Pursuing Sanctification (Philippians 2:12-13)
Pursuing Sanctification
Philippians 2:12-13
November 3, 2013
Because we have recently studied the Holy Spirit
No one in here should be completely confused
In regard to the concept of sanctification.
We talked about how the Holy Spirit is the agent of our sanctification.
He sets us apart from the world and He sets us apart unto God.
Similar to a marriage.
“I take you…forsaking all others”
It is the Holy Spirit that takes that promise
And begins to work out its actual fulfillment in our lives.
And hopefully you remember that sanctification is not optional.
Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”
Christ died to make you righteous, both positionally and practically.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…”
A believer may in fact inquire about God’s will in his or her life
In regard to specific scenarios and decisions,
But the overarching will of God for your life has never been confusing.
God’s will for your life is that you be sanctified.
• Every prophet who ever spoke, spoke to this end.
• Every priest who ever served, served to this end.
• When God became flesh and dwelt among us, His life and death were to this end.
• And when God sent His Spirit to dwell in us, this is what He produces
Sanctification is important.
You and I are to be set apart from the world and we are to live holy lives.
The question I have for you tonight is: HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?
How are you going to achieve the sanctification in your life
That you will never see God without?
Over the course of history
There have been two distinct methods of thought on this.
There were the PIETISTS.
A pious man is an extremely religious man.
And the pietists determined that sanctification
Was purely a matter of human responsibility.
They believed we are called to die to self, to work hard, to sacrifice much,
To pursue holiness, and make sure that we completely remove from our lives
Any and all sin.
The problem of course with that train of thought is that it won’t work.
We just spent 5 months studying the Holy Spirit
And we have learned that He has to accomplish this in us,
Because we can’t do it on our own.
John 15:4-5 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Romans 8:29-30 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
Galatians 5:25 “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”
And when are enlightened by such truth we realize that sanctification
Is not something that we can achieve on our own.
The flesh is too fallen, and try as we may, we will never achieve it.
And incidentally those who maintain such a view
Generally end up legalistic, judgmental, arrogant, and alone.
We know God must work in us.
Well, that leads to the other side of the argument.
That side is called QUIETISM
You may not be familiar with the term, but you are familiar with the mindset.
Their famous statement was “Let go and let God”
The idea is that God has to do it all, so let Him do it all.
You can’t accomplish it, so don’t try.
God, apart from you, is working so just sit back and let Him.
Now that can initially sound good,
But it too effectively lets man off the hook for his role in the process.
For example, if you are placing it all in God’s hands,
Then who gets the blame when you fail?
Man does have a very important role to play in all of this.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
And so what we begin to realize is that like so many other doctrines in Scripture, there is a unique mystery here.
It’s like asking you who wrote the book of Philippians?
(Paul or the Holy Spirit)
And here we ask, who lives your Christian life?
(You or God in you)
And there is a delicate balance, a mystery of sorts.
On one hand it is our responsibility and on the other hand it is God’s.
And this tension is seen throughout the Scriptures.
2 Peter 1:2-3 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”
That is clearly God at work.
And then Peter says:
2 Peter 1:5-6 “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,”
That is clearly us at work.
Or consider what Paul wrote:
1 Corinthians 15:9-10 “For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”
And there the balance is seen again.
We are at work, and so is God.
Both do it, both are responsible.
And that is the truth that Paul is going to walk us through tonight
As we look at these two wonderful verses in the book of Philippians.
I want us to see sanctification from both sides
And get a handle on how it works.
Now in doing that it is important that you don’t lose sight of CONTEXT.
Don’t forget what this chapter has been about.
• Verses 1-4 gave the mandate to humble yourself and consider others as more important than yourself.
• Verses 5-11 gave Christ’s example of doing that very thing.
So we are still talking about the call and command to humble yourself.
The question is: HOW CAN I REALISTICALLY EXPECT TO DO THAT?
Humbling self goes against every natural fleshly desire that you have.
Self-preservation is normal, self-humiliation is not.
So how do I actually reach a point where I can be like Christ and humble myself for the good of my brother?
Let me show you what it will require
#1 THE EFFORT OF MAN
Philippians 2:12
As Paul first handles the “HOW TO” portion of humility,
He starts with you and the effort you must put forth.
You and I must understand that if we are to live the Christian life
The way God intended us to live it,
Then we must put forth the effort to live it the right way.
Laziness is not going to achieve the holiness of God.
I’ve always liked the illustration used in the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 2:1-3a “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”
And we have talked about this before.
You are familiar with the two Greek words the writer uses in that first verse.
“pay much closer attention” translates PROSECHO (to moor a ship)
“drift away” translates PARARHEO (a ship allowed to drift)
And the writer says what do you think the odds are of your ship hitting the harbor and mooring itself to the dock apart from any effort on your part?
And of course the answer is none.
People who try to completely let go of their spiritual responsibility to live the sanctified life will never achieve that sanctification.
EFFORT IS REQUIRED
Let’s look at some of the practical things you must do.
1) FOLLOW CHRIST
“So then, my beloved”
Now I know that is not a command specifically to follow,
But it is a clause that directly correlates to the previous section.
Paul just spent 7 verses outlining for us the example of Christ.
He told us about His HUMILITY, He told us about His OBEDIENCE, He told us about His deserved EXALTATION.
And then says, “So then…”
The idea being then that you and I are to follow this example.
And this is actually one of the most obvious realities that you and I are responsible for our sanctification.
If we are not responsible to act and live in a certain way,
Then why did God bother giving us an example?
In fact, if we can’t do it at all, why even give us commands in Scripture?
The reality is that God gave you commands
Because you are expected to obey,
And God gave you an example because you are expected to follow
It is implied that you will pattern your life
After the example that Christ set for you.
And this has been explicitly stated.
John 13:13-15 “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”
1 Peter 2:21 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,”
And that is the point here.
If you weren’t called to take matters into your own hands in regard to humbling yourself and putting your brother first
Then Paul would have never bothered to give you Christ’s example.
But since Paul commanded it and then gave the example,
It is implied that you are responsible to follow.
You are called to put forth the effort to be like Christ.
Know Him, Read His Word, Follow His Example
2) FAITHFULLY OBEY
“just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,”
Obviously Paul is there speaking of obedience.
But it is the way he describes obedience that I want you to see.
“always obeyed”
“in my presence”
“in my absence”
It carries the idea of faithful obedience at all times.
And again, this is heavily implied just by the fact that there are commands.
Why give a command if there is no intention of you obeying it?
And the fact that Paul mentions obedience even in his “absence”
Indicates that they are even more responsible now that
No one is there to hold them accountable.
I remember when I was in high school how teachers would treat you.
They hounded you to listen
They hounded you to study
They hounded you to do your work
They made you go to class
In their presence it was pretty easy to obey because they stayed on you.
However, when I went to college, those professors didn’t care.
They didn’t care if I attended
They didn’t care if I listened
They didn’t care if I completed my assignments
All of a sudden the burden was completely on me.
And that is what Paul was saying.
• You have to obey, and the burden falls on you.
• I’m not there to make sure you do it anymore.
You are going to have to take responsibility and make yourself be faithful.
And if you want to be sanctified,
Then a decision to be faithfully obedient must be made.
Follow Christ, Faithfully Obey
3) FORCEFULLY LABOR
“work out your salvation”
And this statement is really the heart of verse 12.
This is what Paul is saying.
If you want to be sanctified as God intends
Then you are going to have to “work” it out.
“work out” is a Greek word that means “to produce through effort or toil”
Also used:
James 1:3 “knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”
2 Corinthians 4:17 “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,”
In both of those verses the same word is translated “produces or producing”
The idea is that of effort and labor and striving to bring about an end.
And that is why we talk about the effort of man.
• Do you want to be sanctified?
• Do you want to achieve righteousness?
• Do you want to be like Christ?
Well it won’t happen with you sitting on your rear doing nothing.
It won’t happen if you refuse to put forth the effort.
Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:7-8 “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
It’s like sports.
• If you won’t work hard
• If you don’t discipline yourself
• If you don’t put forth effort
• Then you honestly cannot expect to do very well.
Now we’ve all seen those people who just try to rest on their God-given ability.
They don’t strive because they are “talented”.
And yet if sports has proven anything it is that at the end of the day
It is those who work the hardest who capture the prize.
If you want to be like Christ then you are going to have to put forth the effort, it will not naturally happen.
Sanctification doesn’t come like old age.
You have to force it to come.
Follow Christ, Faithfully Obey, Forcefully Labor
4) FEARFULLY CONTINUE
“with fear and trembling”
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
It means you need a good motivator to push you
Through those difficult moments of training.
Hard work is never fun.
Disciplining yourself is never fun.
You must have motivation.
You either need motivation of reward:
1 Corinthians 9:24-25 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.”
Or you need motivation of punishment.
1 Peter 1:17-19 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
We must understand that sanctification is not optional,
And it is not automatic.
To achieve it, you are going to have
To make a conscious effort to follow Christ,
And to do it without someone holding your hand.
And if you need motivation, then take the reward
Or subsequent punishment of God as your motive.
Sanctification matters.
And that is man’s responsibility.
The Effort of Man
#2 THE ENERGY OF GOD
Philippians 2:13
Here is the other side of the equation.
• Man puts forth the effort, but God supplies the energy.
• Man works hard, God makes it work
• Man pushes the petal, but God is the fuel
Apart from effort you will never be sanctified,
However, effort without the power of God will never succeed.
And it is God’s side we see here.
And just to remind of that let me also give you four realities about God’s work here that helps you understand why sanctification is a real possibility.
You can achieve it because of the God who is working in you.
1) HIS PERSON
“for it is God”
Now there is a statement worth contemplating.
How do I know if I can do it?
How do I know if I can make it?
Well the answer is because you have help.
Yes, but how do I know if my help is good enough?
Because your help is none other than “God”
(Remember the One we saw this morning who spoke the world into existence)
• It’s not your pastor at work…
• It’s not your parents at work…
• It’s not your friends at work…
It is “God”
And the last time I checked, nothing was impossible with God.
(Even your sanctification)
Romans 8:29-30 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
I’ve always liked the story with Sarah in the Old Testament.
The angelic messengers came to relay that Sarah would conceive.
You’ll remember that she was listening in the tent and she laughed.
Genesis 18:13-14 “And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ “Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
And I’ve told you before that from that point on Sarah never wavered again.
She understood who was at work in her.
Thus far, despite her effort, she could not conceive
Thus far, despite Abraham’s effort, she could not conceive
But she now had new help, and He most definitely would succeed.
In your quest to achieve sanctification never disregard who your help is.
Psalms 121:2 “My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.”
John 14:16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;”
That is the first thing Paul wants you to know.
His Person
2) HIS PRESENCE
“For it is God who is at work in you”
Now incidentally the word “work” here
Is different from the one Paul used in verse 12.
The word in verse 12 was that word that meant to produce through toil or effort.
This is a different word.
“work” here translates ENERGEO (where we get our word for energy)
And that energy is “in you”
Remember the disciples in the garden?
Sleeping at their post, unable to stand with Jesus?
Matthew 26:41 “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The disciples may have had the want to, but they didn’t have the energy.
They didn’t have the ability within them.
And that is true of our sanctification.
• The effort has to be there, but effort alone is not enough.
• There has to be a power supplied.
That is God.
He “is at work in you”
1 Corinthians 15:9-10 “For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”
Colossians 1:28-29 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”
• You desire to be sanctified…
• You desire to be like Christ…
You put forth the effort, God puts forth the power
You can do it because of the person and the presence of God in your life.
His Person, His Presence
3) HIS PLAN
“both to will and to work”
What is God doing in you?
He is willing and He is working
“to will” indicates that God is in some amazing way actually shaping your desires and will.
Ezra 1:5 “Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites arose, even everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.”
Psalms 119:36 “Incline my heart to Your testimonies And not to dishonest gain.”
I’ve often looked at my own calling:
1 Timothy 3:1 “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”
That was a “will” or a desire that God placed there.
In other words God helps supply the motivation.
• Where do you think that desire to be holy came from?
• Where do you think that desire to be like Christ came from?
God was doing that in you.
He was also working.
And we could probably spend several sermons on all the ways God does this.
• But we know He uses trials to purify and sanctify us…
• We know He uses His word to purify and sanctify us…
• We know He uses the gifts He has put in other believers to purify and sanctify us…
God is working in you.
He convicts, He guides, He directs, He enlightens
There is no doubt that God has a one track mind in your life
And it is to make you like Jesus.
He is willing and working to make you sanctified.
His Person, His Presence, His Plan
4) HIS PURPOSE
“for His good pleasure”
Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
God is in the business of bringing forth in you what He wants from you.
And that means that you are not alone in this struggle.
• If you want to be sanctified…
• If you are striving to be sanctified…
• If you are putting forth the effort to be like Christ and obey even on your own…
Then rest assured you are not on your own, God is in you,
And He is willing and working to help you achieve
That desire that He put in you.
That is the balance of sanctification.
It will never be achieved without effort on your part,
And it will never be achieved merely by your own effort.
But God is it work as well and because of that it will be achieved.
I’ll leave you with one more example of this delicate balance.
Exodus 14:10-12 “As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the LORD. Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? “Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘ Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
A dilemma yes?
Exodus 14:13-14 “But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. “The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.”
Now that sounds like quietism doesn’t it?
Just let go and let God.
Exodus 14:15-16 “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. “As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.”
Only God could part the sea,
But only the Israelites could walk through it.
And that is true in your life and mine.
Sanctification is a necessary process,
Brought about only through your effort and God’s energy,
So pursue it and trust God to help.
Philippians 2:12-13 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
