Leadership Thought: Why Your Good Works Will Never Get You to Heaven

Dear Friends

I remember taking a course on Evangelism a number of years ago while attending an Evangelism Explosion clinic in Fort Lauderdale Florida. One of the speakers made an interesting point in instructing those in the class when he said. "In witnessing to an unbeliever, you must tell people a hundred times that our salvation has nothing to do with our good works." 

Now the speaker was exaggerating to make the point that today there are still many people who think heaven depends on what they do and not what Jesus did, and so when sharing your faith with someone you need to emphasize again and again that no one can, or will be saved and go to heaven. because of what they do or did. Plainly put, good works have nothing to do with one's eternal destiny. Good works are not the root of our salvation, but the fruit of our salvation. 

Good works are the product of a person's life who has been saved by God's grace and who now simply wants to express his/her love to God for what He has done for them in granting them eternal life. 

There is no greater expression of this reality than when Paul writes to the Ephesian church and states, "For it is by grace, you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesian 2:8-9) . Yes, it is God's grace that saves you, or as someone writes acrostically, grace is God's Riches At Christ's Expense.

But you ask, doesn't what we do have anything to do with our salvation, and the answer is no; it has nothing to do with our salvation.  Salvation is all of Him and none of me, for as someone writes, "Nothing in my hands I bring, but simply to the cross I cling." 

But what about my works? Don't they count for anything? Yes, they count towards your rewards in heaven, but nothing more. Our good works are the loving result of our gratitude for what God has done for us in saving us.

Paul writes in verse 10 of Ephesians 2, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Our good works spring from the gratitude we share because of what God has done for us in saving us. Yes, as mentioned, they are the "fruit" and not the "root" of our salvation.

Pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie recently shared the following message in one of his devotions. "It may come as a surprise to some, but there will be people in Hell whom others would define as good people."

"On the other hand, there will be people in Heaven who lived bad lives, but they repented of their sin."

"You can be a good person, relatively speaking, but you’re not good enough. You may think you will get to Heaven on your own good works, but of course you won’t. That’s how you might end up in Hell."

"Being good doesn’t get you to Heaven. The Bible tells us, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NLT). But it also says, “There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone” (1 Timothy 2:5–6 NLT)."

"Jesus himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NLT).

"There’s only one way to Heaven, and that is being forgiven by God. Heaven is not for good people; it’s for forgiven people."

"So, the real question is this: Are you forgiven?"

"Have you said to God, “I know I’m a sinner. I know I don’t deserve to go to Heaven, but you’ve offered me this wonderful promise that I can go there some day. I want to. So, I want to believe in You”?

"That’s really what it comes down to. You have to admit your sin and believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sin. Turn from that sin. Ask God to forgive you of that sin and begin to follow Christ. When you do, you can know with certainty that you’ll go to Heaven."

Have you done this? He’s just a prayer away.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom