Salvation that is offered through the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ and received through repentance and belief is destiny changing! As a matter of fact, it is such a monumental and life-altering change that our English Bible translates the transformation as becoming a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). However, even though it altars everything about us, it is a change that begins in the hidden parts of our being. The Bible often calls them our “spirit” and “heart”. Speaking to Israel, God promised that there would be a day that they would be restored to a right relationship with Him. The LORD promised that, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek 11:19). This inward quickening of the heart and spirit makes itself known through a believer’s thinking, speech, and actions. It doesn’t remain hidden or subdued. Just the opposite! Whether in public or private, a believer’s life is marked by loving obedience to the Creator and Redeemer. The salvation God has accomplished on the inside is to be lived on the outside!

This principle is echoed in Paul’s words in Philippians 2:12-13, conveying his tender longing to be with them and his confident joy that his brothers and sisters in Christ will continue to put into practice what they were doing while he was among them. It is easy to surmise then that Paul is not leaning upon the Philippian believers with heavy handedness or a disappointed exasperation. Rather, like a grateful, proud parent, he encourages his spiritual children to obey even more in his absence, confident that God will give them the desire and the ability to bring Him joy:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

The use of “therefore” connects Paul’s thoughts to the previous passage describing Jesus’ humble and self-sacrificing obedience to His Father. The obedience of the Son of God is to be every believer's model and standard. Paul’s words to the believers in Philippi resemble his words to the believers in Ephesus, to whom he penned the following words: “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph 5:1-2). The church, made up of professing believers, is to be obedient to God just as the Son was obedient to the Father. Disobedience is completely antithetical to being a disciple of Jesus. To put it another way, for a believer, habitual disobedience is completely absurd! It is expected for an unbeliever to be habitually disobedient, since the desire of the fallen and rebellious nature is self-seeking and boundary pushing. A believer, on the other hand - while nowhere near perfect - is constrained by a new heart and nature that is affectionate toward holy things. The cry of a believer’s soul is like that of Paul: “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:13-14). There is no casual, flippant attitude toward repeated disobedience. Instead, with every repeated sin, the believer carries his failure back to the foot of the cross where he was “ransomed … with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Pet 1:18-19).

God is working in us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit as He guides us, convicts us of sin, helps us to pray, understand His Word, and gives us the desire to obey Him. Through His powerful work in us, we move beyond just obligatory obedience to devoted love. In His daily devotional, Everyday Gospel, Paul Tripp reminds his readers of the following:

You should dedicate and discipline yourself to keep everyone of God's commandments. You should work to apply the wisdom of his word to every aspect of your life. You should be a student of his word… You should use the resources God has entrusted to you to contribute to the work of his Kingdom and to meet the needs of those He places in your path. You should be committed to sharing the gospel when God gives the opportunity. You should commit yourself to having a marriage and family life that are shaped by the comfort and call of the gospel. You should build a robust devotional life of worship and study. You should be committed to counting your blessings every day and resist numbering your complaints. You should live with gratitude even when facing trials. You should do all of these things with joy. But it is vital that you … constantly remember that true unshakable hope is only ever found in God's … plan of redemption He set in place.

Obedience doesn’t earn us merit or an advantage with God. We are to obey with awe and wonder of the God who works in us. The gospel, from beginning to end is His doing. Our spiritual life is a gift that is undeservedly received through faith and trust. It is not our idea or design that make it possible nor our effort that carries it to its completion. Even its manifestation is God’s department: “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). So live it out!

Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV) - “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”