Jesus said that YOU must humble yourself as a little child. This is a call to action for the believer. Yes, doing something. This is only one of many instances when Jesus said that there is something required for someone to be saved.
07-07-07 ------you are taking a piece of scripture out of its CONTEXT and trying to make it say something that it isn't saying ------this is called Wrongly ---Dividing the Word Of God ----and is very Dangerous -----as Salvation is a Free Graced Gift ----and therefore cannot have works attached to it to come to pass -----
This is the whole Scripture in CONTEXT -----
Matthew 18
Rank in the Kingdom
18 At that time
the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 He called a little child and set him before them,
3 and said, “I assure you
and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self—your old way of thinking, live changed lives]
and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
4
Therefore, whoever [a]humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 Whoever receives
and welcomes one [
b]child like this in My name receives Me;
6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble
and sin [by leading him away from My teaching], it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone [as large as one turned by a donkey] hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
I say
So----We see that the Disciples ask a Question of Jesus -----
Who is the Greatest in the Kingdom of heaven -------so this piece of Scripture is NOT talking Salvation ------it is about Rank ------for those already IN the Kingdom ------
Jesus tells them that the greatest in the Kingdom is the person who is humble -----and He uses Children as an example ---as Children are humble as they rely on their parents and obey their parents -----
and understanding this word Humility here is important -----
This word Humble Here in this scripture in Greek means ---so you can see that it says ---the Believer ---which means they are already saved ----
and the Greatest in the Kingdom are the ones who have been fully dependant on God ----
Not Talking Salvation by Works but Rank within the Kingdom ---those who are already saved and
in the Kingdom ---
Cognate: 5013 tapeinóō –
With the believer ("show humility, true lowliness")
happens by being fully dependent on the Lord – dismissing reliance upon self (self-government) and emptying carnal ego. This exalts the Lord as our all-in-all and prompts the gift of His fullness in us
You always need to read the whole part of the Scripture ----if you take the TEXT out of CONTEXT ----your Left with a CON -----and in danger of spreading False Doctrine which is bad for the SOUL -----