You can never be certain when it comes to your own works. The harder you try to do good in order to please God, the deeper you will sink. The closer you look for good works in yourself, the fewer you will see. Good works adorn the house that is founded on the solid rock foundation of Jesus Christ. They are the result when the word of Christ has its forgiving and renewing way with us in our lives.
Good works are the trim and the siding, the paint and the blinds hung in the window.
They are the pictures on the wall, and the carpeting, and the landscaping in the front yard. They are all the little things that tell your neighbors that you trust the foundation of this house and that you plan to live in this place for a long time to come. You don't paint a house that you fully expect to slide down the hillside in the next storm. And you won't do any good works from a glad and cheerful heart, unless you know beyond all doubt that you already have eternal life. You wouldn't expect the paint, the siding and carpeting to hold a house together in a hurricane.