I know that you say that you do not teach works for salvation or to keep salvation. but when you say you MUST follow Jesus, KEEP His comandment to remain saved that is taking eternal life-salvation-out of the hands of Jesus and into your own hands and that is WORKS.
Where you and I disagree is you are relying on your no sinning for eternal life and I place my hope totally in the hands of Jesus. He does not need my help
Because of that reletionship I have with Him, I strive every hour of every day to live for Him, learn more of Him, tell others of Him, and never disapoint Him.
The spirt is willing but the flesh is weak and I fail often, When I do fail, I ask and receive His forgiveness.
It is all about Jesus and what He does, and never about me and what I do or don't do.
Telling people to obey Jesus is never wrong. You make it sound like it is bad to obey our Lord. For can Jesus be a person's Lord and not do what He says? According to Jesus this would be a no. Yet on the other hand you are saying you do everything for him and yet.... yet... you allow room to fall into sin. Are those times you fall into sin something you want? Or is that something God wants? God does not take sin lightly. Sin put Jesus Christ on the cross. Why would God ever want you to keep falling into sin? That does not make any sense. Jesus said be ye perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. If you are a child who is free, then free you will be indeed. For Jesus Christ was manifested to destroy the works of the devil.
Now, I do not believe I am saving myself of my efforts. How so? Well, for one, I know that a believer get's their heart right with God by confessing and forsaking their sin and they do not get their heart right with God by going out and doing a bunch of good works. Good works is just the proof or evidence that Christ (God) lives within you. If there is no fruit, then there is no Savior living in a person who is giving them salvation.
Granted, although I do not believe in salvation by works.... if I were to choose which one was more evil, I would have to say...
Doing evil is more evil than say somebody trying to do things to please God.
Yes, man's righteousness is pretty sick, twisted, and dumb, too. But that does not give us an excuse to ignore the righteousness of God that the Lord wants to do thru us. That does not give us the excuse to say that we will forever be a slave to our sin.