Romans 4

There are only two ways to go in a relationship with God: worker and taskmaster or child and father.

The worker receives the just recompense for his labor based on the quality and amount of work that is done for the taskmaster and there is always a separation between the two. In the case of God, the standard by which he judges the work is so far above the quality of work that we can produce, there is not only no hope of ever getting to know God, there is also no hope of ever being able to earn any beneficial wage out of the work. Just as you don't want to pay a service man who was unable to repair your car, God won't reward those that can't repair the world.

The good news is that our relationship with God does not have to be that of worker and taskmaster. God is willing to do the work as our Father and to treat us as His children. Just like with our own kids, He still has work for us to do, but it is work like chores. We can't be fired for not doing them, and we don't lose wages for doing them poorly. We remain in the family regardless and we still receive the inheritance regardless. It's just a question of the quality of relationship that we have with the Father.

As proof of this dynamic, Paul takes us back to Abraham and points out that Abraham was not justified before God because he followed the Law. He was not justified because of his works. In fact, Paul points out that Abraham was justified before God before the Law even existed. He was justified before there even was a notion of circumcision. The Law came much later with Moses and the circumcision served only as a reminder of the family that he had joined through his faith in God.

Therefore, Paul says that we are foolish to believe that we must do this or that to receive God's reward. God has never worked that way and never will. All that must happen is for us to realize that God can do as He wills and that we must believe that and allow God to direct our paths.