Charles Spurgeon on God's Grace
It's amazing how many world religions teach that men have gone astray from God but most of them teach works salvation. Take a look at some of the religions that men practice, precisely those that teach man is fallen, most of them teach the heresy that salvation is by self-effort and the grace of God has been excluded. Islam teaches you can only be reunited with that cursed dictator god Allah by performing pilgrimages or dying in Jihad. Buddhism teaches to attain salvation, you must keep the eightfold path. Roman Catholicism teaches that you maintain your salvation and be in a state of grace by the sacraments and by doing good works. These are indeed all heresy and salvation cannot be worked for.
The perfect standard of God is higher. James 2:10-11 declares that it only takes one sin to break us away from God's perfect standard. Romans 3:10-19 declares there is none righteous and all have broken the Law in some point in their lives. Isaiah 64:6 declares that our righteousness is as filthy rags, the righteousness of man is by nature a dirty rotten sinner who deserves Hellfire and only that when God's justice is to speak. Fallen humanity is not basically good as others may teach and because of that, the lost sinner cannot work for salvation.
If any man kept the Law, it's the Lord Jesus Christ as He is God incarnate in the form of man. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that He who knew no sin because sin for us. Do you remember the picture of the innocent, unblemished lamb that was sacrificed in the Old Testament? Hebrews 9:13-22 states this simple truth - the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. It was the reminder of the sinful nature of man and that without bloodshed, there is really no remission. It's the blood of Jesus that takes away sin, that very blood that gives new life as Hebrews 9:14 says that by the blood, the sinner is redeemed from the life of dead works to truly serve the living God as a result of getting saved, not in order to get saved or stay saved.