This is the central idea of the gospel: The death penalty we owed has been paid by Christ, who died in our place. Jesus will give us his righteousness, forgiveness, and life in exchange for our sin, our guilt, and the death sentence we deserve. What do we need to do to obtain this? CHRIST OFFERS HIS FORGIVENESS AS A GIFT “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9, emphasis mine;