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I recently had a moment last week where I had a short interaction with a professing Catholic at work. And although we didn’t get into what branch of Catholicism he was personally a part of, as the conversation moved forward, his overarching conclusion about salvation and the means by which we are granted eternal life was works-based in his mind. Do more good than bad, follow a moral compass, “seek God,” and in the end, if you followed the “golden rule” to the best of your ability, then the cosmic scale should tip in your favor. As my coworker began expressing these types of ideas, it was discouraging to see someone attempting to trust in their own efforts and being so convinced that they can achieve salvation through sin-tainted “good works.” What a terrifying and hopeless way to live.

As the short interaction came to a close (neither he nor I changing our minds about the truth), there were two thoughts that initially came to my mind as I thought about that interaction.

Thankfulness for Christ’s work of salvation.
 I was reminded of how there is no golden rule or “good work” that I could ever do to obtain salvation, and how Christ is the only answer. Even though we understand this truth as saved individuals, I was reminded of how often I take this truth for granted. He has done what I could never do for myself—defeated my sin and given me access to eternal life through His perfect work. I am fully forgiven and freed in Him, and the penalty that I could never pay by my own efforts has been fully paid by Christ. I am so thankful that He doesn’t require our works or for us to live by “the golden rule” in order to have a restored relationship with Him, or else we would be doomed. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and nobody comes to the Father but through Him.

What areas of this life am I relying upon my own efforts rather than God’s?
 Secondly, I was challenged to consider this thought: If I am fully trusting in Jesus’ work and not my own for eternal salvation, am I trusting Him with the day-to-day cares of this life? Often I find myself falling into the trap of relying upon my own efforts when it comes to the cares of this life. “I’ll be able to rest when I have this amount of money in my bank account,” or “when this relationship is at the point I want it to be.” Rather than finding my assurance in these areas based on God and His provision over them, I settle for a fake version of assurance based on the efforts that I’ve put in. To tie it into this “works-based” idea, I similarly mirror the same false belief that my coworker holds—trusting in my own efforts for provision in this life, rather than trusting in God’s guidance and care. Through this conversation, I was helpfully reminded that we are to cast our cares upon the Lord and trust in His provision and work—not our own.

As followers of Christ, never let us forget the amazing hope we have in Him, both now and for eternity. As we go forward in our weeks, let’s be people who show Christ thankfulness for doing what we could never do by our own works, and let’s be people who extend that same kind of trust and reliance upon Him for our everyday cares.

Serving Together,

Luke Black