A gift is something of value that a person receives freely. If the recipient has to pay for a gift, it is not a gift. It is only a gift if someone else paid the price for it and your only obligation is to receive it.
Salvation is the most wonderful and valuable gift in the world. God paid for it because you and I could never afford it. He offers this gift to you because He loves you. There is only one condition you must meet to have this precious gift: you must receive it.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
God paid for the gift of salvation through the death on the cross of Jesus Christ. In that unique event, Jesus, who was without any sin of His own, accepted the punishment for the sins of others so that they could be offered forgiveness.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves. It is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).