Romans 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
2 Timothy 1:9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,
Eph 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
One of the most insidious ways that the concept of grace is abused and used to distort the truth of the Gospel is to make grace man-centered rather than God-centered. What this does, in effect, is to turn things totally around and put man in charge of his own salvation with God pleading with men to choose Him. In reality, however, God is in charge of all things including salvation and man should seek the Lord pleading with God to regenerate him.
When grace is turned from its thorough God-centeredness and the focus is turned on man, it is no longer a biblical grace that is being spoken of but instead is just another man-centered message. Not only does a man-centered message of salvation leave men in the bondage of self while focused on self, it also gives the appearance of God being focused on man as well. Indeed, this is a travesty when this happens and it seems that this is the majority report in the modern day.
True grace comes to man based on God showing grace because of who God is and despite all that man is and what man does. This is to say that true grace is always found in Christ and because of Christ and what He has done rather than anything that man has done or can do. Grace is not only shown because of God and not because of what man has done, but it is impossible for man to do anything to earn any merit before God because men are totally depraved and as such have a complete inability to please God. Even more, grace is shown by God not because of what men will do or can do, but because they can do nothing. Grace is given to sinners because God saves sinners in spite of who they are rather than because they can do one thing or many to please Him.
A man-centered focus will leave men focused on men and their ability to do something in order to be saved, but a God-centered focus will leave men focused on God and His ability to save. How beautiful and delightful the glory of God in His grace is to those sinners who come to the realization of the truth that they have no ability to save themselves and there is nothing they can do to earn the slightest merit before God. When sinners are awakened to see these things about themselves and of what they so richly deserve in terms of the wrath of God for all eternity, it is a wonderful thing for them to see and understand that grace means that God saves because of God and not because of any merit they can do or any act that they can come up with.
The Scriptures teach us that even sinners love those that love themselves, so what we see is that when it is taught that grace saves sinners if they will just believe or if they will do some duty or duties, they will be deceived into thinking that they love God when in fact any unregenerate person would love God out of a heart that loves self supremely. But true grace teaches us that sinners hate God and are at enmity with Him and that is especially true of very religious sinners who trust in self and their duties. Oh how the glorious doctrine of a God-centered God is abused at precisely the point of grace and the Gospel in our day.
God saves sinners to the praise of the glory of His grace and He does that to the praise of the glory of His grace alone. He does not save sinners because of anything in them or of anything they do or can do, but because of Himself and the glory of His grace. This is so hard for the proud sinner who may be an outwardly wicked man or a very religious man because there is nothing man can do to contribute, but instead the very best a man can do is something else he needs to be saved from. God saves sinners by Himself and for Himself. God saves sinners out of His own self-sufficiency and so we can behold the luster of grace in that. But the proud sinner wants some of the glory and as such demonstrates that s/he does not understand grace because the Gospel of grace alone is where there is no boasting but in the cross of Christ.
God Loves... Himself 
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