Works

The average person, when questioned why they believe that they will go to Heaven when they die, will say that it’s because they’ve lived a good life.  Faith and works go hand-in-hand, so it is easy to confuse the two.  However, even though we know that it is faith that saves, works are equally important – not because one must earn his place into Heaven, but because the lack of works is an indication of a lack of saving faith in the first place.  Faith without good works is dead.

Faith

I hope you will forgive me for taking a step backward for a few weeks.  In order to fully address what makes a person a disciple, it is necessary to first examine what makes one saved in the first place.  This is a question that, on the surface, looks fairly straightforward.  However, given the wide range of responses to this question, it’s critical we set a foundation to work upon.