Works Won’t Save You
We run into a lot of people while out street witnessing who think they are good. Many of these folks think that they are good enough to go to Heaven. That God will weigh their good against their bad and if they’ve done more good, they think they will make it. A lot of these same people also think that they can work their way to Heaven. That somehow, they can earn God’s favor through their works. But works won’t save you.
God cannot be bribed and He is not impressed with people who are trying to work or earn their salvation. Don’t believe me? Just look at the tower of Babel. Men foolishly tried to build a tower to Heaven. Was God pleased? Was God happy with their works? No, Almighty God was not pleased with the work of men’s hands. (Genesis 11:1-9). God confounded these men and confused their languages. They left off building the tower of Babel and we still have many different languages around the world today.
Man Is Not Justified By Works
That example was in the Old Testament. But the apostle Paul also talks about how works won’t save you in the New Testament. Please listen to Galatians 2:16-20: Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
We Are Not Justified By Works
We are not justified by the works of the law, Paul says. Works will not save you. All the major man-made world religions are works based. They promote being good, doing more good than bad, working your way to Heaven. But Christianity is not works based. You and I can’t “do” anything to earn salvation. These world religions are do, do, do. Work, work, work. But Christianity is done.
You and I cannot do anything to save ourselves. We can’t be good enough. We can’t earn salvation in any way. Salvation is of the Lord. God saves. All you and I can do is bring our sins to the cross of Jesus that made it necessary for Jesus to die on the cross. All we can do is nail Jesus to the cruel cross. Can’t you see that we can’t be justified with God or earn God’s grace? None of us are justified by works.
Jesus Was Just and The Justifier
Jesus was just, and He is the only one that was a justifier. His perfect sacrifice on the cross makes salvation possible. He did perfectly keep God’s will while He walked this earth. Jesus never sinned, not one time. He never lusted, stole, lied or coveted. Jesus fulfilled the righteous, perfect demands of the law and He willingly laid down His life to save guilty sinners. Jesus is the just one. He is the one who bore God’s wrath over sin, the sins of the world. Jesus died, was buried and rose from the grave.
God grants eternal life to each and every person who repents and puts their faith in Jesus. Works won’t save anyone. But repentance from your sins and faith in Jesus Christ will save you. We cannot be justified with God by our works. Only by faith in Christ Jesus. Trust Jesus tonight. Trust in the sinless Son of God. He is the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation means the wrath of God was satisfied when He poured His wrath out over sinful creatures upon His own sinless Son.
Put Your Faith In Jesus
Oh, trust Jesus tonight. Put your faith in Him. Don’t trust in yourself or anyone or anything else. Trust in Christ alone. Repent from your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the only Savior. Only Jesus saves. Oh, but how He saves. Jesus saves from the eternal damnation of Hell; from everlasting punishment. (Punishment that all of us deserve). Jesus saves us from our own wicked nature. Jesus saves His people from their sins. That doesn’t mean we are perfect. It means that when you truly repent from your sins and trust in Jesus, your sins are forgiven.
A true follower of Jesus understands that forgiveness, being saved, being born again does not give you a license to sin. Being a disciple of Jesus gives you the desire to follow the Master, to do His will. It grieves a child of God when we sin. You don’t want to sin willy-nilly, no, you want to sin less. It is my hope and prayer that God will take away my selfish thoughts, desires and ways and that He will give me His higher thoughts, desires and ways. My heart cry is for God to lead me through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Beauty Of The Trinity
That’s the beauty of the Trinity. God the Father draws lost souls to Himself. All that the Father gives Jesus, He will in no wise cast out. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our unrighteousness and points us to God’s Holiness and righteousness. When you are saved, God sends you the Helper – the Holy Spirit to live inside you, to guide you. Christians shouldn’t make excuses or justify their sins. We were bought with a price, with a very great price; the precious blood of Jesus Christ. How can we foolishly think that we can sin freely because Jesus died for our sins?
God abhors sin; He hates all workers of iniquity. Sin is repulsive to Almighty God. Anyone who has a low view of sin has more than likely missed salvation. Jesus said if you love Me, keep My commandments. Oh, professing Christian, do you love Jesus? Do you keep His commandments? Not out of trying in any way to earn salvation or work your way to Heaven. No, we obey Jesus out of love. Not that we are perfect. We are not. But true followers of Jesus want to honor Him. We want to obey Him. Jesus said that we will know His disciples by their fruit or works. Again, not trying to work our way to Heaven, but instead, doing God’s work to help further His kingdom. To love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
You Can’t Work Your Way To Heaven
You cannot work your way to Heaven. Think about it, you could volunteer seven days a week at a food pantry or homeless shelter for the rest of your life and it would not wipe out one little white lie. Let alone all of your sins. You and I do not have the power to clean ourselves up from our sins. We can’t wipe them out. We can’t make them disappear.
James said faith without works is dead and he was not promoting a works-based salvation. What James was saying is that when you have put your faith in Jesus, you are a changed person. You want to do what Jesus tells us to do. Before Jesus was crucified and rose again from the dead, James didn’t believe that Jesus was the Christ – the Savior. But when he understood who Jesus really is – God in the flesh, he surrendered his life to Jesus. Nothing could shake his faith in Christ Jesus after that.
You Will Have Works After You Are Saved
Works won’t save you, but you will have works after you are truly saved. When Jesus saves your eternal soul, you are so grateful that you want to work for Him. You will want to volunteer at a homeless shelter or food pantry or adopt a child. A saved life is a changed life. But those of us who are saved don’t do good works for our salvation and we don’t do them trying to earn favor with God. We do good works because of our love for God and He first loved us. I love God and want to join Him in His kingdom work because He loved me and saved me. God saved a wretched sinner like me. That’s something to get excited about.
Are you saved tonight? Do you know what I’m talking about? Has Jesus taken all your sins upon Himself as He hung on the cross and has He credited you with His righteousness? In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
All Your Trespasses Are Forgiven
Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (Colossians 2:11-14).
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin (Romans 4:5-8).
Repentance And Faith In Jesus Does Save
Works won’t save you, but repentance and faith in Jesus Christ does save. Believe in the only begotten Son of God. Admit that you are a sinner. Cry out for God to save you. Repent from your sins and surrender your life to Jesus and be saved. Salvation is the great exchange. You give Jesus your sins and He pays your sin debt while He hung on the cross. Then Jesus gives you His righteousness or it is credited to your account.
God imputes Jesus’ righteousness to you. God sets the righteousness of Jesus upon you. True followers of Jesus Christ are clothed in His righteousness. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels (Isaiah 61:10).
Cast Off The Works Of Darkness
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light (Romans 13:12). But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof (Romans 13:14).
Oh tonight, cast off your filthy rags, tear off your works of unrighteousness and put on the armor of light. Jesus is the Light, the great light that came unto the earth. Put on the Lord Jesus. Wrap His righteousness around you through repentance and faith.
Repent from your sins and trust in the Lord Jesus. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Surrender your life fully and completely to Jesus Christ. Do this tonight. Don’t put it off. Today is the day to get right with God. Not through works, but through humbling yourself.
Admitting that you are a sinner. Crying out for God to save you. Repenting and believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Call upon the precious name of Jesus and be saved. Be saved tonight. Repent from your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ the living Son of God and receive eternal life.
(This message was lifted up in downtown Springfield, Mo on February 16, 2018)