Is there anything in ourselves that can merit salvation? Are some saved because they are better able to muster up belief in contrast to others who do not have the same inherent ability? If belief has its ultimate source in humans, people can boast about themselves before God because they are the ones who by their own goodness and power made the initial difference between whether or not they were saved. Such people would not suffer judgment like others because they would be inherently “better” than unbelievers.