September 10, 2025

Today's Reading: Philippians 2:12-30

Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 9:1-13; 10:18-29; 2 Kings 13:1-18:8; Philippians 2:12-30

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Good works get a bad rap in the Lutheran church. We proudly confess that we are saved by grace and not by good works. And that’s correct; I’m not about to undo 500+ years of good Lutheran teaching. However, we can’t just throw good works out entirely, and St. Paul’s writing to the Philippians says as much. He charges the church to continue obeying God’s will and Paul’s teaching. He explains that God works through them to accomplish good works according to His will. Paul wants the Philippians to live out their Christian lives faithfully, which means being obedient to the Lord. In saying, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” Paul does not mean for the people to work hard enough with enough reverence to earn salvation. For one thing, that opposes what he teaches and what Christ teaches, and for another thing, it’s impossible for us to accomplish, hence the need for Jesus in the first place. To work out your own salvation really means to work outwardly from your salvation towards others. It is a command to do good works, not because that is how you earn salvation, but because it is by those works that God’s will is done among us. And as baptized children of God, having been made new, from the inside out, we are now to live as Christians. 

Paul is not giving the Philippians a mandate to earn their salvation. He is encouraging them and reminding them of what Christians do: good works for the sake of others. God worked the ultimate good through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the cross, by Whose death and resurrection we are made right with God Almighty, and the benefits thereof are given freely to you in the waters of Baptism, the Body and Blood of Communion, and the words of Absolution. Your good works do not and cannot gain you salvation. Salvation is the free Gift of God. Rather, the good works you do flow outwardly from the salvation you have been given. So go forth, good and faithful servant, knowing that God has prepared work for you so that you might bless others because of the love of Christ Jesus.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Spirit, who didst once restore thy Church that it might be again the bringer of good news to men, breathe on thy cloven church once more, that in these grey and latter days there may be those whose life is praise, each life a high doxology to Father, Son, and unto Thee. (LSB 834:4)

Deac. Emma Heinz, registrar for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Join author R. Reed Lessing helps with this chapter-by-chapter exploration of the Book of Numbers in Hope in the Wilderness. With helpful maps, diagrams, and connections to the rest of the Bible, you’ll be able to understand the beauty of Numbers.