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It was 22 years ago when I arrived in Canada and chose Calgary, Alberta to be my home. Leaving my family and friends behind, it was a new adventure for me to be in a new country without knowing anyone. That was the time I looked for a Filipino community paper and never found any, [...]
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Good Works are Not Enough!

by: Nilo Briones

How noble are the ideals of being good before the eyes of man and according to the world standards. Compliments addressed to people who do good things like being religious and generous to the poor and needy always appeal to everyone’s delight. But could this suffice our spiritual need to secure our salvation for our souls to be received in heaven? A humorous ironic comment says that “reaching God is like coming to the city of Calgary either from the East, West, North, or South way”, meaning you can still be in heaven by whatever means you believe as long as you manifest good works. Well, let’s flip through the pages of the Holy Bible being God’s divine revelation to man’s salvation and eternal destiny.

In the olden of days (Acts 10) during the time of the Apostle Peter, he was summoned by the Lord to meet a man named Cornelius, a Roman military officer who always prays and gives much alms to the poor. Cornelius had a vision in which a messenger from God, an angel, said: “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God” (10:4). Despite this wonderful vision, Cornelius was asked to meet Peter through providential circumstance, where the apostle had preached the Gospel or the good news of “salvation through faith in Christ” alone. Eventually, by hearing the Word, comes repentance to sins and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ which pave the way to the salvation of Cornelius and his household.

Yes, indeed, the Word says that, “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith –and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). Grace is an unmerited favor from God, a favor which is not the result of doing any good apart from Christ, a favor which expresses the immeasurable mercy and loving kindness of God to those who humble and respond to the Gospel in faith. In effect, as a result of having faith in Christ, we are now being empowered by His Spirit to do good works not for our praise but for the honor and glory of God. This is exactly what happens: faith in the Lord results in good works, not good works alone as they are not enough.

Dear reader(s), where are you heading at this point in time? Is your heart content of being praised by people because of your good works yet unsure whether you are accepted by God? Humble yourself then, repent of your sins, and ask God’s forgiveness. Then accept Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord who is the author of our salvation and the prime mover of ourselves to do good works for His praise. Blessings!

Good Works are Not Enough!

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