Keep The Faith

Why Do We Do Good Works? We talk often about faith, salvation, and obedience — but beneath all of it sits a deeper question: Why do we do good works at all? What motivates us? What shapes our understanding of righteousness, mercy, and love? Across different faith traditions, the answer varies. But Scripture invites us into something far more profound than duty, reward, or fear. Different Traditions, Different Motivations Many Muslims understand good works as part of the final judgment — where deeds are weighed, and reward or loss follows. Many Jews understand good works as obedience to Torah — a life shaped by covenant faithfulness. Christians, however, often find themselves caught between two strong scriptural currents: Salvation by grace through faith Faith proven genuine through works Both appear clearly in Scripture, and both must be held together. Saved by Grace — Not by Works Paul writes with unmistakable clarity: “For it is by grace you hav...

Forgiveness — A Scripture Study When I study a specific subject in Scripture, I like to gather all the passages in one place. Seeing them together helps reveal the heart of God and the consistency of His character. This study accompanies my post “Forgiveness – Repentance – Restoration.” Old Testament Foundations Nehemiah 9:17 “But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abundant in loyal love…” In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Psalm 6:1 — An Appeal for Forgiveness and Deliverance O Yahweh, do not rebuke me in your anger, and do not discipline me in your wrath. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Psalm 25:1 — A Prayer for Guidance, Deliverance, and Forgiveness To you, O Yahweh, I lift up my soul. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Psalm 32:1 — Thanksgiving for Forgiveness Happy is he whose transgression is taken away, whose sin is covered. In Context ...

Intro There is a tension many believers feel but rarely speak aloud—the fear that when we talk about grace, others may think we are excusing sin. My heart in writing this is not to justify disobedience, but to point us back to the only One who can make us righteous. It may look, from some of my previous posts, as though I am trying to justify our disobedience to God. I pray earnestly that no reader takes it this way. We can never be justified in our disobedience, nor can we be justified by our works. I believe many people today—many who want to be chosen—are creating saviors for themselves while missing the message of God. There is only one Savior, and He is our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no work I can do that will save me. God has done it all for all of us, and we owe Him our honor, praise, and reverence. Does this mean we should give up trying to do good works? Not at all. The good works we do should be done through Jesus. The one receiving the good works should be ab...

“This Is Eternal Life”: How John 17:3 Opened My Eyes Sometimes the Lord slows us down in ways we don’t expect. What I thought would be a simple Bible study through the book of John has instead become a journey of re‑examining things I once believed without question. I’m sharing these thoughts not as doctrine, but as the path God has been walking me through. My cousin and I have been getting together for Bible study for quite a while now—usually once a week if we can. Lately we’ve been meeting on Mondays, and since today is Monday, we just finished up a little while ago. We agreed to work through the book of John, but we haven’t made much progress. Before my vision—the one I described in my post “ My Beliefs Have Changed ” —we probably would have been in great harmony in our beliefs and sailed right through John. The slow pace isn’t because of John; it’s because of my sidetracks. I used to fit into the “Once Saved, Always Saved” group, you might say. If you had to pl...