Many Christians believe that good works are not an important aspect in life because the most important thing is whether a person is saved or not However, there are many verses in Scripture that are very clear about the importance of good works in the life of a believer. It is important to stress that before good works are counted unto righteousness, the foundation of a relationship with Christ must be set. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not parish but have everlasting life.” Without Jesus there is no foundation but there is much more to life than getting saved. After a person is born of the Spirit, their life will be examined and their works will be judged.
There will be an examination of every believer where their works are tried by fire by the judge, who is Jesus as stated in John 5:22 “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son” There will be a one on one between every believer and Jesus, not about whether they have salvation, but about what they did in their life for to glorify God. Nor is the judgment seat for believers about sins they have committed as Romans 8:1 says “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” The sins of believers were forgiven at the cross so there is no judgment for sins committed in the life of a
Rewards are given for good works. In Ruth 2:12 it says “The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.” Proverbs 11:18 says “The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.” Good works do not do not bring people to heaven but after receiving salvation, good works follow them to heaven where they will receive their rewards according to his works as stated in Matt 16:27. If one receives salvation but does not follow through with good works then his faith is dead. Good works are so very important because good works reveals a persons faith which ultimately glorifies God and a full reward is given as it says in James 2:18 “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” There are so many other verses in scripture that talk about good works and the rewards given according to works, but the bottom line is, good works are vital to the Christian life for many
When judgment day comes there is nothing anyone can do to determine their fate only god. God doesn’t just look at that moment but rather your entire lifespan. God views your most caring moments to your most selfish moments, throughout life people have a choice to repent and ask for forgiveness for all their sins. If you choose to repent and to follow the right road it is almost certain you will go to heaven, but for the people who still don’t believe they go somewhere unhappy and
Everyone grows up with a dream, but everyone will not get the opportunity to do so, being born in the financial situation of their family. In third world countries people struggle to make money on a daily basis. These people want more than what they have, but to attain those extra luxuries, they have to sacrifice their current possessions.This is not possible in as sacrificing what they have can lead to starvation. They want a better future but they need to be able to live on a daily basis. It is called investment in the future vs temporary happiness. Attaining security requires risking one’s belongings to earn liberty and equality in the future. Although temporary contentment must be sacrificed to attain security in life, it must be one’s
One would have to be a fool to believe that men and women have always been or even are equal. Only in the past century have women been allowed to vote and 50 years since women of color could vote. Even today, women and men are held to different standards. Betty Friedan (1921-2006) was a feminist that was not only an author, but also, the first president of an organization known as the National Organization for Women. She is well-known for her work "The Feminine Manifesto", and she is the author of the article "The Importance of Work". Betty Friedan was a feminist during the height of the women's rights movement, so it is not surprising in the least that her article hit on women's rights. "The Importance
When we live a life faithful to God and the second coming we will receive the crown of righteousness. The Lord, the Righteous Judge will give this crown in heaven. His discernment in distributing this crown will be given without prejudice. When we are standing before Him, we are going to either be ashamed because we didn’t stay faithful to the Lord, or we will stand there with a smile on our face with our hand out to take that crown so we can give it back to
... showed all this and rewarded us so that one day we would be notice his kindness. The Christian is made alive in God and does good works for him. He does this to show his everlasting grace to everyone.
Throughout the context of the Bible, the Lord stresses the importance of what we do with our time here on Earth. He wants all of his children to obey their masters through Him, regardless of how tiresome the task becomes. Several books within the Bible illustrate the importance of sacrifice and discipline in the journey to salvation and everlasting happiness. God enforces that believing in Him, having hope, and putting in fruitful work is the true path to a righteous life and acceptance into Heaven (1 Cor. 15:58). The strength to endure any obstacle comes from your relationship with God and the integrity you have for it; exhibiting the significant relationship between His word and your work.
The Christian faith focuses on the orientation of the human heart behind human thoughts and actions. Living by faith is a beautiful alternative to the way people think of themselves and the way they live in relation to others in their daily lives (Merrick, 2014). Christians see themselves in terms of God’s profound love for them but not in terms of what they do. The teachings of the Christian faith; nonviolence, non-retaliation, inward integrity, selflessness, and love your neighbor as yourself provide the framework for ethical thinking. Although, adopting belief in Christianity can bring forth confusion in the heart and mind causing agony of learning to sacrifice one’s rightful claims for personal justice for the restoration of another (Merrick, 2014). Unconditional forgiveness is difficult to understand because spiritual forgiveness and actual costly forgiveness is viewed as the same in the gospel. If you do not forgive, then one does not have faith in God’s forgiveness as it really is. Christianity influences a person thinking and behavior developing wisdom which requires faith. The faith that is needed to reorient the heart away from selfishness to selflessness.
God has become angry with his people. He complains in the fifteenth century English play Everyman about humans and their obsession with material items, riches, and wealth. Men and women, he feels, have taken for granted their blessings. God wants to reprimand Everyman for his sinful life and sends Death to summon him. At the beginning of the allegorical work where figures and actions symbolize general truths, a messenger shares God’s concerns. The messenger tells the audience to watch and listen closely to the morality play so they can learn a lesson about life. Everyman fears Death, and he desires to know what one must do to earn salvation and enter heaven. The writer then implies that the way to achieve salvation is by doing good works. Through positive deeds, a man has the capability of enjoying communion with Christ (McRae 306-307). Everyman’s author wrote the play before the Protestant Reformation, so the piece of literature shares the view of Roman Catholicism during that period. Roman Catholics often rely on a spiritual leader’s interpretation of the Scriptures and some additional texts, while Protestants believe the Bible alone should studied by each individual believer. Biblical Christianity teaches something different from what Everyman does. The Bible stresses that salvation occurs through faith and belief in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for humankind’s sins on Calvary’s cross. St. Paul in the book of Ephesians writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (2.8-10). When Christians...
A person truly has to have faith in the word of God to know what will happen to them when they die. Christians are taught that there are 2 endings in death, one is heaven and the other is hell. If a persona has lead a good Christian life, their reward will be to go to Heaven, if they have not they will be punished in Hell. It all comes down to what kind of person you choose to be in life as what will happen to you in death.
Intention and action for the sake of others can only be one part of what makes a good person, one must also be in harmony with God’s will in order to attain grace. Jesus illustrates what such goodness looks like in his parable of giving to the poor, “ But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew, pg. 177). Reciprocity of action and intent for the sake of another is not in itself sufficient for goodness in Jesus’ eyes, according to him you must go beyond reciprocity and do things for their own sake in order to reach the favor of
the time comes everyone will be judged individually by God alone. I feel it is
Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is the inward change, which in turns perpetuates an outward visible signs of the inward change in the form of works.
This is represented clearly in Johns Gospel, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (20:21). Jesus’ disciples would preach to the people and tell them to ask God for forgiveness for the sins they have committed and they would receive it, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (John 20:23). Jesus, in his resurrected form, gave his disciples this one last mission before he returned to God’s kingdom. As soon as this mission was given to his disciples, he could return to his rightful place because he had accomplished what God had sent him here to do. Jesus died for us all, but when he was resurrected and appeared to the disciples, his disciples realized the true meaning of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The disciples are going to be continuing the work that Jesus was passionate about and helping the people reach their own salvation in the eyes of the Lord. Without that mission of reconciliation, we would be plagued with our debt of sin to
At the end of our lives we all must be held account for our time here on earth. And the sad reality is that many this will be a terrible occasion for many. For the non-believers their final destination will be hell, an eternal separation from God. But God in His mercy has provided all of us the only means for salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 tells us that “salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” This passage speaks of the name of Jesus and His saving power. Another example is found in the book of John. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). There is no other way for Christian believers to be saved other than through belief in Jesus
The Bible is a holy book that outlines the best course for all of life’s endeavors. The Apostle Peter said, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,” 2 Peter 1:3 (NKJV). God’s word gives us ALL things that we need to be healthy and productive in this world. Furthermore, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly,” John 10:10 (NKJV). Jesus came not only to give spiritual life but to also provide through His word a better quality of life. In Galatians 6:2 the Bibl...