16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. ~ Galatians 2:16
So, is it works or no works? Should we be concerned with works at all since it doesn’t profit anything? Woe! Just hold up a moment. Paul did not say that works profited nothing, he said that we are not justified by works. Meaning that we cannot achieve salvation by doing something.
We receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and our believing that He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. But it goes a little deeper than just that. Once we have accepted Jesus as LORD and Savior, then we must start living for Him. We must build a relationship through prayer and worship and learn about Him through the reading and the studying of His Word.
Think about this, if you walked into one of Walmart’s stores and begin bagging, that does not make you a Walmart employee, you would not even get paid. Matter of fact, management will probably ask you to leave the establishment. But if you filled out an application and went on an interview and you were successful and therefore hired, then you would become a Walmart employee, and then you would be allowed to bag groceries or whatever else Walmart patrons would purchase. It is the same with Jesus.
You do not become a Christian by doing good things, no matter how good the works are; if we are not doing the good works through Jesus, then it does not count towards salvation. But once we are saved through faith in Jesus, then we are expected to do good works, and if we do not do good works, then we will be in trouble and may even be in jeopardy of being disqualified from the race. Because it is a race and not a spectator’s sport, we cannot sit on the bench; we must participate; we must run the race.
Heavenly Father, please forgive me of my sin, and help me to live for You from now on by doing good works. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
Similar Content
