Your good works will not save you

Jesus was resurrected as our only righteous - our only way to please God.

The Father said of Jesus : "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have put all my affection" (Matthew 3:17). The apostle Paul reminds us again and again throughout his epistles, teaching that Christ alone is our righteousness in the eyes of God.

"But now, without the law is manifested the righteousness of God, to which the law and the prophets testify, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe. There is no distinction. For all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God ; and they are freely justified by his grace, by means of the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3: 21-24).

The apostle says : "My own righteousness comes from the law, but the righteousness that is in Christ is founded on the basis of faith."

We can give to the poor and needy, we can be kind, we can have good and honorable thoughts. And we can convince ourselves that these good works will help us on the Day of Judgment. This is not the case ! Even if I lived for years without disobeying the Word of God, whether in thought or action, it would be of no use to me : "He saved us not because of the works of righteousness we did, his mercy" (Titus 3: 5).

I do not say these things lightly. It's devastating for everyone to hear : "Your good works will not save you." In fact, we can not convince anyone of that. Such a conviction requires a miracle of God's mercy and is a work to be done by the Holy Spirit.

David Wilkerson