“Work Out Our Salvation”
In this week’s Bible Lesson “Mortals and Immortals” from the Christian Science Quarterly, we come across the admonition from Mary Baker Eddy, discoverer and founder of Christian Science, that, “We cannot choose for ourselves, but must work out our salvation in the way Jesus taught.” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 30:30-32)
From “Christian Science: The Science of Salvation” by Hermann S Hering, republished in the Christian Science Sentinel, May 1, 2014, we read:
“St. Paul admonishes us to work out our own salvation. This Scriptural command means far more than the common belief that salvation is assured by simply having belief or faith in Jesus as the Son of God. Such saving faith is vitally necessary, but it is only the beginning of our salvation—its spiritual basis.
Then must follow the working out of our deliverance from evil on this basis, our separation from sin, from the bondage of this world, from limitation, failure, sickness, disease, death.
‘Saving faith,’ the recognition that Christ Jesus is the Son of God and that he brought salvation to all mankind, includes not only the glad acceptance of what Jesus was and did, but of what he said we can and must do.”
Further, in Science and Health we find the following:
“His work is done, and we have only to avail ourselves of God’s rule in order to receive His blessing, which enables us to work out our own salvation.” (Mary Baker Eddy, p. 3:9)
Mary Baker Eddy also elucidates in Christian Healing, “This truth is, that we are to work out our own salvation, and to meet the responsibility of our own thoughts and acts; relying not on the person of God or the person of man to do our work for us, but on the apostle’s rule, ‘I will show thee my faith by my works.’" (p. 5:20–25)
And in The People’s Idea of God, we find, “Having one Lord, we shall not be idolaters, dividing our homage and obedience between matter and Spirit; but shall work out our own salvation, after the model of our Father, who never pardons the sin that deserves to be punished and can be destroyed only through suffering.” (The People's Idea Of God — Its Effect on Health and Christianity, p. 9:11)
Finally, let us proclaim, “Praise we the Lord with a joyous and glad adoration; / Lo, unto them that believe there is no condemnation; / Now will we raise / Songs of thanksgiving and praise, / Christ is become our salvation.” (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 283:3)
Kenneth Foster, CS
