The Best Invitation You Will Ever Receive, Part 3 Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: The Best Invitation You Will Ever Receive, Part 3-------------------------- Date: 6/23/2001 Keywords: "burdens" "Invitation" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passages* Philippians 2:12-13 12. 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; 13. for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Matthew 11:28-30 28. "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Questions 1. This is a difficult passage to understand. Have you ever studied it before?   2. How does this passage relate to another passage where the same writer, Paul, says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9)?   Practical help Too many Christians are passively letting the world go by. After all, the reasoning goes, they have been saved and have eternal life; isn’t that good enough? Look again at Philippians 2:12-13. After salvation, we are called to work — not necessarily to work "at" something, but work "out" something. There is a big difference. We can’t work "at" salvation, or work "at" becoming saved. We are saved the moment we trust Jesus Christ as our Savior — the One who took on the sins of the entire world when He died on the cross as a sacrifice for you and me. But what does work "out" salvation mean? It means to have the reality of an inward change show up in your external behavior. This would include the way you relate to others and the things you do with your time. Fortunately, Paul, doesn’t sugarcoat the truth about working out our salvation. He adds the words, "with fear and trembling" to the end of the sentence. What this means to me is that as I attempt to live in a way that glorifies God, I will feel afraid. But this should not stop me. In spite of fear, I should tells others the good news. But what if they laugh at you and remind you of your problem with porn? Remember, there is more to the sentence than what you are called to do. Read verse 13 above. Even though you might feel weak-kneed at professing allegiance to Christ, Paul states that God, through the Holy Spirit, is at work in you to desire and act as God intends. You are not alone. It really isn’t your battle after all. His yoke really is easy and His burden light! eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2001 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."