Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Paul makes it clear, in this letter to the Ephesians, that God’s grace (provided through Jesus’ suffering and death by crucifixion) is what saves us as Christians, even today. God loves each one of us enough to want to reconnect with us through our faith, and if we accept by faith Jesus’ suffering and death as payment for our own sins, God welcomes us home.

And yet, there are some Christians today who do not truly believe that. Oh, they go to church, they do all the right things and say all the right words, but they don’t truly believe they’ve been saved by grace. They, instead, believe that they were saved by their own good works, which made them “good enough” to go to Heaven when they die. I’m sure this description puts you in mind of a few people you know, just as it does for me.

Being saved by works is a fallacy; much as it might sound good to the Christian ear to “work for salvation,” it is not needed, and indeed can even hinder salvation by causing boasting and ill feeling between Christians. (And if we can be “good enough” for God to save us on our own merits, then why did Jesus suffer and die, anyway?)

The Ephesians, too, were having trouble with this concept of being “saved by grace,” so Paul spells it out to them in this verse. Salvation is wrought by God and not by our own works; we don’t have to worry about working for God’s approval, because He already loved us enough to send His Son to pay our sin price.

We may lead an almost completely pure life, and we may spend almost every waking moment in service to God, but we still need that grace to be saved. No one is exempt, and no one can boast of anything else, as Paul says.