Day after day as the freight trains rumbled into the camps cramped and filled with their human cargo, the first thing the distraught people saw at their new destination were the words carved above the wrought iron gate, Arbeit Macht Frei. These words, meaning Work Makes You Free, hung over the entrances to the concentration camps in which the Nazis of Hitler’s Germany placed millions upon millions of people during World War II. The purpose of these words was to give the individuals enslaved in the service of the Third Reich a sense of hope in a hopeless situation. But it truly was a false hope.
Many today, although they are not being carted off into a Nazi work camp, still are living a life enslaved, believing in the false hope that their works will somehow set them free and save them. But their own works will never be able to free them, and they will always be disappointed, because they will never be able to live a life completely void of sin, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 [RSV]). Our good works will never save us, for once we have committed sin we have earned only death as our reward: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23 [RSV]). In fact, when we turn to ourselves for our salvation and believe our good works will somehow warrant our salvation, what we are doing is waving a filthy rag in front of God’s face: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6 [RSV]) No, it is not through our own works or our own righteousness that we are saved and truly set free. We are saved through the grace and power and mercy of God. 8. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God – 9. not because of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 [RSV])
Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him in John 8:31-32 [RSV], “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” On another occasion He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6 [RSV]). If you are sincerely wishing to be set free from your sins, do not look to your own good works, for they will never save you. Look to the One Who is able to save you now and Who is able to save you throughout all of eternity. Be washed in His holy blood today for the remission of your sins. “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18 [RSV]). Jesus has already done the work that will truly set us free: 4. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5 [RSV])
Many today, although they are not being carted off into a Nazi work camp, still are living a life enslaved, believing in the false hope that their works will somehow set them free and save them. But their own works will never be able to free them, and they will always be disappointed, because they will never be able to live a life completely void of sin, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 [RSV]). Our good works will never save us, for once we have committed sin we have earned only death as our reward: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23 [RSV]). In fact, when we turn to ourselves for our salvation and believe our good works will somehow warrant our salvation, what we are doing is waving a filthy rag in front of God’s face: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6 [RSV]) No, it is not through our own works or our own righteousness that we are saved and truly set free. We are saved through the grace and power and mercy of God. 8. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God – 9. not because of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 [RSV])
Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him in John 8:31-32 [RSV], “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” On another occasion He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6 [RSV]). If you are sincerely wishing to be set free from your sins, do not look to your own good works, for they will never save you. Look to the One Who is able to save you now and Who is able to save you throughout all of eternity. Be washed in His holy blood today for the remission of your sins. “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18 [RSV]). Jesus has already done the work that will truly set us free: 4. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5 [RSV])
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