As we continue to ponder and meditate on the fact that as a believer in Jesus Christ, having received the gift of Salvation, I must work to keep my salvation, I am reminded of the instructions of the Apostle Paul to the church at Philippi where he said in no uncertain terms, to “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12b). The text speaks volume, especially in that one word ‘own.’ Clearly, our Salvation is a personal experience we must each cherish and care for to retain. The Apostle Paul was advising the believers to work out their own salvation while he was away from them. He intimated to them that he recognized how they walked circumspectly in his presence, but it was just as important that they so walk in his absence.
The responsibility is on the recipient of salvation to own it and keep it not only under the supervision of their spiritual leader but also in their absence. Our pastor reiterated the Apostle when he said, “We must protect our salvation… which requires work.” I like the word, protect,’ for it speaks of guarding, shielding, embracing, and cherishing. They all speak of work and of putting forth effort on our behalf.
In his reference to Ephesians 2:8-9, which tells us, “for by grace are we saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast,” we see three works at play. The first is the work of Jesus Christ to give us salvation. Salvation is a gift from God through the work of the Cross by Jesus Christ and He completed His work on the Cross when He said “It is finished” (John 19:30).
However, for us to receive and take hold of that gift of Salvation, we must exercise our belief in Him. Having taken hold of salvation, our work or effort is not over because we have an enemy, an adversary, the devil, whose purpose is to snatch it from us the minute we receive it. We must now work daily to keep it. We must protect it from the cunning and crafty attacks of Satan. If we recall who we were before we received Salvation, we will understand why we must work to protect and keep our salvation. Satan wants us back and so he comes “To steal, to kill, and to destroy’ (John 10:10a) everything that Salvation brings to us as believers in Christ Jesus (10b).
In that very text of Ephesians 2, the Apostle Paul reminds us, “ That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” We were slaves to Satan and now that Jesus not only defeated him at the Cross, but now that work of the Cross caused him us when we turn from him to Christ, it became an open war that he is not and will not let up on until Christ returns and bring an end to this struggle and war.
We are in a spiritual warfare where Satan is unrelentingly fighting to regain us under his control and rip us from the shelter and protection of Jesus. Jesus has already done the work for us to be saved, we must desire to stay saved so badly that we are willing to use every resource given to us by Jesus to combat the enemy and stay on the victory side. His Grace is sufficient.
Soldiers in combat stay vigilant at all times. They train in the protocol of engaging with any enemy on any level. They are always in ready mode not wanting to be caught unawares. They stay vigilant with their weapons within range of access, within range of their fellow soldiers, and in close contact with their superiors for help in any area they may need assistance. So should we be as soldiers of the Cross, soldiers of our faith. We have to be ever vigilant watching out for our souls, our peace, our joy, our purity, our righteousness, and our inheritance in Christ Jesus.
The ultimate goal of Jesus is to present us all (the recipients of Salvation) to His Heavenly Father as Paul explains in Ephesians 2:7 when he says, “that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” It is irresponsible and utter laziness for us to say and believe that ‘once saved always saved.’ We must work at all times, not sometimes to stay saved (Ezekiel 3:20-21). We are told to ‘be holy, be strong in the Lord, be kind one toward another, follow peace with all men, stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and the list goes on and on. Doing requires work and deliberate and purposeful effort on our part as believers. Clearly, we must work to keep our salvation and walk in favor with God.
Believers of Jesus Christ we have a responsibility to not only receive our Salvation but to protect it and keep it. When we lose it, we not only grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30), but we bring Christ to open shame (Hebrews 6:6) for all the work and pain He endured to make it available to us to and upon the Cross.
Blessings
