 |
|
What About Good Works? |
||||||||||
| Q: How can you tell people that they don't need to do good works to get into heaven. Won't they take advantage and sin even more? | ||||||||||
| A: Not necessarily. But if
they do, God will forgive them. (1 John
1:9)
Paul wrote in Romans 2:4 "Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you towards repentance?" Yes, if someone is determined to keep on sinning, eventually they're going to stop coming to God to say they're sorry. It's human nature to hide from God when we know we've done wrong. (e.g. Adam & Eve in the garden, criminals steal under cover of darkness, etc.) On the other hand, you can't keep coming into God's presence for His forgiveness and not be transformed by His love, His grace and His mercy. |
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
| Q: If we're saved by grace alone through faith alone, and not by works; why in the world does the Bible talk about us being judged according to our works? | ||||||||||
| A: We will be judged by our works as a tree is judged by it's fruit. A "good" tree produces "good" fruit. A "bad" tree produces "bad" fruit. Jesus said "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." Matthew 7:16-18 How do you become a good tree? What if you're "born" a stink-weed? Again, Jesus said "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit." Matthew 12:33 | ||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
| If we're sinful even from birth (Psalm 51:5), how will we ever produce good fruit? (click here to find out) |