How to Stand Before God

In a court of justice, an appeal is made to the judge for mercy only after every defense has failed and the law itself has been broken. That’s where we stand today: In need of God’s grace and mercy. We are spiritually helpless and without hope, paralyzed and unable to save ourselves.

So how can God save us? There’s only one way: Through His righteousness, through the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf (John 14:6). We can’t save ourselves; no religion or church can save us. We can’t escape a sinful past and hopeless future on our own, but the righteousness God demands, God also provides. He is willing to give us the glorious life He has always wanted for us.

What does it look like to be saved by faith? Romans 4:5 says, “to him who does not work but believes on [Christ] who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” To him who believes…not, “Oh, but I ought to do something” or “Shouldn’t I promise God I’ll live a better life?” No. God justifies the “ungodly,” the worst kind. Not only has God never saved a good person, He never will. Why? Because no one is good.

Take this to heart: He cannot save you until you come as a sinner to God. Many people defend their dignity rather than let God save them. They say they are weak or make mistakes, but it’s only sin that Jesus paid for.

What God does for us, He does by His grace … joyfully, freely, literally without a cause, and without holding back. When He gives you grace, He goes to the limit. He is not stingy. Nothing beautiful in us calls out the grace of God other than our great need. It’s Jesus’ gift that’s beautiful.

As an example of this grace, apart from anything we do, look at the lives of Old Testament heroes Abraham and David. They were in the same boat as us. Abraham, the founder of the nation Israel, and David, their greatest king, were desperate sinners lost without God, but they were saved by faith alone.

God promised Abraham his family lineage would be numbered like the stars, even when his wife was barren. Abraham believed God, and God credited that confidence for righteousness. When God saves us, He not only subtracts our sins, but He adds the righteousness of Christ that allows us to stand in His presence (see Romans 4:3 and Genesis 15:6).

King David very clearly and deliberately broke the Law. David confessed his sin to God, and God forgave him, accepted him, and saved him by faith.

Today, when we admit we’re sinners, come to God, and trust Jesus as our Savior—regardless of who or how or when we are—God will save us. God holds us accountable today on one basis alone: His question is, What will you do with My Son who died for you on the cross?

Next: Heaven waits for those who trust Jesus—but what do we get here and now?