Salvation is by faith only. It is simple. It is free. But many people find it difficult to accept that they have no part in their own salvation. They feel that they must do something. Why is it so difficult for men to believe that Jesus Christ had died for their sins and is able to save them? The faith required to believe in this fact is the same as the faith you need when your teacher told you that the earth is round. Men readily believe in many things, except that Christ died for their sins.
Spiritual Pride
"The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.'" (Luke 18:11-12 NASB)
When one accepts Christ as his saviour, it implies that he is a sinner. Not only that, he is such a horrible sinner that he cannot save himself. Many people accept that they are imperfect, but still good enough, just like the Pharisee in the above parable by Jesus.
Cultural Pride
But Naaman was furious and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.' Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. (2 Kings 5:11-12 NASB)
Naaman, the distinguished general who had often led the Arameans to victory, find it difficult to accept that to cure himself of leprosy, he had to wash in the Israelite river of Jordan. It is not a difficult task (everybody knows how to take a bath), but where to wash is the problem.
Salvation is easy. But many worked hard to find it and is unable to do so. Like the Chinese proverb, which said the one broke his iron shoes to look for something, but he can get it without effort (踏破铁鞋无觅处，得来全不费工夫 ).
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