“Good deeds” are a result of our new birth in Christ, not the cause of it.
The only “good deed” that saves anyone is Christ on the cross.
Thank God we are saved by Christ’s righteousness alone.
SAVED
by Bob Dylan
I was blinded by the devil,
Born already ruined,
Stone-cold dead
As I stepped out of the womb.
By His grace I have been touched,
By His word I have been healed,
By His hand I’ve been delivered,
By His spirit I’ve been sealed.
I’ve been saved
By the blood of the lamb,
Saved
By the blood of the lamb,
Saved,
Saved,
And I’m so glad.
Yes, I’m so glad,
I’m so glad,
So glad,
I want to thank You, Lord,
I just want to thank You, Lord,
Thank You, Lord.
By His truth I can be upright,
By His strength I do endure,
By His power I’ve been lifted,
In His love I am secure.
He bought me with a price,
Freed me from the pit,
Full of emptiness and wrath
And the fire that burns in it.
I’ve been saved
By the blood of the lamb,
Saved
By the blood of the lamb,
Saved,
Saved,
And I’m so glad.
Yes, I’m so glad,
I’m so glad,
So glad,
I want to thank You, Lord,
I just want to thank You, Lord,
Thank You, Lord.
Nobody to rescue me,
Nobody would dare,
I was going down for the last time,
But by His mercy I’ve been spared.
Not by works,
But by faith in Him who called,
For so long I’ve been hindered,
For so long I’ve been stalled.
I’ve been saved
By the blood of the lamb,
Saved
By the blood of the lamb,
Saved,
Saved,
And I’m so glad.
Yes, I’m so glad, I’m so glad,
So glad, I want to thank You, Lord,
I just want to thank You, Lord,
Thank You, Lord.
My understand is that Bob Dylan never became a Christian in his heart. After his 1980's stunt with "born-agains" and writing lyrics such as you posted, he went back to supporting many Jewish religious causes and participating in Jewish religious rituals. Bob Dylan was born Jewish, but apaprently was not very observant most of his life.
I have a feeling that once he ran out of protest material of the late 1960's and early 1970's, he found passionate audiences in the evanglical "born-again" crowds, but his music style didn't change; just the words. If you make your living by selling, you have to do what the customers want.
Some people are simply chamelons. They change, you know like Blowin; in the Wind...