Paul,

I realize that now that we are saved, we obey him, because we are saved, and because we love him. I was brought back in my remembrance, to right before I was saved, when I read where you quoted the following:

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Then I found out that the will of the Father is that we believe on his Son:

John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

And in the same way, the work of God is to believe on the Son:

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Before I was saved, I used to think like Cain, that I had to work for God's favor, that I had to earn my salvation by my works of obedience. I a sense, in my mind, I twisted the following two scriptures from how they are written:

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Into a twisting of the words into the following false statements, which I actually believed, when I heard the two lines:

Ephesians 2:8 For by works are ye saved through obedience; and that all of yourselves: it is the payment of God:

 9 All of works, so that man should boast.

How could I possibly hear the true word of God, but yet somehow in my mind, get it all twisted around, like I wrote above? In my case, I was not saved by that point, I was still blinded by the enemy, and I was bewitched like those people in Galatia:

Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

 11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

Romans 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

However, that was only my experience. Since I was so determined to get through the gates of heaven by my obedience, to earn my way there, that it was necessary for the Holy Ghost to open my understanding to the above scriptures, so that I would realize that Jesus is the Savior, not me, that it is by his grace and not by my obedience, that I'm saved.

Thank you,

Gino