TEXT: Philippians 1:3-11 (CSB) – “I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.”
Have you ever wanted something to last forever? Have you ever come across something that breaks down – or falls apart?
We are constantly bombarded with the “temporary” in this life. That is why this story of a light bulb in Livermore, California caught my eye. The light bulb was turned on in 1902 at the Livermore, CA Fire Department. 71 years later it was still burning. By today’s standards, it should have burned out 852 times. But you see, this light bulb was made by Shelby Electric Co. They are now out of business for an obvious reason. Their bulbs lasted, and nobody reordered.
God gives us something that will last forever – and Paul talks about it in verse 6. The Amplified Version reads – “And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ – right up to the time of His return – developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”
We are going to ponder on that unending security that we have. We will establish 4 principles from this passage over the next couple of days. Ready?
The first Principle we discovered was – Principle #1 – The degree of our security is directly proportional to the degree we trust Christ – and Him alone to hold us.
NEXT, NOTICE THE PROVISION OF OUR SECURITY
Paul calls it a “good work” – what is he referring to? He is referring to the grace that God has bestowed – the saving grace of God.
o Eph. 2: 8,9 – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.”
o Titus 3:5 – “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
Salvation is not – Christ Plus:
o Your efforts
o Baptism
o Church Membership
o Keeping the Law
o Whatever –
Salvation is CHRIST – plus nothing, minus nothing.
Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.
There is a story of Evangelist Gypsy Smith at one of his Revival Meetings. He was busy helping the taking down of the tents. A young man came up to him and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” To which Smith replied – “Son, you’re too late.” The young man was in great anguish and cried out – “Oh, Mr. Smith, please – don’t tell me it’s too late to be saved – my hearts breaking under the burden of my sin.” Gypsy Smith then gently replied – “Son, you’re 1900 years too late to DO anything to be saved. Jesus did it all, and all you must do is accept what He offers.”
The Philippian Jailer asked Paul – “What must I do to be saved?” in Acts 16. To the jailer, Paul replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--"
So, we develop Principle #2 – The degree of our security is directly related to what we believe about the method of our salvation.
Therefore, the provision of our security, the “good work” is the salvation provided by Jesus.
Tomorrow we will develop Principle #3 about the process of our security.
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