Easy believism ignores and discounts the requirement of personal responsibility. It says, “I can just believe and be saved.”
“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”
Faith is the confluence of belief, trust, and expectation. These three working together produce fruit. In the context of salvation by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-10), the fruit (or works) of faith is repentance from sins.
Without trust and expectation, there is no accessing the Works (salvation) of the One who says, I can, and I will do as I promise. Without trust and expectation mixed with belief, there is no basis to act in repentance from sins, which are non-refutable qualities of the gospel of the kingdom of God.
So, to button it up: Is Jesus key? Yes. Can we access the salvation that Jesus provided through is death, burial and resurrection without repentance? No.
A Recovering Legalist 