Ephesians 2:8-9
Ephesians 2:8-98For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast.
The NWT renders the verse "By this undeserved kindness, indeed, you have been saved through faith…" JWs hear "undeserved kindness" as an emphasis on their unworthiness rather than on God's gift, and they read "saved" as a tentative process: nobody can claim to have been saved until Jehovah pronounces final judgement after a lifetime of field service, meeting attendance, and organisational loyalty. The verse is rarely pressed against the Watchtower's works-based salvation framework.
Even the NWT preserves three things Paul will not let go of. First, the perfect passive participle sesōsmenoi: "you have been saved" — a completed action with ongoing results. Second, "this not owing to you, it is God's gift" — even faith is a gift, not a personal achievement. Third, "not owing to works" — absolute, with no exception clause for hours, study, baptism, or organisational loyalty. Verse 10 then places good works in their proper position: we are "created in union with Christ Jesus FOR good works" — works are the fruit of salvation, not the root. in the NWT closes the door: "if it is by undeserved kindness, it is no longer owing to works; otherwise, the undeserved kindness no longer proves to be undeserved kindness."
The NWT renders χάρις (charis) as "undeserved kindness" throughout the NT — not lexically impossible, but it narrows the rich semantic range of charis (favour, beauty, joy, generosity, divine empowerment) down to a single emphasis on the recipient's unworthiness. Multiple former Witnesses report that this rendering creates a works-oriented psychological dynamic: "Am I worthy enough of this undeserved kindness?" — the opposite of the assurance Paul intends. The NWT's inconsistency is telling: at charis becomes "gracious," at it becomes "favour" — only in soteriologically loaded passages does "undeserved kindness" appear consistently.