John Stott on the Place of Faith and Righteousness

"It is vital to affirm that there is nothing meritorious about faith and that when we say salvation is "by faith not by works" - we are not substituting one kind of merit (faith) for another (works). Nor is salvation a sort of co-operative enterprise between God and us in which He contributes to the Cross and we contribute faith.

No, grace is non-contributory and faith is the opposite of self-regarding. The value of faith is not to be found in itself but entirely and exclusively in it's object - namely Jesus Christ and Him crucified. To say "justification by faith alone" is another way of saying; "Justification by Christ alone".

John R W Stott - "BST Series - The Message of Romans" - IVP, Leicester (1994) - (p117).