Acts (cont.)

"The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'"
"They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household.'" Acts 16:29-31

This instantly reminds me of what Jesus tells a group of people in John:

"What must we do to do the works God requires?"
"The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent." John 6:28-29

And another verse in Romans:

"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe it in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." Romans 10:9-10

There is no way on earth that we can work for our own salvation. We are sinners by nature and cannot match the goodness and holiness of our God. Instead, salvation is a gift from God thanks to the work Jesus did here on earth. We have two choices. We remain in our sins and they get punished forever after our death. Or two, believe in Jesus and our sins are punished on the cross, meaning we don't have to go through it ourselves. Jesus went through the suffering so that we may live with the Lord and not worry about punishment. God doesn't give us a list of things to do and says, "If you do all these things, then I'll love you." No, God says "I already DO love you." This is a big difference between the Gospel and religion. Religion says "I obey, therefore God loves me." However, the Gospel (literally means "good news") says "God loves me, therefore I obey." It's a beautiful thing that God would die for us and freely give us salvation for believing His Son, despite the fact that we're completely undeserving.

Now wait a minute.... Is this saying that we don't have to do good works? Is this saying that because salvation is a free gift coming from God's sheer grace, we can live however we want? No, it doesn't. Remember Jesus says that if you follow Him you must deny yourself, take your cross, and follow Him. Also, lets look at a verse from 1 John.

"The man who says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 1 John 2:4

Or Titus:

"They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good." Titus 1:16

Or, finally, James:

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if people claim to have faith but no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2:14-17

It is true that we aren't saved by works, but works should be a result of our faith. A visible acknowledgment and sign of our faith. When we are saved, God puts His Holy Spirit in us and changes us so that we put sin behind us and look towards God. The works are a sign that God has changed us. A selfish person becomes more selfless, an alcoholic gradually gives up drinking, an unmarried person gives up his sex life, a lazy person becomes a hard worker in order to help others, etc. It may not look exactly like this and change is not always, if ever, immediate, but a change will be there and it will be visible. Like I said before, "God loves me, therefore I obey." Because of His grace and love I want to do good works that please Him and serve others out of my gratitude, love, and faith in future grace! What he's saying is that if one has faith, everyone will see it.