Hi CIY,
I just finished reading Saved by Grace through Faith. What you say is true, we can't produce anything good on our own. It will always be tainted, off, flesh. It is all in vain, useless.
But we have such hope that God's works will be manifest in us. His works, not our own.
Rom 8:29 for whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
That is the end result, and it's for HIS glory.
It's something to keep in mind when we are going through various trials, that those trials are part of His works, and are meant to conform us into Christ's image, which is the image of God. Speaking for myself, it is too easy to look at the hardship, the hurt, the pain, the uncertainty, and forget that God is at that very moment, working, and for a glorious purpose.
Heb 12:1-2 ...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Love,
Ursula