It perplexes me that people put so much emphasis on "You don't earn your way to Heaven" yet Paul calls Heaven a "reward". Reward for what? Nothing? I understand I have much to be condemned for and that God is a lot more forgiving than I am. I understand this. In fact, in the state I'm currently in, it seems I've met every bullet point for being disqualified from entering Heaven based on Paul's letter to the Corinthians. Jesus Himself states that there will be people who served Him that are by definition "lawbreakers" (although not defined in that particular verse, which is where I have to rely on varying bits of scripture elsewhere such as 1st John and 1st Corinthians) and will not be granted entry to The King of Kings' palace.
The impression I get is that God understands our limitations and does not nitpick when it comes to the multitude of laws that we have broken and sometimes continue to break. Some of these hard to break sin habits are of our own making, and some of them we are led into. Jesus Himself in His time on Earth as a fleshly being and God the Father through the Prophets' pens refers to in multiple instances "causing" other people to sin. Moses knew better than to strike the rock instead of speak to it. He deliberately gave into his anger. That's not to say he wasn't provoked. But his sin was still damaging to who knows how many people who otherwise would have more fully understood God's kindness and mercy and did more to please God and less acting on their own accord. My mom is full of much anger and sadness, and has much to be forgiven for, and some of the time she spends acting on those things is simply the limitations of her human self and some of that is simply choice. I myself am often guilty of omission and some of that is my own limitations and some of that is willful. Speaking for myself as only I can, I can say, that much of my laziness and lack of gratitude is willful, either by consequence of overall disobedience or by general defiance. Some of it is inherent in my upbringing, but knowing the scriptures as I do, which is not to say that I'm a scholar or anything, but I have read 90% of the New Testament and all of the Old Testament, I ought to have a better standing with God than I do and rely on His power to get me through the days better and with more success. Too much of the time I spend lusting after meaningless possessions and tricks of the eyes and ears and tastes of the tongue as well as grumbling against this or that thing that someone said, or did, or simply laying in bed half asleep on the off chance I might justify that by actual sleep, as if I won't have enough time spent sleeping when I enter Heaven (assuming I do get there.......)
If you look at the big picture, nobody earns anything. Money is not earned. God gives us our lives. We don't earn them. Family is not earned. We have a loving Heavenly Father. We don't earn the earhly parents we have, we don't earn the kindness or cruelty they dole out. We don't earn the degree of kindness with which God doles out, that much is true. A person with much rebellion as myself has no right to expect to enter Heaven by any means other than Faith and Prayer. I don't get the full benefit of God's Holy Spirit because I am full of filth on the inside of myself. The fact that I have Hope and a Future and the promises of a prosperity beyond comprehension is above and beyond what I deserve.
But to say that a practicing Christian such as Paul, or any of the numerous people in this planet who have "strived to enter through the narrow gate" deserve to be in Hell does seem like something I would expect an unforgiving PERSON to say, given Paul's past sins, but not a forgiving and gracious God, which is what God is -- forgiving and gracious. I can only assume such emphasis on "not earning" Heaven is meant to dissuade us from becoming arrogant and acting in ways that go along with that, which lead nowhere except...death...an endless cycle of no less.
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