Becoming a Christian is believing that Jesus, who went to the cross and resurrected from the dead, can atone for your sins. This definition makes no mention of the fact that doing good denotes being a Christian. However, it seems odd to be a Christian and not conduct good deeds. What then is the correct response? Is it possible to be a Christian and not conduct good deeds?
Doing good work does not make you a Christian
It’s a very fundamental truth of the Christian faith that we cannot save ourselves. We do not earn eternal life by being the best person we can be. The Bible tells us: that’s just not good enough. However hard we try, we can’t fulfill God’s standards. There is only one hope for us: that God gives us eternal life because He loves us. And that is exactly what He does. Salvation “is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). So doing good does not make you a Christian. It is God’s grace that makes us believe in Jesus as Saviour. In this way we receive eternal life, and the Holy Spirit lives in us.
Being a Christian without doing good?
Now imagine a person with the Holy Spirit in his heart, who is a child of God, who has received eternal life and is looking forward to the day that God will establish His Kingdom on earth. Is it possible that that person will consistently worship other gods? That he will not care about his parents? That he will hate others and never feel love? That he will show in his sexual relationships he doesn’t care at all about what God says? That he will defraud others without ever feeling sorry? You immediately realise: no, that is not possible. Being a Christian means that you are a changed person. It does not mean that you are perfect. But it does mean that you cannot consistently find joy in sin. You cannot become a Christian by doing good. But you cannot be a Christian without doing good.
The Bible on doing good
You can clearly see that it is impossible to be a Christian and not do good just by thinking about it. This is often confirmed in the Bible. I’ll give you a couple instances. Ephesians 2:8–9 tells us that salvation is a gift from God, not something we earn. “Because we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them,” reads the passage that comes just after, verse 10. Why then are we spared? to carry out excellent deeds. Being a Christian requires acting morally.
Similarly, Jesus Christ “gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works,” according to Titus 2:14. Step one is that we are saved by Jesus. Our second step is to perform good deeds. That’s the reason we were spared! And we are especially “zealous” about doing good deeds because that is what Jesus has in mind for us.
James 2:26 is the last scripture I want to use since it makes it very evident that one cannot be a Christian and not conduct good deeds. “Because faith apart from works is dead, just as the body is dead apart from the spirit.” A human person is made up of both a body and a spirit. Likewise, works and faith have a place together. You are talking about a lifeless faith and a false Christian if there are no positive deeds.
Christians do good works
So keep in mind that good deeds alone cannot make someone a Christian. But doing good deeds is a requirement for becoming a Christian. Examine your heart to discover if you truly love the Lord if you lack the motivation to do good. Because you will obey Him if you love Him. According to Matthew 7:21, Jesus declared, “The one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter the kingdom of heaven, not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,'”
However, carry on with your good deeds if you are certain that you love the Lord. Have fervor for them! You will rejoice and know that you will be among those who hear “well done, good and faithful servant” when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead. Welcome to your master’s delight (Matthew 25:23).
