Rightfully so do we worship and honor Christ for the salvation he gained for us on the cross. Without the sacrifice of Christ there would be no salvation available. Near the end of his torture Jesus cried out, “It is finished!“ There was nothing more that he could do. He fulfilled God’s instruction. He fulfilled man’s need. Every day that he lived, he did it is a perfect person. Never could anyone find fault in him. Even pilot at his trial asked, “What have you done?” It was because of this perfect state Christ was able to say that his kingdom is not of this earth. He died on the cross so that we would not have to face the punishment due us for our sin.
Before his ascension, Jesus explained that he had to leave so that the Holy Spirit could follow. That is why the 120 people that made up the initial church needed to experience the day of Pentecost. At that point the church was baptized by the Holy Spirit. Whoever follows later as a new Christian comes into that Holy Spirit presence in the body of the church. The coming of the Holy Spirit was needed so that he could be everywhere with every believer. The purpose of the Holy Spirit has been to teach us, comfort us, and guide us through the maze of this earthly life. This is why we draw attention to the last part of verse 12 which says, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
We must be careful to avoid thinking our salvation is something that we made possible. It is not something a person creates for himself. It is not the result of his own conjectures for how a man can be right with God. Let us go back to the original point that Jesus made salvation possible by dying on the cross. When I was in high school (a long time ago lol) we were obligated to take a course in gymnastics. We ran a course during which we passed a baton to the next runner. We might think of salvation in these terms in which Jesus made it possible to be on the team. Every day we are running the course carrying the baton from Jesus to the finish line. We are saved within because of him. We are saved without as we run the course.
It is our duty to be faithful to the Christian principles we claim. We must work out or live out the standards Christ gave to us. His death would be meaningless if we do not fulfill the scriptural admonitions handed down to us. Work out is a fitting term. It takes great effort to monitor our own tendencies to sin, lasciviousness, doubts, compromises, and temptations. A true Christian is one who struggles against his own thoughts that are worldly. That real Christian is one who constantly rejects what Satan puts before him. It is a major effort to pick up the baton from Jesus’ work on the cross and carry it out in our lives to the finish line.
We are also to conduct ourselves with fear and trembling. Such fear is being in a state of awe for the magnificent God we serve knowing that we all will stand before his throne someday and give account for ourselves. It is a good thing to be in fear because it helps keep us focused on right living. This is not to be obsessed to lose our salvation, but to concentrate on faithful living. We must also be fearful that we do not negatively influence other people while fighting against our own temptations and inclinations.
It is important that we have an eagerness equal to spiritual trembling. God does not expect us to be full of anxiety or nervousness. He does expect us to be hyper focused on the path we walk with all its history and promised future. Fear that we do not disappoint God. Tremble that we do not minimize the work of Christ on the cross. A true Christian maintains a personal awareness to what it means to have a relationship with God. He watches each step he takes like someone who walks on thin ice. The ice is thin because of our carnal nature and can easily sabotage our fellowship with the Almighty God.
Jesus accomplished the work of salvation for every one of us. There is nothing more to do that we might be saved. There is, however, much to do in living out that salvation honorably for God and man. We must be constantly aware of any claim we make to be a Christian that can distract from that claim.
