What It Means to Work Out Your Salvation
- Theresa Miller
- Nov 4, 2025
- 4 min read
God calls us to partner with Him in His work here on earth, and how we do it matters. Paul points out two key actions in working out our salvation in Philippians 2:12—we must do so with obedience and reverence.
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
—Philippians 2:12, NIV
If Jesus already worked His salvation in those who receive Him through His death and resurrection, what does it mean to work out your salvation?
Years ago, God nudged my heart to visit my dying grandfather-in-law, Bob. It was early in my marriage, and I hardly knew the man. I had only heard stories about his grumbling spirit, but when I first met him, I detected a noticeable lack of joy.
We visited him and my husband's grandma about once a week and continued to do so after Bob moved to a nursing home. The visits were awkward and short-lived with our toddler in tow. When Bob refused the IV providing his only source of liquid nutrition (i.e., he was dying of dehydration), his sons traveled to visit him one last time. I remember standing in the front yard with my husband and his father beside the crab apple tree. My father-in-law had returned from his last visit with his father, Bob. “He’s ready to go,” he choked out. Uneasiness washed over me. How can he feel ready?
My father-in-law returned home, and the next morning, my five-month-pregnant self awakened with a strong inclination to visit Bob. I wrestled with going on my own, but the prompt felt too strong to deny. I decided a little exercise at the gym would help clear my mind. As I drove, I sensed I was heading in the wrong direction but hoped I had misheard. At the gym, I walked on the treadmill for only five minutes before hopping off and returning to my car. Okay, God. I don’t know why I am going or what I will say when I arrive, but I will go.
When I arrived, Bob looked surprised to see me. Standing before him, I asked what was in my heart. “Are you ready to go?”
He barely projected above a whisper. “Sort of.”
“Sort of” was not “ready” and did not put my heart at ease. Something came over me, and I wept over this man I hardly knew. I wept over him until I could finally utter an apology.
“I’m sorry, I just want to know I will see you again in heaven.” I looked down at his hand and said I wanted to hold it, but I was catching a cold that I didn’t want him to catch. He reached out his hand anyway, so I held it.
“Thank you,” he whispered. Then, with nothing left to say, I resigned to leaving. “Thank you,” he whispered again.
Without premeditation, I made a beeline for the nurses’ station and asked for hand sanitizer, then returned. Bob looked surprised to see me again. I took his germ-infected hand and rubbed sanitizer over his palm. He stretched out his other hand—the one I hadn’t held—and I rubbed that one, too. I said my final goodbye, and he whispered for the third time, “Thank you.” With a pause and a wave from the door, I left.
I returned home that morning, fell into my husband's arms, and wept again, retracing the story through whimpers. “I didn’t do enough.”
“You did more than you know.”
Three days later, Bob passed and (reportedly) could not utter a word on the days following my visit. I often wonder if my visit helped to soften his heart enough to be ready to meet Jesus on the other side. And I wonder with holy fear, what if I hadn’t gone?
Maybe that is what Paul means by working out your salvation with fear and trembling. If we don't go, who will?
To work out our salvation is to activate our faith.
God calls us to partner with Him in His work here on earth, and how we do it matters. Paul points out two key actions in working out our salvation in Philippians 2:12—we must do so with obedience and reverence.
When we change our minds about an inconvenience and choose to obey, God can work mightily in and through us. God transformed my heart that day, and I have a feeling He transformed Bob’s, too.
Is there something God is asking of you? Friend, God desires your partnership in building His Kingdom. We work out our salvation by laying down our agendas, changing our minds, and going where God leads, believing He holds the reason even if we don’t see it. Consider these three steps in responding to God’s call:
1. Surrender—lay down your own agenda to serve.
2. Repent—change your mind about what God is asking of you.
3. Obey—go where God leads.
The outcome is up to Him.
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