God can save us only by His own power, for His glory, merely in a way of grace and favor, solely by Christ, to the end we may love, adore, and praise Him; and yet the wish and will of man, notwithstanding the peculiar discoveries of the Christian religion, and the fullest conviction of infinite defect, is to be independent and self-saved. (Thomas Adam, Private Thoughts on Religion)
It is not possible for the all-blessed God who exists in and of Himself as the perfectly self-sufficient God to save by any other power or for the glory of any other being. It is the holiness of God to love Himself supremely and do all for His own glory, and to this end the Gospel of all glory shines forth the glory of God in the face of Christ who is His perfect image. It is not possible for anyone to add to the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ because Christ suffered and satisfied the wrath of God perfectly in the place of all He died for. This perfect sacrifice cannot be added to. It is also not possible for anyone to add to the perfect righteousness of Christ in the slightest degree because no finite being can add to the righteousness earned by the infinite Son of God in human flesh. Justification by God is when He justifies apart from any work, worth, or merit in the person justified and He does this by declaring a person perfectly just on the basis of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone.
God saves sinners to the praise of the glory of His grace, yes, but in line with that He saves sinners that they may love and adore Him which is also a way He manifests the glory of His grace. The greatest thing that any being can do is to praise and adore the living God. It is the very grace of God that takes a sinner who is at enmity with God and all true righteousness and holiness and grant that person the new birth, true repentance, and unity with Christ. In light of that, the person is a new creature in Christ and like Christ that person will live in love for God, will adore the living God, and will praise the living God. The Gospel of the Glory of God is the Gospel of grace alone which was accomplished by Christ and applied by the Spirit of grace. No man can glory in self and the Gospel of grace alone at the same time. No man can glory in self-sufficiency and in the sufficiency of God and His grace in Christ Jesus at the same time.
Despite the fullness of the Gospel and the infinite defect of man, the vast majority of mankind are so filled with pride and self that they are at enmity with the Gospel of grace alone and they want to do it themselves. Men will fight to retain (in their own confused minds) their own independency. Men refuse to bow in humble submission to the living God and instead want to be independent in some way. Instead of grace alone, they want grace to help them and assist them. Oh how men want to save themselves, but some see that it impossible and want to contribute something. The proud heart of man will not bow in utter submission and helplessness to the living God. The proud heart of man still bears the image of the devil who was and is full of pride and rebellion against God.
The Law of God sparks enmity toward God and His perfect standards of holiness which includes or consists of love for Him with all of our being, but grace seems to spark an even greater enmity. The Bible is quite clear that God saves those whom He is pleased to save, yet man wants to make that decision himself. The Scriptures are clear that man must depend entirely upon Christ for justification, yet man wants to and demands to his damnation that he will trust in himself to some degree. The heart that was deceived by the evil one in the Garden to be independent of God and trust in self to decide what was good and evil is the depraved heart that has come from Adam to all his children. Not only, then, does the independent and proud heart reflect the nature of sin and self, but it is that independent and proud heart that despises the doctrine of grace alone so it can save itself.
Interestingly enough the same spirit that some say made this nation great is that spirit which hates and opposes the Gospel of grace alone. The independent spirit that will work for all it gets and provide for itself may indeed be helpful in winning wars and sticking things out in tough situations in a man-centered way, but it is precisely that same spirit in the things of God that makes salvation impossible for men. God saves the dependent (on Him) rather than those who depend on themselves. God saves the humble rather than the proud heart that looks to self. That independent and proud heart can be seen in many churches and in the ministry as well. There are many self-made men in the ministry, but they are wolves instead of sheep being guided by the Shepherd. God saves for the glory of His grace and solely by Christ alone and He will not allow one independent and proud heart to share His glory. Not only that, but the independent and proud heart hates grace which is the only way of salvation.
God Loves... Himself 
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