Sad today, most believers actually reason just the opposite -- from themselves to God. When all is going well, and God seems to be blessing, then it is that they feel He loves and accepts them. But when they are stumbling, and everything seems dry and hard, then they feel that He does not love and accept them. How can this be? There is nothing about us to commend us to God, our acceptance being in Christ, plus the fact that most of our true spiritual development comes through the dry and hard times. Thank God, He has accepted us in His Son, and upon this FACT we must rest our faith. As in justification, our acceptance is by GRACE alone.

In his classic, ROMANS, VERSE BY VERSE, Wm. R. Newell presents some penetrating thoughts regarding this grace:

"There being no cause in the creature why grace should be shown, the creature must be brought off from trying to give cause to God for His care."

"He [the believer] has been accepted in Christ, who is his standing!"

"He is not on probation."

"As to his life past, it does not exist before God: he died at the cross, and Christ is his Life."

"Grace, once bestowed, is not withdrawn: for God knew all the human exigencies beforehand: His action was independent of them, not dependent upon them."

"To believe, and to consent to be loved while unworthy, is the great secret."

"Rely on God's chastening (child training) hand as a mark of His kindness."

"To 'hope to be better' (hence acceptable) is to fail to see yourself in Christ only."

"To be disappointed with yourself is to have believed in yourself."

"To be discouraged is unbelief -- as to God's purpose and plan of blessing for you."

"To be proud, is to be blind! For we have no standing before God, in ourselves."

"The lack of Divine blessing, therefore, comes from unbelief, and not from failure of devotion."

"To preach devotion first, and blessing second, is to reverse God's order, and preach law, not grace. The Law made man's blessing depend on devotion; Grace confers undeserved, unconditional blessing: our devotion may follow, but does not always do so -- in proper measure."


~ Miles Stanford

from The Complete Green Letters