There have often been two opposing arguments. There are those who say that righteousness does not matter and that all we have to do is declare our belief in Jesus and then all our sins would be wiped away. There are others, however, who argue that we must also contribute something to our own Salvation by “working on ourselves”.

This is therefore that perennial argument of “works” against the letter of safe conduct seen in most contemporary religions. The purpose of this article is to induce reflection and to ask us to see whether we could not begin to take some responsibility for our own salvation.

This is actually a question of what contemporary religion teaches compared with the Word of the Jesus, the Son of God. The entire body of the “Sermon of the Mount” speaks for the importance and in fact the absolute necessity for working on ourselves. The tone of the whole sermon hinges on this. It is therefore a question of whom to believe: Jesus Christ Himself or His interpreters. This decision is left to each individual.

Work on yourself means to work and strive to purify our thoughts, words and deeds so that these correspond to what the Almighty demands of each individual. In this way, we become pleasing to Him since we obey His Will which He has put into Creation for our benefit.

So in addition to believing in Jesus, which is a precondition, we must also adhere to the Teaching that He has brought us. It is this Teaching that we must strive to understand and follow. This Teaching shows us how to adjust ourselves so that we do not go against the Laws of Creation and as such bring disharmony.

But it is this very Teaching that has been consistently ignored by humanity for thousands of years. In Its place has arisen different beliefs and interpretations which now do not bear any resemblance to the original.

Jesus preached the Laws of God and adjured us to adhere to them strictly. Every single word of His was about our adhering to the Laws of His Father. There was never any question of a simple washing away of sins. There is not a single word of Jesus pointing to this. This teaching of a vicarious sacrifice only arose with others but never with Jesus Himself.

Therefore, to have the true way shown to us again, we must ourselves take the trouble to go back to the Words of Jesus and examine them for ourselves. We will often be shocked at the disparity shown when compared to the present day practice of religious worship.

His Teaching are the words He uttered, nothing more. His Words contain undreamed-of treasures if we look for them. They show us the direct and simple path to the Kingdom of Heaven devoid of any third party interpretations.

It is this personal effort to improve oneself that counts. That way, we purify our spiritual garments which purity permits us entrance into the Spiritual realm which itself is purity.