July 14 | Philippians 2:12-16

Pastor Dave Mann
Jul 14
2 min read

DAILY READING

REFLECTION

God’s Work In and Through Us

By Dave Mann

As followers of Jesus, we may be surprised by verse 12. We believe in the gospel that states clearly that we cannot work or earn our way into heaven. Salvation is a free gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Why does Paul encourage us to work out our salvation? Are we saved by grace or by works?

Well, don’t stop with verse 12. Read the next verse as well -- for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Yes, we are saved by grace, but the work that is manifested in the life of a true believer comes through God’s goodness and grace. The faith to believe comes through grace, and the work that we do in Jesus’ name also comes from God through grace. God is still working in the world for salvation. We have the privilege of joining him in that work. Both the desire to work for God and the ability to do so come from God.

Verse 14 causes me to scratch my head from time to time. Do everything without grumbling or arguing. Everything? Really? That sounds like a difficult task – a real job. I wish I could do it more easily than it normally happens – doing everything without grumbling, that is. Having such an attitude requires a work of God in my heart. By God’s grace, my work will be a reflection of God in my daily life.

Finally verse 15, particularly the phrase: in a warped and crooked world. Maybe you have a similar discouragement as I have sometimes. When I consider the nature of the human heart in this age, I regularly think that no other time in history has produced such a warped and crooked lot as we have today -- terrorists, thieves, sexual predators, war mongers, inventors of wicked pornography that traps people for life, etc., etc. But that phrase – a warped and crooked world – was not invented in the 21^st century. It was first written by Moses. (See Deuteronomy 32:5.) Then the Apostle Paul, who lived about 1500 years after Moses, added his Amen to the phrase. It should not surprise us, who live more than 2000 years after Paul, that the human heart has not changed much. We still need the forgiveness and renewal of heart offered by the gospel. There is still more work to be done.

PRAYER

Lord, you have been working since the Fall for the salvation of the human race. Despite the wickedness in the world, you continue the task of bringing humans to faith in Christ and to work

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DAVE MANN

I am a Pastor for Internationals (retired) in the UALC community. I am married to Pam, father of four, and grandfather of six. Pam and I have lived twenty of our years in other countries including France, Cameroon, Haiti, and Morocco. In retirement, we continue to enjoy writing devotionals, learning languages, and teaching English to internationals.