Zion Church

Working Out Our Salvation

“Working out our salvation” is a process. Salvation is not a one time experience, but rather an ongoing process. We are saved from the penalty of sin when we accept Jesus as our Lord. We are saved from the power of sin when we stay filled with the Holy Ghost. We eventually will be saved from the very presence of sin when we enter into the presence of the Lord. The gift of salvation is free, we cannot earn it. But to be an overcomer, we must “work out our salvation” by learning to “walk in the Spirit.” God wants to save us from tragedy, sickness, fear, anxiety and the turmoil of this world. These things come upon us by “walking in the flesh.” The Lord wants us to walk in the Spirit of Life and have His love, joy, peace and victory. Why do some Christians walk in victory and others lead defeated lives? It is because they do not understand how to overcome the flesh and the world.

The manifestations of the flesh are caused by problems in the heart of man. Even after man has been “born again,” to be a true

overcomer he needs to know how to cleanse his heart and mind. Victory is not automatic. We must know the part we are to play, for the Word instructs us to cleanse ourselves. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (II Corinthians 7:1). The way we get this victory is to put the Word of God in our spirits so that when the need arises in regard to specific trials, we will know what the will of God is and be able to yield to it and resist the devil.

Looking at the chart on “Spirit, Soul and Body” we see several contrasting fruits and emotions listed within the soulish realm. The negative ones proceed from the carnal mind and produce the manifestations of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19-21. Our need is to know how we can walk in the positive and eliminate the negative. This is done through an act of our will. We must choose to love instead of to hate, to be longsuffering instead of impatient, to be generous instead of greedy, and to trust instead of fear. After making one of these choices, by faith we are then to ask the Lord to empower us to be able to overcome the old carnal emotions that we feel. We then resist the devil with the Word of God and obey whatever the Spirit of the Lord tells us to do.

Let us be specific and deal with the problem of unforgiveness. We meet someone who hurts us and we are unjustly wronged by them. We immediately have the feeling of unforgiveness come up in our hearts if our carnal mind has not been renewed. We must first recognize the wrong “feeling” and present it to the Lord, asking Him to take it out of our hearts and to give us His forgiving nature. By an act of our will, we must simply say, “Lord, I ‘will’ to forgive them; I don’t feel that forgiveness yet, but I ask You for Your love, and to have Your forgiveness in my heart.” The Spirit of the Lord may then require us to do something to obtain this “feeling.” He may speak to us to go to this person and greet them with love, or do something kind toward them. Then, as we obey, we find the Holy Spirit will give us the proper attitude toward them. Perhaps the Holy Spirit will have us fast and pray for them instead of speaking to them. Whatever He instructs us to do we should obey. This is “walking in the Spirit,” and “dying to self ” and the flesh. The old self does not want to forgive, but would rather hold a grudge or ignore the offending party. Jesus would have us “walk in His Spirit” and be peacemakers and forgivers, even as He was.

As we continue to obey the Lord, we will find an automatic spiritual law going to work for us. As we walk in the Lord’s steps we have the Spirit of Life working for us. God’s blessings will be our blessings; God’s peace will be our peace; and God’s mercywill follow us. However, should we disobey, the opposite is true. Should we decide not to forgive someone, the spirit of death willgo to work in us in the same way. Automatically we become bitter, depressed, unkind and fearful because we have chosen to yield to the flesh. Our choices each day determine our growth in the Lord. We will either become more like Him by walking and obeying the Spirit of God, or we will become carnal Christians displeasing to God. This brings death to our lives for Romans 8:6 says, For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. From this we can see why so many Christians are not enjoying their inheritance in God. They are refusingto “walk in the Spirit” and are reaping the things they are sowing in the flesh. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting (Galatians 6:7-8).