I Hope I've Done Enough
“I hope I’ve done enough.” Believers and casual church attendees use this phrase a lot, but this way of thinking can only come from conflating salvation with works. We know we are sinners and that we don’t deserve heaven, but we’ve allowed a perversion of salvation to permeate our understandings. We tie our earthly accomplishments to our efforts; we assume we have a good job, a paycheck, a house, and a family all due to our works. This way of thinking is contradictory to Jesus’ teaching. It puts us in a place only God should hold.
“…Everything we have has come from you….” (1 Chronicles 29:14b)
“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” (James 1:17)
We must recognize that everything we have comes from God and we must count them as blessings. And these are just earthly things. When it concerns eternal salvation, of course we cannot earn such a thing. Jesus spoke specifically about this very thing to the five thousand He had fed with two loaves of bread and five fish.
“‘The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.’” (John 6:63)
“Human effort accomplishes nothing.” If all of our earthly earnings are blessings from the Lord, then certainly we cannot earn eternal life through our own efforts. To think otherwise is to undermine Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Why would God send Jesus to carry our sins on the cross and suffer the ultimate death if we could just earn our spot in heaven through our good works?
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Jesus warned that at the end of time there will be those who will cry out to Him and point to their works as their hope of salvation.
“‘Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
You cannot do enough. Even if you prophesied, cast out demons, and performed miracles in His name, your works will never be enough to save you. You owe a debt too great to be paid, but the Good News is that Jesus has already paid your debt for you! Salvation is a free gift from God that you can do nothing to earn and it must be accepted as freely as it is given. The only thing you can do is surrender to Him and accept His free gift. Have you? Will you? If you have any questions about this free gift of salvation, feel free to contact us.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
—Redeemed
