Work It Out!!

Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Christianity is the most different religion in the world, because it is the only one where Salvation is not based on your works. The problem is that some denominations and other factions have tried to make it a works based faith for one reason or another, but there is no Biblical evidence for such a belief. As seen in the verse above we are saved by faith, not by being the “best” person we can be and hope that is good enough. That is what the Pharisees and Sadducees were turning Judaism into, and Jesus was never happy with that. All one has to do is read His many encounters with them throughout the Gospels.

One of the best examples I have found for our Salvation being by faith is the thief on the cross. Jesus in Luke is first mocked by both thieves being crucified next to Him, but one then through the time on the cross comes to realize who Jesus is and this is what is said, “But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:40-43).

Jesus makes a strong promise to this man who admits that he was being justly crucified for his actions. He admits he is not good and was not doing good works, because he was on the cross, saved for the most heinous people and criminals. Romans found it so bad, that they did not kill their own citizens this way. Jesus tells this criminal, justly being punished by his own words, that he will be with Christ in paradise that very day. What? What did he do to deserve Heaven? What did this criminal do to deserve the favor of the Son of God? Nothing, he believed in faith in who Jesus claimed to be. He would have heard about the trials and what was going on, as he walked to Golgatha with Christ, so he would know, as he was mocking Him just moments earlier.

Does this mean though that we don’t have to do anything then? No, finish reading the verse, and it says that when we become Christ’s, we are His for His good works. Meaning our salvation is seen by our actions. We do good works because of our love and knowledge of what Christ did for us on the cross; He died for our sins and then defeated death on the third day through the resurrection. Jesus says in John 6:35-40, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

What about the book of James, where it says in James 2:18-22, “But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” This is works, right? We have to work for our faith?

This is not talking about Salvation in becoming saved, but those demonstrating their salvation to the world around them by listening to what God tells them to do. Today that is through the Bible, the inerrant, infallible Word of God. Our salvation is by grace. Paul demonstrates it in Romans and Jesus demonstrates it with the thief and the verses above and many other places in the gospels. The book of James, and I use this because this is the book a lot go to in order to point to works, is talking about justification before man. We are showing those around us that we love Jesus by our works of love through attitude, helping the poor, following the great commission and telling others about Jesus. We don’t do it because we have to, we do it because we want to because we understand what Jesus did on that cross in order to save us from eternal hell.

Then the question becomes, ‘What about good people like Ghandi?’ Don’t they get into heaven or are they in hell because they did not accept Christ? No one likes to handle these questions and many back away from them, but the Bible is quite clear on this point: John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 16:31, “So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Lastly Romans 10:9-13, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

None of the verses above, and there are many more, mention any type of work for salvation, but they do express an explicit belief in Jesus Christ as Savior. Do “good” people go to hell? Not to be philosophical, but who is good and what are you basing it on if not God? Because if you base how good you are on God’s standards then none of us are good and we deserve hell, because we have all sinned and fallen short, which is why we need grace (getting something we don’t deserve). So, in one sense there are no good people, just those saved by the grace of God through belief in Jesus Christ. To the question of Ghandi, if he did not accept Christ as Savior and Lord then he is in hell, just as everyone else that has that choice. We are accountable for what we know and Ghandi knew, by his own admission, about Christianity and made the mistake of basing it on Christians (which by the way should not be that way) and it turned him off. Did he at the last minute change his mind, maybe? Who knows? We have to base it on Jesus and Ghandi should have kept looking at Christ to make his decision.

We all fail each other. We will all hurt one another, as we are born in sin. Those that are Christians are saved by faith, but not yet perfect and will still do dumb things, and unfortunately some use Christianity to rationalize doing bad. That is why we have to look at Jesus and who He is and what He said about attaining heaven through belief in Him.

I leave you with this question and challenge: Did you ever notice that every religion does something with Jesus Christ in their faith, whether prophet, good teacher, etcetera, but not every religion does the same with every other religious leader? There is power in Jesus and that is why false religions have to deal with Him. Study Jesus and look at the truth and pray to let God open your heart to see the truth of Christ and He is faithful, and then you have to choose, as God gives us that. He does not want to force us, but let us choose. So you too will have to choose, but choose quickly, as we never know our time.

My prayer is always that anyone reading these will come to know Christ as Savior and Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”