Making Works Part of the Equation of Salvation?

I recently watched a 30 minute movie at our church. It was about a church with enormous youth following. The movie has some good messages but it had a couple of things that bothered me. The interns that worked there kept saying two phrases. I have “burned the boat” and “I have burned the bridges”.

Naturally I understood what they meant. We, who have genuine faith in Christ Jesus have “burned our boat,” so to speak. We “burned our boat”, so we wouldn’t sail back into our old lives of enjoying sin. We have also “burned the bridges” in the same way. We know those old bridges that led us into temptation and sin so we have laid a torch to them so we would be able to cross back over them again.

The concept however of “burning the boat” and “burning the bridges” became a problem to me when they associated the feelings of guilt with going “home”. “Home” was now considered a problem when "home" was not considered the intern’s place of service? The interns mentioning they were going “home” for Christmas or to visiting family because of a loss ” rose flashing red lights in the leadership.

Why did I sense guilt and shame by the interns when they went “home” see family?

What kind of pressure were they receiving? Was this pressure and guilt from themselves or from the leadership to keep numbers high? Why did I feel that the interns saw their service as part of the equation of their salvation?

Our service in the body of Christ and in our community should never be the part of the equation of our salvation, which comes from Christ and Christ alone. Guilt should never be used to keep members in a certain body of Christ.

A person should receive joy for their Christian service. They should never look at their service as a way to make brownie points with God or add to some resume for God to consider when we enter heaven. God knows what we do and not do. He will judge us according to our works but our works have nothing to do with making ourselves righteous before God. Works can not give us some kind of edge on our salvation.

Our human efforts are useless. It is only when the Holy Spirit works through us that we give glory to God and show the love of Christ to others. God should be the one to receive the credit for our good works for He was the one who changed our hearts in the first place.

Were we not dead in our trespasses and sin before we came to Christ or Christ came to us? Did God not bring us back to life and bring us into a new existence that did not exist before?” We did not become this new creature in Christ by ourselves. (Colossians 3:10)

Paul says in Romans 4 “When people work, their wages are not gift. Workers earn what they receive. But people are declared righteous because of their faith not because of their work.”

Paul continues in Romans 4:24 to say, “assuring us that God will also declare us to be righteous if we believe in God, who brought Jesus our Lord back from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God. Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”

I have made this mistake of trying to score points with God by doing “Christian activities and services” and it only made me burned out and miserable. When you do things by your own accord, understanding and efforts you soon find there is no joy or peace in the work you do.

Joy is fully trusting in God in faith. Remind you that joy doesn’t mean you don’t get tired in doing the work but you find the work rewarding and encouraging. Trusting in God produces a good attitude and works which will be light to show others the goodness of God. (James 2:17-24, 1 Peter 2:9)

Salvation and peace come from Christ and Christ alone.

Jesus says in John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

Paul writes in Galatians 3:3 “Have you lost your senses? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? You have suffered so much for the Good News. Surely it was not in vain, was it? Are you now going to just throw it all away?”

Do not make works part of the equation of your salvation or life.