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“Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Galatians 2:16

Have you ever done something that you thought was a very good thing, only to discover it was not good at all? Or maybe you’ve created a pattern (or patterns) in your life that you 100% believe are getting you what you really want/need…only to later determine that they were actually harmful to you and/or others. You may even have been standing firm on the validity of your actions in righteous indignation that what you were doing was honoring to God. However, some wiser and more experienced person came along to gently share with you the errors of your ways, redirecting you with unveiled truths.

This has been my experience in the midst of all my recent health and medical revelations. I won’t go into the annoying details but suffice it to say that I certainly didn’t think that eating ½ bag of spinach for lunch every day would actually be harmful to me. Or that my dislike for meat (and therefore lack of protein) has also been contributing to my physical decay. In fact, before I saw the evidence, I probably would have mocked you if you told me I was “eating poorly.” After all, I was getting accolades from others regarding how it all looked from the outside. But with medical substantiation in hand and insights from wise and learned medical counsel, I’ve come to recognize that many of my “good” habits might look good on the surface but are—in reality and for the long-term—destructive.

Then the spiritual implications of this struck me hard. In fact, it brought me back to the days prior to my total surrender to Jesus as Lord and Savior—days when I believed that doing good things was God-honoring and the key to a positive end-game outcome (especially if my tally of good surpassed the bad). Yep, good works earned my right standing and entry fee to eternal life in heaven. These activities look really good on the surface…they may align with God’s law and His Word. And said actions can make a good impression too, earning accolades from others based on how it all looks from the outside. But, in reality and for the long-term, these good works lead only to destruction.

Similar to my current health situation, we all need an inside-out transformation. Righteousness does not come from our good works—we cannot be “good enough” because the standard is perfection. In order for a holy God to look upon our sinfulness (because we’re all sinners—Romans 3:23) and forgo His wrath against us (because He is just—Romans 5:9), we need the imputed righteousness of Jesus. In other words, the life, death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus paid the penalty for the wrath we deserve. So it’s by His scars (His good deeds) we are healed, rescued, redeemed (Isaiah 53:4-5; 1 Peter 2:24). We’re made new by Him—not by our efforts.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not knocking doing good things in this life—in fact, the Bible is replete with calls to stop with the self-serving depravity and walk according to God’s law (love God and others). But this activity is a response to the grace we’ve been given through Jesus! And we can only rightly do them through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us as believers.

Are you working (and working and working) to earn the acceptance of God and/or the accolades of others? Beloved, stop striving. It’s already been accomplished (John 19:30), and all you have to do is accept the Truth of the Gospel (Titus 3:5-7). Then, you can “get to work” for Him and from victory—doing good out of His love, not to earn it.

“Father God, thank You that I don’t have to strive in earning a righteousness worthy of Your perfect standard. Jesus paid it all so that, in Him, I have the gift of eternal life.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life