NO, I do not get what you mean. Your way of reasoning sounds foreign to me. Let me try to explain why.
First of all, I do not believe that "good deeds" are good, in GOD's EYES if you do not LOVE HIM.
Me either, dont where you're going with this. You asked me why I separated them. Not if they are good if one does not love him. If one does not love GOd, no matter what he does, it's all in vain.
AND a willful disobedient lifestyle is the OPPOSITE of Loving GOD.
Of course it is. Im glad you see that. So one who does this does not love God, if he claims he does, his actions show he does not, so of course how can one be saved if he does not really love God? So his actions are the factor that proves if he does or doesnt, therefore his actions are essential to salvation.
Plus I find willingly LOVING GOD and manifesting it by loving obedience, to be inseparable from good works, because it is WHY HE saved us by HIS GRACE. (Grace is receiving what we do not deserve, and cannot earn.)
I agree again. And I am saying obeying God is not a "good dead". It is something we must do, and should want to do because we love Him, and because of what he has done for us.
Matthew 25:31-46 (HCSB)
[SUP]31 [/SUP] “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
[SUP]32 [/SUP] All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
[SUP]33 [/SUP] He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left.
[SUP]34 [/SUP] Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
[SUP]35 [/SUP] For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
[SUP]36 [/SUP] I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me.’
[SUP]37 [/SUP] “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?
[SUP]38 [/SUP] When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You?
[SUP]39 [/SUP] When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?’
[SUP]40 [/SUP] “And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
[SUP]41 [/SUP] Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!
[SUP]42 [/SUP] For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink;
[SUP]43 [/SUP] I was a stranger and you didn’t take Me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe Me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of Me.’
[SUP]44 [/SUP] “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?’
[SUP]45 [/SUP] “Then He will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.’
[SUP]46 [/SUP] “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Yes, these passages again show, their ACTIONS (works) were the cause of their destiny.
I also find it STRANGE to refer LOVING GOD as "my Duty" as if it was something I had to pay for.
I didnt you implied it, and I agree.
You said obediene is loving God correct?
Then if Jesus said obedience is our "duty" which he does in Luke 17:10,
Then does that mean that loving him is our duty?
again, if obedience is our duty, and obeying him is how we show our love for him, then is not loving him our duty?
Think about that for a sec.
It was my DUTY to serve my Country during the Vietnam Era, and I proudly did so for 4 years in the U.S. Air Force.
But how can I equate that to LOVING GOD, which is my joy and privilege?
Because God is above serving a country. As a Christitian carries out his duty, he learns more about his Master, sees the love he has received, and it is our "joy and privlege" to have this duty.
Once again remember, Jesus said it was our DUTY to keep everyting commanded, not me.
IF you look up the word there used for "DUTY" it differs from the word paul uses for "works". Because there is a difference.
HERE IS THE WORD CHRIST USED FOR "DUTY" IN LUKE 17:10
opheilō opheileō
of-i'-lo, of-i-leh'-o
Including its prolonged form (second form) used in certain tenses. Probably from the base of G3786 (through the idea of accruing);
to owe (pecuniarily);
figuratively to be under obligation (ought, must, should);
morally to fail in duty: - behove,
be bound, (be) debt (-or), (be) due (-ty), be guilty (indebted), (must) need (-s), ought, owe, should. See also G3785.
The word he used for keeping his commands, means to "owe" be in "debt" "be bound"
SO are you saying this word does not fit the context in what CHrist used it?
Of course you're not, so why cant you accept what he said here?
Here is the word Paul uses for "works" in Eph 2:
ergon
er'-gon
From ἔργω ergō (a primary but obsolete word; to work); toil (as an effort or occupation); by implication an act: -
deed, doing, labour, work.
Now do yo usee the difference in each word used. They clearly are not the same. "DUTY" and "works" mean two separte things, and context teaches us what that is.
I LOVE MY WIFE, not because it is my Duty, but purely because I am in LOVE WITH HER.
Am I not supposed to LOVE GOD MORE than her?
What to you mean "supposed to love" that would make it a duty. Which it is.
