12 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.”
Who does Paul sound like in this passage? Your father? Army sergeant? Coach at half time?
Observation – Something must have been going on in the Philippian church that had come to Paul’s attention – “Do everything without grumbling or arguing.” Perhaps it had to do with two members of the church – Euodia and Syntyche having a disagreement (Philippians 4:2-3) and that Paul was setting the stage to address that particular situation at the end of his letter.
What does it mean to work our your salvation with fear and trembling?
Interpretation: “Fear and trembling” makes it sound like Paul might be advocating the idea that your salvation is not complete unless you continue to work on it or perhaps even that you could lose your salvation. However, the correct interpretation is based on sanctification – the ongoing process of becoming like Christ. “Fear and trembling” is simply the acknowledgment that we are not to take a casual approach to follow Christ after professing our faith in Him.
So what does the word sanctification mean?
Sanctification is God’s will for us (1 Thessalonians 4:3). The word sanctification is related to the word saint; both words have to do with holiness. To “sanctify” something is to set it apart for special use; to “sanctify” a person is to make him holy.
God begins the sanctification process immediately upon our salvation experience. And this is an ongoing process until we enter into our rest with Jesus.
What does it mean for God’s people to “shine like stars”?
Perhaps the answer lies in the latter part of Paul’s letter. So, let’s take a look at the following verses.
2 “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
We do not know what the disagreement was with the two women, but we do know that Paul wanted them to set aside their differences for the good of the church.
So, how do we set aside our differences with our brothers and sisters in Christ? Paul appears to be saying that it begins in our minds. “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Concluding Remarks and Application
The “fear and trembling” refers to our spiritual well-being. Think of it in terms of how we pay attention to our physical well-being. We attempt to eat right, exercise, and get a good night’s sleep and every year we visit our doctor for a wellness checkup.
Shining as stars – put into practice what originates in our minds – “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy…”
This begs the question – How brightly do we “shine” in our universe?
