Of all people, the apostle Paul knew what was at stake when he uttered those words. He knew he himself could lose out on eternal life. He knew how much work it was to run the race. He knew eternal life was not certain till he crossed the finish line. We were all in the same boat. In Romans 7 he explains our human nature to us…he leaves no doubt that "the trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate"(14-17 New Living Translation). We all need to conquer our human nature—that takes work. He continues in Philippians3: 12-14: "I do not consider myself to have arrived spiritually, nor do I consider myself already perfect. But I keep going on grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ grasped me. …I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal—my reward, the honour of being called by God is Christ" (J.B. Phillips Translation 1946). Paul in various letters tells us the hardships he endured and the work that lay ahead for him, but he says "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me…" Each of us has "our own row to hoe" as the saying goes. This building of godly character throughout our life is necessary in preparing us for the work God has in store for us in the world tomorrow.

Why is fear and trembling so important in relation to salvation? The Israelites were told why they should fear God. "…God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before your faces, that you sin not" (Exodus 20:20). Fear helps keep us on the straight and narrow. When Saul (later Paul) was called by God "he fell to the earth… and he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what will you have me to do?"(Acts9: 4-6). The fear of God was the beginning of right knowledge for the apostle Paul. Little children soon walk all over their parents if there is no fear to do wrong. Today children don’t fear, that’s why so much crime and violence. The example below depicts what happens when there is no fear. I found it under a blog: "Should children fear their parents?"

"I don't mean fear of being abused or beaten, necessarily. I mean, should a child have some level of fear (of whatever discipline) from their parents? I have been told that my oldest is as disrespectful as he is because he does not "fear" me or anything that I might do to him. I believe this is true to some extent. I know I was afraid of what my mom might do, and that made a huge difference in whether or not I would disobey her. Not my child, though. This fool will sit there and tell me straight out what he will and won't do or just won't do it at all. No shame in his game, whatsoever. He will raise his voice at me, he will get smart with me, roll his eyes at me, you name it, he does it. So, who's right? Should my child fear me? Is that why he disrespects me?"

The people in scripture we are to imitate are the God-fearers. They were called such because God's expectations and commands affected their lifestyle. This is the reason a God-fearer was another term for an upright person. Do God's commands shape your life? Paul tells us that if there is no fear of God, "destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known" (Romans3:16-18). The fear of God is linked to obedience and holiness.

You and I have to own our actions. We cannot blame our lack of work and effort on someone else. God in His great wisdom and mercy has allowed each of us the freedom and responsibility to work out our salvation. We should be very thankful it’s between us and God! How can we be passive when we know that it is our salvation that hangs in the balance? We have to finish the race that we began when we stood up out of the waters of baptism. In this sense, we approach our task in fear and trembling, because of the gravity of what we are doing.