“For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

Grace is God’s unmerited favor on those who have broken his law and sinned against him. God’s grace offers and secures salvation. Believing in Jesus Christ is an act of choosing to receive His gift of eternal life — to choose allegiance to Him and His Word, as we turn away from a life of disobedience and lawlessness.

Jesus stands up for the woman caught in adultery.

This radical change, though seemingly chosen of our free will, occurs by the acting divine principle of mercy enabling us to see God’s love in Christ demonstrated — “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19) and we reach to Him — to entirely deliver us from God’s wrath at the final judgment (see Rom. 5: 9). The tense of “have been saved” indicates that a Christian’s salvation is fully secured. And it is secured through our simple childlike faith — through faith.

I want to emphasize that “this…is the gift of God,” the pronoun this referring to the entire process of salvation achieved by grace through faith — it is all a gift of God. God initiated your salvation, by calling you into His presence by wooing you by His Holy Spirit, and we are promised that He will resurrect us unto eternal life on Judgement Day. Jesus made this clear: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”(John 6:44).

Such a magnificent salvation is not by works. If it were, then those who are saved would get the glory. Our entire salvation is God’s new creation as He transforms us from sinner to saint . . . for, not because of good works. Grace, amazing grace — your salvation is “not a result of our works.” Our call from the state of spiritual death to the point when we believe, is achieved by the same almighty power of God that resurrected Jesus from the grave (see Ephesians 1:19-20).

Let’s give God alone all the glory. Salvation is not based on our initial efforts or works — any good works that Christians do, are the result of God’s new creation work in them from beginning to end.