“As we come to Christ…empty-handed, claiming no merit of our own, but clinging by faith to His blood and righteousness, we are justified. We pass immediately from a state of condemnation and spiritual death to a state of pardon, acceptance, and the sure hope of eternal life. Our sins are blotted out, and we are “clothed” with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. In our standing before God, we will never be more righteous, even in heaven, than we were the day we trusted Christ, or we are now. Obviously in our daily experience we fall far short of the perfect righteousness God requires. But because He has imputed to us the perfect righteousness of His Son, He now sees us as being just as righteous as Christ Himself.”Hat Tip" Already Not Yet (The italics are mine. )
Jerry Bridges, The Gospel for Real Life, p. 107.
Think about it. Nothing we can do now adds a thing to what Jesus has already done. Having read the Bible this morning or not, neither having yelled at our kids or broken the speed limit or being perfect parents or citizens, neither our good works nor our bad ones make a difference to our acceptance before the mercy seat. We are either in Christ and under the mercy, or not.
When we come before Him we are either confessing and repenting from our sin or confessing and repenting of our inadequate self-righteousness, but either way we are coming through the cross. And Oh what a wonderful and gracious Cross and Savior we have to come to and through!
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