After he is arrested, and while he awaits trial in Rome, Paul writes letters of encouragement to churches he has founded around the Aegean Sea. In one such letter, to the people of Ephesus, Paul discusses the importance of having faith in God, compared to the significance of performing “works”—that is, good deeds and actions. Despite stating that “we were created … to do good works” (Ephesians 2:10), Paul repeatedly writes that personal salvation—being welcomed into the kingdom of heaven—can only happen through faith in Jesus.

A gift from God

According to Paul, the Ephesians were “dead in [their] transgressions and sins” (2:1), yet because God is loving and merciful, He made them alive with Christ. By this, Paul means that the people’s actions were previously of a sinful nature, not good works in the name of God. However, when the Ephesians were converted, they were saved through God’s favor, His grace (2:8–9). Crucially, Paul tells the Ephesians that even their faith is a gift from God, rather than a virtue they have cultivated themselves. According to Paul, God alone may take credit for the salvation of the Ephesians: the people have been saved not because they have done good deeds, but because God, in His grace, gave them faith.

Protestant reformer Martin Luther was a firm proponent of the doctrine of sola fide—salvation through faith alone. This view was fundamental to the Protestant Reformation.

See also: Fruits of the Spirit • The Power of the Resurrection • Faith and Works