s all the fuss about this “fear?”
I submit to you today, when Paul used the phrase “fear and trembling,” he was not even actually talking about fearing God. It’s about FACING YOUR FEARS in your body AND FEELINGS. You don’t believe me? You’re like, “I should fear God.” And I understand, there’s a fear of the Lord. There’s a reverence of the Lord.
I’m not debating that, in this chapter, that is, the difference between when to interpret “fear” as terror, and when to interpret it as “reverence.” But let’s touch on it real quick, for the sake of a better understanding, so you aren’t in false fear, or under a false understanding of what fear truly is in this context and for those who have been born again.
But let’s get into it since we’re here. The cornerstone of understanding the fear of God and the Love of God, for the children of God is found in…
1 John 4:18
“But there is no fear in love.
But perfect love drives out all fear.”
So, why would God command you to fear when He’s saying there’s NO FEAR IN LOVE? Why would the Bible say, “do not fear” 365 times if God wants you to fear? Okay, what about Joshua? God told him to go take the Promise Land but He said, “Do not fear…only be strong and courageous.” He is not talking about fearing His punishment, or the fear of forfeiting one’s salvation, or fear of being thrown into hell in spite of being a child of God!
It does not mean that! Perfect love drives out all fear because fear has to do with punishment, and the one who fears is not made perfect in love. So, it cannot mean terror, to the extent of being afraid and withdrawn. It cannot mean that. I’m going to show you what it means.
Romans 8:15
“The spirit you received
DOES NOT MAKE YOU SLAVES
THAT YOU LIVE IN FEAR again
but rather the spirit you received bought you
and brought about your adoption
as sons and by him we cry, ‘Aba Father’.”
Now the Lord is comparing fear versus faith and love and son-ship. He’s saying, “Listen, you did not receive a spirit or anything that makes you a slave again to fear. In fact, you’re now my son and you can come to me and trust in me as a son and you can cry out, ‘Aba Father’. In spite of all the rejection and the criticism and the persecution, you can trust in what I said. You don’t have to fear you will lose something that I know that I’m going to do in your life now that you’ve given yourself to me.”
So “fear and trembling” cannot mean fear of punishment. It can’t. The Lord may not tell you to fear punishment. It’s a perfect love. CAST OUT ALL FEAR because fear has to do with punishment. He wants you to WALK IN PERFECT LOVE not perfect fear.
So “fear and trembling” cannot mean, “be fearful of not pleasing God.” Maybe you are thinking, “Well, I need to please God by my works and blah blah blah.” Yes, you have to please God but it’s not in fear, it’s by faith. For God reveals..
Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is
impossible
to please God,
and…
Romans 14:23
and everything
that does not come from faith
is sin.
and…
Galatians 5:6
The only thing that counts is
faith expressing itself through love.
This means that if you’re walking in fear of losing something, you’re not in faith. You’re in fear.
If you’re in fear, you’re not in love. Faith works by love. Love casts out all fear; faith is the opposite of fear—and a faith that works by love is the perfect opposite of fear. How amazing is that? Without faith, it’s impossible to please God. Faith in what? It’s faith in what Christ said He’s going to do in your life; faith in what God is able to do in your life and what He’s able to do by grace, not by your works, “lest any man should boast.”
Now we’re going to get into what it actually means to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, and finish this proof.
In order to rightly divide the Word, you have to take similar references from Scripture. Scriptures interpret scriptures. And you have to see and compare other places the Bible that something similar to this particular scripture is being said, and the context thereof, to potentially understand how He might have been saying it in this other context.
We’ve already excluded the ideas that He was talking about fear of punishment (aka losing or forfeiting your salvation), so He couldn’t be talking about working for your salvation because that doesn’t make sense in Scripture. He must be talking about something different. But we still don’t quite understand it. We might have a fear-based disposition in our hearts and we still don’t quite get it.
So, where else does Paul write about fear and trembling? Let’s see…
1 Corinthians 2:2-4
“For I determined not to know anything among you,
save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
And I was with you in weakness,
and in FEAR, and in much TREMBLING.
And my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom,
but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power.”
Here, Paul exulted the finished work of Jesus Christ. He as well confessed his weakness, saying, “I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling.” I submit to you today, the moment you put yourself out there on Facebook or on the streets where you may face public disgrace and shame, as you step out for ministry, and you put yourself out there to pray for people in public, I guarantee you will naturally have fears and your body will tremble!
Many thoughts will cross your mind. What are they going to say? They’re going to attack me. They’re going to put me down. They’re going to reject me. They’re going to say something about me. They’re going to call me an idiot. They’re going to call me stupid. What if they don’t get healed? What if this, what if that? I guarantee that if you step out and try to work out your salvation because you believe there’s a God that works in you, I guarantee you’re going to have to face fear and trembling. Your body will fear; your body will tremble.
I remember when I first stepped out in ministry, I shook. My hands shook. Have you ever stepped out and put yourself out there and started reading Scripture in the open, or start doing something in public, maybe before a crowd and all of a sudden, your body just shook and you had to face the fear of what they would say—the fear of their judgment?
I do it every day when I share messages on Facebook. I FACE MY FEARS. I work out what’s in me. Though with fear and trembling, I put myself before the camera and share the Word because of love and I know the Father loves me and I’m not doing it to try to please Him. I’m doing it BECAUSE He’s ALREADY PLEASED WITH ME. He already loves me and because He does, I know that I’m going to be okay and I know that I am okay and I know that I’ve been made right with Him by grace through faith. I know, no matter what, He’s got me and this makes me UNSTOPPABLE.
The Apostle John was the only disciple that could not be killed. He was the ONLY disciple that did not die by persecution. Do you know why? He operated in perfect love and he operated in a faith that works by love. Because of that, he had no fear and because of that, Satan had no stronghold in his life.
Of course, an attempt was made to burn him but he did not die. Let’s put it this way, Satan could not kill John. John was absolutely ROOTED and GROUNDED in the love of the Father and he understood what that love meant and what that love would do for him. He understood that love, for he testified, “I AM THE DISCIPLE WHOM JESUS LOVED.” He understood that the Father loved him and was for him and not against him and he knew what God had promised him, He would do for him. Because of that, he released from the INSIDE OUT the power of God within him, and because of that, he could not be killed.
Now let’s go to Paul. Paul was in fear—fear of rejection. In the same context, he was presenting himself before people that were going to judge him, talk about him, put him down, criticize him, or call his message stupid and foolish. The Bible says, “The cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. For the Greeks and the Jews look for signs and look for wisdom but the cross is foolishness.” Paul got stoned!
So, you’re telling me that after Paul got stoned, that he didn’t have some fear and trembling the next time he went to work out what was in him? I’m telling you today, the Lord did not say, “Work for your salvation and fear punishment or forfeiting it.” That is a misconception, a lie, and a misinterpretation of what the gospel teaches; it’s against the totality of all God’s promises and all His scriptures. That is not the heart of God.
God’s heart is that He’s a good God and a loving God and He is for you, not against you. He wants you to be grounded and rooted in love and He wants you to have a faith that works by His love, trusting and knowing all His goodness and who He is.
You will see the power of God because you will overcome fear and trembling in spite of the fear and trembling; in spite of the fears you have, you will still walk out and you will work out, to follow God’s heart.
And you who are willing to do that will see the power of God flow from the INSIDE of you and it will work to the OUTSIDE of you and you will be grounded in the power of God. When the virtue flowing out of you touches people, they will receive the Holy Spirit, healing, and power because you are working out what is in you in spite of your fears and trembling.
Paul was willing to work out his salvation, so he wrote to his brethren, “I came with the DEMONSTRATION of the power of the Spirit.” He was willing to WORK OUT—demonstrate—what was in him. Paul, in the context of Philippians 2:12, is saying, “FACE YOUR FEARS.” Face the inwards fears trying to tell you that people out there might judge you, criticize you, come against you, or talk about you.
Face your fears, to do the work of God,
and you WILL work out the power of God
that is within you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
and then