Main Idea: If you pay for a free gift, it is no longer free.
Verse: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV).
Illustration: Once there was a husband who gave a beautiful diamond necklace to his wife. Now, imagine what would happen if she opened up her purse and tried to pay him for the necklace. She only has a scrunched up dollar bill and a few coins and says, “Let me pay you for the necklace.” Her husband would be insulted because if you have to pay for a free gift, it is no longer free. In the same way, we cannot pay God for the free gift of salvation. We cannot earn our salvation through our good works. Grace is a free gift, freely given by God.