It is true that our salvation is not a result of works. Our salvation comes from belief. We must believe in Jesus, who he was, who he is, and what he did for us. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. He came to Earth, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross so we could be redeemed from sin and damnation.

The trap many fall into is a misunderstanding of works. What are works? And when must we work for our salvation?

Hear me out.

I think the correct understanding of works is good deeds. Deeds such as feeding the homeless, visiting the imprisoned, helping others. These do not promise us salvation, but should be a fruit of our religion. So when do works earn us salvation?

Is it work for you to not murder?

Is it work for you to not steal?

Is it work for you to not lie?

Is it work for you to not take the name of the Lord in vain?

Regarding the Sabbath, is it work for you to not work?

Go through the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20. One or more of them may be work for you. In other words it may require some effort on your part to keep them. These works are crucial to your salvation. They could even be described as good works. Yet, the Bible tells us the wages of sin is death. This refers to the second death or eternal damnation. It is extremely serious, so much so, Jesus will say in that day, I never knew you, depart from me you workers of iniquity.

We keep the law because God through the gift of his Son wrote it on our hearts. Keeping them can come from fear of God or through the fruits of our changed spirit, seeing the example and sacrifice of his Son. Make no mistake, you do need to keep the law in order to be saved. You can argue all day that our works do not save us. The truth is God did not intend law keeping to be work, but rather actions which flow naturally from our love and understanding of Him.