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Timothy Maas
Supporter
A few verses after the verse cited in the question, Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves -- it [that is, saving faith] is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." We can reject that gift (as many people do), but we can also take no credit for it being offered to us, or even for accepting it. It is entirely the work of the Holy Spirit within us.
Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
I like to think of the example of Adam and Eve. God had told them not to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil (Genesis 2:17). Did they listen to God? No! And this was even after God had warned them that the day they disobeyed Him by eating its fruit, they would die. They did! They did die on that very day. But it was a spiritual death, not a physical one. Afterwards, I believe God gave them a chance to repent and provided the means for them to be saved (He killed animals as a gesture of sacrifice by blood to clothe their nakedness). I.e., they were able to believe even though they were dead spiritually (that is, dead in sins).
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