When people work, their pay is not regarded as a gift but something they have earned.
If they were chosen by God’s kindness, they weren’t chosen because of anything they did. Otherwise, God’s kindness wouldn’t be kindness.
Why? They didn’t rely on faith to gain God’s approval, but they relied on their own efforts. They stumbled over the rock that trips people.
Who gave the Lord something which the Lord must pay back?
They receive God’s approval freely by an act of his kindness through the price Christ Jesus paid to set us free ⌞from sin⌟.