Faith At Work

Have you ever overheard or participated in a conversation about faith vs. good works as a path to salvation? In today's culture many people think they will earn heaven because they are a "good" person. They believe their good deeds will somehow be useful to buy their salvation. Even people who claim not to believe in God or heaven will often use the good works argument to explain why St. Peter will let them through the Pearly Gates.

The Bible makes it clear that we can't earn our way into heaven. No amount or type of good deed will ever be enough to pay off the debt caused by our sins. Only faith in Jesus Christ can pay for the wages of our sins.

So why should we do good works? I mean if they don't score us extra points to get us in the door of heaven, what good are they? Doing good works is a sign of what God has done in our hearts. When we accept Christ, we get filled with the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are filled with the love of God. God's love is an active love. When we are filled with God's love, we can't help but share it with others. Doing good things for other shows them how much God loves them.

So next time somebody says they don't have to do good works because they are saved by faith, remind them that faith without works is dead!

-Jay