God's gift of salvific faith
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works so that no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works God has prepared in advance, that we should live in." (Ephesians 2:8-10) In this powerful Ephesian passage, Saint Paul succinctly articulates the core Christian understanding of salvation as a gratuitous gift God bestows through faith in Jesus Christ. The apostle emphasizes that salvation is not the product of human effort or achievement but arises solely from divine grace. As Paul defines it, Grace is God's unmerited favor—freely given, wholly unearned, and profoundly transformative. By asserting that salvation is a divine gift, Paul underscores the foundational Christian belief that humanity, burdened by sin, depends entirely upon God’s merciful intervention. This truth remains a profound antidote to human pride and self-sufficiency, calling believers to humi...