Pretty poor analogy, I'd say. One can clean one's self up with soap, but one cannot apply the Gospel to one's self. No man can clean himself up to come to God. No man can apply the Gospel to himself by himself, and thereby save himself. Unless God enlightens the heart, man cannot understand the Gospel. God must first resuscitate the dead heart of sin, because a spiritually dead man cannot perform the actions of one spiritually alive, i.e. believe the Gospel savingly, repent savingly and receive forgiveness of sins savingly. Only a spiritually alive man can do that. God must act on his heart first, monoergistically, or the man will not believe the Gospel, or receive Christ. God does not consult the man's will to do so, He does so Sovereignly. Spiritually dead men cannot perform God-pleasing acts. They not only cannot, they would not even if they could. Spiritually alive men do perfom God-pleasing acts. They believe the Gospel, they receive the Word and understand it, they repent of their sins, they receive justification by faith, because only spiritually alive men can be justified.
Man must be made spiritually alive before he can receive Christ. That is a sovereign action of God, apart from the man's will or desire. Once made spiritually alive, the man will desire Christ, receive Him, and be justified in Him through faith, which is given him by God when God resuscitates his dead, cold, stony heart of sin and corruption, by the hearing of the Word, which brings Faith. Until God resuscitates that heart, the man has no spiritual ears, no receptive heart, no capacity to believe savingly.
Comparing the Gospel to soap is a poor analogy, and even poorer theology.
Are these God-pleasing acts necessary?
Is salvation dependant on them?
What does it mean to be justified?
What does it mean to be spiritually alive?
Does a justified man have salvation?
Does a spiritually alive man have salvation?