1 Timothy 4:16

‘Take heed to yourself, and to your teaching. Continue in these things; for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.’

So he must take heed to himself, ensuring that he is always a good example (1 Timothy 4:12), and to his teaching so that it continues to improve. And as he continues in these things God’s salvation will be effective within him, so that by his actions he will ‘save’ himself (compare Matthew 16:25) and save others also by ‘working out’ his salvation as God works it within him (Philippians 2:12-13).

If we imagine a man standing hesitantly on a sinking ship looking at the boiling waves and hearing the sailors in the rescue vessel shouting, ‘save yourself. Jump!’ we will get the idea. They do not really mean that he must save himself. That is what they are there for. They simply want him to cooperate with them in saving him by responding. In the same way God sometimes says to us as He goes about His saving work ‘save yourself’ (‘work out your own salvation with greatest care’ - Philippians 2:12). He wants us to cooperate with Him so that He can save us.