I agree with you that good works follow faith. However, I do know people who want to help their neighbor who have gotten involved in church aid activities. By being near the Word, they somehow have a spiritual changing event. Perhaps they were Christians before that, in which case they had a spiritual "growth spurt". Or perhaps being near other Christians caused some of Christ's love to rub off on them and they were successfully evangelized. (If the latter, I would argue that their "good works" prior to conversion were not Biblical "good works", but did in fact help Christ get his work complete.)
That is the rare exception ... .
I refer to this:
Ex-hostage held by accused court gunman testifies
Monday, October 06, 2008
By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA — The woman credited with helping bring about the surrender of accused courthouse gunman Brian Nichols recounted at his murder trial Monday how she appealed to his religious beliefs during hours in captivity before persuading him to set her free.
Authorities say Ashley Smith Robinson’s calm dealings with her captor helped bring an end to Nichols’ rampage after he burst into her suburban Atlanta apartment and held her for seven hours.
“I said whatever was necessary to get on his good side, I guess,” she testified Monday.
If convicted, Nichols, 36, could face the death penalty for a 2005 shooting spree that began in a downtown Atlanta courthouse that left a judge, a court reporter, a deputy and a federal agent dead. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murder charges.
Testifying in the third week of trial, Smith Robinson told the jury she persuaded Nichols to let her leave the apartment after reading him passages from a religious book and giving him drugs from a hidden stash. She called authorities, who arrested Nichols hours later.
Smith Robinson was a waitress and single mother who was battling with drug addiction when Nichols took her hostage. Since Nichols’ arrest, Smith has emerged as a heroine and her story has been held up as an example of the redemptive power of faith.
...
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Oct06/0,4670,AtlantaCourthouseShooting,00.html
I dare say that sharing her “hidden drug stash” is hardly the sign of a true Christian. Yes, sharing is good but clearly her ILLEGAL drugs were more important. Do you really think her life was turned around? This is the kind of stuff I refer to as being deceptive. Good works won’t get you there. There was no heart change. Just going through the motions won’t accomplish being “saved”.
Rick Warren has it backwards.