I see that happens on many other things as well. I can't help but pray with all my heart that God lifts the scales of self-righteousness away from people's eyes and they clearly see the truth and the wonder of why the grace of God is so amazing. I can do NOTHING to save myself! There isn't ANYTHING I am capable of doing that makes me worthy or deserving of His mercy.
The prophet Jeremiah understood:
The psalmist got it:
The prophet Nehemiah understood:
Micah saw it:
Jesus made sure His apostles understood it as well:
How prideful we can be when we start thinking WE are so pious and holy because we do all these things FOR God! We imagine God HAS TO let us into heaven because we've been so good and done all the things we were told we had to do in order to please Him and merit it. But what really pleases God?
I truly humble and contrite spirit is what God can use to get through to us and it draw others to Him and He gets ALL the glory - which is how it should be. Belonging to one church versus another matters very little. It is what we believe and how we live what we believe that really matters.
I’ll add to your list. In Ephesians 1, Paul says two things, THREE TIMES:
1. God chose US!
2. He did it before we were born.
Three times!
Verse 4: even as he *chose* us in him *before* the foundation of the world...
Verse 5: he *predestined* us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ
Verse 11: In him we have obtained an *inheritance*, having been *predestined*...
Paul says the same thing, three different ways and contextes. He makes it abundantly clear that we don’t choose Him. He chooses us. And that he did it before we were born.
This is why it is such a blessing to spread the gospel. We get to enjoy seeing the lost sheep brought into the fold. Sometimes we preach to goats, but we never know if we are dealing with a lost sheep or a goat. Only God knows, so we go forward accordingly.