If I understand your analysis correctly, based upon your understanding of God, then God expects us to do certain things for Him in order for us to receive His favor. This view is certainly different from the Protestant view that believes God is present to help us and He neither seeks nor wants our help. He only wants us to acknowledge Him.
Man was created to obey G-d's commandments. That is the purpose of our existence. It isn't something we do to "work our way into Heaven." It's simply something we do because we have been commanded. G-d is gracious to reward our efforts and just to punish our sins, but the commandments are an end in themselves.
By obeying G-d's commandments we bring holiness into the physical world. By disobeying we destroy holiness. Every commandment we obey unleashes unseen spiritual forces in the world; every sin we commit does the opposite.
The sole purpose for the creation the the physical world (when G-d could merely have created spiritual worlds) and a creature in G-d's image (free will) was this: letaqqen `olam bemalkhut Shaqqay (to rectify the world in the Kingdom of the A-mighty). This is very different from the beliefs of any chrstian church, Protestant or otherwise, but this is what it's all about nevertheless.
I can understand how you arrive at such a conclusion. This is Platonism's influence. It isn't Jewish thought-at least not the Jews of the Old Testament.