Does human effort oppose God's grace?

"human effort does not oppose God's grace" = TRUE, when the effort is a result of faith in God's grace. For instance, Paul the apostle repeatedly wrote about how hard he worked as a result of God's grace, that is, knowing that God would undertake for him.

God graciously gives us gifts and empowers us to use them according to His will:

Romans 12:6

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;

1 Cor. 3:10

According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.

1 Cor. 15:10

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

2 Cor. 9:8

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

So these verses show that grace (which is freely given apart from our meriting them) and human effort are not exclusive. Christians freely access this grace, this giving of God, when they believe God for it, that is, act in faith.

The problem comes in when we labor to be found worthy of the gifts and helps ("See what I've done, Lord? I'm such a good person!") For instance, the Israelites resisted receiving God's graciously given righteousness because they were going about establishing their own by meritorious works (Romans 9:30-32). So acting apart from faith resists God's grace.

Hah, well, you've got a couple ambiguous statements to begin with:

• "Human effort does not oppose God's grace."
• "As long as you do your best , God will indeed do the rest."

What do you mean by human effort? Effort in what? Doing your best in what? And what is God gracing you with? What is the "rest" that he is doing?

If you're talking about salvation and about being a good person and saying that human effort can contribute towards that without opposing God's grace then scripture surely contradicts you.

Romans 3:20,28 ESV For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin ... For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Galatians 2:16 ESV yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

In regards to salvation, the only "human effort" a person can have that doesn't oppose God's grace is faith in Jesus--though most bible scholars wouldn't categorize that as human effort. In fact, they'd say it's the opposite. Having faith that Jesus makes you good and clean and justified before God implies that you believe you can't do it on your own.

The human effort does not oppose God's grace if this effort consist in obedience to God... Even more this kind of human effort will be the inevitable result of the God's grace. That is called the perseverance of the saints in reformed theology.

"Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of
turning.Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures" (KJV James 1:16-18).

In fact, the good works of humans (not necessarily saved humans) also is part of the God's Grace (the common grace).

There are two heresies related to the subject of you question: the pelagianism and the semipelagianism, both of them in oposse to the reformed theology.

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