Our readings in this series are from the book, Such a Great Salvation. Here is a brief excerpt from pages 56, 57:
“We are saved by grace so that we may work by grace to fill the world with grace and Jesus and the knowledge of God’s glory. But this will not just happen. As Paul reminded the Philippians, we must work out our salvation, like running a marathon race, cultivating a field or raising a barn, building a beautiful temple and dwelling-place for God, or fighting a continuous battle against powerful forces that would rob us of our great salvation.
“We are warned not to neglect the great salvation we have received. If we do neglect it, we will surely drift from it, and the danger in this is that we may be discovered, at some point, not really to have been saved at all, but merely to have tasted of the Lord and His salvation. The Greek word for neglect is ἀμελέω (ameleo). It means to not think about, and thus not respond appropriately to; to disregard; to pay no attention to that great salvation we have received. The Oxford English Dictionary echoes this meaning in its definition of neglect: to disregard, to pay little or no attention to, to leave unattended or uncared for, to fail to perform or to discharge a duty.
“As followers of Jesus Christ, we are duty-bound to let our light shine, our salt preserve and flavor, and our leaven transform everything the Lord brings into our life. Only if we think more about our salvation, pay more attention to it and all its vast scope and prospect, respond as the Lord commands, and care for our salvation continuously–only then will we be able to perform those good works and discharge our duty to show Jesus to the world, to the praise of His Father and ours.”
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