"Justification by Death"

Reading "The Truth of the Cross," a short but packed book by R. C. Sproul. On page 10 he makes this observation:

"The prevailing doctrine of justification today is not justification by faith alone. It's not even justification by good works or by a combination of faith and works. The prevailing notion of justification in Western culture today is justification by death. It's assumed that all one has to do to be received into the everlasting arms of God is to die."