Why Should We Work Out Our Salvation?

The Philippian Christians needed to obey by working out their own salvation with fear and trembling.

Philippians 2:12-13 NASBSSo then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; [13] for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

However, this command requires careful interpretation, as it addresses both individual spiritual development and communal well-being.The verb “work out” means to continually labor toward bringing something to completion or fruition, which believers accomplish through actively pursuing obedience in the process of sanctification.

This wasn’t a call to passivity but to engaged effort. The glorious truth that Christ has done everything necessary to save us does not mean believers passively wait for God to transform them into godliness. Rather, grace-empowered obedience to all that Jesus commanded flows from a proper understanding of God’s grace shown in the cross.

The phrase “fear and trembling” carries nuance often misunderstood. The Greek word translated “fear” can equally mean “reverence” or “respect.” This posture before God recognizes the reality of who God is, the eternal nature of the stakes involved, and the seriousness with which one must pursue Christ-likeness, growing out of recognition of weakness and of the power of temptation.

Interpreters debate whether Paul addressed individual believers or the entire community. Some scholars understand Paul as calling the church to work to rid themselves of divisions and discord, noting that the word “your own” is plural.

Regardless, the command unites divine and human agency—believers work while simultaneously depending on God’s empowerment, creating a dynamic partnership rather than a contradiction between human effort and divine grace.

References

Got Questions Ministries, Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2014–2021).[2] Matthew S. Harmon, Philippians: A Mentor Commentary, Mentor Commentaries (Great Britain; Ross-shire: Mentor, 2015), 244.[3] Derek R. Brown, Philippians, ed. Douglas Mangum, Lexham Research Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013).