Nathaniel R. Martin

The Blessings of Justification: Romans 5:1-5

Sermon Idea: God gives peace, grace, and joyful hope to all justified by faith in Christ. 

Introduction: If you were to ask me growing up if I was a Christian, I would have said yes. I had been baptized in the first grade, old enough to remember the experience and way too young to understand anything that was happening to me. My parents separated and divorced before I could form any meaningful memories of us as a family. Early on, my church exposure was sporadic, not in places where the gospel was faithfully preached. During a short season when we did attend church, I saw a terrifying drama about demons and Hell that scarred me to the point of making it difficult to sleep. 

I remember telling one of my parents how scared I was, and she arranged a meeting with the pastor, who guided me in a prayer that I repeated. He assured me that the words I repeated meant I was saved. I was baptized as a first grader, but I had no understanding of sin, the good news of the gospel, repentance, faith, or the cost of discipleship. I grew up believing I was a Christian because I believed in God, lived in America, and was baptized as a young child. Despite this profession, I lived my life void of faith, and the fruit comes from it. 

By God’s grace, my Dad came to saving faith in Christ at the age of 38. He was baptized at First Baptist, Metropolis, became a member, and has followed Jesus since. This meant that I attended a bible-believing, gospel-preaching church every other weekend. This was a good thing. That said, I now had four reasons I could give someone for why I was a Christian: I believed in God, lived in America,  was baptized, and went to church at least every other weekend. 

Outwardly, I appeared fine. I was respectful and rarely got into trouble, but I was a wreck on the inside. This was exacerbated in my freshman year of High School when the dysfunction of my family peaked and started a series of painful and traumatic events, the consequences of which lasted years. 

From the age of 14 to 17, I spiraled internally. I had no peace; my life was void of happiness, not to mention joy, and I was not hopeful about anything. I would have told you I was a Christian while living far from God without any peace, joy, or hope. 

I was close to rock bottom in my junior year, on the verge of making very poor decisions, when my Dad signed me up for a youth retreat in Gatlinburg, TN. It was not a youth retreat I was eager to attend. The advertisement was void of fun. This is not Student Life. It was a youth retreat centered around singing hymns and expositional preaching. 

There was one sermon I remember particularly well. It was from Romans 5:1-5. The preacher began by telling of a student he met while preaching on a college campus. The student asked him, what’s so good about being a Christian anyway? What’s the big deal? The preachers then used Romans 5:1-5 to answer that question. 

God gives peace, grace, and joyful hope to all justified by faith in Christ. 

I sat there and thought to myself, “I have no peace, joy, or hope.” If a Christian is someone who has been made right with God through Jesus Christ, and the fruit of that is peace, joy, and hope, then I must not be a Christian. 

Being a Christian could not be summed up in several activities that I do: I believe in God, I was baptized, and I attend church every other weekend. Being a Christian is about believing in what God has done in Jesus Christ and trusting God in Christ alone. 

I did not say a prayer, but I was changed. I believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, his finished work on the cross, and I had, for the first time, what Jonathan Edwards called religious affections: a zealous desire for God, His word, and his church. 

It took me about six months to realize exactly what had happened to me. I understood that I did not renew my faith that weekend but had true faith for the first time. God’s grace had saved me through faith in Christ! I was eventually baptized shortly after this based on my genuine profession of faith, and I’ve been following Jesus Christ since. 

I want to ask you the same question: what’s so good about being a Christian? My sermon will be different, but my hope is the same. I hope that believers in Jesus will be edified as they reflect on the glorious benefits of justification. I hope all who, like me, thought Christianity could be summed up in a few things I do will see the true gospel of grace and be drawn to Jesus Christ. 

God gives peace, grace, and joyful hope to all justified by faith in Christ. 

It is important to note that these three benefits result from justification by faith. Those who are justified have peace, access to grace, and joyful hope. Those who are not justified do not have peace with God, no access to grace, and are without hope. 

So, what is justification by faith? 

Put simply, God declares all who put their faith in Jesus Christ righteous before him. God gives the guilty a not-guilty verdict in the great courtroom of heaven. That is justification. God does this totally by grace through our faith in Jesus Christ. 

How does he do that? If sinners are guilty before him, how can he declare us to be not guilty and righteous before him? 

He does this in the most amazing way. When we trust in Christ, God considers Jesus’ perfect life to be our life and his sacrificial death to be our payment for sin. On the cross, Jesus dies, paying the penalty for all our sins, and through faith, we receive Jesus’ perfect obedience to our account. Christ is our righteousness! 

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Ro 3:23–25)

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Co 5:21)

Justification is the truth we sing about in the beautiful hymn, Before the Throne of God Above. 

Because the sinless Savior died,

My sinful soul is counted free;

For God, the Just, is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me.

To be justified is to stand before God with a righteousness that is not yours. It is to stand before God robed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. 

This act of justification is God’s work alone by his grace, but he does it through our faith. Put simply, we are made right with God by placing our trust in Jesus Christ and depending on his perfect life rather than our own.

Faith, if not defined, can seem ambiguous, so what is it? 

The New Testament describes faith as “…the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1)

The best of the Christian tradition has taught that faith consists of three elements: knowledge, assent, and trust. To have true faith, you must know the truth of the gospel, who Jesus is, and what he has done on the cross and resurrection. You have to assent that this is true. Most of all, your faith is trust in Jesus Christ, who is at the center of this knowledge you’ve assented to. 

The Bible emphasizes the importance of this last element. It is possible to have knowledge and even assent that this knowledge is true but fall short of the trust that is saving faith. 

Satan and the demons are an example. They have knowledge and believe it to be true; they just hate the truth. 

19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! (Jas 2:19)

As we answer the question, What’s so good about being a Christian, remember that these blessings are only true of those who are justified by faith in Christ. If Christianity to you is simply getting your life together or getting back in church, but you have not placed your faith in Christ and trusted his finished work and righteousness as your standing before God, then you are not a Christian, and these benefits are not true of you. 

I pray that if they are not, God will use this sermon to make it true of you today or sometime in the future. 

So, what benefits of justification make being a Christian so good? Let’s look at verse one to see that we have peace with God. 

I.) We have peace with God (Rom. 5:1) 

…we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ro 5:1)

Before discussing the nature of this peace, we need to be very clear about two things. First, it is peace with God. Second, it is through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, there are two important truths that we can draw from this one verse.

First, no one is naturally at peace with God. There is a fracture and a hostility between God and sinners because of their sin. No one is exempt from this because all have sinned. 

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Ro 3:23)

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned (Ro 5:12)

As a result of sin, we are not children of God naturally, but we are children of wrath. As Paul reminds us, before Christ, we “were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Eph 2:3)

We deserve God’s just punishment and we are in need of peace with him. 

As important as it is to recognize that peace is necessary, it is also important to recognize that peace can only be accomplished through Jesus Christ. God cannot be negotiated with. There is no loophole we can access peace apart from Christ. The God-Man is the only mediator between God and man. 

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time (1 Ti 2:5–6)

19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Col 1:19–20)

What is meant then by peace with God? The peace referred to here is a spiritual peace, which ends all the hostility and enmity between God and the sinner, reconciling the sinner to God and bringing them into a new relationship marked by God’s favor and blessing. 

It is crucial to see that this peace is not just negative. It is not just the absence of conflict. Many of us would settle for an absence of conflict between Russia and Ukraine or between Israel and the Palestinians. 

The peace we have with God is more than the absence of conflict. It is the blessed life in Christ, where our sins are forgiven, and we commune with God as children, sons and daughters of God. 

Now, it is quite possible to truly have peace with God, but not always to feel that peace in the same way. Sometimes, sin can temporarily disrupt our feelings of peace; our life circumstances may cool them for a time, but the believer who has it knows this and pursues peace all the more. So be encouraged, saint. Your awareness of your sin and spiritual dryness may impact a subject feeling of peace for a season, but your awareness of it testifies to the reality that you are at peace with God. 

It is also quite possible to feel at peace but lack true peace with God through faith in Christ. 

One theologian says it this way, “The unconverted and ungodly frequently have a dead and insensitive conscience. They, not being smitten by their conscience, imagine within themselves that all is well before God and that they have peace with God. How rudely they will be awakened, however, and come to the realization that they are children of wrath and never have had peace with God! 

Do you have peace with God this morning? The only way to be at peace with him is through faith in Jesus Christ. Believer, rest in Christ, who is your peace. Non-Christians, come to Christ, who makes peace by the blood of his cross. 

What’s so good about being a Christian? We have peace with God. 

II.) We have access to grace (Rom. 5:2) 

The second blessing of justification is access to grace, 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand (Ro 5:2)

Notice again the emphasis on all these benefits being through Jesus Christ.   The justified by faith in Christ are granted access to God’s grace through Christ. This grace is where Christians stand; it’s not passing or fleeting. This is not a reference to a mere decision but to a disciple who lives and is sustained by the very grace of God. 

The grace mentioned here is not saving grace but sustaining grace. It is the access to grace for our perseverance, strengthening, help, and comfort. 

The word “access” is simple to understand. We can consider scenarios and locations that restrict our access. For instance, think of the Oval Office, which does not allow free access. To attempt to access the Oval Office without consent would result in imprisonment at the minimum and death at the worst. 

Friends, in Christ Jesus, we have access to something far greater than the Oval Office. We have access to the very presence and grace of God.

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4:15–16)

The word stand is worth reflecting on because it describes a permanent state. A Christian is someone who lives by and in the grace of God. The grace of God permeates their being, so they are Christians always and everywhere. 

A few months ago, Kels and I got a date away from the kids. We went to Patti’s for a nice meal to celebrate her birthday. I was excited because these times are so rare, and they were non-existent when we lived in North Carolina. They put us in a secluded room called the Robin’s Nest. In it is a round table, with 6 or 8 chairs. First, Kels took a picture to show the kids and talked about how we could have brought them with us! Why is that? No matter where she goes, momma can never stop being momma. 

A believer in the Lord Jesus Christ thinks, speaks, and acts in reference to God and his Word. They do not compartmentalize their spiritual life from the rest of their life. They are one and the same. The Christian life is to stand in a state of grace, granted access to the very throne of God! 

Does this describe you? Is Christ your life or merely a supplement to your life? Do you stand in grace with access to God? All who are justified by faith 

How sweet it is to know that we are not left to ourselves. We are not without God’s sustaining grace!

What’s so good about being a Christian? We have access to grace. 

III.) We have joyful hope (Rom. 5:2-5) 

and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Ro 5:2–5)

The justified possess joyful hope for the future that fuels the present. We can rejoice in our hope because our future inheritance is to be glorified by God. One day, we will see God as he is. We will dwell with God when sin and death are a thing of the past, and we’ll live as humans were meant to live—perfected in the gracious presence of God. 

What’s good about being a Christian? We don’t have to fear the future because our future is filled with hope. This hope is not a mere wish but a promised possession. It awaits us; one day, we will fully know it. 

Notice though that Christian hope is future, but it’s also present, Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, (Ro 5:3-5)

Rejoice in our sufferings? What makes this good? This does not mean that we enjoy suffering; rather, we rejoice even in our suffering. That is because those justified by faith in Christ know that their suffering is not meaningless but produces endurance, character, and hope that doesn’t put us to shame. 

I’m convinced that most people who are into physical fitness do not actually enjoy the physical labor of exercising. They do not enjoy the pain they put their body through. What is it that they love? They enjoy the results of the exercise. They know that the temporary pain produces stronger muscles, better mental health, etc.  

The suffering we endure as believers is like a spiritual exercise that strengthens us. Just as an athlete doesn’t rejoice in putting their body through suffering, but in the results that suffering produces, believers rejoice not in their suffering, but in all that suffering produces. 

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (Jas 1:2–4)

What’s so good about being a Christian? We have true hope that is both present and future. We will not be put to shame! God will not waste moments of our suffering, pain, and discomfort. It will all be redeemed and purposed for our good and his glory. 

God gives peace, grace, and joyful hope to all justified by faith in Christ. 

Give a clear gospel invitation and call for a response. 

Nathaniel R. Martin

The Surpassing Worth of Knowing Christ: Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon Idea: The gain of knowing Christ through faith surpasses whatever gain may come from confidence in ourselves.  

Introduction: On the evening of May 24th, 1738, a young man living in London recorded the story of his conversion in his journal. That young man was John Wesley, the father of modern-day Methodism. He had gone to what we might think of as a bible study meeting, what he calls a society, and when he arrived, someone was reading Martin Luther’s preface to his commentary on Romans. Here is the most famous portion of that entry. 

In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.

What strikes me about this story is that Wesley wrote it not as someone living a life of sin and debauchery but as an Anglican minister with great zeal for his ministry. By this time, Wesley was well-educated and ordained as a priest. He had a reputation for strict habits of Bible reading, prayer, and even mercy ministries, such as caring for the poor. 

Wesley’s testimony is powerful because it is not his great works of piety that give him confidence and assurance before God but Christ and Christ alone. He says I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.

The Lord often uses the power of Christian testimony to draw people to Jesus Christ and to demonstrate that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16). Of course, by the word testimony, I mean recounting one’s conversion, the story of how someone became a Christian. 

Throughout church history, God has used not only the testimony of John Wesley but also Augustine, Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, and countless others to evangelize the lost and edify the church. 

Undoubtedly, many of you have benefitted from hearing the testimony of family or friends. Perhaps you’ve even had the opportunity to share your own testimony before the church. To hear a sincere Christian testimony is a powerful experience. They are powerful experiences because they testify to the gracious working of God in Christ by the power of the Spirit. 

You see, the best Christian testimonies are those that testify to the work of God in Jesus Christ in such a way that the sinner’s testimony becomes a testament to the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ. 

Philippians 3:1-11 is such a testimony. After providing Timothy and Epaphrodtius as Christ-like examples, Paul offers his own story as a means to encourage the Philippians to have the mind of Christ. Like Wesley long after him, Paul does not put his confidence in his flesh but in Christ and Christ alone. 

This morning, I want us to hear from God and believe that knowing Christ through faith surpasses whatever gain may come from confidence in ourselves. 

We’ll do that in two primary ways. First, I want to encourage you to beware of basing your relationship with God on confidence in yourself. Second, I want you to believe that a true relationship with God comes from knowing Christ through faith.

I.) Beware of basing your relationship with God on confidence in yourself (Philippians 3:1-6)

It seems that Paul may have wanted to conclude the letter and then decided it was important to interject his own to further point the Philippians to Jesus Christ. We do this all the time in our own speech. Just think of how often you begin a sentence only to switch gears because something important comes to mind. Paul might have done that here. 

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh (Php 3:1–3) 

As a long friend should do, Paul warns the Philippians about teachers and teachings that are contrary to the gospel. These teachers are unlikely to be prominent in Philippi, but their teachings are becoming popular enough for Paul to warn the Philippians about them. He describes them as dogs, evildoers, and those who mutilate the flesh. 

In other words, there are most likely Jewish Christians who claim to believe that Jesus is the Messiah but who teach that Gentiles must be circumcised to be right with God and a part of God’s covenant people. 

God gave circumcision as a sign of the covenant God made with Abraham (Gen. 17). Israelite males were circumcised on the eighth day after their birth. It served as the entry sign into the covenant community and set the community apart from the nations as God’s people. It was an important symbol of Israel’s national identity. 

One of the major questions the early church had to answer was what it meant for Jews and Gentiles to be one people of God in Christ. Many groups argued that the Gentiles needed to become Jews through circumcision and adherence to the food laws to be right with God and part of God’s people. 

Much of Paul’s ministry is spent dealing with this question, and his answer is always the same. Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law perfectly, so the only thing required of a person to be made right with God and be made a member of God’s people is faith in Jesus Christ. 

In fact, the New Testament identifies those who have placed their faith in Christ as true Israelites who have been circumcised not in the flesh but in the heart. That is, they have been born again through faith in Christ. Throughout the Old Testament, we learn that those circumcised in the flesh also needed the circumcision of the heart. 

 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live (Dt 30:5–6)

11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead (Col 2:11–12)

This is why Paul can say in verse 3, For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh (Php 3:3)

When Jesus comes, everything about what it means to relate to God becomes centered around him. Jews and Gentiles who place their faith in Christ are true Israelites who worship by the Spirit and boast in Jesus Christ. To boast or glory in Jesus is to put all your confidence in him, not yourself. 

Note the serious danger here. Paul identifies these false teachers as dogs and evil-doers. Jews would often refer to Gentiles as “dogs” because they were not members of God’s covenant community and so ritually unclean. In other words, Paul says by their obsession with requiring circumcision in addition to Christ, they have become the Gentiles by having confidence in the flesh. 

It is at this point where Paul’s testimony becomes especially powerful. Paul’s resume gives him reasons to boast in the flesh, but whatever gain comes from his confidence in the flesh pails in comparison to knowing Christ. 

— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (Php 3:3–7)

This is an impressive resume of outward righteousness. Paul says he once put confidence in circumcision, his tribal lineage, and being a Hebrew of Hebrews. i.e., he could read and speak Hebrew and preserve Hebrew culture. He was a member of the Pharisees, a sect within Judaism known for its oral traditions and interpretation of the law. Outwardly, Paul was righteous according to the law. This is not a claim to sinlessness but a true claim of external righteousness from someone who followed the law, including its provisions for atonement and forgiveness. 

For all these reasons, Paul could have been confident in himself, but he considered it a loss for the sake of knowing Christ. The image we are given is that of a ledger. All that was once on the “gain” side of the ledge is moved to the “loss” side, leaving nothing but Christ as a gain for Paul. 

For pastoral due diligence, I want to mention four things that we should not put our confidence in. 

  1. Put no confidence in your place. 

It’s a blessing to be born in America, but there is nothing inherently Christian about it. We praise that the gospel can be preached freely here and that it is more accessible here than in many other places, but God shows no partiality. Pride in place or believing America is a Christian nation is not a saving faith. 

2. Put no confidence in your parents. 

We praise God for godly Christian households, but your parents’ faith is not enough for your standing before Him. Every person is accountable to God and must be reconciled with Him through Jesus Christ. The question, friend, is, have you placed your faith in Christ and been baptized in the name of the Triune God? 

5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. (2 Ti 1:5)

3. Put no confidence in your theological positions.

I love theology. I love confessionalism and conviction, but friends, we are not saved by our positions. We are saved through faith in a person, the person of Jesus Christ. Sound doctrine is important, but our confidence cannot be in our doctrine but in Christ and Christ alone.

4. Put no confidence in your practices. 

Despite what some people say, Christianity is a religion. It’s a relationship, to be sure, but it’s a religion that consists of spiritual practices, rituals, and disciplines, many of which happen in a particular place, i.e. the church. These are all good things and important parts of reverent worship. These practices in and of themselves cannot be the basis for our confidence before God. Our relationship before God is enjoyed in these practices, but we boast not in them but in Christ and Christ alone. 

Whatever external righteousness one can attain through one’s own efforts pales in comparison to the gain that comes from knowing Jesus Christ. That brings us to our next point: believe that a true relationship with God comes from knowing Christ through faith. 

II.) Believe that a true relationship with God comes by knowing Christ through faith (Philippians 3:7-11) 

8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (Php 3:8)

Paul’s relationship with God in Christ proves to be so rewarding and rich, of such surpassing worth, that his former confidence in himself and the righteousness that came from it became nothing more than “rubbish.” That’s not nearly a strong enough translation. The word here has a really crude and gross meaning. It could be used to refer to garbage, excrement, and feces. It’s the latter that Paul seems to have in mind. 

In light of Jesus Christ, he considered his former life as having the value of “crap.” The Bible is consistent in that our righteousness before God is vile compared to God’s righteousness and holiness. 

Isaiah compared human righteousness to filthy rags. But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags (Is 64:6, NKJV)

The good news is that faith in Jesus Christ can secure our standing before God and knowing Christ of surpassing worth. Knowledge of Christ is so valuable it can’t be measured by any human standard. To what can the knowledge of Christ be compared? 

Is it like a treasure in a field that a man finds, covers up, sells all he has, and buys that field? Is it like a pearl of great value that a man sold all he had and bought?  In verses 9-11, Paul explains why knowing Christ is of surpassing worth. Each one could be given its own sermon. Indeed, books have been written in abundance just to articulate the salvation that Paul describes in just a few verses.

Why is knowing Christ as Lord of surpassing worth? 

  1. Knowing Christ as Lord means union with Christ. 

 I may gain Christ and be found in him (Php 3:8–9)

The central and fundamental truth of God’s work of salvation is that we become united to Christ through faith and the indwelling of the Spirit. Our union with Christ is how we access all the gracious benefits that Christ secured for us on the cross. What is true of Jesus becomes true of us. As Christ has died, so we have died and been made new in Jesus Christ. This is dramatized at our baptism when we profess faith in Jesus. We are buried with him in Baptism and raised with him in new life. 

  1. Knowing Christ as Lord means we have righteousness from God (Justification)

not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith (Php 3:9)

This verse captures the glory of the doctrine of justification. This is a legal concept rooted in the Old Testament. To be justified is to be in the right, to receive the verdict of not guilty according to the law. 

Justification is God’s gracious declaration that those who place their faith in Jesus Christ are counted to be in the right before him. God does this not by sweeping away our sins but by counting us righteous in Christ. The righteousness God grants us is not our own but the righteousness of Christ. 

Notice how Paul makes a clear distinction not…righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but…the righteousness from God that depends on faith. 

The righteousness that we need to stand before God can never come from ourselves. We are lawbreakers. We are transgressors. All, without exception, are guilty before God’s righteous judgment. 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Ro 3:23)

This is what makes the life and death of Jesus such good news. Jesus lives in perfect obedience to God’s law. He is the righteous one. He then dies in our place on the cross—the righteous for the unrighteous (2 Cor 5:21). He takes our sin and disobedience so that we can receive his righteous obedience through faith. That’s how God justifies sinners; the righteous obedience of Jesus is attributed to our account by grace through faith.

It’s as if God covers us in such a way that he wraps us with the robes of Christ’s righteousness and obedience so that when our lives are taken into account, God considers Christ’s righteousness as ours. 

24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith (Ro 3:24–25.)

Knowledge of Christ as Lord is of surpassing worth because with comes the righteousness of Christ. 

It is this glorious truth that we proclaim when we sing, Because the sinless savior died, my sinful soul is counted free, For God the just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me.

  1. Knowing Christ as Lord means sharing in the power of his resurrection (Sanctification)

10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection (Php 3:10)

To know Christ Jesus as Lord is to experience the power of his resurrection. In a very real way, those who are in Christ have Christ’s resurrection power at work within them. It’s why we can grow, change, defeat sin, and be strengthened in the faith. 

Friends, do you know the great power that is at work within you? Have you considered how it is superior to the temptations and struggles that still hinder you? 

The power of his resurrection assures our sanctification, so we can slowly but surely become more like Jesus Christ. 

  1. Knowing Christ as Lord means attaining the resurrection from the dead (Glorification)

and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Php 3:10–11)

Christian hope is not political success, prosperity, or achieving all your goals. Christian hope is the promise that death will be undone, that sin will be no more, and as sure as Christ was raised from the dead, all who are in Christ will be raised to dwell with God forever. 

Nathaniel R. Martin

For God Works in Us: Philippians 2:12-13

Sermon Idea: The Christian life is a journey of working out our salvation,  empowered by God who works in us.

Introduction: Many consider Johnathan Edwards to be the greatest and most influential theologian in American history. He served as a pastor for several years, a missionary among Native Americans, and, before his death, briefly as the president of what is now Princeton University. 

As a young man, about 18 or 19 years old, Edwards wrote 70 resolutions in an attempt to live in light of eternity. Here are some examples. 

28. Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

30. Resolved, to strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before. 

43. Resolved, never henceforward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God’s…

Edward’s preamble to this long list of resolutions makes it clear that he is totally dependent on God’s grace and power in his Christian life. This power leads him to action, not apathy. Thus, he resolved to live before God in light of eternity, wishing not to waste any time. 

“Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.” 

Edwards did not believe that God’s saving grace resulted in an apathetic Christian life in which the believer coasts to glory. He believed that the Christian life was the working out of our salvation because of God’s gracious work in us for salvation. 

This morning’s text teaches us that the Christian life is a journey of working out our salvation, empowered by God, who works in us.

I began with Edwards’s preamble because I want to be explicit and clear that our work as believers is only possible because of God’s work of grace in us. With Edwards, I want us to read a passage like Philippians 2, believing we cannot do anything without God’s help and that we need God’s grace to enable us to work out our salvation as we are called to do in these verses. 


In a passage like this, it is obvious that God is at work, and believers are to work. However, God’s work and our work are not equal. It is not a cooperation where God does his part, and then we do our part. God’s work is primary, so anything a believer does completely depends on the work God does in us. 

The context reinforces this important point. The exhortation for the Philippians to work out their salvation is an elaboration of 1:27, Paul’s main purpose for writing this letter. 

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel (Php 1:27)

The gospel is fleshed out beautifully in 2:1-11, where the example of Christ’s humiliation in the incarnation and his death on the cross shows how the church is to live among one another humbly. Christ’s life and death are the pattern and the power for the Christian life. Why is this important?

It is important because of the word “therefore” in verse 12. We are to work out our salvation because of what God has done for us in the life and death of Jesus Christ, the gospel. Our manner of life is to be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so we work out our salvation toward that end. 

The Christian life is working out our salvation empowered by God, who works in us.

I.) The Christian life is working out our salvation (Philippians 2:12) 

12 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, (Php 2:12)

As a good friend should, Paul begins with a word of affirmation before giving them instruction. He mentions how they’ve obeyed Christ but wants them not to depend on his presence. He wants them to mature and live faithfully, whether he is with them or not. Paul describes this obedience as working out their salvation. 

The idea to “work out,” as Paul uses it here, means cultivating, practicing, or living out. This may seem odd to us because few themes in Scripture are more prominent than salvation, being total of God’s grace and not of our works (Eph. 2:8-10; Gal. 2:15-16; Titus 3:5). This is a precious truth, and everything Paul teaches us here in Philippians 2 is consistent with it. 

That is because when the Bible speaks of salvation, it does so with tension. Salvation, in one sense, is completed; in another, it is incomplete. It is already, but not yet. 

Salvation is complete in that we have been justified before God, forgiven of our sins, reconciled to God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and so saved from the guilt of our sins. Just as Jesus cries out on the cross, “It is finished!” All who place their faith in Christ can rest knowing their salvation is secure because of the finished work of Christ. 

Salvation is also incomplete in another sense because we don’t now experience all that salvation has accomplished. We can still be troubled by temptation and sin. We know we’re not fully all who God has declared us to be in Christ. This means we can speak of salvation as past, present, and future: we are saved from sin’s guilt, we are being saved from sin’s power, and we will one day be saved from sin’s presence. 

The New Testament speaks of salvation in the future in a number of passages. Here are just a few examples. 

9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. (Ro 5:9–10)

16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Ti 4:16)

18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Ti 4:18)

When Paul encourages us to work out our salvation, he does not mean that we contribute to our salvation in any sense. Paul has in mind the totality of salvation so that “working out your salvation” is the believer’s work by God’s grace in becoming more of who God has already declared them to be: holy in Christ Jesus. 

What Paul has in mind is what we would normally call sanctification, the process by which we become more like Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit who works in us. 

Charles Spurgeon once described hearing about good sculptors who see a block of marble and see there is a statue hidden in it. In their minds, all they need to do is remove all the extra useless material to reveal the beauty of the statue inside. 

Spurgeon then used this to illustrate how we are to work out our salvation to reveal the beauty of the image of Christ that God has made us. 

“Believer, you are that block of marble…God has sketched the image of his Son in you; and you have but to go chipping away these sins, infirmities, and corruptions, till the fair likeness of the Incarnate God shall be seen by all.”

We might also think about watching the sunrise. As it rises, we can often only see portions of its bright glory, but it’s there nonetheless. So the Christian life in sanctification is like the rising of the sun. We are holy saints in Christ Jesus, but life in this fallen world and life in our fallen bodies dims this reality. Working out our salvation over time slowly makes us more of what God has made us to be.

These verses make clear that believers should be diligent and make every effort to care for their own souls. Our spiritual lives will not coast unattended into greater Christ-likeness. 

Many godly pastors before me have noted that no one drifts into godliness. If we are drifting, we are drifting from sound doctrine, godly character, and the church. We don’t drift into greater holiness and love for God. We only drift away from it. 

Spiritual growth in Christ requires grace-fueled, Spirit-empowered working out of our salvation in the fear and trembling of the Lord. In the words of Hebrews, it is to “offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)

The question naturally arises: how might we do this? The answer is much simpler than you may like, and that is truly good news for you. Too many Christians think true spiritual growth only comes through big, spiritual experiences. The truth is that God has promised to work in us by his grace and Spirit through ordinary means. Before moving to verse 13, I want to encourage you to work out your salvation in three ways. So much more can be said, but these three ways are primary. 

  1. Work out your salvation by confessing and repenting as often as you sin. 

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn 1:9)

Don’t suppress the Spirit’s work on your conscience, even this morning. If you’re burdened by sin, confess it before the Lord this morning. Hear the reassuring grace of the gospel, and ask God for the grace to change. The finished work of Christ on the cross is sufficient for every sin and transgression of God’s law. Trust in the cleansing and renewing power of the gospel. 

2. Work out your salvation by making use of God’s ordinary means of grace, especially the Word of God, and prayer. 

According to our statement of faith, sanctification “is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit… in the continual use of the appointed means- especially the Word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness, and prayer.”

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Ti 3:16–17) 

16 vRejoice always, 17 wpray without ceasing, 18 xgive thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thess. 5:16-18)

As the new year approaches, pray about making a plan for the disciplined reading of God’s Word. Read it prayerfully to meet with the Lord, hear from Him, commune with Him, and be transformed by the grace of his presence. 

With Jonathan Edward, be resolved “…to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

3. Work out your own salvation by committing to gather on the Lord’s Day with your local church. 

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb 10:24–25)

One of the most important ways to work out your salvation is to be committed to gathering with the church for corporate worship. This is much more than simply “going to church.” It is to gather with the saints of your local church to worship God and be nourished by the ordinary means of grace (preaching, prayer, & the ordinances) in covenant fellowship with one another.  The corporate worship gathering is God’s plan A for making his people more like Jesus Christ. 

How might your Spiritual life look like a year from now if you committed in 2025 to faithfully read God’s Word daily, cultivated a habit of daily prayer, and resolved yourself to be faithfully present every Lord’s day, gathering as far as it depended on you? 

II.) The Christian life is empowered by God, who works in us (Philippians 2:13)

13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Php 2:13)

God’s work in us for his good pleasure is the ground and motivation for working out our salvation. We should remember the glorious promise of 1:6, 6 And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ. (Php 1:6)

God’s work in us has two ends: to will and to work. 

  1. God works in you to will. God’s work in us changes our will or desires so that we’ll want to obey him in great holiness and godliness. Every desire we have to defeat sin, turn from it, and be free of it comes from the gracious work of God in us. Every desire for God, his Word, and his church comes from the gracious work of God in us. 
  1. God works in us to work for his good pleasure. Not only does he change our desires by his grace, but he enables and empowers us to obey His Word. Beloved, the power of God and the grace to change is available for all those who are in Christ Jesus through faith. 

It is amazing to think that God works in us what pleases him. He works in our desires of holiness so that he might be pleased with our holiness. He works in our obedience so that he might be pleased with our obedience to him.

I can’t help but wonder then if some of our troubles in seeing progress against temptation and sin are rooted in unspoken unbelief that God really is working in us to will and work for his good pleasure. 

Friends, if you’re in Christ Jesus, please know with assurance that God is at work in you. Believe that the grace to grow, change, and mature is at work in you through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

Reflection Questions 

  1. How would you describe your spiritual life? Are you working out your salvation, or are you coasting aimlessly? 
  1. Is your private devotional life with God consistent with your public displays of devotion to God? 

3. Are you fueled by God’s grace in your life to pursue greater holiness and joy in God? Or do you think about your spiritual life apart from God’s work of grace, as if it’s all on your shoulders or as if you’re trying to earn favor with God? 

We work out our salvation, but we do so because of God’s gracious work in us! Let’s believe we’re only working out what God has worked in. The work he began in the past will be completed in the future. That is all that grace we need to work out our salvation in the present.