Pride of Good Works

There is a measure of pride involved in believing someone must "do" something to be a good person as if they actually could be good enough.

And there is a lack of faith in not believing Christ could make us into a new creation, doing away with the old and replacing it with the new person.

Ephesians 2:8-9 "8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.…"

Which deeds are good enough to keep us out of hell?
Which deeds will gain us heaven?
Which deeds will keep us saved?
How big do the good works have to be?
How many good deeds must we do to make it into heaven?

God does not tell us these things because none of it would earn us heaven.

Perhaps we should ask the thief on the cross to explain why he got into heaven without any good deeds at all.

All the thief on the cross did was believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and Christ proclaimed; "This day you will be in paradise with me." That thief wasn't even baptized!

When we believe in Christ as our only way to heaven He then changes us into a new creation.....He does that, we do not.

2 Corinthians 5:17
"17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."

When we believe in Christ as our only way to heaven He sends His Holy Spirit to come and live in us as our promise that we will be taken to heaven when we die.

John 16:13-14 "13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you.…"

When we believe in Christ as our only way to heaven He begins the cleansing process. He disciplines us when we stray, He instructs us, He gives us wisdom and tells us what to say when to say it and what to do and when to do it.

One way we know we are walking in the Spirit is when our deeds glorify God and not ourselves.

One way we know we are walking in the Spirit is when we have the fruit of that Spirit. What is the fruit?

Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law."

When we walk in the Spirit we don't have to work at these character qualities, they will be automatic, we are these things within our very bone and sinew. These qualities go to the very core of who we are, not just temporary and superficial but a continual way of life.

When we fail we hate what we have done and come back to obedience.

1 John 3:9 "9Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. "

Anyone who fights to defend sin and refuses to reject it without conscience about it cannot be born again. They have not lost the salvation they never had it in the beginning.

Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"

Born again believers who have trusted Christ hate to sin, when they do they return to obedience. Those who are not born again love and defend their sin.

Our culture is only confused about salvation because so many people who claim to be "Christians" do not walk with God nor do they want to, they are pretenders amongst the sheep.