Our standing before God is in the grace to which we have constant access (Rom. 5:2). We do not need new credentials each time we come to God, because our standing is constant since we come by means of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us. God does not accept us as we are, but as we are in Christ Jesus. God makes His grace abound toward us (2 Cor. 9:8), and we are able to come boldly into His immediate presence (Heb. 10:19). All of this is available to us; our responsibility is simply to act on the basis of what God has made available. We need to follow the principle stated by Jesus: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink" (John 7:37). Through grace, God has made all the benefits available to us; we now need simply to appropriate them or to act on the basis of what God extends to us.
God's grace is what He is; therefore, our standing is as sure as God is. Inasmuch as justification is by faith, it is already securely ours when we trust Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour. The benefits, or blessings, that accompany justification are also ours, but in order to enjoy them we must appropriate them for ourselves. To fail in appropriating these benefits is like having money in the bank but refusing to use it or having water immediately available but refusing to drink it. Wonderful as these blessings are, they benefit us personally only as we appropriate them.
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" (Gal. 5:1).
