Can Good Works Lead to Salvation?

**These posts are to encourage everyone to read the Bible, and get a deeper understanding of Gods Word.

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Can we really be saved into Heaven by our own good works? Is this biblically correct? Short answer: No.

While you may be disappointed by this answer, it is actually a good thing.

We live in a world that gratifies “self”. Self love, self confidence, self worth, self compassion and so on. But the bible tells us this,

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 (NLT)

Instead this is what the bible tells us to do,

“Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:6 (NLT)

To summarise, we are to trust in God and not in ourselves. But why?

Do you remember the story of Moses and the Israelites, who were slaves under Pharoah in Egypt? This story has a much deeper prophetic meaning of this world that we live in. Let’s start from the beginning. When the serpent decieved Adam and Eve, all of mankind became slaves to sin to this day. This means the nature of sin is in all of us, but God has made a way out of this.

Let me try and explain this as simple as possible, with reference verses.

Here is a comparative study that will explain this better. The Old Testament talks about the Law of Moses while the New Testament on the Grace through Christ. John 1:17 confirms this,

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Just as how Moses, under God’s direction, took the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and gave them the Law to follow, Jesus came to take those who believed in Him out of the slavery of sin (that previously entered the world through Adam), by giving them grace through His death on the Cross. Do you see a pattern here?

Let’s back this up with bible verses.

Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. Romans 4:4

Romans 4:4 tells us that when we work ➡ we recieve wages which is our due. This is what the Israelites did in Egypt. They worked as slaves and recieved their pay for the work they did, but they were still under bondage as slaves under Pharoah. So if we are to choose this option, we too can try and work as slaves under sin, but we are still held in the bondage of sin not by Pharoah but by the ruler of this world who is Satan (John 12:31).

This is where Christ comes in to save us. Romans 6:23 says,

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This verse talks about the difference between wages and gifts. If we choose “the wages” option, the punishment still remains, but if we choose the gift option through Christ, God promises eternal life to all who believe. A gift is something that someone else pays and buys and we just receive it for free. This is what Christ did. Jesus paid the price for sin by dying on the Cross and bought our salvation. So by accepting Him (His gift), we recieve His gift of salvation, and hence relieved from the bondage of sin.

This whole concept is a battle of good and evil. The Kingdom of God in Heaven and the Kingdom of darkness. Read these two bible verses:

Colossians 1:13 – He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.

1 John 5:19- We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

But the good thing is that anyone who accepts Jesus becomes a child of God and under the protection of God’s grace. This is why making a decision on this is very important. There is no neutral ground, we are to choose between the two kingdoms.

Why We Cannot Be Saved By Our Own Good Works?

This one bible verse says it all.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Grace ➡ gift

We are saved by the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross, and it is not because of our own works, so that we don’t end up boasting about it. Resulting in more sin. The only way to eliminate sin, is by standing before God not by our own good works, because as humans we are bound to fail and God knows that and yet loves us. It is in His love that He saves us into the kingdom of light by offering His only Son as a gateway to Heaven.

This is why Jesus calls Himself as the door/gate.

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9

This is why Jesus also made this bold statement,

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

And Jesus is not someone who forces us to choose Him, instead gives us an open invitation and if we say yes, He rescues us.

Watch what Jesus says in the last book of the bible,

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

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