The Risen ChristSample

Working Out Our Salvation

"...Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16 NIV).

Martin Luther described the dynamics of the Christian life this way: “This life is not health but healing; not being but becoming; not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing towards it... This is not the end, but it is the road.” The 18th-century writer John Newton put that idea more memorably: “I’m not what I ought to be, I’m not what I’m going to be, but thank God I’m not what I used to be!”

Christians have been saved in the sense that our sins are forgiven because Christ has paid our penalty. Being credited with Christ’s righteousness is what makes us acceptable to God. The theological word for this is justification. But that’s not the end of the Christian life, it’s just the beginning. God does not intend simply to credit Christ’s righteousness to us. He wants us to actually become righteous, to do right in our thoughts, words, and actions; in other words, to become more like Jesus. The word for this is sanctification.

Sanctification involves moral effort on our part: fighting against sin, and practicing obedience to God’s Law. It means work! Paul urges us to “work out” our salvation (Philippians 2:12) and to begin to grow into the new life we have received through God’s gracious mercy. Sanctification takes patience. We will never be completely free of sin until we die and experience the fullness of salvation in heaven. In the meantime, though we often falter and fail, God is constantly at work within us, helping us to both want and do his will (Philippians 2:13).

PRAYER: Father, help me to become more and more like Jesus every day.