Psalm 130:3 tells us, "If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?" Isn't it a wonderful thing that God doesn't keep a record of our wrongdoings? If He did, we'd all be in trouble. But I'd like to bump that up today and go as far as to say this: God doesn't keep a record of right doings either.
You might have been told before that the more good deeds you do, the bigger your house in heaven will be. I'm not quite sure what our houses will look like in heaven or if we'll ever even have need of them at all, but this idea can sometimes throw us off tangent in our faith.
Many times, as Christians we can be swayed by the mindset that says, "what's in it for me?" As creatures of value, we're always looking for the trade off. If we do enough good works, God will bless and favour us more. If we give our tithes, God will give us more money. If we preach the gospel, God will love you more.
God's favour and salvation never come by our works. Instead, works comes from a heart that is fully overwhelmed by the favour of God. Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Notice the pattern here: First comes God's grace and favour and then comes the ability to do good works. It's never the other way around. That's why it's often misleading to think that God has this big notebook of the things you've done right and blesses you according to that.
God blesses us not according to our goodness, but according to His goodness. We are favoured not because of who we are but because of who He is. Romans 5:8 says it this way: "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Even when we did not and do not deserve God's love, He gives it anyways.
God does not have a cosmic book where He keeps a record of your good works. That doesn't mean God isn't proud of our good works. Our good works are proof of our faith and that pleases God. But it's not by good works that we are favoured by God, but by His infinite mercy and grace. That's how wondrous Jesus' finished work on the cross is because by it alone are we favoured.
