Is the 'to him that worketh' verse about salvation or about the Christian life?
The 'to him that worketh' verse addresses salvation, not the Christian life. The context states that trying to merit favor with God concerns salvation, not Christian experience or Christian works. It shows that works cannot put God in debt, because God owes no one anything; the passage is speaking of salvation.
Les explains that in this verse 'to him that worketh' means a person tries to merit favor with God. He says the discussion is about salvation, not Christian experience or Christian works. If salvation were by works, the reward would not be reckoned of grace but death, and the worker would be trying to put God in debt. But God will never owe any man anything, not even a righteous man like Abraham. Les also notes that the human race keeps trying to say God owes them heaven because of what they have done, yet He does not. The only remedy for sin is the gospel: Christ died, was buried, shed His blood, and rose from the dead; when we believe, God imputes His righteousness to us, not our own.