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THE
BIBLE
Can we trust a book written 2000 years ago?
EYEWITNESS
Did the writers of the New Testament get their picture of Jesus right?
GOD
- MAN
Is Jesus really God?
RESURRECTION
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
RELIGIONS
With so many religions, why Christianity?
SUFFERING
If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?
TRINITY
Understanding the Trinity.
SCIENCE
The complementary nature of Science & Christianity.
FORGIVENESS
What it is and why it matters?
GUIDANCE
How does God guide?
REPENTANCE
What it is and why you can't get to heaven without it.
BORN
AGAIN
What does it mean to be converted and born again?
SAVING
FAITH
The kind of faith that will get you to heaven
ASSURANCE
Can I know for sure that I am going to heaven?
TRUTH
What is truth and does it matter?
MORALITY
Does it matter how we live? A Christian view of morality.
THE
CHURCH
God's vision for his family, the Church. A call to the churches of the
new millennium.
PURPOSE
How
can I find a great purpose for living?
IDENTITY
Who am I; Finding my true identity as a human being and as a child of
God.
SELF-ESTEEM
How
can I feel good about my self? The Christian basis for proper sel-esteem.
LIFE AFTER DEATHChristianity's Hope & Challenge.
THE CROSS
Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible says about the Cross.
Grace
The importance of grace in the New Testament.
If salvation is by faith, do good works matter?
Obviously, the New Testament has a great deal to say about the sort of people we should be and the good works we should do. However, it is also very clear that these should be the consequence of our relationship with God, and are not the means by which we enter into that relationship. After declaring that we are saved "by faith" and "not by works", Paul goes on in the next verse to say, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works..." (Ephesians 2:8-10). He wants us to submit to him so he can then work on us and produce "Something Beautiful for God" (as Malcom Muggeridge entitled his book on Mother Theresa).
One of the metaphors used in the New Testament to describe both character and behaviour is that of "fruit". Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). In other words, the good works that are acceptable to God are those which grow out of a right relationship with him. Martin Luther, whose teaching sparked off the Reformation in the 16th century, put it like this:
No one can be good and do good unless God's grace first makes him good; and no one becomes good by works, but good works are done by him who is good. Just as the fruits do not make the tree, but the tree bears the fruit...Therefore all works, no matter how good they are and how pretty they look, are in vain if they do not flow from grace.
To sum up, we could say that if our faith does not have some effect on our lives in terms of both love for God and love for others, then something is deficient in our faith. James put it more bluntly, "faith without works is dead" (i.e. not real faith at all - James 2:26).
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The kind of faith that will get you into heaven
If salvation is by faith, do good works matter?
