There is no need to worship and adore him; no need to go to church either. Well, that is not biblical! Nobody will ever get to heaven because he has been kind, loving, honest and truthful. The Bible calls that “works”; that is doing things according to your own agenda, through your own efforts and believing in the things you do. To qualify for heaven, you have to meet certain conditions of entry laid down by God.
Some religions put a premium on the good that you do, such acts eliminate the evil things you have done. So, the more you chalk up some good deeds the lesser the number of sins on your slate. That equation is not biblical either. We are responsible for our actions and must account for them on judgment day. There is no scale with which God is going to weigh our good deeds against our sins.
Paul in his writings explains that humankind is saved because we believe. It is by the degree of the faith that we display that God will save us finally. When God spoke to father Abraham and assured him that a servant in his household would not be his heir, he believed. God then took him into the open and said to him: “Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be.” (Genesis 15:5) Because Abraham believed and did not doubt, the Bible tells us it was “credited to him (Abraham) as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6) He became justified in God’s eyes. His acceptance of what God had revealed to him, his unflinching faith, was enough to make him a good person. For it is “by grace you have been saved through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2.8)
Paul declares that if we base our righteousness on the fact that we are obedient and true, or that we are law–abiding citizens it just lifts our ego and we pride ourselves in what we have done. We tend to boast about it. It is therefore not by our good deeds that we have been saved, “so no one can boast”. (Ephesians 2.9)
Paul states categorically that it is God who justifies. (Romans 8:33) To justify means to make one right, to clear one of all sin. To say we are not guilty is the work of God, the Almighty. It is not by obeying the law that we will be justified because no one is able to obey all the commandments of God. A cursory look at some of the major biblical characters will confirm that none of them was sinless. With the exception of our Lord Jesus who knew no sin, neither was deceit found in Him. (1 Peter 2:22)
Our Lord Jesus in His teachings gave us a vivid example of what works without faith means when He said: “Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then will I tell them plainly ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers!” (Mathew 7:22) Many who believe that goodness is equivalent to righteousness will be disappointed like those who claimed to have done things in Jesus’ name and yet received no acknowledgement. The thing is the devil also does miracles. What distinguishes the player here is the name in which the miracle is being performed.
Paul never ceased to underline this aspect in our faith walk; “Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ… because by observing the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16) Again in the book of Romans chapter 3 verse 20, Paul drives home the point. “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by “For everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence. But by the free gift of God’s grace, all are put right with Him through Christ Jesus who sets them free.” observing the law rather through the law we become conscious of sin.” Grace is the operative word here. We have nothing to do to contribute to our salvation, it is a gift from God. If we are saved by grace, “it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would not be grace.” (Romans 11:6)
The bottom line is that grace is not something you earn by your good deeds because our goodness is cancelled by the fact that we are sinners. There is no difference, (Romans 3:24-24) All you need to do first is to believe. After believing you cannot keep it to yourself. A Christian manifests his/her faith, talks about it, and does something about it. You cannot boast of your good works as a ticket to the grace of God. In other words, you believe in Christ Jesus first as a means to attaining grace.
When Naaman, a general in the Syrian army, travelled to Israel in the Old Testament days in search of healing for his leprosy, he went with a lot of gifts for the prophet who upon the advice of his Jewish maid would heal him. Unfortunately the prophet did not receive him, he only sent word to him to go and dip himself in a dirty river, the river Jordan, seven times. He had thought that his wealth was sufficient to get him his healing, when all he needed was faith. His status as a general mattered little. He had to believe that by dipping himself in the river seven times his health would be restored. There was nothing else he could have done for himself, just to obey.
“He saved us, not because of righteous things we have done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3.5)
