“Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” James 2:24
“…so faith without works is dead…” James 2:26
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Romans 6:1-2
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10
Are you doing enough good deeds? How else do you expect to have a relationship with God now and forever in heaven? How else do you expect to earn His love and forgiveness? How else do you expect to prove yourself to Him? How else do you expect Him to welcome you into His eternal Kingdom, into His everlasting presence? God is perfectly holy and righteous, and as such we humans who are all sinners can’t be in His presence. Most assuredly then, we need to earn our way into His forever presence, right? Surely we have to do enough good for God to make up for our wrongs, right? Heaven is a reward for those who are good enough for God, right? Who do enough good deeds every single day, right?
Wrong! We are ALL sinners. But NONE of us can ever earn God’s love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and the promise of eternal life with Him. Not a single one of us, no matter how many “good deeds” we do. Jesus Christ died on the cross an indescribably heinous death to pay the punishment for our sins, to take God’s wrath at us on Himself and to be temporarily separated from God in our place, to cancel out our sin penalty of the curse, death, hell, and the lake of fire forever apart from God so that ALL those who repent of their sins and genuinely turn to God and His ways, devoting their lives to Christ through faith in Him and committing their lives to Him, can receive the gift of an everlasting relationship with the Lord God almighty through Christ.
So now ALL those who repent and live for Christ can celebrate and forget about good deeds, right? Now we who follow Christ don’t need to worry about ever doing anything good and productive, right? We don’t have to do any good works, right? And we don’t have to concern ourselves with doing right because Christ is our Savior, right? WRONG! Genuine repentance and devotedness to Christ result in a passion for the Lord, for loving and worshiping Him forever, for right living, and for doing good in Christ’s name. Not to earn God’s love and forgiveness and fellowship with Him, but as a result of His love, forgiveness, and forever fellowship.