If you have to keep up a standard of behaviour.. for following God following being given salvation.. that is works based salvation. So though most won't say they do good works to get saved.. they say the same thing by saying they HAVE to do good works to KEEP saved.
This is all about the diety of Christ and His all sufficient atonement for sin. That's why works have zero to do with eternal salvation. Works are a voluntary response to having been given eternal life. Eternal life isn't a goal at the end of the line. It's a present possession for all who are saved.
This can be best described as wrong thinking.
Did Christ have to offer himself up for our sins to be the Son of God?
Did Christ have to do good for others to be the Messiah?
God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son....did He have to do that to be God?
No! They did that because it was the right thing to do.
Love God and love one another.....Christians help each other because it is the right thing to do.
Christians are not saved by Good Deeds, they do good because it is the right thing to do.
Christians are followers of Christ. He set the examples.
And Good Deeds are important in the application of Christianity in our lives.
It is obviously important to Christ that we help each other because as we see at the end of the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats He said to those that did not help each other.....Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. And these will not go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. Matthew 25:45-46 So in Christ's own words it is a fact that Good Deeds do not save you, but you can receive eternal punishment for not helping one another.
As far as moral behavior, again it is the right thing to do. We are saved by faith in Christ. We are not saved because we deserve it. We live moral lives because it it the right thing to do and we will be punished if we do not. You will find no scripture that says moral behavior is not required and dozens of scriptures that indicate that moral behavior is required and some indicate that no ifs ands or buts that if you are immoral you will not inherit the kingdom of God.
1st Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God”
Galatians 5:19-21 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Your statement smacks of the OSAS crowd and is one of the worst false beliefs in Christianity.
And eternal life is the goal at the end of line.....nothing eternal about this life.
Be good and do good.
