What Good?

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
James 2:14-17 NLT

So many people are trying to work their way into Heaven. "If I'm good enough..." "If I do this or that..." Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. We must understand that we are saved by His Grace, not by our works.

However... once we are saved, our salvation should lead us to DO good works because our heart is changed by the power of God. Verse 10 reads, For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

I know it can seem confusing when James asks, Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?  I think Robert Morris explains it best with regard to grace and faith and works. 

"Our belief [faith] determines where we will spend eternity. You go to heaven because you believe in Jesus. You go to hell because you don't believe in Jesus. Our behavior determines how many rewards, and the degrees of responsibility, and the treasure that we will have in heaven..."

Are we about doing good for those God has placed within our sphere of influence? Are we doing good as unto the Lord? Are we actually doing "the good things he planned for us long ago?"  We should be. 

Matthew 16:27 NKJV tells us, For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  And 2nd Corinthians 5:10 tells us, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Let's examine our hearts.

Prayer:

Father,

           Thank You for saving us from our sins, for redeeming us. Change our hearts. Give us clean hands and pure hearts that live to serve you and others. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen