Moral or Spiritual?

My brother is a moral man. He does good things. He is a good guy. And he believes that if he does good deeds that he will be rewarded for his good heart. It seems that karma follows those rules. Good deeds will be rewarded because of good karma.

If there were only this physical world, then maybe this philosophy would be right. However, I am convinced that there is more than this physical world. Holy Scripture tells us that God is spiritual and that we also have a spiritual side to us. The Bible tells us that there is the Kingdom of God. This kingdom is a spiritual place. Entry to this place does not depend on good deeds, but instead it depends on faith. Faith that God is real and faith that God is creator, savior and Lord.

Yes living a good and righteous life is a good thing in the spiritual realm as well. However, in the spiritual realm, good deeds themselves do not lead to salvation or redemption. What is needed to receive salvation is the spiritual step of faith and the belief in God as a gracious and merciful King. Is being moral and righteous enough? I don’t think so. I think that God, who is Spirit, wants us to engage on a spiritual level. If God is King, then this King wants us to submit to his authority and come to worship him as his subjects.

It requires humility to surrender. The world does not seem to value humility. It values performance, power and money. Conversely the spiritual realm honours humility.

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6

If there is no spiritual realm, then we work and perform and let the chips lie where they land. But, if there is a spiritual realm, then morality is not enough. Good deeds are not enough in themselves. This issue of moral versus spiritual is one of the big issues with which we need to wrestle.