Ephesians 2:9

9. Not of works Neither the works of the Jewish ritual, nor the works of the moral law by Gentiles. If either ritual Jew or moral Gentile were saved, it would not be because of the value of their doings, but for that deep spirit-seated faith, according to their dispensation. It is the heart inspiring the act, and not the act, that saves. And that spirit of faith in Jew or Gentile would, if Christ were truly presented and understood, heartily embrace him.

Boast A self-saviour needs no Christ-saviour. All Christ’s history in Ephesians 1:17-23, and all God’s mercy in 1-7, are to him null. He can boast, “I need no free pass; I pay my own way.”