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Do Good Works Matter for Salvation?<\/strong><\/p>\n Rev. David J. Fekete, Ph. D.<\/p>\n April 26, 2017<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You hear sometimes that faith alone saves, and that being good, doing good works\u2014good deeds\u2014don\u2019t contribute to salvation. Sometimes you\u2019ll even hear that good works don\u2019t really matter. I\u2019ve heard someone put it, \u201cYou can\u2019t work your way into heaven.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then some bring up\u2014out of context\u2014Isaiah 64:6, \u201call our righteous deeds are like a filthy \u00a0Cloth.\u201d*<\/p>\n But good works and being good do matter in salvation. To children and common sense, a person needs to be good, and not evil, in order to be saved. Almost everything Jesus said was about how to love and be good. Even Paul talked about the importance of being good in order to be saved (though some might not want to say he did).<\/p>\n Here are just a few Bible passages that show how important good works are for salvation. These are all from the Gospels and Paul\u2019s letters. There is the whole of Hebrew Scriptures to consider, as well.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.**<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Matthew 5:8)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do you not realize that God\u2019s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? […] For he will repay according to each one\u2019s deeds: To those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. \u00a0There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, \u00a0but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. \u00a0For God shows no partiality.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Romans 2:4, 6-10)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? \u00a017 \u00a0In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. \u00a018 \u00a0A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. \u00a0Thus you will know them by their fruits.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Matthew 7:16-20)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (John 3:19-21)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. \u00a0For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. \u00a0But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. \u00a0Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, \u00a0gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Galatians 5:16-24)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to\u00a0<\/span><\/i>all. \u00a0Rejoice always, \u00a0pray without ceasing, \u00a0give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. \u00a0Do not quench the Spirit. \u00a0Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; \u00a0abstain from every form of evil. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (1 Thessalonians 5:15-22)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father\u2019s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (John 15:8-12)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not everyone who says to me, \u2018Lord, Lord,\u2019 will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n one who does the will of my Father in heaven. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Matthew 7:21)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. \u201cTeacher,\u201d he said, \u201cwhat must I do to inherit eternal life?\u201d He said to him, \u201cWhat is written in the law? What do you read there?\u201d He answered, \u201cYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.\u201d \u00a028 \u00a0And he said to him, \u201cYou have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Luke 10:25-28)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou have heard that it was said, \u2018You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.\u2019 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Matthew 5:43-45)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Luke 15:7)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Shun youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n call on the Lord from a pure heart.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (2 Timothy 2:22)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Galatians 6:7-9)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Mark 1:4)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n But strive first for the kingdom of God [l] \u00a0and his [m] \u00a0righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Matthew 6:33)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cEveryone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n built his house on rock.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Matthew 7:24)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen! <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Matthew 13:41)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhen the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the\u00a0<\/span><\/i>throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one\u00a0<\/span><\/i>from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, \u2018Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.\u2019 Then the righteous will answer him, \u2018Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?\u2019 And the king will answer them, \u2018Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.\u2019\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n (Matthew 25:31-40)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n *New Revised Standard Version Bible<\/em>, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n **Ibid.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n His\u00a0particular interests and areas of passion include comparative religion, literature, the arts, as well as interfaith work and ecumenism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Do Good Works Matter for Salvation? Rev. David J. Fekete, Ph. D. April 26, 2017 You hear sometimes that faith alone saves, and that being good, doing good works\u2014good deeds\u2014don\u2019t contribute to salvation. Sometimes you\u2019ll even hear that good works don\u2019t really matter. I\u2019ve heard someone put it, \u201cYou can\u2019t work your way into …<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/spiritualquesters.org\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/pastor-Dave-Small.jpg\")
Rev. David J. Fekete, Ph.D., is senior editor of Our Daily Bread<\/em>, as well as pastor at the Church of the Holy City<\/em>, a Swedenborgian community in Edmonton, Alberta.<\/p>\n