Sermon 85: “On Working Out Our Own Salvation”

The great giant of twentieth century Wesley scholarship, Albert Outler, claims this sermon is one of the dozen sermons most crucial to a proper understanding Wesley’s theology, calling it, “the late Wesley’s most complete and careful exposition of the mystery of divine-human interaction, his subtlest probing of the paradox of prevenient grace and human agency.”

Knowledge of the Son and the Spirit

Wesley begins with the observation that many important truths are understood by non-Christians – here he seems to especially have in mind pre-Christian pagans. But there are, Wesley thinks, two “grand heads of doctrine” that such heathens were unable to attain: that of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and of the Holy Spirit. To know about these things, we need exposure to the gospel, what the Christian tradition usually calls “special revelation.”

Context in Philippians 2 – the “Christ Hymn”

Wesley takes as his text Philippians 2:12-13: “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.” (Philippians 2:12-13 LSB) Sometimes Wesley takes a verse from Scripture and seems to proceed without any attention or care for the context in the verses surrounding it. He does not do that here. The passage in question immediately follows Paul’s great “Christ hymn” of Philippians 2:5-11, which Wesley quotes and comments on. The hymn describes Christ as being equal to God, then emptying himself, then being exalted by God. In verses 12-13, Paul turns from Christ as our example to our response.

God Works

The meat of the sermon begins by establishing that God works in us. There is no room for human pride or boasting, because “It is God that of his good pleasure worketh in you both to will and to do” (Wesley’s translation, I.1). Wesley prefers this ordering of the words because of the clear connection it makes between God’s good pleasure and God’s working. The idea of “to will and to do,” Wesley thinks, could have two different interpretations. On the one hand, Paul could be referring to inward religion (willing) and outward religion (doing). In this case, the idea is that God makes us holy both inwardly and outwardly. On the other hand, it could be referring to our desires (willing) and their results (doing), in which case the idea would be God inspiring our good desires and bringing them to a good outcome. He thinks the Greek words in play here tend more toward the latter interpretation. The impact of this is to limit pride. The good in our actions is not something we are primarily responsible but comes to us as a gift. If we know and feel that the very first motion of good is from above, as well as the power which conducts it to the end; if it is God that not only infuses every good desire, but that accompanies and follows it, else it vanishes away; then it evidently follows, that “he who glorieth” must “glory in the Lord.” (I.4) It is God who works in you – so you have no room to boast!

You Work

You must thoroughly and actively work out your salvation – or it will remain “undone forever”! Wesley here provides a quick and standard summary of what he means by salvation: it begins with preventing grace, “the first wish to please God,” moves into convincing grace, here identified with repentance, then right on into salvation proper in both its “grand branches”: salvation from the guilt of sin (justification) and salvation from the power of sin (sanctification). Wesley’s view of salvation is, characteristically, both instantaneous (principally in the moments of justification and entire sanctification) and gradual (on the one hand in the growth through preliminary and convicting grace and on the other hand in the growth in holiness from justification onward). What does it mean to work out this salvation with fear and trembling? Paul compares his passage in Philippians 2 with Ephesians 6:5, where the same phrase appears in the context of instructing servants to obey their masters. As Christian servants are called to obey earthly masters, so should all Christians obey their heavenly master both earnestly and diligently. I’m not convinced that Wesley’s “earnestly and diligently” is a good gloss for “with fear and trembling,” but the impact of his reading is highly practical and helpful. If you’re looking for Wesley to get specific, he is always happy to oblige: in brief, avoid sin and do both works of piety and works of mercy, of which he lists several examples in II.4.

Connecting God’s Work and Your Work

Having set the stage, Wesley finally addresses the tension in the conversation: if God works in us, what room is there left for us to work? Wesley claims this question is rooted in fleshly logic; there is no contradiction between the notion of God’s working and ours. He relates them with two simple slogans:

1. God works in you; therefore, you can work.
2. God works in you; therefore, you must work.

   God’s work makes your work possible

   First, God’s working makes your working possible. Wesley characterizes God’s action here in terms similar to what philosopher Fred Dretzke in a rather different context calls a structuring cause. For a simple example, think of a doorbell ringing. Who caused the doorbell to ring? The person who pushed the button was the triggering cause, but Dretzke points out that in many situations there is a more important structuring cause at work – in this case, we could think of the electrician who installed the doorbell. It is hard to imagine a sane person feeling pride at having pushed a button to ring a doorbell. But we can easily imagine the electrician who installed it going home that day with the sense of a job well done. In other words, we could say that the button pusher accrues no merit for having rang the doorbell, but the electrician does. In a similar way, God has done the hard work through the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and through the outpouring of the Spirit in Pentecost and in gifting you through the Holy Spirit with preliminary grace. You had no chance at all of salvation without God doing these things. But, because of God working, you can work. You have been enabled and empowered. God installed the doorbell – and you’re invited to come ring it! Wesley is quick to add that we cannot blame God for our not having been freed from sin. God gives everyone grace, though most everyone ignores, neglects, or stifles it. Wesley’s remarkable conclusion is that “no man sins because he has not grace, but because he does not use the grace which he hath.”(III.4) Wesley’s universal vision for grace is in view here, and unlike Calvinism’s vision of “common grace,” all such grace is, for Wesley, potentially salvific if we would but make use of it. Finally, Wesley is critical of “mock humility” where a person claims, in apparent humility, that she is unable to do anything. God’s grace is a gamechanger here; God graciously invites and enables and empowers us, but we must respond. And the more we respond, the more of God’s grace we will be blessed with.

   God’s work makes your work necessary

   The God who has made possible our working can then justly require our working. Here Wesley even cites Augustine in support of his position: “He that made us without ourselves, will not save us without ourselves.” God has made it possible to respond to his grace and respond we must. By God’s gracious action, we are enabled to sin less and love God and our neighbor more. Making use of the grace we’ve been given, it is necessary for us to do what God has made possible for us.