it is not from works, so that no one can boast.
And if it is by grace, it is no longer by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
For if Abraham was declared righteous by the works of the law, he has something to boast about – but not before God.
even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling) –
So then, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.
He is the one who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not based on our works but on his own purpose and grace, granted to us in Christ Jesus before time began,
