Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Here we must define yet another word in order to explain the issues of dead works. That word is justification. It is a bookkeeping word. It means to take you out of the red, debt, and put your account in the black, a gain on your account.

James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Another way of looking at this is to say the accounting debt of a liar and a mass murderer are the same amount of red ink. No amount of good works can ever move your account out of the red into the black.

Romans 8:3-4 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

If anyone teaches you that your eternal salvation is tied to any religious exercise that is a dead work, and will not secure your salvation. Only the sacrifice of Christ on the cross saves your soul. Placing your faith in Christ’s sacrifice and accepting Him into your heart is the only justification needed to remove your debt.