God's Inheritance

I just got back from lunch with Norma Avilla (she's so wonderful; I love her), and our conversation got me thinking... I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness and then I hopped Protestant churches, and the main message I received at these places was that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:17). They used this verse to mean that we earn our way into Heaven by being good enough and by doing good deeds.

Of course, that is taking the phrase out of context. Through having faith in God and believing in what Jesus did for us, we receive eternal life. NOT by anything we do! We don't earn our way into Heaven; we aren't worthy! But God loves us all despite our weaknesses and gives us the gift of eternal life if we only accept Him! It seems too easy almost, too good to be true, doesn't it? But it IS true. Look in Romans chapter 6:

²²But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. ²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Being "set free from sin" only means that we have stopped serving Satan and ourselves; we have instead accepted God and chosen to serve Him. It doesn't mean we cease sinning, as we never will. But when you make the choice to put your faith and love in God, you receive His inheritance of an afterlife. Christ died to atone for the sins of all people, so that we could have a personal relationship with God without needing to cleanse ourselves first (remember how in the Old Testament they sacrificed animals and had to be careful to only approach God when "clean" or they would defile the tabernacle?). Jesus was our sacrificial lamb so that no lambs need be sacrificed in order to enter into God's presence. Now He is in us always! Jesus cleansed us!

This was so hard for me to learn, as I was still stuck in my old ways. I thought that I needed to control my actions and prove myself to God to be able to have eternal life. I just couldn't accept His grace. But there was something about my conversation with Norma, when we hit some of these points that made me understand today.

But why is this so hard to accept? Why do so many also forget the priority of a relationship with God, and instead focus on following the laws set forth in the Bible? Could it be an issue of control or trust? If we believe that works will save us, then we know what to do; we do a certain thing to get a predictable outcome. We volunteer and help others, we work to convert new believers, we are careful not to swear or lie. Because when it is our actions that will save us, we feel important, in control, safe, knowledgeable, and powerful. But when it is simply God's love that saves us, it's scary. We then have to accept that God loves us unconditionally, even though we will never be worthy of it. Suddenly, we have to admit that we will never be perfect, that we will fail sometimes. In our human relationships, don't we feel that we need to earn love and respect from others? But we don't earn that from God; it's freely given!

It is important to remember that faith and love of God lead us to become better and do good deeds. Accepting God's grace and love doesn't mean that you can be lax. Just because works don't get you into Heaven doesn't mean you don't have to try to better yourself. When you accept God and love Him, you want to serve Him. Your faith changes you; the Holy Spirit enters you and alters you. You start to see things from God's perspective, and you come to have compassion and empathy for others, which makes you want to help them. Your works are a result of your faith!

Any thoughts?