Good Works

The almost universal view of the religions of the world is that one may earn the favor of God (or some other supposed deity) by doing “good works” or if one’s “good works” outweigh one’s bad deeds and faults. A variant of this is that the work of Jesus Christ plus “good works” results in salvation or entrance into Heaven. These ideas are utterly false. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5 ESV). The truth is that only saving faith in Jesus Christ alone unites the believer to Christ and procures forgiveness of sins by His shed blood. By the Holy Spirit of Christ, Who is given to all believers, a believer can do actual good works because Christ removes the sin from them. This may be summarized with simple equations:

False: Good Works → Salvation

False: Saving Faith + Good Works → Salvation

False: Saving Faith + Christ + Good Works → Salvation

False: Saving Faith + Christ + Anything Else → Salvation

True: Faith in Jesus Christ alone → Salvation in Christ + Genuinely Good Works for God’s Glory