And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. But if it is by works, then is it no longer by grace; otherwise work would no longer be work.
For before the children had been born, having done neither evil nor good, so that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but through Him who calls,
who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not by our works, but by His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,