The Importance of Good Works

"Let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions."       1 John 3:18 NLT 

The word "love" isn't just a noun, it's a verb (an action word).  And it's not demonstrated simply by what you say but by what you do.  In a small Jewish town in Russia, there is a rabbi who reputedly doesn't show up for several hours every Friday morning.  His followers claim that during this time he goes up to heaven and talks to God.  A stranger moved into town and was skeptical about all this, so he decided to check things out.  He hid and watched.  The rabbi got up in the morning, said his prayers, then dressed in peasant clothes.  He grabbed an axe and went off into the woods and cut firewood, which he hauled to a shack on the outskirts of the village where an old woman and her sick son lived.  He left them enough wood for a week, then crept back home.  Having observed the rabbi's behavior for himself, the newcomer became his disciple.  Now when he hears the villagers say, "On Friday morning our rabbi ascends all the way up to heaven," he quietly adds, "If not higher."  You can't earn salvation by doing good works, but if you are truly saved, your actions and attitudes will prove that you are truly a recipient of salvation.  Paul wrote these two Scriptures to Titus: "In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works" (Titus 2:7 NKJV).  "These things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works.  These things are good and profitable to men" (3:8 NKJV).

This message taken from: Daily Devotional - The Word For You Today