There is nothing you can do to cause you to be saved, not one thing, it is total grace. Not one performance, not one sin-free day, not one commandment or act of purity or sacrificial giving, nothing. Get rid of the whole notion.
The Jews believed as the descendants of Abraham it was they and their land who were the promise given to him by God.
Paul disagreed.
Abraham is the ‘heir of the world’ and ‘father of all who believe’ (v11) and it is not the Law of Moses that binds the genealogy together but through ‘righteousness that comes by faith’ (v13).
We are not His for any other reason but Him.
“It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.” (Romans 4 v 13-15)
‘Faith means nothing and the promise (of belonging) is worthless’ if it depends on our obedience to God for all that our efforts do is lead us to ‘wrath’ (punishment) and ‘transgression’ (failure).
Faith is what we receive as we trust in Jesus. Obedience is what we do as a result of that.
But no amount of achievement makes us acceptable to God. He is not pleased with what we do but our trust in Him. So let’s stop trying to perform today.
Missions Paul 