STANDING IN GRACE
The believer’s position before God is among the grandest themes in all the Word of God. The apostle declares that through Christ “we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand” (Romans 5:2). Observe carefully the language of the Spirit. We do not merely visit grace as a weary traveler stopping briefly at an inn. We stand in it. It is our dwelling place, our strong tower, our holy ground beneath the wounded feet of faith. The child of God is not balanced precariously above the flames of wrath by his own trembling strength. He stands upon the everlasting righteousness of Jesus Christ Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21).
How many dear saints live as though grace were a shallow stream that dries beneath the heat of temptation. Yet the grace of God is an ocean without shore or bottom. Before the mountains were brought forth, grace was in the heart of God toward His people in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 1:9). When the sinner first comes broken to Calvary, confessing that he has no merit of his own, grace receives him freely. And after conversion, when the believer stumbles, grieves, and mourns over remaining corruption, grace still remains his standing place. “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (Romans 5:20).
There are some Christians who seem determined to stand partly in grace and partly in works. They look to the cross for pardon, yet to themselves for security. This can never produce peace. The man who rests one foot upon Christ and the other upon self will discover that self is but sinking sand. The Gospel does not proclaim that we are preserved by our consistency, but by Christ’s intercession (Hebrews 7:25). The weakest lamb in the flock stands by the same grace as the strongest saint who ever entered glory. The feeblest hand touching the hem of Christ’s garment possesses virtue because of Him, not because of the strength of the hand.
Standing in grace does not produce carelessness, as some falsely imagine. Rather, it melts the heart into holy gratitude. When a man knows that he has been loved while unworthy, redeemed while guilty, and preserved while weak, he begins to hate the sin that pierced his Savior. Grace teaches us “that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly” in this present age (Titus 2:11-12). A soul truly established in grace does not ask, “How much sin may I indulge?” but rather, “How may I best glorify the One who loved me and gave Himself for me?” (Galatians 2:20).
Beloved reader, there will come hours when Satan accuses you bitterly. He will point to your failures, your wandering thoughts, your neglected prayers, and your cold affections. At such times, do not answer him by recounting your virtues, for your best righteousness apart from Christ is but a fading leaf before the storm (Isaiah 64:6). Point instead to the blood of the covenant. Tell the adversary that your standing before God rests not upon your perfection, but upon the finished work of Jesus Christ, who cried, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). The throne upon which grace reigns has been established in righteousness.
Even death itself cannot overthrow the believer who stands in grace. The river may swell, the flesh may tremble, and the final enemy may cast its long shadow across the pillow, yet grace shall not fail at the last hour. The saint who leaned upon Christ in life shall lean upon Him in death. “Underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). The grace that justified shall also glorify (Romans 8:30). No one who truly loves Christ shall finally perish, for the Good Shepherd loses none of those entrusted into His hand (John 10:27-29).
Oh, what a resting place is grace. It is softer than a mother’s embrace and stronger than the pillars of heaven. The Christian stands today not before Sinai’s thunder, but beneath Calvary’s mercy. He stands accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6), clothed in a righteousness not his own, awaiting that day when grace shall give way to sight and faith shall become everlasting joy in the presence of the Lamb.
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Gracious Father, we thank You for the immeasurable riches of Your grace in Christ Jesus. Teach us to stand firmly upon the finished work of Your Son and not upon our frail attainments. In His holy name, Amen.
BDD
