Do Your Best, and Jesus Makes Up For the Rest
Does the above sentence accurately describe how a person is made right with God, i.e., justified. Does our standing before God work in this way?
The Christian faith is not about doing "our best" at all. It's about what Christ has done. We put our faith in Him alone, precisely
because "our best" is at best "filthy rags" and will not save us.
Also Christ does not "make up the rest", He did it
all. He is the perfect lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, who has
by Himself purged our sins and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father, our Great High Priest and Mediator.
Once we have been saved, by grace, through faith, we have passed from death to life, received the Holy Spirit, and can then begin to walk in the good works He has prepared for us to do, as His disciples. These good works are not what saves us, however, they are the result of our salvation.