The purpose of the grace of God is to create good works in our personality so we can be rewarded for these good works in the Day of Christ. The grace produces good works. The good works result in God's blessing and eternal life. If we receive Christ but continue to sin we will reap death and not life in the Day of Christ.

For example:

Life or death is decided on the basis of what men do. The one expression Christ addressed to every one of the seven churches of Asia was, "I know thy works" (Revelation 2:2; and so forth).

Is Christ speaking of those who have received Him or those who have not received Him?

Let us look carefully at John 5:29 (above). "They that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."

If Christ is speaking to those who have received Him, Christians will be judged according to their works. If He is speaking to those who have not received Him, He is stating that people can attain the resurrection of life by means of good works.

If He is speaking to all men, our argument is upheld. All will be judged according to their works. It is not true, therefore, that because the white-throne judgment is a judgment of works (Revelation 20:12) all the defendants will be lost. This reasoning is not supported by the words of the Scripture.

John 5:29 alone is enough to cancel the reasoning that because the last judgment is a judgment of works, no person will be saved. There are many other passages that repeat the doctrine of John 5:29.

Consider the following:

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:46)

When we examine who will go into everlasting punishment and who will go into life eternal, we find that the judgment will be made on the basis of works (Matthew 25:35-44).

Christian teaching is correct when it states we cannot substitute righteous works for faith in Christ once Christ has been presented to us.

Christian teaching is incorrect when it states God does not recognize righteous behavior on the part of those who are not of His royal priesthood. The nations of the earth will be gathered together at the Lord's coming, not to determine whether they had "accepted Christ as their personal Savior" but to recognize their willingness or unwillingness to come to the aid of the Lord's brothers—the saints, the elect, the royal priesthood.

But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. (Acts 10:35)

God does not divide mankind into Christian and non-Christian but into righteous and wicked, with Christians falling into one category or the other.

Whoever believes that God excuses wickedness because an individual is a Christian is ignorant of the ways of God.

To be continued.