 but would have eternal life. In Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, it says, You are saved by grace through faith. This is not from yourselves. It's God's gift. Not from works so that no one can boast. So the reason that we can't earn God's forgiveness or that we can't just try to be good enough is spelled out there in Ephesians. It's based through our faith in Him so that we might not boast in ourselves