Step 28: Salvation followed by Good deeds
Let us sit quietly and think about this most precious gift of salvation and the promise of eternal life God has so amazingly given to us freely.
Salvation – being saved - is a free gift from God! It is not a reward for our good deeds or self-denial. There is absolutely nothing we can do to earn or give God in exchange for His salvation.
It is an undeserved GIFT which God, in His love, has chosen to give us, sinners. It is called GRACE in the Bible. God tells us in the Bible: “It is by GRACE you are saved, through FAITH… not as a result of works.”
We are helpless to save ourselves. Lord Jesus saves us through our faith in him, and gives us new life. This is the simple but wonderful truth of the Gospel! You may start to wonder, “I have the gift of salvation. God has forgiven all my sins. He is taking me to heaven. Why should I do any good deeds? I can do what I want!”
Can we? Let’s think about it: When we ask Lord Jesus to forgive us, He makes us clean and new. We are born-again into God’s family. We begin a new life like a newborn baby.
Like a baby, who is completely dependent on his mother, we depend on God to show us how to live this new life. God has planned a whole new life for us. It is not an empty life. It is a fulfilling life, full of good deeds we can do for Him.
All the old “pleasures” of sin have lost their appeal. In fact, we now hate them. Even if we are tempted by Satan to go back to our old way of life, we cling to God and He gives us the strength to say “no”.
Bible tells us: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
So, as we rejoice in our salvation and wait either for Lord Jesus to come back or to go home to Him in heaven, let us eagerly find out all the good deeds He is calling us to do. And do them with joy!
Prayer: “Heavenly Father, please help me not to live a meaningless, self-centered life, but to live a life full of good deeds for You.”