Lessons

“Working out your own salvation”? Can we save ourselves? Absolutely not. We know that from Ephesians 2:8-9 that “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” So then what is Philippians 2:12-16 talking about? The “working out” is your daily walk with the Lord and approaching every circumstance with an attitude that testifies of God’s love and the life that’s in His word. It’s in this witness that you can shine as lights in the world. Consider Paul and Silas in Acts 16:20-34. What was their attitude when circumstances didn’t go their way? “And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” It is most apparent that our actions witness to others and identify whether our heart and mind is set on things above or on things below. We know as saved Christians we are to shine as lights in the world… holding forth the word of life versus complaining which shows a lack of God’s word in your heart and a shipwrecked witness. The encouragement from this lesson is to “work out” your problems all the while praising God. Click here to listen to the lesson on 08-05.