Saved By Grace

 Eph 2:8,9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

I have been to enough funerals where the good deeds of the deceased have been extolled and praised. Their time in this world is over, and they have left a lasting impression of being a good person. A person that was kind, willing to give their time and resources to others who were in need. Their humanitarianism could not be denied in the way they lived their lives. Personally, I hope that I can also live such a legacy that my life had some meaning and made a positive impact on those who knew me. Those who believe that there is a God, and there is life after death, all desire that their soul will find their resting place in heaven, a good place. God will look at their life and see that the good things done on this earth will surely outweigh any bad that may have been done. I had someone close to me speak these very words. I asked, “Are you ready for heaven?” They were confident that God would see that they tried their best to be a good person, they did not kill anyone or do anything that was regrettable. I would like to believe that good people will make it to heaven. But such a belief is contrary to God’s Word. The Bible is clear, no matter how many good works you have done, we all have sin, and the wages of sin is death. God is pleased when we accomplish good things, and as a Christian, we are commanded to do so. But, eternal security is secured through God’s grace provided to us through the Christ who died for us. He is the propitiation for our sin, paid the debt for our sin, so the wages of sin have been paid. Our faith in this sacrifice is our saving grace. Jesus, the way, truth, and life is our only hope to make it into heaven. As much as we would like to think that being good and doing good deeds will somehow convince God that we are worthy of eternal life, we need Jesus to make us fit for heaven. Thank God, we have this gift given to us by the Father.. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Roman 6:23