“Good works” are the backbone of every man-made religion—systems built on striving, earning, and self-improvement. But in today’s episode of the MY Devotional Podcast, Dr. Michael Youssef draws a bright line between human effort and the Gospel: Christianity is not about what you can do for God, but what God has done for you by grace.
Dr. Youssef shows why it’s a tragic—and eternally dangerous—mistake to assume, “I’ve lived a good life. I don’t need saving.” The Bible’s verdict is universal: we are all under sin’s curse and unable to earn heaven by morality, rituals, or religious performance. That’s why Paul’s words are so freeing: salvation is by grace through faith, a gift from God, so no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8–9).
And here’s the hope that lifts shame: no one falls beyond the reach of God’s grace. Romans declares that where sin increases, grace increases all the more—because through the obedience of Jesus Christ, sinners can be made righteous and receive eternal life (Romans 5:19–21). If you’ve been trying to “work your way” into peace with God, this devotional calls you to stop striving and come to Christ—who alone can forgive, redeem, and restore.
Prayer: Father, thank You for Your extravagant grace demonstrated in the gift of Your Son. Thank You for doing for me what I could never do for myself. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
“But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!” (Romans 5:15).
Learn more in Dr. Michael A. Youssef’s sermon series Got Freedom?: LISTEN NOW
The voice you hear on the MY Devotional podcast is digitally generated with Dr. Youssef's permission. If today’s devotional stirred a question, burden, or need for prayer, you don’t have to walk through it alone.
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