Sometimes it looks like there are two models for being Christian. Some people seem to accept God’s free gift of salvation and go about their lives having faith in the free gift. In this model, there is a heavy focus on being saved. The second prevalent model seems to be that one is still a sinner and has to wait until Heaven to live in the joy of salvation. In this model, there is a heavy focus on “still sinner” and the need for penitential acts, practices of virtue, and the like.
Paul seems pretty clear that both are true. We are saved while still sinners. Rom 5:8. The free gift is offered to all humans, and one chooses to accept it at baptism. However, acceptance isn’t enough for Phil 2:12 tells us that we must work out our salvation, and this is where the two apparent models melt into one. Phil 2:12 means that there is more to it than being baptized. At the same time, there is a big difference between “working it out” and “working for it.”
How can we make sense of this? I would suggest Phil 2:12 can be understood as unpacking the gift of salvation, and we unpack it through our penitential acts, practices of virtue, and the like. Let me see if I can further explain my thought process. I once read that God is good – image of God – and God does good – likeness of God. I wish I could find the source to provide a proper reference, but I like this definition of what it means to be created in his image and likeness. Gen 1:26-27. No matter what we do, we cannot change the fact that our essence is good – image. It is our behavior, our likeness, that is in question. Thus, our spiritual life is about unpacking the gift of salvation, which restores our likeness to God.
So, how do we unpack this gift? We unpack it by dying to self and carrying our crosses (penitential acts, virtue, and the like) Mark 8:34. We suffer with Christ so as to share in his glory. Rom 8:13. I would strongly note that suffering is not about suffering for the sake of suffering. It is about being conformed to Christ. Rom 8:29 It is about surrendering all of the things that keep us from living in the likeness of Christ who is good and does good. It is about allowing the Holy Spirit to heal our disordered desires and anything else that causes us to behave improperly.
In closing, I would encourage you to unpack your gift of salvation with joy. While it may not come easy to experience joy in suffering, it does become easier when we constantly remember with awe and reverence that God saved us even though we were still sinners.
In Christ,
dw
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