Can My Works Save Me?

I hate to be the one to point this out—but there’s an elephant in the room, and we should probably talk about it.  God said some things to Ezekiel today that sound an awful lot like I could earn my way to heaven.  In fact, if you had not read the rest of the Word, you might get the idea that you can go to heaven as long as the last things you did were good.

The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins.  When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins.  And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right.  For instance, they might give back a debtor’s security, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die.  None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live (Ez. 33:12-16).

There’s a hint in the middle of that, “expecting their past righteousness to save them,” (Ez. 33:13).  If we base our expectation of heaven on anything other than God’s forgiveness, we’re bound to be disappointed.  It’s important to remember that what we do springs up out of the well of our hearts.  God told Jeremiah, “O Jerusalem, cleanse your heart that you may be saved.  How long will you harbor your evil thoughts?” (Jer. 4:14).

Further on in our reading today, we find God telling the Israelites through Ezekiel, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols.  And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.  And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations,” (Ez. 36:25-57).  Their unrighteous acts sprang from hard, stony hearts, but sometimes we even do good things with poor motives, expecting to gain something from it (Mat. 6:1-4).  True obedience springs from a heart cleansed by God.

If you’re reading through the Daily Walk Bible, today’s passage is Ezekiel 33-36.