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b'When I was in high school, I played varsity basketball. That might sound impressive, but there were no cuts on my team, so anyone who wanted to could play. I sat on the bench a lot, but I didn\\u2019t mind. I knew my playing time reflected my skill. I knew that the better I was and the harder I worked, the more I\\u2019d play. I worked hard, but my teammates worked harder.\\nIsn\\u2019t it easy to think about salvation this way too? The world tells us that just working hard and being a good enough person will get us into heaven. Even Christians often act like doing the right things will earn bonus points with God. Sometimes it seems like we only measure up if we go to church and youth group, volunteer, and follow all the rules.\\nThe problem is, we can\\u2019t earn what was already freely given to us. Salvation isn\\u2019t about what we do; it\\u2019s about what Jesus did on our behalf. No matter how hard we work, we can\\u2019t access it because it\\u2019s only available by God\\u2019s grace, through faith. Good works aren\\u2019t enough.\\nNow, that might sound harsh, especially when we\\u2019re constantly told we\\u2019re enough the way we are. However, it\\u2019s actually the beauty of the gospel. We can\\u2019t do anything to save ourselves from sin and death. And the good news is that we don\\u2019t need to do anything to be saved but believe Jesus is our risen Savior and confess Him as Lord. This includes repenting of our sins, submitting to Him, and trusting Him for our salvation.\\nAnd isn\\u2019t it better this way? If we truly got what our own efforts earned, we wouldn\\u2019t get very far at all. But by having faith in Jesus instead of our works, we receive the redemption we don\\u2019t deserve. I\\u2019d take that over trying to earn my way onto the court of salvation any day.\\n\\u2022 Do you ever feel like you need to do good things in order to be saved from sin and death? Or that you need to do good things in order for God to be pleased with you? Why do you think that is? \\u2022 If having faith in Jesus is the only way to be saved, what does that mean for spreading the gospel to those who have never heard of Him? \\u2022 To learn more about why we all need salvation from sin and death, check out the \\u201cKnow Jesus\\u201d page on the Unlocked app.\\nBut God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (CSB)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nRomans 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-9'