Good Works

James 3:13 
If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. (NLT)

We all know many that appear to live an honorable life and that do good works. This does not mean they understand God's ways or even acknowledge Him at all. Good works are noticed by others especially when they are bragged about by those that do them. We see this in all walks of life as they tend to attached their names to the works they did.

Often when someone dies you hear about how good they were as an explanation of where they were spending eternity. The world has this formula that says you get to heaven based on how many good things you did in life. The Bible tells us a different story,

First one has to be saved and to do that they must acknowledge not only God, but accept Jesus as their Lord and savior. They must invite Jesus into their life; into their heart. When that truly happens, the Father sends Holy Spirit to reside in them. They are born again and on the path to an eternity with God; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Does God expect good works from us? Yes, He requires it. But as we become more Christ like over time our life of good works becomes second nature. We do because of who we have become. The works we do are not a calculated list of what we feel God would have us do. They are a result of listening to Holy Spirit as He instructs us and guides through our salvation experience; our walk with Him through this earthly life.