Not By Our Works

 Titus 3:4,5
But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

It is a marvel to think that a holy God would consider dwelling with sinful humanity is beyond my comprehension. Man is inherently influenced toward selfishness. There is a part of man that desires to do good and will manifest this goodness through acts of mercy and human compassion. Humanity has the capacity to love, born from being made in the image of God. Civilization has worked to cultivate this goodness, creating laws and statues to help govern the behavior of people to act civilized. The influence of religious organizations has contributed to this influence by teaching us to be kind to each other. Jesus Himself, in the Sermon on the Mount taught us to love your neighbor as yourself. But being good is not enough, for all have sinned and come short of redemption. Our good works come short of meeting the requirement for atonement for sin. But God, in His tender mercy and love sent His Son to pay the price for our redemption. He died on the cross, the sinless One, the lamb of God who is able to take away the sins of the world paid the debt that was ours. Through His death and resurrection we now can have new life, The Holy Spirit is given to us, purifying our hearts by faith. The world is filled with good people doing their best, and only God knows the heart of man, but salvation does not come by good works that we have done, but by faith in the One who is able to save us to the utmost.