AS LIGHT BEARERS - PART 1

FRIDAY 28 JANUARY 2022

Apostle Paul addressed the Christians he raised and established at Philippi as light bearers. This congregation at Philippi was the first church he founded in Macedonia. In today's article, he admonished them to remain steadfast in faith, whether or not he was present with them, encouraging them to take up the role of free will in working out the results of their personal salvation. Philippians chapter two is part of the Pauline epistle to the Philippians and its extensively known as "Pros Philippesious."

Reference: Philippians 2:12 New King James Version (NKJV) "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

Here Paul is saying, "As you always followed my instructions when I was with you, now that I am absent, it is even more important that you remain motivated to put the instructions to work in other to produce the results of your salvation with fear and trembling. Here the expression "with fear and trembling" simply means, "Obeying God's Word with awe, deep reverence and godly fear." This insight can cause tremendous growth experience in a Christian's life because godly fear suggests that even if nobody is there to observe or monitor your Christian walk, you're still determined to do the right thing.

Beloved, you are a light bearer because of your perfect union with Christ, as well as, your existing relationship with God. The evidence of our true faith in Christ is that we are genuinely committed to serving God faithfully. Therefore, whether or not anyone monitors such commitment, we are dutifully devoted and resolute to persistently move forward in the right direction by bringing forth good fruit out of our salvation because God is readily at work in us as we serve Him fearfully plus wholeheartedly.

In the first place, why do we have to work out our own salvation? Does it mean that our salvation wasn't perfect when we received Christ as Lord? No! We received a perfect salvation in Christ because Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice on the cross on behalf of imperfect mankind. This is why we can't enhance our salvation and we don't have to do anything or work hard to keep it perfect or rather improve on it. It's already in perfect condition. This reason is this: Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."

Since salvation is a precious gift from God; we can't perfect it because it was already in perfect condition when received. What Paul is pointing out here is that we should become effective and fruitful Christians and be fanatical about pleasing God and walking in truth, bearing in mind that we are light bearers. Therefore, producing the results of our salvation with fear and trembling is beyond injecting and storing up the Word into our thinking processes, both deliberately and consciously. It is to yield good results and enjoy the reality by fulfilling God's Word in our lives and by fully advancing and promoting the whole doctrine of salvation in our various world or widely differing circumstances.

For instance, the response of the Christian to the Word is quite important. How would you react in reality when a problem attacks? Various challenging scenes allow us to work out our salvation by responding to them from the Word viewpoint. If in a real-life situation, something goes wrong even when you don't anticipate it, would you remember to apply the Word to the situation in order to see God at work and experience a lasting result? Beloved, when the consciousness of acting on God's Word is circulating in your bloodstream, you'll always portray the mind of Christ in any given situation and the attitude you will display toward any problem in this life will definitely line up with the light of God working in you and through you - to accomplish the results of your salvation. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - John 4:23-24; 2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Peter 1:10;James 1:22-25.

Guided Prayer: Dear Father, I thank you for the power of my union with Christ and the wisdom of serving you in Spirit, in truth, with awe, deep reverence and godly fear. It's no surprise that putting your Word to work reveals and produces the best answer to plight. By walking in step with the Spirit of truth fully operational in me, my life is never dependent on chance but on your grace and the revelation of Christ in me. Spending time in the Word daily is priceless, and it prompts me to think, act and function as your light bearer and perfect representation in my world, thereby producing fruitful results according to your perfect will, in Jesus' Name, Amen!