I remember the
time when a friend told me that in order to be saved; a person has to do good
works. In addition, I thought to myself, if that is the case, the chances of me
going to heaven is a big fat ZERO! I used to wonder,
"How on earth am I going to accomplish good works and how much do I need
to get to heaven?" Then, more questions followed:
1.
Is there such thing as "white" lie?
2.
Is hating considered murder?
3.
If I do a little gossip, does that count as a little sin?
4.
If I cannot accomplish the Ten Commandments in one day, can I do extra good
works to somehow outweigh the bad deeds?
5.
Where can I find the right religion?
6.
If I do good works with a heavy heart, will it still count?
7.
Is good works really a means to salvation?
8.
Why is it so difficult to do good all the time?
9.
Why is sin more pleasurable?
10.
Why do I sometimes like to do bad things?
11.
Why is it so easy to hate than to love?
12.
Am I good enough to go to heaven?
The list
goes on and on…
I did not quite
understand the message of the gospel when I was in High school but I knew deep
in my heart there is so much more than good works because no matter how hard I
try to keep the commandments, I always fall short.
When people
praise me on the good things I have done before, I feel terrible because there
are moments that I do it out of sincerity. It was just so difficult to pretend
that you liked helping others if your heart does not match your actions. There
was no satisfaction at all.
My mom and I had
a conversation on the phone recently and she suddenly told me how proud she was
to have me as her daughter. She said I was a "good" girl. Then I
responded quickly saying, "Mom, I'm not good. In fact, I am very stubborn. But
thank God I have Jesus."
I might not have
killed anyone to consider myself as a criminal but I believe sin has so many
forms and most people fail to recognize their own sinfulness. The moment I
understood the message of the gospel, I realized how much of a failure I was.
Not a day goes by that I cannot be hateful, envious, selfish, naughty or
stubborn. Moreover, that is only for the weekends, what about the weekdays? If
I were to weigh my bad deeds over my good deeds, I am sure the heaviest would
still be my bad deeds. So why do people think they can go to heaven just by
good works? The only person I know that is good enough to actually go to heaven
is Jesus Christ and I cannot even top the great things he did! Compared to Him,
I am NOTHING!
So whom am I kidding?
According to the
Bible in Romans 3:26, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God." Based on the scriptures, not one of us are "HOLY". We
are all sinners. Why most people skip that part and thought that good deeds is
the way to salvation. I know, because there are so many religion in the world
that claims to know Jesus but distorts His very message. So how do I know the
"TRUTH"?
It is because the very word of God tells me so:
"For
it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the
result of your own efforts, but GOD'S GIFT, so that no one can boast about it.
God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus he has created
us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do." Ephesians 2:8-10
So there you go.
A clear statement from the Bible itself. We are saved first by God's grace
through our faith in Jesus Christ. Good works is not the means to salvation;
rather they are the evidences or by-products of our salvation.
The formula goes like this:
Faith in
Jesus
+ (NOTHING)
= Salvation (resulting to Good works)
Salvation is a gift
from God so why struggle. I mean I have been there and it never worked. Without
faith, it is indeed impossible to please God. Our salvation is not some kind of
brownie points that we need to earn in order for us to reach God. In fact, He
already made a way and that is through our faith in Jesus Christ.
February 6, 2018
