When I was a child, I remember a young girl in our church who loved to sing worship songs. One of her favorite songs had lyrics that went something like this: “When you die, everyone will be sad and cry, but you will stand before the throne of God. If your good works outweigh your bad works, you will earn heaven.” Even as a child, around 8 or 9 years old, hearing this song stirred a lot of questions in my mind—questions I didn’t know how to answer at the time.
What troubled me most was the idea that my eternal destiny could depend on whether my good deeds outnumbered my bad ones. This thought weighed heavily on me because it reminded me of my struggles in school. I often barely passed my mathematics exams, scraping through with the minimum marks. Each time I saw my test results, I couldn’t help but think of that song. A nagging question would come to mind: What if I failed the eternal exam ? Like, What if, when I stand before the throne of Jesus, my good works aren’t enough to save me….?
One unforgettable night, around 3 a.m., a loud, urgent knocking shattered the silence of our home, waking everyone in the family. Groggily, we gathered near the door, unsure of what awaited us on the other side. When my father opened it, standing there was one of his old friends—a man who had left Islam and, along with his family, embraced Christianity. He looked desperate, seeking refuge.
His story was horrifying. He revealed that, because of his conversion, his own family became his enemies and had brutally murdered his six-month-old child. I was there, wide-eyed, listening as he poured out his heart, every word chilling me to the core.
As the conversation went on, my father asked a question that caught my attention and filled me with excitement. It was a question I had been grappling with for a long time. At the time, Pakistan was mourning the assassination of a prominent female politician—a tragedy that had shaken the entire nation. My father asked his friend, “What do you think? Will she make it to heaven, considering all the good works she has done?”
This question struck a chord with me. It touched on the very doubts I had struggled with, about how salvation works and whether good deeds alone could ever be enough. I eagerly awaited his answer, knowing it might finally shed light on the questions I had been carrying silently for so long.
The man, with quiet dignity, responded by quoting a profound verse from 1-John 3:16 “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.” He paused, then continued, “If salvation could be earned through our good works, then Christ’s sacrifice would have been in vain.”
He explained further, emphasizing that man is utterly incapable of achieving salvation through its own efforts. Salvation is entirely dependent on God’s grace. He clarified that it is God who transforms the human heart, enabling it to believe in Him. Without this divine intervention, no one can truly come to faith.
To underline his point, he referenced Paul’s teaching in Ephesians: “Even when we were dead in trespasses, [He] made us alive together with Christ… For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” This powerful reminder made it clear that salvation is not something we earn or deserve—it is a gift, freely given by God, ensuring that no one can claim credit for their redemption.
Through his words, the truth of the Gospel shone brightly: that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient, and salvation is rooted entirely in God’s grace and love, not in human merit.
These words laid the foundation of my understanding of salvation: it is not by my works, but by the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. While we were still sinners and enemies of God, He died for us so that we might be saved for eternity. For the first time, I realized that my efforts contribute nothing to my salvation—it is entirely the work of Christ. Even the faith I have in Him is not something I produced on my own but is the result of God’s regenerating work in my heart. This regeneration precedes faith (Ezekiel 36:26-27,John 3:5-6), enabling me to trust in Christ, who saves me from God’s wrath. My salvation is all because of Christ’s complete and perfect work.
Christ Himself declared, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). This profound truth affirms that there is no salvation apart from the life that Christ gives. He is not merely a guide or a teacher; He is “the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father [God] except through [Him]” (John 14:6).
Eternal life and salvation are found exclusively in Jesus Christ. As Scripture assures us, “Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Without Christ, heaven remains out of reach, but through faith in Him, the door to eternal life is opened for all who believe.
