Wrong, the message throughout the Bible is that man is fallen and estranged from God, in bondage to his sin nature, hopelessly lost and without the ability to make himself right with God, but that God has chosen, set apart a people to Himself, who are Redeemed by the Precious Blood of Christ.
You can't choose to obey God until God gives you a new heart.
Pelagius would have loved you.
Romans 3
For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
10As it is written:
"There is none righteous, no, not one;
11There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
12They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one."[2]
13"Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit";
[3] "The poison of asps is under their lips";
[4] 14"Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness."[5]
15"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17And the way of peace they have not known."[6]
18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."[7]
That is what God thinks of your false notion that you choose to obey Him, and thus save yourself.
God gives a new heart through the Word of God. We must choose to obey. I Peter 1:22 says men purify their souls in obeying the truth. That does not contradict the fact that the New Testament truth that God saves us through Christ's blood. (Ephesians 5:26, Revelation 1:5) The two concepts do not contradict. I Peter 1:22 emphasizes man's part in the process, Revelation 1:5 emphasizes God's part in the same process. To see both parts expressed side by side in the same place look at Leviticus 20:7-8. Leviticus 20:7 commands the Israelites to sanctify themselves, but the very next verse states that it is God that sanctifies them. We must look at all of what the scriptures say on a subject. All of God's commandments are truth. (Psalms 119:151)
As far as God giving a new heart to whoever He will, if God had his wish, all would be saved.(I Timothy 2:4) as Christ died for all men. (I Timothy 2:6) God is no respector of persons but everyone that worketh righteousness will be accepted of Him. (Acts 10:34-35)