Why I Believe Works Salvation is the Commonly Held Viewpoint for This Fallen World

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Since it's Reformation Month - one of the biggest reasons why the Reformation entered into Church history is because of the battle for the truth that salvation is by Sola Fide (faith alone) and Sola Gratia (grace alone). Then again, the battle for salvation by faith alone didn't begin during the Reformation but even came before the rise of the Roman Catholic institution. Works salvation has become a commonly held viewpoint. There's the statement that Heaven is for good people and Hell is for bad people. However, that's only half of the truth. Jesus warned many times that the righteous go to eternal life and the wicked perish in Hell. The self-righteous think they're already on their way to Heaven but they don't realize God's standard is much higher. 

I considered reading the mythologies of the world. Many of them are rather disgusting such as how their gods are all but imperfect. Here are some facts you may want to consider the pagan gods - they aren't perfect. I tried watching some Hindu films and find that their gods are capable of human error. Hinduism one of the world's oldest religions teaches that the gods aren't perfect and are capable of sin. Greek mythology doesn't teach perfect, sinless gods as the Greek gods are usually adulterous and incestuous perverts with Zeus being the most infamous of them all. You'd probably be disgusted to read how Zeus had a mortal lover named Io, later mated with his descendant by Io named Danae to sire Perseus, and that he later mated with one of Perseus' granddaughters to produce Heracles (Hercules). The incest coefficient must be very high considering Zeus is the many-times-great-grandfather of both Perseus and Hercules! Having gods who aren't perfect will eventually say this message, "Well, all you need to do is to do more good than bad!" A lot of mythologies even talk about this fabled god of the afterlife such as Hades (Greek mythology) or Yama (Indian/Chinese mythology) who weigh your sins on a weighing scale to determine your destiny. Works salvation or salvation by one's own effort makes good literature but it's not the truth.

The problem is the pagan view of gods is quickly associated with the God of the Bible. Although they do teach the truth that God is perfect and we're not - they still believe that a perfect God will accept them if they do more good than bad. However, if they're going to stick with the statement that Heaven is for good people and hell is for bad people then there's really bad news. Yes, it's true but Romans 3:10-19 says that there's no such thing as a good person. I will be quoting from the New International Version because even it actually refutes the conditional security preacher who loves to use it!
Romans 3:10-19 
“There is no one righteous, not even one; 11     there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16     ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 
 James 2:10-11 
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

Whether we like to admit it or not - God's standards of a good person are far greater. You can be all the best like the person above. Pagan gods could care less if you put your faith in them - just be the best you can and you will be accepted. Hades and Yama would just say, "Okay, you've done more good than bad - take the road on the right and enter Paradise!" but that's not the God of the Bible works. Taoism and Buddhism are very inclusive religions. The Jade Emperor of Taoism may be referred to as "God the Father" but he is far from perfect like the Yahweh of the Bible. Amitabha Buddha had to cultivate many lifetimes before he became the highest Buddha. Jesus, however, was already sinlessly perfect as the Son of God. However, God's standards are much higher, and bad news - the pagan gods are just mythological. The God of the Bible is very real and His standard of holiness requires 100% compliance. That is, if you want to be considered to be a good person in God's eyes - you need to live your life without a single sin even as a child. However, if you've been spanked as a child - it's because you've been a sinner. If your parents spank you then you've broken the command to honor your father and your mother. Spanking was made not because humanity is basically good but because foolishness is bound in the heart of the child. Even the best morally good people are still bad people in God's eyes. You can be the best war hero with all the war medals, be the father of the year, be the husband of the year but if you're an idolater - God will send you to Hell along with the worst of humanity! 

This reminded me of why I was scared of the Bible. Reading Revelation scared me, especially how it's declared who and who are going to the Lake of Fire. Idolaters? I've prayed in Buddhist and Taoist temples aside from going to a Roman Catholic mass. Liar? How many times have I lied? Then I had my faith crisis in Roman Catholicism and even thought of either Buddhism, Islam, or atheism. I thought about becoming a Buddhist or Muslim. The Bible is a scary book because it knows all about our sin. That's why I initially and called it as a cursed, dirty book before I got saved. After I got saved, the Bible becomes the most important book to me. There was the big burden of sin and I wanted to be free from it. At that time, I no longer attended Roman Catholic masses with my hypocritical folks though I still lied I was still a Roman Catholic. Deep within, I had a faith crisis while I didn't want anybody to know I was already mad at "Mama Mary" for not answering my prayers. I've never been a good boy. Sure, I did become a "good boy" in some way, good enough for Santa Claus' nice list but he isn't real. Works salvation is as fictitious as Santa Claus or any mythologies around him. Santa Claus is a myth and so is works salvation. Then I just went from bad to worse while still seeking the right path and struggling with going to the path of evil.

Thomas Brooks' essay "A Cooler Hell" holds the rather cold comfort. These words really show the only "comfort" that we can get for our relatives and friends who lived their best but died without Christ:

Morality is not sufficient to keep a man out of eternal misery. All morality can do, is to help a man to one of the best rooms and easiest beds which hell affords! For, as the moral man's sins are not so great as others—so his punishments shall not be so great as others. This is all the comfort that can be given to a moral man—that he shall have a cooler hell than others have. But this is but cold comfort. 

Morality without piety is as a body without a soul. Will God ever accept of such a stinking sacrifice? Surely not!

Since Hell is a prison for the wicked - remember there are many degrees of prisoners. Low petty criminals are placed in lower security and lower punishment. A maximum-security prison is reserved for the worst of criminals. A rehabilitation center is for lower-class criminals. Luke 10 says that it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that certain town. Maybe, the people there have become more wicked than Sodom but a righteous remnant held judgment back. Unfortunately, Hell is an eternal prison where there is no parole. Besides, even if God gave the people of Hell a chance to get saved - I don't think they will take it. Remember all the rich man in Luke 19:16-31 had was regret but not repentance. The heart that's driven against God in some way will remain in that way. I think even the most moral people will probably still curse God throughout eternity for not accepting their good works.

The big frightening reality is that Matthew 7:21-23 says the following:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

I would say these miracles don't limit themselves to signs and wonders. I would say that these miracles also have to do with how much good they are capable of doing in the flesh. The King James Version (KJV) uses the term "wonderful works" which for me, is a little more accurate than miracles as used by modern versions. It's true that false preachers will brag of their miracles (and most of them are phony) then we do have the crowd who think that their own good works are miraculous. A miracle's definition is not necessarily supernatural. Sometimes, we can say that a miracle is "an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment" as defined by the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary. One can say that it's a miracle that somebody was able to create such a bridge or how somebody figured out how to electrify the world. Science itself is a miracle because God is the Author of it. Somebody can even say that somebody can do so many good works is indeed a miraculous event. It's just like when you thought nobody cared - here comes that heathen who selflessly gave away much of his savings to help people in disaster. I guess that's why the unsaved will even claim to do many miracles because they have done this and that to help others. But for God, even your best isn't good enough and you are still a bad person.

So who are the real good people in God's eyes? There's a statement that Heaven is not for good people but for the forgiven people. Actually, I'd like to restate that by saying, "Heaven is for good people who were but forgiven sinners." One can always argue what if one's an honest pagan and the other is a Christian criminal? Christian criminal? The Christian criminal is just a Christian in name only. Nobody who's truly saved can really continue on the same path of wickedness. People who preach you can be saved and still remain the same are just as damned as people who preach salvation by works. Only false converts think that they're saved and can sin all they want. I remembered after I got saved - I really thought that if you're saved then good works will appear. My delay in maturity caused me to doubt if I were saved. I guess that's why God used my classmates to rebuke me. It wasn't very welcome because I was taught to mind my own business or never tell authorities about the wrong you're seeing. I held to it saying that receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior is life-changing. The more I read Acts - the more I see true conversion results to a change of lifestyle and that there's no license to sin. The Law was there to maintain order but it can't save. All the Law can do is condemn and only give temporal rewards in some way. Sure, we do end up rewarding people for accomplishing something but it's just like a laurel life - it perishes. Only what's done for Christ after one's saved can truly last.

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