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(The translation of the Chinese title for this message is "Can Man Be Saved by Doing Good." The title above was given by the author on the English cover of the original magazine.)
Can man be saved by doing good? The world's answer is yes. But God's answer in the Bible is no. The authority to decide our salvation is in the hand of God. Salvation is not according to our will. Our salvation is related to God; we cannot make any decision on our own. We cannot be saved just because we think we are. Nor can we be unsaved just because we think we are. Readers, listen to the voice of God. You have to listen to what He has to say. Do not think that as long as you can do good, you will be saved. You have to know that this matter is decided by God.
Can morality save men? No. Absolutely no. Blessed is the man who knows this fact. Today men think that exhorting others to believe in Jesus is the same as exhorting them to do good. Little do they realize that exhorting men to believe in the Lord Jesus is really proving to them that they cannot do good. Even many believers do not realize that man is not saved by doing good. Their thought is to try their best to keep God's Word, attend services, offer money, help the church, and strive to be good, hoping that by so doing, they will be saved. Little do they realize that these things are all vain! These things do not help at all in the matter of their salvation. (Of course I do not mean that we should not keep God's Word, offer money, etc. I am saying that we cannot be saved by these things.)
It is most vain to argue and reason with man's words. Let us then turn to God's Word. Whatever God says is fixed. "For we account that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law" (Rom. 3:28). The meaning of "works of the law" here is to try to do good. The law was enacted by God. It shows men what they ought to do. If a man could keep God's law, he would be the best person on earth. But God says here through the apostle that He has reckoned, that He is perfectly clear, that man is not justified by keeping the law and doing good. What is the meaning of justification? It means that God not only forgives your sins, but reckons you righteous. In other words, to be justified is to be saved. A justified person is a saved person. God teaches that you cannot be saved or justified by keeping the law. For this reason, my dear sinners, do not trust in your works, and do not think that you can be saved by doing good. Stop your own work! Confess that you are a hopeless sinner! Accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior, and you will be saved.
God is worthy of man's praise because His salvation of man is not based on man's good works. He says, "Where sin abounded, grace has superabounded" (Rom. 5:20). Readers, do you know that you are sinners? Does not your conscience condemn you? Do you not think that men such as you are helpless? Do not be deceived in thinking that you can be saved by doing good, or that you can be saved by joining a church, singing in a choir, praying, or attending services. Do not try to mend your transgressions by human ways. You are sinners, and no matter how much you mend yourselves, you are still sinners. It is like a black man from Africa. No matter how much he tries to put on powder or paints himself with white paint, he is still a black man. Do not try to do good by yourselves anymore! No matter how much you have sinned, the blood of the Lord is able to cleanse you. Come!
Mr. Spurgeon of England was an evangelist who was greatly used by the Lord. Once he said that if the Lord would save him only if he did good, he would never want to be a Christian. He gave an illustration. Suppose he had done many good things, and then presented this goodness before God and asked, "Since I have done so much good, can I be saved?" Since God is the God of all goodness, surely He would not approve of Spurgeon's goodness. He would shake his head and say, "You have not done enough!" Spurgeon said he would then go away in discouragement and would try to do better. After a few years, he would present his goodness before God again, asking God if his goodness was good enough, and if he could be saved. God would answer again, "You are still not good enough. You still cannot be saved." This could go on for two or three more times, and God would still not be satisfied. How then could he be saved? If God expected him to do good before he could be saved, He would probably never be satisfied, and Spurgeon would not be saved even if he worked himself to death. Is this not a pitiful thing? Spurgeon concluded that if God expected him to do good before he could be saved, then he would not want to be a Christian in the first place because he would find out after striving for many years on earth that God would not be satisfied with him and whatever he would have done would have been in vain. We have to thank the Father because we do not have to do good. All we need to do is to believe in God's Son, and we shall be saved. Although it is true that God is not satisfied with our works, and although it is true that we do not have any merit of our own, He is pleased in His Son, the Lord Jesus. He is satisfied with the righteousness that the Lord Jesus accomplished on the cross. Although we cannot and will not do good by ourselves, the minute we believe in His Son and accept the merit of His Son's shed blood on the cross, we will be saved.
Dear readers, do not be deceived by Satan into thinking that you will be saved by doing good. You must realize that just as you cannot build a ladder that reaches heaven, you cannot secure God's salvation through doing good. We do not obtain God's justification through good works. Rather, we are "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). "If by grace, it is no longer out of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace" (11:6). Are not these two verses very clear? We are justified and saved by God, not because of works, but because of His own grace. Grace and work are two principles that are completely opposite. Grace means that God is willing to save whether a man is good or bad. Man is not worthy to be saved, but because of mercy, God gives him salvation freely. Work, on the other hand, is very different. Work means that only good people will be saved, while bad ones will perish. In other words, man has to do good to save himself, and all those who cannot save themselves will perish. We know that we are all sinners. Although we may not have committed the sins of murder or arson, our nature is corrupted; our thoughts and conduct are full of deceit. We are truly sinners! How can we be saved through works? Thank and praise God that He does not save us because of our work. He is saving us because of His free grace, a grace which we do not deserve.
Many people today think that even though salvation is of God's grace, we should, nevertheless, have our work. They think that God's grace should be supplemented with our work before we can be saved; otherwise, we will still perish. Alas, the man in the flesh always wants to be saved by his own self! We should remember the words in Romans 11:6: "But if by grace, it is no longer out of works..." Grace and work cannot stand side by side. Either we have grace or we have work. We can never have grace and work at the same time. "Otherwise..." Here the apostle speaks from the negative angle. If one mixes grace with work, then "grace is no longer grace." God's boundless, incomparable, royal grace, if supplemented by man's ragged works, will become something unseemly and awkward. Man's work will not accomplish God's grace. On the contrary, it will make grace "no longer grace." Therefore, sinners, if you want to be saved, you must never think that you should do good, or that doing good will help you to be saved. You should humble yourselves and acknowledge that you are helpless sinners. You should accept God's grace with faith and thanksgiving; by His Son's accomplishment on the cross, you will be saved. Wonderful grace is given freely to sinners!
We can look again at God's Word to see how good works cannot save. "A man is not justified out of works...we might be justified...not out of the works of law, because out of the works of law no flesh will be justified" (Gal. 2:16). "For as many as are of the works of law are under a curse" (3:10). "By law no one is justified before God" (v. 11). I have told you that the meaning of keeping the law is to do good. To be justified by the law means to be saved through works. What do these few verses say? Those who are saved are not saved through doing good. Not only will they not be saved through doing good, but they will be cursed if they want to be saved through good works! The Bible tells us explicitly that no one is saved through good works. If that is the case, why struggle to do something that can never be achieved? Friends, here is the Lord Jesus' accomplished work. He has paid all the price, and has been crucified on the cross for your sake. You do not need to mournfully seek for salvation. He has accomplished His work. If you receive what He has accomplished, you will be saved. Why struggle in your own ways? Believe in Him! After you believe in Him, praise Him because He has so loved you and has prepared salvation for you!
There are two verses which explain the question of salvation clearly. We can take a look at them. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works that no one should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). After reading these two verses, we should realize that they concern the question of salvation. This is why in the first sentence there is the expression "you have been saved." This clearly concerns salvation.
How are you saved? Is it by good works? No. Is it because you are stronger than others? No. How then is man saved? The Bible tells us that salvation is by two things: God's grace and man's faith. "By grace you have been saved through faith" (2:8). Grace is given by God. God has prepared a Savior for us. He has "caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him" (Isa. 53:6) by sending Him to the cross to die and bear all the punishment for our sins. Through His suffering and bearing pain for us and by drinking the cup of God's righteous wrath, He accomplished a full salvation for us. How great is this grace! This is God's grace; it is the basis of salvation. Man can render no help; He has accomplished everything on our behalf. God has now prepared salvation and presented it before us. Salvation is placed before every sinner — it is placed before you.
We have seen God's grace manifested on the cross of Calvary. But how can we be saved? It is not by doing good or by mortifying ourselves. Neither is it by improvement or by attending church services. "By grace you have been saved through faith" (Eph. 2:8). Now we come to another aspect of salvation. No doubt God gives grace. Even though God gives grace, we cannot be saved unless we believe. The immense grace of God prepared a death-substituting salvation on the cross of Calvary for us. We must believe in Him before we can be saved.
What is the meaning of believing? To believe is to receive (John 1:12). God has prepared the grace. When we receive it, we are saved. If a man gives you something precious, it is yours when you receive it. When you receive the grace of salvation which God gives you, grace will be yours, and you will be saved. I must persuade you not to delay but to receive Him now. I wish that you would stretch out the hand of faith and accept God's great grace to you. Here is an illustration: a rich man saw many poor people about to die of cold in snowy winter weather. He became very charitable and began to investigate the names and addresses of many of the poor people. Then he ordered his servant to go out with a carriage full of coal to give to them. His servant accordingly took the carriage, and when he reached the first door, he asked if that house was the right number on the right street and if the name of the person living there was so-and-so. When the person who opened the door said yes, the servant told him that his master had sent him to offer coal. The poor man thought that this was a mistake; he thought that he did not have such a kind friend. As a result he closed his door to the servant. The servant could not do anything but go to another door. The man at the second door also thought that he did not have such a kind friend. Although the servant used many words to convince him, he was still doubtful and would not accept the coal. The servant had to go to another house. This happened at the next few houses. None of the people in those houses had faith. They all thought that there could not be such a kind person who would buy coal and give it away for free. They would not accept the coal. Later the servant went to the house of a widow. When she learned of the intention of the servant, she gladly received the coal and thanked the master. With the coal she was able to pass through that winter. Friends, this is the way with God's grace; it is absolutely free. Now the servant of the master has sent the Lord's salvation to the door of your heart. If you would receive it, you will enjoy the joy of this salvation. Do not follow the example of the doubting ones, who simply inflicted sufferings on themselves and lost their opportunity forever! You only need to receive. You do not need to do anything else. Once you receive, it is yours.
Ephesians 2 does not stop at the teaching that salvation is of grace and through faith; it goes on to teach about the nature of salvation. "This" salvation is first "not of yourselves; it is the gift of God"; and second "not of works that no one should boast" (vv. 8-9). "This" refers to the great grace of salvation because the previous sentence speaks of salvation. There are also two types of "not" in salvation: first it is not of ourselves, and second it is not of works. How clear this is! Notice that salvation is not of ourselves. It does not matter whether you think you are more intelligent than others or more ignorant than others. It does not matter whether your morality is above others or below others. It does not matter whether you are very rich or penniless. These things have nothing to do with your salvation. If you receive God's grace, whether you are wise or foolish, moral or immoral, you will be saved. If you do not receive, no matter what kind of person you are, you will still perish. Salvation is not based on your condition. It is based on God's free gift. Salvation is not of works either. It does not depend on what kind of person you are, or your conduct. God did not say that those who do good will be saved. God said that salvation is not of works. You cannot be saved even if you are the best person on earth, and neither can you perish because you may be the worst person on earth. Perdition or salvation do not depend on your work, but on whether or not you will accept God's grace. My dear sinners, do not consider all your goodness! Consider rather your sins! Why would you not come before God with a contrite heart, confessing that you are a sinner, that you have no goodness to boast of, no merit to depend on, and trust solely in the grace that God has given you through the cross of His Son? I invite you to come quickly. While you are reading this, please kneel down and pray. Tell God that you will now receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior. Ask Him to forgive your sins, and be a saved person!
Why will God not save man according to his works? There are many reasons, but one is "that no one should boast" (2:9). If man is saved by his works, he will surely boast in himself and not give glory to God. The greatest sin of man is to forsake God, to be independent, not trusting in God. The same is true with respect to salvation. Why would someone want to be saved by his own works and not by the salvation that God has prepared? The reason is man's pride. How humbling it is for one to trust in God! There is nothing for that one to boast in! Man wants to be saved through his own works so that he can boast in himself. But God does not want man to be saved this way, for He does not want man to boast in himself. If one can boast in himself, his salvation is not the true salvation.
Let us look at another passage of the Scriptures. "Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us" (Titus 3:5). After reading this verse, we see that even if we think that we have done much righteousness, God will not save us because of it. Do we really have any righteousness? "For all of us became like him who is unclean, / And all our righteousnesses are like a soiled garment" (Isa. 64:6). We think that our righteousnesses are worth much. But in God's eyes, they are nothing! If God is to save us according to our righteousness, we would all perish because all our righteousnesses, without exception, are as filthy rags. What kind of righteousness can this be considered as? How can it save us? Can God save us by our filthy, rag-like righteousness? No. No. Thank God that He has given us His grace. He saved us because He has mercy on us. He did not save us because of our righteousness. If He saved according to our righteousness, none of us would be saved. We cannot be saved through good works! The meaning of mercy is to give grace to a person who does not deserve it, despite his unworthiness, and to do so through love. We were the sinners. How could we have deserved God's salvation? Yet He has loved us without a reason. He passed over our sins and caused the Lord Jesus to die for us on the cross, bestowing grace to us. "According to His mercy He saved us" (Titus 3:5).
Therefore, readers, do not think that you can be saved by your good works! You should hurry to believe in the Lord Jesus. He does not want you to do good. He wants to save you. He will save you. You do not have to do good. You only have to believe in Him. Although you have not done any good and although you are most sinful, His crucifixion on the cross was a substitutionary death for you to redeem you from sin. He has borne your evil works and the sin of your evil works. You can now come just as you are before Him, in your condition of failure in doing good works. Receive Him as the Savior. He will save you. He will receive you, and He will change you.
Perhaps you are a so-called member of a church already. Perhaps you have been baptized and have been received into the Holy Communion. Perhaps you are a leader of a church. But you should know that none of these will save you. If you do not believe in the Savior who has died for you and has borne your sins, whatever good you have done and whatever position you occupy will not change you from being a perishing man. You are still no different from anyone else! Before God, nothing will shelter a man from the wrath of God except the blood of the Lord Jesus. Any kind of good work will fail. Only the saving work of the cross of the Lord Jesus is trustworthy. Every way to salvation that depends on your own work is from the bottomless pit and is destined for hell. God has established only one way of salvation, which is to accept the grace which comes from the cross. There is no other way to be saved than to take God's way.
Finally, let me read you one verse from the Scriptures, "I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness is through law, then Christ has died for nothing" (Gal. 2:21). Salvation does not come through good works. If a man can be saved through good works, then Christ has died in vain! If a man can satisfy God's heart by doing good himself, God would not have been so foolish as to send His Son to the world to die in vain and give up His life for nothing. If you think that doing good will help you be saved, you are nullifying the grace of God. Sinners, God may be foolish, but He is still wiser than you. If a man can be saved by good works, God would surely not have given up His Son in vain. Since He has caused His Son to die for us and bear our sins, this proves that we cannot do good and cannot be saved by doing good. He has established the way of salvation. If you will receive the Lord Jesus as the Savior, you will be saved. Alas, we are truly sinners! God indeed loves us! He is willing to receive us! Though we have no goodness to boast of and no righteousness to call our own, His salvation does not diminish. On the contrary, it is made more manifest. How wonderful this is! I wish that His love would touch you to come to Him in faith, saying, "O God! I am truly a sinner! I know that none of my good works are worth anything before You. I pray that You will receive me and save me because of the substitutionary death of the Savior Jesus Christ."
"Him who comes to Me I shall by no means cast out" (John 6:37).
