So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. - Rom 9:16

    Every religion except one puts upon you doing something in order to recommend yourself to God. It is only the religion of Christ (which runs counter to all the rest by affirming that we are saved and called with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to the Father's own purpose and grace) which was not sold out to us on certain conditions to be fulfilled by ourselves, but was given us in Christ before the world began (Eph 1:3-6). It was long ago remarked by a good man that "It is the business of all false religion to patch up a righteousness in which the sinner is to stand before God." But it is the business of the glorious gospel to bring near to us, by the hand of the Holy Spirit, a righteousness ready wrought, a robe of perfection ready made, wherein God's people, to all the purposes of justification and happiness, stand perfect and without fault before the throne.