Ephesians 2:8,9 is a favorite passage of Christians. It often is presented as meaning that by making a statement of belief in Jesus Christ we have a ticket to Heaven, and how we behave can have no critical effect on our eternal destiny. While this interpretation may not always be stated as succinctly as we have presented it, in many instances it is the impression that is left.
We would like to examine the context of this "key" verse and see if there may be a more defensible interpretation.
