Is faith in Christ meritorious on our part to deserve salvation

One who professes 'faith in Christ' says that it is Christ alone, the object of our faith, who can save him. He appeals to God to save him through Christ. He does nothing but ask for help, and God is gracious and merciful enough to grant it. It is the will of God that we look solely to Christ to save us - Jn 6:40. Is asking for help and looking solely to God for help, meritorious on our part to deserve salvation? No, i dont think so. Thats why its only the humble who have faith. The proud cannot admit their inability, ask God for help and look solely to him for a solution. They think they can do something in addition to Christs works on the cross to merit salvation.

What about people who say that because of their obedience to the gospel, they are saved. Specifically, those who say that baptism is required in order to obey the gospel. Obedience is different from faith. You obey and do something only because you have faith in it. Faith(internal convictions, not just belief in some facts but trust, just like the faith of children in their parents) and obedience (external acts) are two different things. We obey as a result of our faith. But obedience is a type of work, hence we can never be saved by our obedience that results from our faith - Rom 4. What can save us however is our faith rather than the result of our faith. In 'faith' there is nothing meritorious on our part, hence we have nothing to boast about ourselves. If we want to boast, we boast about the 'author and finisher of our faith' - Christ Jesus.

For example, when children obey you, do you call that act of obedience love, or do you love them before they obey you. Do you love them because they love you or do you love them because they obey you. Their obedience is motivated by their love for you. So, you see obedience is different from love/faith. Its whats inside that matters. Every outward thing is a manifestation of whats inward. And since God can see whats inside, he can and does justify you by looking at the heart. If one can become a sinner at the heart, isnt God much greater than sin to justify one by looking at the heart rather than at outward acts of obedience.

What if God justifies one by looking at the heart and he doesnt obey him? Can that happen. No, it would make God to be a liar, which can never be. Once God justifies someone by his faith, that person is eventually going to produce fruit.

To say 'acts of faith saves us' is an oxymoron. Our 'faith' itself says that we are saved by Christ alone and not by anything we do. And if one is already in Christ what is the need for that 'act' to save. Salvation doesnt come in various degrees. Either one is saved or he isnt. If one needs to be saved then he wasnt saved in the first place, hence the need to be saved.

Read Eph 2:8-10.