Do Good Works Save?
2021-10-25
Why do you think God will accept you at the end of your life? Because you did good things? Because you were a good person?
God cannot tolerate an ounce of sin. We read:
The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty (Exodus 34:6-7)
We see that God is both merciful and forgiving, but that He also “will by no means clear the guilty.” If you are guilty of any sin, even the least of sins, He “will by no means clear the guilty.” How can He forgive AND not clear the guilty (us)?
The Son of God received the Father’s wrath for your sin, and for my sin. That is the only way you could ever be pardoned. He took the punishment and the record of your sin and paid the penalty once and for all.
You cannot look at your own merit and call yourself a Christian.