When I recently listened to Donald Trump speak about the assassination attempt on his life, he mentioned that God had spoken to him and spared him so that he could bring peace to the world. From this, he concluded that he now needed to perform good deeds in order to spend eternity in God’s presence—a presence he currently feels very far away from. His words struck me in two ways: they impressed me, and they unsettled me.
I was impressed because he clearly experienced a divine encounter as something very real. But I was unsettled because he drew the conclusion that he now had to earn eternal life with “good deeds.”
The crucial question would be: how many good deeds are enough? Ten? A hundred? A thousand?
The Bible is clear on this:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23, NIV)
Our standard simply doesn’t measure up, because God’s standard is perfect (Matthew 5:48). Even our very best falls short of his holiness.
That’s why good works are not a ticket into God’s presence. They are instead the fruit of faith—the visible outcome of a living relationship with Jesus (James 2:17). They do not prove our worthiness; they show that God’s grace has become active in our lives.
And that is exactly the good news! The door into God’s presence is not opened by our performance, but by faith in Jesus Christ. On the cross, he already paid the price for our guilt (1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:21). If we were still trying to earn salvation on our own, his suffering and death would have been completely in vain (Galatians 2:21).
Whenever I think about this, I’m reminded of the scene at the cross. Next to Jesus hangs a criminal—at the very end of his life, with no chance for restitution. At first he mocks Jesus, but then he suddenly realizes who it is that suffers beside him. In his final moments, he begins to believe. And Jesus gives him the promise: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
No time for good deeds. No possibility for making things right. Only trust.
Nothing illustrates more clearly that God is not after our performance, but our heart—and that he freely gives eternal fellowship with himself, even beyond death.
Of course, this doesn’t mean: “Just believe—and then live however you want.” A real encounter with Jesus always changes a person (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christians remain imperfect and still struggle with weaknesses (Philippians 3:12), but they no longer delight in sin. Step by step, faith transforms life—not out of pressure, but out of love for God (John 14:23).
We are both: declared righteous through Christ (Romans 5:1), and learners still on the journey, making mistakes but moving toward God’s perfection (Hebrews 10:14).
Hearing Trump’s words reminded me again how widespread the belief is that one can secure eternity with God by piling up good works.
My hope is that many will honestly ask themselves this question: What am I really relying on—my own performance, or on the One who, by his sacrifice, opened the way to God once and for all? Because true hope and eternal life are not found in our “good deeds,” but in Jesus Christ alone (John 14:6; Ephesians 2:8–9).
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