Sola gratia is an utter necessity for the Christian faith. There is no Christianity apart from the beauty of God shining in the glory of His grace in all aspects of the Christian faith. The world and the religious world pursues morality and good works while true Christianity is all of grace. Whatever is of grace is of God and whatever is of God in the life of true religion is of grace. It all must be of grace in order that it may be God shining forth in His glory. All of Christianity is of grace because it is all of His glory.
Religion apart from the truth of Christ acknowledges that all grace comes from Christ and that people need grace. However, it still wants to do something in order to obtain grace. That nullifies grace and makes it something other than biblical grace. Works come from grace rather than grace coming because of works. The fallen human mind and heart has these things reversed. All that the believer does is to be from grace alone in order that it is the life of Christ alone to the glory of God alone. When any work or merit sneaks in as a cause of grace in some way, biblical grace has been turned into something else. We must assert that 99.9999% grace is not grace at all because God will not share His glory with another.
We must view sanctification as by grace alone as well. In one sense there is no such thing as disciplining ourselves if we mean by that self-control to do the outward things of religion. Scripture does not use the term “discipline” in the same way modern Americans use it to refer to self-disciplined people. The reason that Bible study and prayer are means of grace is because they are means of GRACE. In order for them to be means of grace demonstrates that God is under no obligation to give grace to us in our study and prayer. Too often we hear people slipping into a form of works when they speak of what is termed “the disciplines” as if those things obligated God to give grace or that if a person does them that person will automatically be holy. When a believer studies the Bible God is not obligated to that person to show him or her great things in the Scripture or to be present with that person. When a believer is in something that people call prayer, God is not obligated to show grace to that person. All of God’s actions toward saved human beings are grace. For a believer to pray, that believer must pray in the name of Christ and go to the throne of grace to receive grace. We are never in true prayer unless we are at the throne of grace praising and worshipping God for being a God of grace and then whatever we ask it must come on the basis of grace. If we desire God Himself, that will only come by grace. If we are asking for other things, they must come from God who operates by grace alone in giving benefits to human beings.
Falling from grace alone (not the same as falling from grace in our lingo) is not limited to Pelagians and Arminians, but it seems that many in the Reformed ranks have been blinded by morality and external things in our day. The heart is so deceitful that it will use anything in an attempt to manipulate God and to get something from Him and yet still call it grace. We speak of human responsibility, yet that never obligates God to show grace. We speak of parental responsibility, yet that never obligates God to show grace. We speak of correct doctrine, yet that never obligates God to show grace. We speak of keeping the commandments, yet that does not obligate God to show grace. Some baptize infants and others baptize those who profess a form of the Gospel or even adhere to external Reformed theology and yet seem to deny that grace alone is a vital part of the Gospel itself. We press a choice or decision upon human beings without a thought of how that fits with the nature of true grace. We encourage people to live holy lives as if that obligates God to show them grace.
God does not need us in the slightest and is not benefited by us in any way. We live at His mere pleasure and He gives grace as it fits with His glory and pleasure. While we are commanded to seek Him that is far different than meaning that our efforts earn His presence or in some way move Him to be nice to us. No, what we must see is that if we are seeking Him in truth that is His grace as well. Human beings not only live at the mere pleasure of God, but their spiritual maturity is also at His mere pleasure as well. There is nothing within us that can move God to share His glory with us. We live by a sheer and utter grace at all moments. If we do good works, then those have been prepared for us as the workmanship of Christ. If we have love for God, that is also the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Living by grace alone means that we live in trust of the utter freedom of God to do all for the glory of His name and for His own pleasure. We live knowing that God is not obligated to us except as those who bear His name in Christ. This is true and free grace when we live and die by faith in His grace alone as uncaused by us.
God Loves... Himself 
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