One ad for the U.S. Marines pictures a sword, and beneath it the words: "Earned, never given." If you want to become a Marine, be prepared to earn that name through sacrifice, hardship, and training. If you get it, you deserve it.

But if you want to become a Christian, you must have the exact opposite attitude, for the message of the gospel is: "Given, never earned."

You cannot save your own soul, and God will not save anyone who tries to earn salvation, but only those who will humbly receive it as a gift through faith in Jesus Christ. If you get it, you absolutely did not deserve it.