Philippians 2:12 “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
Philippians 2:12 KJV, 1
What does the Apostle Paul mean in the Philippians 2:12 when he writes about, “working out your own salvation with fear and trembling?” Does he mean:
- Do good works to save yourself?
- To passively let the Holy Spirit work through us as believers?
- Something else?
To begin with, let us look at the Greek words used in the original:
- The word translated as ‘work out’ is katergázomai. It is a compound word from kata (to bring to completion, terminal end point) and ergazomai (to work and labor towards a goal or result). 2
- Also, the command from Paul to work out our salvation with fear and trembling is a present imperative. The present imperative “is a command to do something in the future and involves continuous and repeated action.” 3 It is not a one-time and done action.
- The word translated as ‘fear’ is phobos. It’s basic meaning is ‘terror and fear.’ 4 It can have a reverent and good connotation – a healthy fear.
The Analysis of the Potential Meanings for this Passage:
Option (1): Do good works to save yourself?
This is not a biblical option. Consider as two brief examples:
- Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
- Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
Option (2): To passively let the Holy Spirit work through us as believers?
The construction of the verse in the Greek makes this impossible. The passage does not command us to simply allow the Holy Spirit to do His job, but rather commands us as believers to work out our own salvation in fear and trembling. The command to “work out” is not a passive action — it is the exact opposite of inactivity and idleness.
Option (3): Something Else:
I propose that oft times in Christianity today, we tend to lean towards one doctrinal slant or the other. While there are plenty of doctrines that demand this, many of the more dominant themes in Christianity are in very delicate tension that requires great balance of thought and doctrine. Consider these few:
- God’s Sovereignty & the Freewill of Man
- God’s Goodness & the Present Reality of Evil
- God’s Providential Care & Human Suffering
- Salvation by Grace Alone through Faith Alone & Faith that Works and Bears Fruit
Many people are rightly guarded whenever they think they hear a doctrine that seems to say:
Salvation = Grace/Faith + Anything… as they should be. Again, salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. So…if the issue is as plain and as simple as the previous doctrinal statement, what do passages like Philippians 2:12 and James 2 mean? Before answering this, we need to look at James 2. It is a lengthy passage, but needs to be viewed in context.
“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe – and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
James 2:14-26, New King James Version 5
Before diving into the meaning of this passage, did you know that the Book of James has quite a checkered past in critical circles. Early on, when the canon of Scripture was being officially recognized 1600 years ago, some did not want James included because of passages like this. Many felt as though it was a contradiction with the Apostle Paul’s teaching on salvation by grace. This same sentiment was also held by the famous reformer, Martin Luther. The Book of James certainly belongs in Scripture, and this balanced symbiotic relationship between Faith and Works is biblical when properly understood.
Now, back to the passage in James. James starts off with this question: “if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?” So this is a salvation question in the mind of James. He then continues the discussion to explain that faith bears fruit – i.e. faith works. He gives practical examples of loving others. Next he almost mockingly notes that just having faith and believing in the One True God is not enough. He explains that ‘even the demons believe and tremble.’ And we know what the future holds in store for the demons…Hell. The demons are fallen angels. They know first hand Who God Is…but they abandoned their position and rebelled. They cannot get back in.
Next, James gives two heroes of the faith as examples. Stating that, “Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” Then, James adds, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” And closing out the section and answering the original question, James concludes, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
I think there is one little nugget of information that may help us understand what James (and Paul) are trying to teach us. It comes from the Greek word translated as ‘work.’ It is ergon. In general, this word traditionally means ‘the result or object of employment.’ 6 More specifically, this ‘work,’ refers to “an object or result whose attainment or realization is not accomplished by a single act, but by accumulated labor and continued work.” 7
Take-Aways
- First and foremost, I think that the Apostle Paul was instructing the Philippians (and subsequently all believers) to consider the day of their salvation as the start of a race / battle / war and to run the race and fight the good fight of faith until the very end of our earthly lives. He is commanding us to make each and every day, each and every opportunity count. Too often in today’s church and Christianity, we think of our personal salvation (the day we say the prayer) as our finish line. We consider ourselves right with God, Heaven bound, and eternally secure. With that mentality at the forefront, why would any move forward or work anything out…specifically their salvation? Well, unfortunately, most do not. Statistics today regularly show 80-90% FALL-AWAY Rate for new converts to Christianity. 8 This is not a surprise…it was actually prophesied by the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Here we read, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first.” 9
- Next, I think the best way for us to view the WORKS that both Paul and James are writing of here…is FRUIT or EVIDENCE. Jesus often spoke of faith and the Gospel message as a Seed. When a seed is planted, we do not yet know if it was a good seed or bad. It takes time for it to grow to maturity and bear fruit. We see this in the Parable of the Sower and other places. Good trees must bear good fruit, the ones that do not are cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 3:10; 7:17-19; 12:33; etc.). Faith…without fruit / evidence…is dead and unable to save. I have a good pastor friend that always says, “if your faith does not change you…it will not save you.” We do not work to be saved…but we work because we are saved. We do not strive to bear fruit to be saved…we strive to bear fruit because we are saved.
- Third, note the Apostle Paul’s attitude about himself in Philippians 3. In this chapter, with all his service to and walk with the Lord, he still did not consider himself to have already obtained anything. He goes on speaking in the future tense, with language of possibility and not certainty. He writes,
“if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:11-14 10
While Paul certainly knew that the Lord had chosen him and saved him for a purpose, he still kept the same mindset of never being content or complacent about that which he had already accomplished. Instead, he looked forward to the day when he would have to stand before the Lord and give an account of his life in Christ.
- emphasis mine, unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the KJV[↩]
- https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G2716&t=KJV[↩]
- Grammatical Notations, Key Word Study Bible: KJV[↩]
- https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G5401&t=KJV[↩]
- New King James Version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.[↩]
- Strong’s #2041, Lexical Aids to the New Testament, as found in the Key Word Study Bible: KJV[↩]
- emphasis mine, ibid[↩]
- Most of these reports come from major denominations. This is also something many evangelicals have witnessed in their own churches across denominational lines.[↩]
- KJV[↩]
- NKJV[↩]