According to C.S. Lewis and I quote, “The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”
Some people think that if they go to church every Sunday, read the Bible every day and do good things all the time, they would finally earn God's love and their way to Heaven.
I used to think that way. But as I read the gospel, it was then that I realized, that all the worldly perceptions that most people think about salvation through good works are wrong and a complete lie.
In Ephesians 2, it was written, 'You are saved by grace and not by works!" By definition, the Lord gave grace to save us from our transgressions. He disregarded good works because God knew that if we pursue good works, we will only boast. He does not want us to be conceited and arrogant but to be humble and be loving (Matthew 6:1-8).
Therefore, once you truly accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the faith and love you have for Jesus produces good things naturally in your life (Galatians 5:16-26). We are sinful in nature but God made us alive through Jesus Christ. And so, what we eat, drink or the different religious activities that we spend our time with doesn't matter anymore. What's more important is the relationship we have in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:6-23).
I'm proud to say that as I grow closer to the Lord, I am beginning to understand how important we are to Him. The sacrifices He made for us are indeed remarkable. His grace and His love made me closer and closer to the truth. He alone satisfies my heart. He comforts me and guides me every moment.
In addition, the passage of James 2:14-23, simply means that salvation is not found in good works. The passage teaches Christians the Christian way of living once you fully accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. When a person truly have the love and the dynamic faith or living faith from within, the willingness of a person to change and be fruitful (Galatians 5:16-26) becomes genuine.
I am not perfect and never will be. But because of my faith and love to the Lord, my willingness to change my old profane ways became a joyful and overwhelming feeling. I need not felt the pressure to do good things because it comes out spontaneously. The Lord changes you, not the other way around (Ecclesiastes 11:19).
Thereby, when a person is truly saved, he does good things not because he is required to do it, thinks it could save him, or someone forces him to do it, but because the Holy Spirit is slowly working in his heart and the Lord is helping him to become a better person (James 2:21-23).
As I walk into the path of righteousness with the Lord, I realized that all the worldly things and activities are not formidable to a person's way of living. We are alive for a reason. And that reason is to love the Lord thy God with all our hearts, mind and soul; and to love others as our self (Mark 12:28-34).
P.S.
If you have questions and you want some answers, pray and read the Bible. The Lord will explain everything.
All rights reserved © Shiya Tamasao 2014
All rights reserved © Shiya Tamasao 2014
