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Can good work save your soul? 
Let's see what the Bible says on

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this week's edition of Liberty 
at Home. 

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Hey there, hey there. 
Welcome to our latest episode of

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Liberty at Home, recorded from 
the studios of ECAT and brought 

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to you by the Liberty Baptist 
Church of Easton. 

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I'm your host, Pastor Adam 
Rivero, and I'm honored as 

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always to get to spend a few 
minutes with you each week on 

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our broadcast. 
Today, as we do each week, we're

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broadcasting from Easton, MA, 
where new pond is frozen over 

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and ice fishing has officially 
commenced. 

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Today we're going to tackle an 
issue that I hear more often 

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than almost any other that I 
encounter as a pastor. 

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Can good work save a soul? 
So we'll start by reading 

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Galatians chapter 3, verses 22 
through 26, which say this. 

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But the Scripture hath concluded
all under sin, that the promise 

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by faith of Jesus Christ might 
be given to them that believe. 

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But before faith came, we were 
kept under the law, shut up unto

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the faith which should 
afterwards be revealed. 

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Wherefore the law was our 
schoolmaster to bring us into 

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Christ, that we might be 
justified by faith. 

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But after that faith has come, 
we are no longer under a 

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schoolmaster. 
For ye are all the children of 

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God by faith in Christ Jesus. 
So, can good works save a soul? 

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Can someone gain entrance to 
heaven by being a good person? 

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Like I just mentioned, there are
fewer questions I receive more 

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often than these. 
Now, why is that? 

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Because, well, for the most 
part, people want to be assured 

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of a place of eternal peace and 
rest when they pass from this 

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world. 
The question, however, is 

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whether we can earn or achieve 
our way into such a place. 

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You know, as a teenager I 
grappled with these same 

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questions. 
I came from a religious 

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background where good works and 
sacraments, along with faith 

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were necessary for the hope of 
eternal life. 

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However, this left me with many 
questions that I just couldn't 

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answer. 
The main one was this. 

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How do I know that I've been 
good enough to achieve eternal 

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life? 
To answer that question, I began

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to search the Bible. 
One of the places my search 

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brought me was to Galatians 
chapter 2, verse 16. 

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Consider these words, knowing 
that a man is not justified by 

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the works of the law, but by 
faith of Christ Jesus. 

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Even we have believed in Jesus 
Christ, that we might be 

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justified by the faith of Christ
and not by the works of the law.

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For by the works of the law 
shall no flesh be justified. 

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A few sentences later, verse 23 
continues. 

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I did not frustrate the grace of
God for if righteousness came by

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the law then Christ is dead in 
vain. 

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This passage of scripture helped
me understand the foundational 

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truth that following the law 
cannot save a person's soul. 

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You see being a law abiding 
person cannot bring salvation to

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a soul due to the nature of what
the law is. 

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You see the law and the Bible 
teaches us of the law that each 

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of us is a Sinner. 
Romans 310 says as it is written

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there is none righteous, no not 
one. 

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Romans 323 continues the thought
and says for all of sinned and 

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come short of the glory of God, 
the sin comes at a price and 

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Romans 623 states that the wages
of sin is death. 

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Knowing that we have this 
predicament, is the law capable 

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of saving us from death and 
hell? 

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The answer is clear that it 
cannot because the law can only 

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show us that we've done wrong. 
It can't remove the wrongs we've

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already done. 
This is true in our legal system

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and it's also true of God as 
well. 

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The law cannot save us because 
the law was never meant to save 

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us. 
It was put in place to reveal to

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us that we're sinners in need of
a Savior. 

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Paul continues this conversation
about law and faith in Galatians

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chapter 3, verses 14 through 16.
Wherefore the law was our 

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schoolmaster or teacher to bring
us unto Christ, that we might be

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justified by faith. 
After that faith has come, we 

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are no longer under a 
schoolmaster, for you're all the

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children of God by faith in 
Christ Jesus. 

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The Bible isn't just clear about
this issue in Galatians, but 

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also in the entire Word of God. 
Following the law and doing good

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works can't save a soul, Isaiah 
64 verse 6 tells us. 

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But we are always an unclean 
thing, and all of our 

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unrighteousnesses, or all of our
righteousness rather, are as 

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filthy rags. 
Using good works to clean your 

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soul is like trying to clean 
your hands with a dirty towel 

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will never truly be clean. 
Instead, we see that the blood 

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of Jesus Christ is what cleanses
us truly from our sin. 

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Ephesians 289 tells us, For by 
grace are you saved through 

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faith, and that not of 
yourselves. 

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It's the gift of God, not of 
works, lest any man should boast

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as we call upon Jesus Christ and
repent of our sins, He has 

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promised to save us, as it says 
in Romans 10 verses 9 and 10 and

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13. 
If you're trusting and good 

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works to gain favor with God, I 
encourage you, just like I did, 

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search the Scriptures for 
yourself. 

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I had to do the same in my own 
life, and what I found changed 

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my life forever. 
I pray that your exploration of 

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the Word of God will bring the 
peace that you long for. 

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Well, it's time to end this 
episode of Liberty at Home. 

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But before I do, I want to 
remind you that we'd be so happy

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to have you visit us at LBC this
coming Sunday. 

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After all, we're in the 
neighborhood just up the road at

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800 Washington St. here in 
Easton. 

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For more information, including 
about services, podcasts and 

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more, visit 
mylibertybaptist.org. 

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I'm Pastor Adam Rivero, signing 
off with a reminder, as always, 

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that we're the Spirit of the 
Lord Is there's liberty. 

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Catch next week on ECAT for 
another episode of Liberty at 

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Home.