Romans 3

Romans 3:20
By works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight.
 
Have you ever felt like you needed to curry the favor of a hard to please boss? Or ingratiate yourself to the society of important people? You finally feel you may have arrived, only to discover the standard keeps getting moved ahead. Your best efforts never seem good enough. And, unfortunately, that’s been much of our experience in this carrot-chasing world. So, we assume this is how it works with God as well. And, to that, verse 20 says, “Wrong!”
 
You are not accepted by climbing the ladder of achievement. You are not made right by checking all the boxes. You are justified (accepted and approved by God) by faith alone. And, with that, we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief.