Reference: Philippians2:12-13, John 6:27, I Corinthians15:58, and Psalms 127:1
The definition for the word labour meansto exert muscular strength or mental effort. Physical labour is therefore usingyour body to perform some task or work such as lifting a heavy object orperforming a job that requires the use of your hands or your feet etc.Spiritual labour on the other hand will require more of a mental effort thatinvolves the mind than a physical effort that requires the physical exertion ofthe body. There is absolutely no physical exertion that a person can performthat will merit anything toward their being saved simply because of the factthat man cannot save himself no matter what he may attempt to do in his ownfeeble capabilities.
Almighty God is the only one that can savea person and no physical effort on our part will have anything to do with ourbeing saved, but we absolutely must exert spiritual labour in the process ofbecoming a saved born again child of God. It seems as if nearly everybody hasbeen led to believe that no labour of any kind on our part can possibly beinvolved in the plan of God's saving salvation, but we absolutely must putforth an effort by our obedience to God's word as revealed in the gospel.
God has a way of saving a person and wemust submit ourselves unto God and allow him to perform his saving operation onour whole being. We are told by the apostle Paul that we are to work out ourown salvation with fear and trembling, which simply means that we with thepower that God gives to us, must use that power and present our bodies unto Godas a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto him which is our reasonableservice to do as so stated in Romans 12:1-2.
This presenting of our bodies unto God issomething that we can do and this will require a spiritual labour on our part.The average person today who confesses to be a child of God does not want tosubmit their minds to the word of God and do what it says to do. The averageconfessing believer today has been led to believe that presenting themselvesunto God is done in a moment of time when they went to an altar and confessedtheir sins and accepted Christ as their own personal Lord and Saviour.
They think that their acceptance of Christis all there is to salvation and after that they are told to become active intheir local church and try converting others to Christ. How active each memberbecomes after they claim salvation is what is believed to be the work spoken ofin the verses of scripture used above in our text. The average church todayplaces a multiplied more of time emphesizing a converts activity towardconverting another person to their church doctrine than they spend onthemselves. There is absolutely no spiritual labour involved on today'sconverts in the average church simply because they were led to believe thatbecoming a child of God is done in an instant of time when Christ is confessedand accepted as Saviour.
Theactivity that each church member is involved in after they became a member ofthe church they confess to have been converted in is of course a physicallabour that is not believed to have nothing to do with their salvation, whichis of course very true, but right at this point is exactly where the averageperson is being deceived from the revealed truth concerning true salvation andhow it is acheived.
The doctrine in today's religious churchesteach that a person is saved upon their confession and acceptance of Christ asLord and Saviour. They do not teach the truth concerning sin in the life of thechristian. They teach that the fleshly body will not be brought into subjectionabstaining from sin completely. It's taught and believed that the body willnever be free from sin's power but that their inner man is what is saved andconverted. To accept and believe this doctrine does away with the truthconcerning what spiritual labour is and how we must labour and present ourbodies a living sacrifice unto God like we are told to do in Romans 12:1-2.
This presenting of our bodies unto God asbeing holy and acceptable in his sight is the crucifying of our fleshly lustsand desires which is accomplished by our obedience to God's revealed word oftruth and abstaining from the pleasures of sin altogether, but this is thetruth that very few will accept and believe today. Sin most certainly can becompletely overcome in the christian's life, but this spiritual labour is toomuch to suffer and to endure for the average believer today being easily taughtagainst it by the many false and misleading preachers and teachers in thechurch today.
There are many different churches in theworld today that teach differently one from the other concerning God's work inthe life of every confessing christian. Of all the different religious bodiesin the world today they can be classified in three different categories. Thesethree categories are those who believe in either one, two, or threeworks of grace in the believer's life.
All three of these beliefs are based on awork being done in an instant of time and does not require any lengthy time ofspiritual labour whatsoever. Each work is believed to be done of God and issupposedly evidenced by a fleshly sensation at the altar. It's believed thatany form of work that a person can be involved in, thinking that it goes towardtheir being saved, is the work spoken of in God's word as the works thatabsolutely will not help to save a person.
It is very true that we in our own feeblepower and weakness cannot save ourselves, but God will furnish the needed powerthat we will need to spiritually labour and present ourselves unto God like weare told to do, which is our reasonable service as Paul says in Romans 12:1-2. Thisreasonable service which is our responsibility is using the power that Godgives us and we through and by this power can and must present ourselves untoGod as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God.
This process involves the submitting ofour minds to the revealed word of God and to crucify the lusts and desires ofour fleshly bodies by abstaining from the pleasures of sin daily which will intime preserve us wholly in the "in Christ position".
The world has been deceived today intothinking that they become a new creation in Christ in a moment of time and allthe time thereafter is toward converting others to Christ like they were. Theyare failing to realize, caused by false preachers, that one must grow in adaily process to the "in Christ position" which is perfection.....