No good deeds can undo the sins we have committed. Salvation is a gift. Further, it is a gift only God can provide.

Salvation occurs in three stages:

1. You “have been saved” through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism and receiving of the Holy Spirit.
2. You are “being saved” through daily repentance of your personal sins as you strive to put them out of your life.
3. You “shall be saved” when Christ returns and you’re given a spiritual body with eternal life.

Ephesians 2:8 specifically deals with the first stage of salvation—forgiveness of past sins. Without that step, the rest of the process cannot be fulfilled.