How do we know that grace is the basis for our acceptance with God?

Grace is the unmerited favor of God, and the Bible emphasizes that we are accepted solely through grace and not by our own merits. As stated in 2 Timothy 1:9, God has saved us 'not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace.' The acceptance we receive from God is grounded in the sufficiency of Christ's redemptive work, which is made effective in us through faith, itself a gift from God. Ephesians 2:10 highlights that we are His workmanship created in Christ for good works, which God prepared beforehand. Our good works, therefore, are a result of God's grace enabling us, further solidifying that it is grace that undergirds our acceptance with God.