Salvation Meaning Not Being Put to Shame

   Bible Verses 

Phil. 1:19  For I know that for me this will turn out to 

salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of 

the Spirit of Jesus Christ,  (20)  According to my earnest 

expectation and hope that in nothing I will be put to shame, 

but with all boldness, as always, even now Christ will be 

magnified in my body, whether through life or through death.  

(21)  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Words of Ministry

When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he was in prison in a
foreign country, far away from his homeland. Paul had good
reason to worry and be sad. Since his circumstances were so
difficult, he could have easily wept about his situation.
However, if Paul had been weeping instead of rejoicing, he
could not have said, "For me this shall turn out to
salvation." If he had wept, he would not have experienced
salvation in that environment. Suppose you were a Jew held
captive in a Roman prison. Would you have rejoiced? I am sure
we all would have felt sorrowful and homesick. But instead of
weeping, Paul rejoiced in the Lord. For him, everything that
happened turned out to salvation.

According to the context of these verses, salvation means
that Paul was not put to shame in anything. Not only did he
not feel shameful, but nothing caused him to be put to shame.
Christ was magnified in Paul's body. This magnification of
Christ, spoken of in verse 20, is the very salvation
mentioned in verse 19. This means that the salvation which
was according to Paul's earnest expectation and hope was that
he would not be put to shame, but would magnify Christ in his
body. Therefore, in verse 20 we have a definition of the
practical enjoyment of salvation.

To enjoy this kind of salvation is to live Christ. This is
the reason Paul says in verse 21, "For to me to live is
Christ." Paul's sufferings did not put him to shame. Instead,
they afforded him an opportunity to magnify Christ. If we
experience the salvation mentioned in these verses, then when
we undergo suffering, we shall magnify Christ and not be put
to shame. But if we are defeated by suffering, suppressed by
it, and filled with worry, we shall be put to shame. But if
we magnify Christ in sufferings, we shall experience this
salvation.