38 By faith – access to the grace we stand in

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 By faith – access to the grace we stand in

Today’s chapter is Romans 5

Read the section verse refers to

“...Jesus Christ, through whom we have access by faith into this grace in which we now stand;..” Rom. 5,1-2

It is by faith in what Jesus Christ did on Calvary that we gain access to God’s grace. Jesus died for all people, for the whole world. He atoned for the sin of all people by a single sacrifice on the cross.

This is the faith Paul is talking about that has been delivered to the saints, in Jesus.

You received that faith at your new birth John 3 There you know you are always in the presence of the Lord God

And the Lord said, “Behold, here is a place by me, stand there on the rock!” Exodus 33,21

This scripture from the Old Testament is a prophecy of Christ’s atoning work on Calvary. In this scripture lies the key to fellowship with God.

Often when we say fellowship with God, we think of prayer or Bible reading. When we seek His fellowship, this is often what we engage in.

Prayer and Bible reading are also a necessity in our community with God, but there are some basic things that are important to gain light on in order to experience true fellowship with God.

There are many people who pray to God and read their Bible but never have fellowship with God. There may be many reasons why they read the Bible, it may be that they were raised to do so at home, for the same reason there are also many who pray to God. Some seek God out of duty, to deserve salvation and experience a constant guilty conscience when they have not read the amount they usually read in the Bible or prayed the prayer list they are used to.

If we read the Bible with a serious heart and take to heart the words that we read, we will quickly find out that there are many requirements for our lives if we want fellowship with a holy God. Among other things, it is written in Ps. 15:1-2 “Lord, who may enter your tent, who may reside on your holy mountain? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right, speaking the truth from his heart.” Here is the requirement for you and me if we want to have dealings with God. It is no use rejecting His Word and saying “Yes, Yes, but God is gracious so I will do as well as I can, then God will do the rest.”

This is God’s word and we must take it seriously.

However, we will soon find out that it is impossible to fulfill this requirement, because who, apart from Jesus, has walked blamelessly and spoken the truth from the heart? No one. Therefore, you and I find ourselves in a state, within ourselves, where it is impossible to have fellowship with God.

But the requirement from God’s side is still the same. Jesus says in Matthew 5:20 “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” We know about the Pharisees that they spent their whole lives fulfilling the law and here Jesus says that if we do not surpass them, we will not enter Heaven at all. These are not just words, these are Jesus' own words. When this becomes clear to us, a cry comes into our hearts, "God! Be merciful to me a sinner!" Luke 18:13.

And this is exactly where the gospel comes in. The gospel is for you who cannot live up to God's standard. It is for you who are full of sin from head to toe.

To you it says from the Holy Throne of God: “BEHOLD, HERE IS A PLACE NEAR ME, STAND ON THE ROCK THERE!”

Hallelujah, there is a place in the Father’s presence for you and me. This place is a wonderful place, namely on the rock. What does it mean to stand on the rock? From the Bible we can see that the rock is a picture of Jesus, which is written in 1 Corinthians 10:4 “for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them; and that rock was Christ.”

Jesus, who walked perfectly, without sin, voluntarily went to the cross for you and me. There He atoned for your sin and mine, thereby removing all charges from your and my life. Therefore, we can now boldly approach the Father’s throne with a clear conscience. You are now reconciled to the Holy God.

This is the only place and the only basis on which you and I can ever come before God and have fellowship with Him. We will never be righteous or perfect in ourselves. Everything we have we have received by virtue of Jesus’ atoning work. If this is your faith, you can rest assured in this scripture:

“Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Rom. 5:1-3

amen