Outside and Inside: Why we're obsessed with good works.

Ever wonder to yourself, in light of the Gospel, how and why the whole world thinks that doing good deeds makes you a good enough person for Heaven?

As Christians, hopefully we know that it works a little differently from that. It's actually the opposite! Being a good person makes you do good things. I'll explain. 


Because of the way salvation works, we can't earn it. God placed a curse on us when Adam and Eve sinned. The people under a curse can't break a curse. Because of the resulting weight of our sin, we can never hope to rise back up to the glory we once had. Adam and Eve were immortal! Sin earned them death (the wages of sin = death). So suddenly we see how impossible it is. Even the good things we do aren't enough, because they don't earn us right standing with God. 

But what does? Faith. And to be more specific, love.


Love for God is faith. If you love Christ, you start to change. This is where the title's main point comes in. 


We change on the inside. That causes a change on the outside.

The world has it backwards. Why?

They can't see the unseen, inner parts of us that cause they're just that. Invisible! So they look at what they CAN see. They look at the overt, outer parts of us that really say what we're all about, and they draw conclusions from there. 

So suddenly we get this outer-focused perspective, when really it starts with the heart and what's inside. So you get people who pour millions into charities just to feel better about themselves as a person, when all they'd have to do is realize and admit their need for a savior, and just accept in their heart what Jesus has done. There's nothing we can do, except surrender. After all, we're fallen people. We sin. "Nobody's perfect." Even nonbelievers know that. We just need to help explain how that links to God and faith and the heart and how all that stuff precedes a behavior change. 


Because if we're honest, all of us are experienced in behavioral modification. We'll try different combinations of what we do to see if we feel better about ourselves. But wait... nothing we do can save us? Right! Because it's not about what we do. It's about the heart underneath. Is it for or against God? Does it hold onto Christ out of love and desperation? Or is it just okay with looking good on the outside?

Recognize your need for Christ... repent... love Christ... behavior starts changing. Why? Because you don't want to sin anymore. Are we sinless? By no means! But you grow less and less comfortable with it.