Is It Enough?

By Susie Frederick

When a woman considers living a righteous life, she naturally turns to the Bible to learn what is required of her. She finds examples of righteous women such as Sarah, who had such great faith in God; the sisters, Mary and Martha, who often were hospitable to Jesus and His disciples; Dorcas, who spent her time helping other people; and Priscilla, who was a helper to Paul while he preached the gospel. The Bible also gives instructions about loving our husbands and children, teaching the gospel to others, showing patience, using self-control, and displaying proper attitudes. A woman who does these things will make her home happier. But will she also receive eternal life in heaven in exchange for doing al these things?

The New Testament teaches us that a person cannot earn salvation and eternal life. If a person does one thousand righteous deeds, those deeds cannot remove the guilt of one sin (see Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:4-10). But God’s grace can give us forgiveness of our sins through Christ: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). When, by faith, we surrender to Christ in baptism, our sins are forgiven and we become children of God (Acts 2:38; Galatians 3:26-27). After our baptism, if we continue worshipping God, serving Him, and trusting in Him, His grace will continue forgiving our sins (1 John 1:7).

We must do the things which are righteous in order to please God. But righteous deeds cannot save us from our sins. In order to be saved from sin and live forever with God, we must be baptized into Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of our sins (John 3:3-5; Mark 16:15-16; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Acts 2:38).