If nature had been left to contrive the way of salvation, it would have rather put it into the hands of saints or angels to sell it, than of Christ who gives it freely, whom therefore it suspects. It would have set up a way to purchase by doing; therefore it abominates the merits of Christ, as the most destructive thing to it. Nature would do anything to be saved rather than go to Christ, or close with Christ. Christ will have nothing, the soul would force something of its own upon Christ. Here is that great controversy. Consider, did you ever yet see the merits of Christ, and the infinite satisfaction made by His death? Did you ever see this when the burden of sin and the wrath of God lay heavy on your conscience? That is grace. The greatness of Christ’s merit is not known but to a poor soul in the greatest distress. Slight convictions will but have slight prizings of Christ’s blood and merits. Thomas Willcox
Nature and the fallen nature of man will do anything to be saved in a way that is not by grace alone. The soul will cling to the slightest work or the slightest act of the will that is apart from grace so that it will not have to look to grace alone. From the beginning of Scripture to the end man keeps trying to find some work that will bring some form of obligation on God or will at least let man have some control in his own salvation. The heart of man does not love grace even when the brain understands it. It takes a work of sovereign and glorious grace in order for men to bow and delight in grace alone.
GRACE is the free favor of Jehovah, sovereignly fixed upon his people, and righteously communicating all spiritual and eternal blessings to them, for his own glorification. Every spiritual blessing flows from grace. Jehovah, the all-gracious God, is the fountain of all grace. His favor being fixed, he freely communicates to the unworthy and ill-deserving. He delights to give — as he delights to glorify himself. Grace is enthroned, and reigns “through righteousness unto eternal life — by Jesus Christ our Lord.” When coming to God for grace . . .no recommendation is necessary; every fear is groundless, and all your doubts are sinful. (James Smith, the predecessor of Charles Spurgeon at New Park Street)
Here is one place where the natural man rebels in his pride at grace. Man does not mind some grace, but God will only save when it is all of grace. Man can admit to being unworthy to some degree, but he does not want to admit that he is totally and completely unworthy. Since God is the fountain of grace and is the self-sufficient source of grace, any attempt by man to share in the Gospel of grace alone is an attempt by man to be a god unto himself. Men do not see the great evil that is in them in wanting to contribute to salvation and wanting to do something in order to obtain salvation or a part of salvation for themselves. Even more, men don’t want to hear of a grace that works sanctification in them either. Men are completely helpless in their sin to make up for one sin and they need grace alone to justify them, but converted men can do nothing spiritual apart from the Holy Spirit and they can do nothing good apart from Him who is good working that in them.
God delights to glorify Himself in His grace and yet men want to do something of their own and that detracts (at best) from the glory of God. This shows just one way of how man is at war with God. The living and true God has set forth Christ as a propitiation and has demonstrated the only way that the sin of man can be satisfied in the eyes of perfect justice, yet man still wants to do something. God has set forth Christ as a perfect righteousness and with perfect merit and yet man wants to do something of his own that has just a bit of righteousness and a bit of merit.
Man must look to his own heart and know that something in him wants to think highly of self and wants to have others think highly of him, and believe it or not man wants God to think highly of him. However, if man loved God with all of his being and others as he should love himself he would want all others to think highly of God. The heart constantly wants to find something good coming from itself and constantly wants to do good in a way that brings honor to self. How the heart should be examined and searched in order to find the hidden places where we are trusting in ourselves and seeking honor for ourselves. It is not if we are doing those things, but where and when we are doing those things.
God Loves... Himself 
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