Preston, I understand your position, but all scriptures must compliment each other and not contradict each other. Repenting, believing, confessing, obedience, and many other commandments God has instructed his children to do to earn salvation, not eternal salvation, but a salvation we can enjoy right here on this earth, Salvation according to the Greek definition means "a deliverance". We are delivered from many things as we live here on this earth when we obey God's commandments, such as, when we have an illness and ask God to heal us of that illness and when he does, that is a deliverance ( salvation ). Somewhere, I think it is in Proverbs where God says "there are six things I hate, yea, even seven, and at the top of the list is a proud look ( pride ). God wants us to depend upon him for every thing and not upon our own understanding. I, very much of the time, find myself depending upon my own understanding and have been chastened by God for it. I think that we all have too much pride. Depending upon ones self to get to heaven is not pleasing to God, and is an action that tries to limit his power ( Dan 4:16 ). I think that before anyone can understand Christ's doctrine they must be able to know the difference in those deliverance. I believe that more salvation scriptures have reference to deliverance as we live our lives here on this earth than do the ones pertaining to our eternal salvation.