Saved by works?
Men today have to realise they are guilty and helpless before God. One day they will have to meet Him in all the splendour of His holiness and in all the harshness of His judgment. We cannot go into His presence thinking we are spotless. We have all sinned at least once in our lives. Who can say that he has never told a lie? Even just one sin disqualifies us from claiming that we are innocent.
So theres no point in doing as many good works as possible to try to please God. You will never be saved by your own works. You only need to sin once to make God angry and be condemned for all eternity. Theres no use saying, Ive never killed anybody; Ive never stolen anything; Ive never committed adultery; why would God punish me? Doing all we can to improve the world; passing laws and having them enforced; respecting taboos; carefully following religious rituals none of these things has ever saved anyone from their sins. God is not at all impressed by our good works.
According to the Bible, if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth (of God) is not in us (1 John 1. 7-8). It may be possible to avoid committing horrible crimes which others can see, but anger, hate, lusts, perverted motives, evil desires, bad thoughts are sins in Gods eyes.
We can be greatly appreciated and receive praise from people about us but God knows exactly whats in our hearts. All we can do in such a situation is to tremble and ask ourselves: Who can possibly save me? This question is very serious because one day very soon each one of us will have to give an account of his life to God.
Is there a way out?
Where is the way of salvation?
The deep desire of a soul who wants to be at peace with God will never find lasting satisfaction in any kind of religion, philosophy or sect. We all must seriously ask ourselves the question: who can save us and set us free from all our doubts from all that upsets us deep down inside to give us real certainty and peace of mind?
We can live life as we please but reality is staring us in the face. The soul is not at peace; its haunted by the thought of having to meet God one day as Judge. With doubts and fears like these deep down inside, the very idea of meeting God one day makes the soul fearful. We need a hope based on absolute certainty.
For a lonely, helpless soul the prospect of meeting the Creator face to face should make him afraid; he needs to get right with God and know the deep peace only He can give.
Jesus came to bring salvation and peace
God sent Jesus into this world to save sinners and to bring them peace. He was the only man who was able to live on the earth to Gods entire satisfaction. He was the only one who could understand and share Gods deep desire that guilty men might be saved. Now that youre aware of Gods plan of salvation, the best thing you can do is stop your foolish ways and accept that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. He himself said : I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me (John 14. 6). Let me also tell you that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10. 9). The Bible then adds: whoever believes on Him, will never be ashamed. So, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; then youll experience His promise: Peace I leave with you ; my peace I give to you (John 14. 27). This promise is sure and certain because Jesus has made peace through the blood of his cross (Colossians 1. 20).