Tradition stated by crawling on his hands and knees up the ‘holy stairs,’ kissing each step, and repeating a prayer, the burden of unforgiven sin would roll away. The young man ladened with sin and tormented by his conscience was hoping by performing this ritual, he could rid his burden of guilt and he might obtain the favor of God. However, halfway up the stairs, the words of the prophet Habakkuk came forcibly and incessantly to his mind and heart: “The just shall live by faith.” With this spiritual enlightenment from the Holy Spirit, he immediately stood up, walked down the stairs, and returned home to Germany. Martin Luther later wrote this account of his experience in a letter to his son. The Holy Spirit freed him from trying to earn his salvation through works. Out of this came the Protestant Reformation.
In a figurative sense, I crawled up these steps for years. All my works were in vain, not once releasing me from the guilt of sin. My tormented conscience was always present until the Holy Spirit enlightened me on two verses: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8, 9 ESV). A lifetime of man’s traditional doctrine fell off, and I was instantly free of guilt.
Soon afterward, I began asking myself, “What now? What else have people taught me that is incorrect?” It became a time of amazement as I studied scripture with this changed mindset. As truth poured forth from the Word, I became more and more free in Christ. But I knew no matter at what point we experience freedom in Christ (whether at the time of our salvation or as a long-time believer), it becomes essential to understand what freedom means biblically. As with any doctrine, people can take scripture to extremes. One group claim that freedom indicates it’s up to God now, and we can throw out any work. In contrast, my mentors taught God saves us by grace through faith, but we can only keep our salvation through works.
Paul brings understanding by two verses. So 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 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil 2:12, 13). First, note it doesn’t say work ‘for’ your salvation rather, it says work ‘out’. Other versions clarify the meaning: Continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] (AMP); Be energetic in your life of salvation (MSG); Work hard to show the results of your salvation (NLT).
Salvation is a journey that includes three stages. The first, a legal term, is the act of justification. When we ask God for the forgiveness of our sin and put our faith in Christ, He instantaneously declares us innocent and imputes the righteousness of Christ to us “ . . . having now been justified by His blood . . .” (Rom. 5:9). God sees us in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. Some take this as the end of their participation. “Let go and let God; take my hands off.” They maintain that the key to a victorious Christian life is learning to let go and let God do it. Yet, Paul is telling us to cultivate it and bring it to full effect. In other words, we are to enter the second stage, which is sanctification.
Sanctification is an ongoing process whereby we gradually work out our justification in our actual performance. We start behaving differently, start thinking differently and start acting differently. Justification is entirely God’s work. Sanctification involves our cooperation with the Holy Spirit. Christ has forgiven our sins and delivered us from sin’s reign, but the responsibility for resisting sin is ours. God has given us His Spirit, but our responsibility is to behave in accordance with the Spirit, keep in step with the Spirit, walk by the Spirit, follow the Spirit’s leading, by the Spirit let us be guided (Gal 5:25).
The final stage of salvation is glorification. It takes place after we die. So, it is a transformation by the power of God and entirely apart from works. Glorification is the final stage in God’s work of salvation by which He will fully conform believers into the image of Christ. It reverses the Fall’s effects on man and in all of creation. The creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children (Rom 8:21 NET).
Salvation is a journey. Our works have no place in the first, justification, and no place in the third, glorification, but we are called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12, 13).
Sustaining Word for the Week: The Message Bible summarizes these verses well. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.