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Overcoming the Incomplete

Campus pastor Johnnie Moore challenged students during his message Sunday, February 7, with the question: “How many unfinished things do you have in your life?” His message, based on Philippians 2:12, asked students to evaluate their faith: was it incomplete, putting on a "faith show", or was it lived out day to day in a "faith life"?

Philippians 2:12 says, “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...” Pastor Johnnie used this verse to illustrate the relationship between Paul, the author and the church at Philippi that he was encouraging in its faith. Much of what we begin, Johnnie said, fails only because of incompleteness – not the pressure of outside circumstances. Paul exhorted the Philippians to continue taking their faith seriously, a call that Pastor Johnnie reiterated to students at LU.

Signs of an incomplete faith are evidenced in two ways, according to Johnnie Moore: First, an incomplete faith puts on a "show" rather than being founded on sincerity. Secondly, an incomplete faith is characterized by spiritual weakness. “A fake faith,” said Pastor Johnnie, “is like being a doctor with a lapsed license in a hurting, broken world.”

In contrast, the "faith life" is committed to obedience. “There is no 'why?' between ‘He Speaks’ and ‘I Listen’,” Johnnie continued. Johnnie illustrated that a faith life is manifested in the application of truth, not simply the theory of obedience. “We have to work out our salvation – just like working out in a gym, resistance and repetition are what strengthen you. We have to work out spiritually.”

Pastor Johnnie concluded his message by asking students to evaluate their faith and their lives for anything that was incomplete. “We err on one of two sides: either we want God to do everything for us, or we try to do it all on our own. We need to work out – work at – our salvation with a reverence toward God.”

Phylicia Duran

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