8. You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own.
9. It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can boast about.
10. God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That's why he sent Christ to make us what we are.
11. Don't forget that you are Gentiles. In fact, you used to be called “uncircumcised” by those who take pride in being circumcised.
12. At that time you did not know about Christ. You were foreigners to the people of Israel, and you had no part in the promises that God had made to them. You were living in this world without hope and without God,
13. and you were far from God. But Christ offered his life's blood as a sacrifice and brought you near God.
14. Christ has made peace between Jews and Gentiles, and he has united us by breaking down the wall of hatred that separated us. Christ gave his own body
15. to destroy the Law of Moses with all its rules and commands. He even brought Jews and Gentiles together as though we were only one person, when he united us in peace.