Good character and good works are never substitutes for the Savior and what He did on the cross for a sinner's salvation. Sadly and fatally, many have relied on who they are and what they are doing for their salvation, if not wholly, at least in part.
If we can be saved by good character and good works, then the Lord Jesus died unnecessarily. The fact that He died for our sins implies that being good and doing good could never do it.
This does not mean that we can just live as we please and live like the devil, rather this points to the necessity of trusting in Christ and what He did on the cross alone for salvation.
A saved sinner does good works FROM salvation, not FOR salvation.
