It is by Grace and Grace alone

"Christian: By laws and ordinances you will not be saved, since you came not in by the door. And as for this coat that is on my back, it was given to me by the Lord of the place where I go; and that, as you say, to cover my nakedness. I take it as a token of his kindness to me, for I had nothing but rags before. It comforts me as I go: Surely, when I come to the gate of the City, the Lord thereof will know me, since I have this coat on my back; a coat that he gave me freely in the day that he striped me of my rags. I have moreover a mark on my forehead, of which perhaps you have taken no notice, which one of my Lord’s most intimate associates fixed there in the day that my burden fell off my shoulders. I will tell you moreover, that I had then given me a roll sealed, to comfort me by reading as I go in the way; I was also told to give it upon my arrival at the Cœlestial Gate, in token of my certain going in after it; all which things I doubt you want, and want them because you came not in at the Gate.
To these things they gave him no answer; only they looked upon each other and laughed. Then I saw that they went on all, save that Christian kept to himself, and that sometimes sighingly, and sometimes comfortably; also he would be often reading in the roll that one of the Shining Ones gave him, by which he was refreshed."

John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress

Christian, is talking with two men who have crawled over the wall in a self-effort to gain entrance to the Way. These two men have been mocking Christian and have told Christian that it really doesn't matter how you gain entrance, just as long as you gain entrance.

Christian, though patiently tried to warn them that climbing over the wall would turn out bad for them. To gain access to the Way, one has to be invited by the Lord of the Way. Self-effort gains nothing, but sweat. I do not know anyone following the law as the Sadducees nor Pharisees and they were chastised by Christ. He came that we may be free, not under the law. Christ is interested in your heart!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 


You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. 


Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."  Matthew 23:23-25


We cannot change our own motives. No matter how hard we try our motives is who we are. It is only when Christ comes into our lives through Holy Spirit, that our motives are reveled and dealt with. This is by grace and grace alone!


"For it is by his grace that we have been saved through faith, and this faith was not from you, but it is the gift of God," Ephesians 2:8