We go to the scriptures for comfort and guidance and to know our Lord better. When we study the Bible, our problem is usually things we don’t understand. But sometimes the scriptures seem to turn on you. What do we do with passages we think we understand but seem to call our cherished beliefs into question?
Standard procedure when we come to a passage we don’t understand should be to take a step back and examine the context to make sure we’re not reading it wrong. Then we look closely at the troubling verse(s), doing word studies, looking at cross references, and maybe even checking a Bible dictionary. Only then would we look at the study notes in our Bible or a commentary to see if we’ve understood it correctly (or to answer our question if we still didn’t understand).
But what about passages we think we do understand and don’t like it?
Our Bible study group is going through Philippians. We just covered the beautiful “kenosis” passage which describes Christ’s humility and exaltation. Though he was in very nature God, Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death — even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place; his name is above every name, and every knee and every tongue will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
“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” (Phil 2:12).
If you’ve ever tried to explain salvation by grace through faith alone to a Roman Catholic friend or relative, I’ll bet this was in their response. It sure seems to support their view that we must contribute to our salvation by doing good works.
Most of us have heard a pastor or teacher talk about this verse, so we know the “party line” that this is about sanctification, not justification, but is that actually true? Most study Bibles make a very brief statement about this. For example, the CSB study Bible simply says, “Work out means to apply salvation, not to earn it.” OK, but why?
When we come across a passage in the Bible that really challenges our beliefs, we should not force it to conform to our theology. The scriptures are supposed to change us, not the other way around. A commitment to truth and to the Lord of the scriptures should mean that we make absolutely sure we understand something like this correctly.
So rather than take the party line or accept a one or two sentence explaining away of the passage, we should go to the scholars and demand that they convince us.
What scholars? Study Bible notes, by their nature, are going to be very brief. We’re going to need to go to full-fledged commentaries, and probably to a commentary specifically on the book in question rather than a whole-Bible one.
If we’re studying a question as important as “is Protestantism wrong”, we might need to drop a little money and get two or three good commentaries.1 To get the best bang for your buck, may I suggest “bigger is better”? The short little devotional commentaries might not go into the depth we need. Get a couple of serious study commentaries and dig in.
And so in I dug. The first and most fundamental point I drew from the various sources is the reminder that we cannot treat Philippians 2:12 as if it were the only thing Paul has said on the topic of salvation. Whatever it means, it has to agree with everything he said in Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and Titus.
One of the most important themes in Paul’s theology is that human effort cannot even cooperate with God’s grace to yield a right standing before God on the final day. To Paul, even Abraham, popularly thought to be the most righteous of all Jews, must be considered ungodly when a right standing before God is at issue. Abraham served as Paul’s illustration of the principle that “to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited to him as righteousness” (Rom. 4:5). God’s people, Paul says, are not chosen because of their works but on the basis of grace, for otherwise “grace would no longer be grace” (11:6).2
Second, we cannot treat Phil 2:12 as if it is not part of a broader passage in Philippians. The same author also points out that this passage seems to parallel Paul’s statement in Phil 1:27, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” And, of course, 2:12 is the same sentence as 2:13. Paul says to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Which seems to parallel 1:6, “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
So, as another commentator put it,
Paul tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, precisely because God is working in us both to will and to act according to his good purpose (2:12–13). ... God [is not] working merely to strengthen us in our willing and acting. Paul’s language is stronger than that. God himself is working in us both to will and to act: he works in us at the level of our wills and at the level of our doing. But far from this being a disincentive to press on, Paul insists that this is an incentive.3
In the end, did I come away with a view that was any different than that note in the CSB Study Bible? No. Was the effort wasted? I don’t think so. Instead of a soundbite, I came away with an argument, a reason to believe “the party line” is correct, which gives me more confidence in the Protestant position and the ability to explain it to someone else.
More than that, though, I didn’t end up with nagging doubts that I ran from the passage because I was afraid to learn I was wrong. That kind of thing can eat at you over time. Instead I found that the Protestant interpretation is quite reasonable. And if we’re right about salvation, that’s a solid foundation to build the rest of our theology on.
1 I recommend DA Carson’s New Testament Commentary Survey and Tremper Longman’s Old Testament Commentary Survey as resources to help you find good commentaries of the type and depth you’re looking for.
2 Thielman, Frank. NIVAC Philippians
3 Carson, DA. Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians, emphasis in original
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