Beyond the Weekend: Saved
Your Past, Present, and Future Rescue
The word "saved" gets used a lot in church. But what does it really mean to be saved?
In this series, we look at how salvation works. It's not just something that happened to us in the past. It's something God is doing in us right now, and something he will finish one day.
"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" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Sanctification Is God’s Work and Yours
Read: Philippians 2:12–13 | Listen: Philippians 2
Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:12b–13
Paul writes this letter from a prison cell, yet his words overflow with unexpected joy. He thanks God for the Philippians and their partnership in the gospel, even as they face real pressure for their faith in Jesus. Paul points them back to their union with Christ, and then urges them to keep working out their salvation with fear and trembling. He isn't asking them to work for their salvation — Jesus's death and resurrection already secured that gift. Instead, Paul calls them to keep asking God to continue what he's already begun in them, cooperating with his Holy Spirit.
Sanctification, becoming more like Jesus, is something God does in us, not for us. We have to cooperate, and that takes work. It takes work to forgive someone who wounded us. It takes work to let go of bitterness and resentment. It takes work to break free from an addiction that has a grip on our lives. None of this happens on our own strength, and none of it happens without our participation either. As we submit to him daily, he slowly shapes our desires, our reactions, and our character to look more like Jesus.
TODAY: Reflect on one area where you need to cooperate with God's work in you. Consider what a good first step would look like. For many, that step is joining a small group, a place to grow and find real accountability. Sign up for a group HERE.
