A Gift that Transforms
Salvation is a gift of grace, received through faith in Jesus Christ. No one can earn it through their own efforts. If we try to secure salvation by our own works, we risk missing the heart of the Gospel—complete reliance on Christ. Yet, true faith is never empty or inactive. A life touched by God’s grace is a life that bears fruit. If someone claims to have faith but their life remains unchanged, they are only deceiving themselves.
We are not saved by our good works—we are saved by Christ’s finished work on the cross. However, salvation is never without good works, for when God saves a person, He creates a new heart that longs to obey Him and bring glory to His name.
Even in the brief moments before his death, the repentant thief on the cross revealed God’s grace at work in his heart. He rebuked the other thief for mocking Jesus and publicly identified himself with the crucified King. Likewise, the Philippian jailer, upon believing in Christ, immediately began living out his faith—caring for Paul and Silas, washing their wounds, receiving baptism, and offering them hospitality.
Scripture speaks plainly about the connection between faith and works:
"God will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honour and peace for everyone who does good" (Romans 2:6-10).
Please read that passage again and again, and with all honesty, ask yourself: Who, according to this Scripture, will receive eternal life, and who will face judgment?
Similarly, Jesus also declared the same truth:
"Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment" (John 5:28-29).
Again, ask: Who, according to the Lord Jesus, will rise to life, and who will face condemnation?
A faith that does not produce love, holiness, and a transformed life is no faith at all. Scripture is clear: “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12). If God’s grace does not change a person’s heart and actions, then that person has not truly received saving grace.
A Gospel that promises salvation without a transformed life is not the true Gospel. It is a distortion that leads people away from Christ and into destruction. The good news is that God's grace is powerful—it not only forgives but also renews. When we truly place our faith in Christ, He makes us new, shaping us into people who love, obey, and reflect His goodness to the world.
