"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (vv 8-10). Two things I want you to know from this passage:
1) All mankind, by nature, is "dead in sin." And left to themselves they can only carry out desires of the flesh (vv 1-3). It is only because of God's mercy and love that some are made alive together with Christ (salvation be grace).
2) This does not mean we who have been saved can go on living as we did before. Good works do not have the power to save us. They do, however, show the power of the Spirit of God in us. Saving grace will invariably result in good works.
One of the great lessons my dad taught me when I was a kid was to work hard. He taught me the value of laboring for a reward, so that I wouldn't be lazy in life and expect everything simply to be handed to me. Great lesson for understanding the world; terrible for understanding grace. It has long been my tendency to try to earn God's favor by doing what he says.
Maybe you do this too. Passages like this one will be very helpful to you. Remember, grace is a gift; you can't attain it, retain it, or maintain it. Simply receive it. Receive the immeasurable riches of grace through faith.
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