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//Additionally, as with Romans and Galatians, the works to which Paul is referring in Ephesians are the works of the Mosaic Law, not the avoidance of sin.//

And the difference.......

The failure, or refusal, to recognize the difference between the eternal law of God and the Mosaic Law is at the heart of the Protestants' misunderstanding of Paul. Circumcision and the Mosaic Law were provisional and limited to the Jewish nation. Non-Jews committed no sin for not following them, nor did the Jews before the establishment of the covenants with Abraham and Moses. With the establishment of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ, no one sins for not keeping the Mosaic Law.

The moral law of God found in the Ten Commandments, however, is eternal and universal. Although their final form is found in the commandments given to Moses, they predate that event. Idolotry, murder, theft, adultery, etc. were already sins before Moses received the two tablets. They are also binding on both Jew and non-Jew alike. Did not Cain sin when he killed his brother even though Moses had not yet received the Ten Commandments? Of course. Thus, even when with the establishment of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ, the eternal moral law of God summarized in the Ten Commandments remains. We can see this in the response of our Lord to the rich young man:

Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 19:16-19)

Notice that the commandments that one must keep to enter into life are those of the Ten Commandments, not circumcision or those of the Mosaic Law.