From beginning to end. Start with Paul's description of Abrahams faith in the book of Galations.
And look at what the Angel said to Abraham: "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."
The key to the story is that Abraham could have said no. But he did not -- he meant to do what God had told him to do. His faith in God's promise was such that he was willing to kill the same vessel through whom God meant to carry out His promise to Abraham. He had the knife raised to strike the fatal blow!
And only then did the angel stay his hand. God wanted Abraham to show the true depth of his faith, and Abraham did.
The lesson is certainly NOT that Abraham's actions did not matter. They mattered very much -- they're the whole point of the story! It is quite true that Abraham could not give himself eternal life, and neither can we. Only God can do that.
But the story makes absolutely no sense unless Abraham's actions mattered to God.
From beginning to end. Start with Paul's description of Abrahams faith in the book of Galations.
Oh, yes, I forgot, everything has to go through +Paul. With some Christians, he is the prism through which everything is interpreted, even Christ's own words. Where is "grace alone" (even "faith alone") in the Beatitudes? Or are they not important because +Paul doesn't interpret them? Why not change the name from Christians to Paulines?.
Where does the OT, not Galatians, say we are saved by grace alone?