Doing Nothing
for God

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

To whom does God give his beloved Son? God gives him to the world—the lost multitude who never deserved it. They could only expect to remain lost and condemned without him. God gave his Son to the lost so that they might be saved.

Then what should you do for this loving God in return? Nothing! Don’t go on pilgrimages. Don’t do this or that good work. Instead, simply believe in Christ alone. Then you will be able to get rid of your old nature and cling to him. Your faith, of course, should be the kind that produces good works. You cannot take hold of this gift—the Son of God—with your hand. The Son of God cannot be contained in a jar. He is grasped only with the heart and by faith. When this gift comes into your heart, when you believe in Christ with your whole heart, then you won’t be the same person.

Even if you once were a thief, an adulterer, or a murderer, you will become a new person, for you have the Light in your heart. What the Lord Christ wants first and foremost is your heart—a heart that believes in him alone. God wants your best, not your mouth or your hand, but your heart. He wants you to be righteous on the inside. When you believe in Christ, your heart becomes clean. Peter says that faith purifies the heart (Acts 15:9). That same faith doesn’t permit you to be arrogant or proud. For when the heart is cleansed, the hands, eyes, feet, and all other members are also cleansed. You will act differently than before. Faith won’t permit you to be a sinner, fornicator, or adulterer any longer. So your entire life will reflect what’s in your heart.

Source: Quoted in Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional, p. 301.  James C. Galvin. Zondervan (2009).