“And if you DO the right thing then God OWES you Heaven, right? Basically you are saying that by you performing correctly you make God your debtor.”
By stepping off a sinking ship on to a Coast Guard cutter that has come to rescue you, could you honestly claim to have “saved yourself”?
Conversely, by refusing to climb aboard that same cutter, you would, in fact, be guilty of damning yourself.
That is the Biblical model. People must agree to be saved. And people can, by their refusal to accept the freely offered salvation, damn themselves.
Unless the Coast Guard guys came and carried you onto their ship then ultimately yes, you have saved yourself by taking that step under your own power.
That is the Biblical model. People must agree to be saved. And people can, by their refusal to accept the freely offered salvation, damn themselves.
No, the Biblical model is that you were DEAD in trespasses and sin. D-E-A-D dead.
Outside of a George Romero film how many dead people do you see DOING anything . . . other than rotting?
Have you conceded that by DOING the right thing you've made God your debtor?