Talk It Out to Walk It Out

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky Philippians 2:12-15 (New International Version, NIV) emphasis mine

How do we become who God made us to be? We must obey God and do what He says in His Word. This gives God something to “work with,” allowing Him to “work on us.” We must “work out” our salvation. This does not mean we work for our salvation because we accept Christ’s finished works for our salvation. We are saved, but we must work out all that God is put in us. How do we do this?

We do this by allowing God to work in us. He works in us to will and do according to His good purpose. What God puts in us, we cooperate with God as He works it out of us for others to see. This is how we become who He made us to be. He puts something in us and He works to bring it out of us. Love, for example, has been shed abroad in our hearts, but God draws it out of us for others to experience it.

We are to do everything without grumbling and complaining so we may become what God wants us to be. What we say affects who we become. We are to speak God’s Word, and as we do, what God has put in us is drawn out by our words. God uses His Word so we become who He made us to be. We talk it out to walk it out.