Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:19-26,NIV)
Jesus' sacrifice was the perfect atonement, not an initiation fee. Too many people think that once they accept the sacrifice for our sins which Jesus Christ himself accomplished, then they must do this, that, or the other, or else they will be lost souls again. But the be-all and end-all of Christianity is our accepting that the one sacrifice which Jesus made in order to atone for our sins accomplsihed all that was necessary.
What we do as proper Christian behavior is not to be seen as a necessary addition to our having accepted the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but rather is to be seen as the natural outgrowth of our having accepted his atoning sacrifice. If our acceptance of that sacrifice is heartfelt, then our actions will follow the path that God wants of us with the same naturalness that our heartbeat, respiration, and brain activity followed our natural birth. And they will follow that path not out of fear of losing our salvation, but rather out of God's uniting with us via his Spirit in order to implant within us the motivations which are to dictate our actions:
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:16-26,NIV)
It is when the motivations are those which God himself implants within us that the actions which result have assurance of conforming to God's will. So not only is our salvation dependent on God's grace, but also the proper actions we exhibit as Christians are dependent on God's grace. He has saved us from the just conseqences of our own shortcomings, and he implants within us freely the new nature which is needed in order for us to perform the actions which he wants of us. So for both our salvation and our proper conduct as Christians, we must accept that the credit is God's alone.
