Can we Block God's Mercy?

One of the graduate studies for Bible scholars is the very nature of faith.  You see, the gifts of God are ... GIFTS.  We cannot earn them because they are gifts.  If you work to earn something, it is earned (deserved) but not a gift.  If you buy something for money, which represents the earnings from your labor, you bought that item.  The store didn't give it away.  

Mercy and grace forces us back to an understanding of who we are and who He is.  Standing in our our merit, accomplishments, successes, and intelligence; we literally have nothing that God needs.  We are not able to make heaven a better place.  It is a human error to think that we earn God's favor which makes salvation a works religion rather than a provision that only god Himself can offer to sin-compromised people.