Category: Karma

Bad Deeds, Good Deeds, India Blog, Karma

Can my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds and I make it to Heaven?

Apr 3, 2020 , by Percy Parakh

Some Parsi friends of mine have made up this death certifi-cate just for fun! However notice the circled part. I think they truly believe that if their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds they will make it to Heaven.

So can your Good Deeds outweighing your Bad Deeds help you to make it to Heaven?

When it comes to being saved, good deeds do not matter – simply because no one is good enough. This verse tells us clearly that we are saved apart from any good deeds: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). The salvation referred to here is that of faith making us righteous. Our good deeds could never give us a righteous standing before God.

Furthermore, good deeds are useless when it comes to escaping any punishment for crimes. For instance, if you were convicted of first-degree murder, it wouldn’t matter how many good deeds you’ve done. You must be punished for murder. Similarly, we’ve broken God’s laws, so we must be punished. That’s why we believe on Jesus – because he bore the punishment in our place.

Nevertheless, good deeds enter in when it comes to growing in faith. These good deeds are of an entirely different character than the deeds before salvation. Before we confessed faith in Christ, we acted out of personal decency and when it was advantageous to us. The gospel tells us, however, that despite all our good behavior, we were bound for @#!*% . When we acknowledged that truth and turned to Christ to save us, we saw our deeds in a new light – as directed by us and not God.

Because we acknowledge that our former way of life apart from God was sinful, we turn to the Word to learn how to live in a way that pleases God. That is a new motivation that we never had before. It gives rise to its own character of good deeds.

The Bible has much to say about good deeds. First, they are deeds reflecting a believer’s response to God as a servant of God. The Lord commands, and it’s our duty to obey (Luke 17:10). In the end, when our Master returns, we must give him an account of our service. At that point our deeds will be judged as to whether they’re worthy of a reward or not. If we are judged faithful, we will be handsomely rewarded.

Second, the good deeds Christians do will prove that they are taking their salvation seriously. Christians who persist in disobedience cut themselves off from many blessings in this life, and will forfeit some everlasting rewards for the time to come.

Third, good deeds, those which we do in faith and obedience, and those directed against sin, preserves our relationship with God. They show that we are holy, that is, set apart for God’s use in this world. Other reasons for good deeds exist as well, including the fact that God works through men and women who have yielded to him. Good deeds from such are God working through them in love. Through their faithful representation, the world can see what God is like.

What Do You Think?

a. If a man is on trial for first-degree murder, why should his good deeds matter? In the same way, if God has condemned the unbeliever for his bad deeds, why should his good deeds prevail?

b. If someone hurt you badly and destroyed his relationship with you, would you feel better if that person started doing good deeds in another area of the world? Why should that restore your relationship? In the same way, why should our good deeds restore a relationship with God if we continue to have nothing to do with God?

c. What religion practices the idea of good deeds outweighing bad deeds? Why would you have confidence in the truth of that system?

India Blog, Karma

What does the Bible say about Karma?

Mar 14, 2020 , by Percy Parakh

Question: “What does the Bible say about karma?”

Answer: Karma is a theological concept found in the Buddhist and Hindu religions. It is the idea that how you live your life will determine the quality of life you will have after reincarnation. If you are unselfish, kind, and holy during this lifetime, you will be rewarded by being reincarnated (reborn into a new earthly body) into a pleasant life.

However, if you live a life of selfishness and evil, you will be reincarnated into a less-than-pleasant lifestyle. In other words, you reap in the next life what you sow in this one. Karma is based on the theological belief in reincarnation. The Bible rejects the idea of reincarnation; therefore, it does not support the idea of karma.

Hebrews 9:27 states, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…” This Bible verse makes clear two important points which, for Christians, negate the possibility of reincarnation and karma. First, it states that we are “destined to die once,” meaning that humans are only born once and only die once.

There is no endless cycle of life and death and rebirth, an idea inherent in the reincarnation theory. Second, it states that after death we face judgment, meaning that there is no second chance, like there is in reincarnation and karma, to live a better life. You get one shot at life and living it according to God’s plan, and that is it.

The Bible talks a lot about reaping and sowing. Job 4:8 says, “As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.” Psalm 126:5 says, “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.” Luke 12:24 says, “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!”

In each of these instances, as well as all the other references to reaping and sowing, the act of receiving the rewards of your actions takes place in this life, not in some future life. It is a present-day activity, and the references make it clear that the fruit you reap will be commensurate with the actions you have performed. In addition, the sowing you perform in this life will affect your reward or punishment in the afterlife.

This afterlife is not a rebirth or a reincarnation into another body here on earth. It is either eternal suffering in hell (Matthew 25:46) or eternal life in heaven with Jesus, who died so that we might live eternally with Him. This should be the focus of our life on earth. The apostle Paul wrote in

Galatians 6:8-9, “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Finally, we must always remember that it was Jesus whose death on the cross resulted in the reaping of eternal life for us, and that it is faith in Jesus that gives us this eternal life. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Therefore, we see that the concept of reincarnation and karma is incompatible with what the Bible teaches about life, death, and the sowing and reaping of eternal life.

What does the Bible say about Karma?

What does the Bible say about Re-incarnation?

What is Transmigration Of Souls?