The Bible teaches that faith alone saves, but that faith produces a lifestyle transformation and actions.
The actions do not come first; faith comes first and all by itself.
Remember the thief on the cross: he had no deeds, only faith, and Christ told him that he would be in heaven that very day with Him.
James 2:20-24 "20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone."
The problem is when people believe they can save themselves by their actions without faith in Christ. They are attempting to gain heaven by their deeds without trusting in Christ.
Matthew 7:21-23 tells us that many, perhaps most people, will trust in themselves and will be turned away on the day of judgment.
Matthew 7:21-23 "21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
Those who have been transformed by Christ because of their faith in Him are those who are eternally saved.
Those who think they are going to heaven by being a good person but are not trusting in Christ, and have no desire to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, are not saved and will not gain heaven.
The question is not whether you did enough good deeds, but whether you trusted Christ and were transformed by Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment