Faith and Deeds

The Cambodian people are very spiritual. They believe deep down in their hearts that there is a God. They know there is heaven and hell—to them, it is very real. Of course, no one wants to go to hell; everyone wants to go to heaven after this life. 

Cambodians are shown from a young age how to worship Buddha, and they are taught that respecting and worshipping the monks and burning incense on altars will benefit them. They believe that when they worship monks, they are worshipping Buddha. And they believe the offerings they present at the Buddhist temples and the good deeds they do help their spirit and soul escape from hell and go to heaven after they die. They seek to do good deeds for Buddha in order to go to heaven or to stay in hell a shorter time. 

But God’s Word presents a the true path to heaven, and this truth needs to be shared with the Cambodian people. 

It is written in the Holy Bible that there is only one way to heaven, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Salvation and a way to heaven are found only through Jesus Christ. And it is only through faith in Him alone and by His grace that we are saved. We can’t be saved by good deeds or by doing good work. 

However, I believe that even though we are not saved by good works, we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ to do good work. Good work is the proof of true faith in Christ. True faith in Jesus Christ produces good fruit. James 2:17 says: “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”

Therefore, as followers of Jesus we have to let our light shine through our good works all the more. People need to see that by preaching salvation by faith in Christ, we are not putting down good deeds; we are lifting up good deeds to a higher level. We are called to be the light and salt to the world, and that is through our words, our actions, and our good deeds. 

This is what’s in my heart—that we as followers of Jesus Christ will keep our true faith in Jesus Christ, along with a strong commitment to let His light shine through our good needs everywhere we go. Then people will be able to testify that we are His disciples.

Prayer Request

Youth make up a third of the population of this country. Around 30 percent of Cambodians live below the poverty line, making children susceptible to malnutrition and marginal life conditions.