Continue to work out your salvation

Becoming a Christian doesn't automatically mean you 'get it'.

Sometimes you might have an instant revelation of the gospel. But, even with an initial revelation, most of us will be working on 'getting it' for years.

**Actually ALL of us will be working on understanding what it's all truly about for our whole lives because what we are trying to understand is the nature of God and the reality of his kingdom, and we won't know that fully until Jesus returns.**

But when I'm talking about just the basic message of Jesus and what it means to be a Christian, I think a large proportion of Christians aren't totally sure what this actually means. We're certainly not living like we do.

How many of us have evidence of a life transformed?

Even those of us - or especially those of us - who have been Christians our whole lives have been so bogged down in the details that we've missed the point. And we wonder why no matter how hard we work at it, our lives don't actually seem that different to people who aren't Christians.

Some of us are like Simon (Acts 8) - we become a Christian, we see the power that comes with it, and we want it. So then we proceed to go about any means we can of acquiring it. We'll try to buy our way into it, we'll try to do good things to earn it, we'll try to find the formula for being the best Christian. We'll try and work for it.

Simon didn't really get it. He believed in Jesus, he was baptised, but he continued to go about his Christian life with the same mindset he had before. His heart was not right.

When I was younger and I read "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12), I didn't get it. I read that small snippet out of context and I thought that maybe it meant my salvation was a personal thing. That it was some deal I brokered with God, that I could pick and choose my salvation, come up with something that worked for me. 

"I'll donate money to the poor once a year, read my Bible on Sundays, and then I can still go out drinking on Friday nights? How does that sound? Ok, ok, I'll even throw in a nightly prayer...."

It sounds ridiculous to put it that way, but who can say they haven't thought this way in some form.

"If I do this, it will make up for not doing that...."

But we're not getting it.

Read the rest of that verse - "for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose."

It is God in us who works. 

This means several things:

- We can't pick and choose - God is doing the work, and he is not going to pick and choose parts of himself. He comes as a complete deal.

- It's not about our 'works'. Again, it's God who works in us. 

- It's not about our personal 'bargain' with God. It's about transformation, aligning us to God's purpose. And it's about community, not what's in it for us.

The Voice Bible notes say about the whole of Philippians 2:
"Paul describes a community where every person considers the needs of others first and does nothing from selfishness; it pulls together rather than pulls apart, and it is a body that knows its purpose and lets nothing interfere with it. It is an extended spiritual family where others line up to become part of this sacred assembly and to make it their home because they feel encouragement and know they are truly loved. So Paul urges the Philippians to strive for this radical unity and fulfill his joy by having the mind of Jesus who humbled Himself, became a servant, and suffered the death of the cross. Jesus becomes the example of humility and service, leading to the kind of unity Paul imagines."

If you're not seeing this 'radical unity' in your life, if you don't feel like your serving anyone but yourself, if you aren't seeing transformation in your life - then maybe you haven't 'got it' yet.

Don't worry, you're far from alone.

But if you want change in your life - even if you just want to want change but you're afraid of it right now - get on your knees before God. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, and God will work in you for his good purpose!

Jesus take the wheel...but I'll be a backseat driver

When I was younger, whenever I was sick with a fever I would have the same nightmare. Two cars would be driving towards each other, then they would suddenly go up on their back wheels and keep driving towards each other. I would just be watching this scene replay over and over in my head, going "No, you can't do that!"

In the light of day once the fever was gone, I could laugh about it. But while I was sick, it was a truly terrifying nightmare! It haunted my childhood.

The reason I think this dream was scary is that it represented a complete lack of control. The cars were doing things that were impossible, and yet I could not stop them, no matter how hard I tried. And it just repeated over and over; I was a helpless spectator.

Even as an adult, whenever things feel like they are getting out of control in my waking life, I will have car dreams. Not the same one anymore, thankfully. These days I'll be driving and the brakes won't quite work, or I can't quite control the steering wheel, or I'm going just a little too fast but can't stop.

Its a common dream motif. And it's all about control.

No wonder as Christians we sometimes use the image of Jesus taking the drivers seat in the car that is our life. It represents giving over control of the direction and speed of our lives.

And yet, while we might say this is what we are doing, how many of us actually do give him the wheel and sit back?

Instead, it's more like an episode of Keeping Up Appearances. We sit in the passenger seat and make sure Jesus sees the potential problems and hazards.
"Watch out for that tree."
"It's on the other side of the road...."

We like to make sure God is aware of all the potential problems that could arise from his plan for us.
"You do know that it's pretty much impossible, right?"
"So was walking on water."

Now, signing up to follow God's plan for our lives is a good thing. The problem with the 'Jesus in the drivers seat' image is that we view Jesus driving as if it relegates us to a passive role. As if we are meant to just sit in the passenger seat and watch the scenery pass by. Or take a nap. Or, when we feel like things are going wrong, we consider ourselves carjacking victims.

So that's where this metaphor really falls down.

In fact, get rid of it all together. I've never liked cars anyway.

Pick your metaphor - but make it one where Jesus is walking beside you. Holding your hand even. Or running beside you in a race. I don't know, be riding on his shoulders if you want.

Just don't make it about 'control' because we most often associate that with who has the power. And it becomes a struggle, with us always trying to take it back.

But you know what, when we lay down ourselves for Jesus, he doesn't take it as an opportunity to wrestle our power from us. He already is all powerful - he doesn't need ours. Instead, he gives us back our new selves, and we walk with him.

We walk with him, like Adam and Eve in the garden before the fall. He is a father, a friend, a constant companion. We can completely put our faith and trust in him.

Have Jesus drive and you take a nap if that's what you need right now. But I'd rather get out of the back seat and walk with him in my life, and have his guidance and his hand to take.

I want to live my life with him, so I am not just waiting to reach a destination, but I actually live a changed life along the way.



***
How about you? How's your life right now? Do you feel like a passive passenger in your life? Or is it more like a runaway car?

Have you thought about this 'Jesus at the wheel' metaphor before? What metaphor would you use to better describe it?

Where's the fruit.

Maybe I'm too skeptical. Though many would say not skeptical enough. But when I turned on the TV this morning to the Christian channel and saw a moodily lit band leading a large auditorium of people in arm raising, eye closed worship, I thought...

Really?

Every single one of you is having an encounter with God that causes you to sway in rapture? Is it a real moment?

Or is it a feel good moment? One you could get from a good piece of chocolate if the mood was right, and someone dimmed the lighting just so....

I can't judge what is going on in people's hearts, though. And it's not as if I don't think that during corporate worship it's all emotionalism. I know God can be with each and every person in a powerful way. I've experienced it. Worship where I lay it all down and came away changed.

But there have also been times where I felt the warm and fuzzies, but I've been firmly planted in my own head rather than laying at the feet of Jesus.

And I came away on a little high, but I wasn't changed. Once away from that experience, everything felt as flat and empty as before.

And that's the difference. We can't judge people's hearts - sometimes even our own are confusing mysteries to us - but we can look for fruit. Are we being changed by our worship and glorifying of God?

And it's not because I think the purpose of worship is all about us - because it's not. But I know that when you lay yourself down and come in to the presence of God, you cannot help but be changed.

Not necessarily in big ways. It doesn't mean you should be going in like a murderer and coming out like a nun each time you get together and sing some songs. But if we are really being filled with the spirit during our worship, we should be seeing a bit more of his fruit. We should be a little more patient as we try to exit the car park after the meeting. We should have a little more joy on Monday morning when we get up to start the week.

Not because we've been inspired by great music and a rousing sermon, and are trying extra hard this week to be a good person, but because its the natural fruit of coming close to God.

If we're not seeing any fruit - not even just a tiny bit - what are we doing as we worship? Who are we worshipping? The people singing up the front? You could be mistaken for thinking that sometimes, the way we all face them and reach our hands out in their direction, like we think that's where God is standing.

Are we worshipping ourselves? Admiring the sounds of our own voices in our heads? Thinking how holy we are for lifting our hands a little higher than the person next to us?

Are we just carried off emotionally by the corporate experience? By peer pressure?

Maybe I'm being cynical, but I'm not happy to substitute and emotional experience for a true spiritual one anymore. None of us should be.

Lets not settle for just a great high like we are mindless worship-drug addicts.

I'm not saying everything is all wrong. I'm not saying that we should just chuck anything out.

But I'm not saying everything is all right either.

Let's all not just settle for emotion. It might make things quieter for a moment. It might not seem so exciting at first. Maybe you won't come away on a high like you are used to.

But then you will see the fruit. Then you will know that your roots run deeper than ever before. The changes we will see from real worship are better than a thousand mega-bands and technical light shows.

And the best bit - you won't need a room full of people, or even any music playing to come into the presence of God. You're living room won't feel empty when you worship there alone or with just a few people because you will learn to be filled with the real, life changing, heart changing presence of God.