I’m posting a series on Philippians based on some talks I gave to the York Christian Union.

It was God’s plan to exalt Christ and proclaim Him Lord, to establish the government of His kingdom on the shoulders of His messiah. Php 1:28 says that the way Christians exhibit grace under pressure will be a sign that they are being saved and their oppressors will be judged and condemned and in Php 3:17-21 repeats that some will be destroyed. Christ is both destroyer and saviour. Jesus himself said to fear God in Mat 10:28.

It is frankly an unpalatable and unwelcome truth in today’s culture that not everyone will have a happy ending. That it would somehow be unfair of God to judge people too harshly and that should surely mean overlooking most of their sins.

Paul says some live as enemies of the cross, for some their destiny is destruction. Their sinfulness will be what condemns them and they will have lived for themselves and therefore already had their reward. The just and reasonable consequence of a chosen life without Christ is life without Christ.

Several reasons present themselves as to why we minimise this: firstly we do not think our sin is as serious as God does and secondly therefore that our need for a saviour is not as great as God thinks it is. We overestimate our abilities and underestimate the danger.

For Christians this adds a dimension that is often lost in our relationship with God and Paul calls ‘fear and trembling’. We remember that the salvation we find in Christ is a work of God, even the faith needed to trust him is a gift from God (Eph 2:9) and we see that here in Php 1:6 – that it is God who began a good work in you and it is God who will complete it and in Php 2:13 that God who works in you to will and to act. Without God we are lost utterly so the right response is to mix the intimacy we can enjoy with the Father with awe – we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. With reverence and awe that the God of the universe would save you, would love you, would rescue you, would redeem you – that while you were still a sinner Christ died for you. We don’t work hard to get to heaven but we make every effort because heaven came and got us.

Francis Chan talks of reminding himself before he prays of who God is in His might and power and that changing how he prays. In your relationship with God, is there room for awe and reverence, is there fear and trembling? What would that look like? How would it shape your prayers?