Home Opinion Faith vs. good works, which is it to be? Contrary to popular opinion, a person’s eternal destiny is not determined by their “good works” outweighing their “bad works” on God’s eternal spiritual scales. 23:40-43)Obviously, the thief on the cross had no good works to commend him for, other than his heartfelt understanding of Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus Himself also emphasizes the inadequacies of “good works” unless they are preceded by, and produced out of, a personal relationship with Him. In a proper relationship with Jesus, we as Christians serve Him and do good works because we want to please Him.