OUR standing in the presence of God is in virtue of the work of Christ, and according to the riches of God’s grace; and, as these can never fail, we can never lose the place they give. Besides, it is, “to the praise of the glory of His grace” that we are there. But though we may be deeply conscious of failure as Christians, we should never take the ground of poor unpardoned sinners before God. This would be to deny our calling, and to bring darkness, confusion, and weakness into our souls. God says we are before Him as His children, pardoned and accepted in the Beloved. We are no longer on the ground of sinners before God, but as children before the Father. In conversion the ground is changed. When born of God, we cease to be on the ground of sinners before Him, and are ever after on the ground of children in the family. True, we do not cease to be sinners, in the sense that we sin daily and hourly in thought, word, and deed. The thought of foolishness is sin; and who is not troubled with foolish thoughts? But we are to confess our faults as children before the Father, and not as sinners before God. In faithfulness to God and His word we ought to maintain the ground on which He has set us. Not, of course, that the sin of the child is any the less, but, on the contrary, more grievous, for it is against more light, love, and grace. And, rest assured, the better we understand our calling in Christ, the deeper will be our humiliation on account of failure, and the more unreserved our confession of it. True holiness should characterize the children of God. As it is written, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” Or, in other words, the Christian’s state should always answer to his standing. When it is not so, there is too good reason for humiliation and confession. The question, you will see, is not that the Christian is any better in himself than he ever was, but that his position is changed. His standing before God is no longer in the first Adam, but in the last Adam — the risen Christ. And he is expected to walk even as Christ walked. “He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” Indeed, the scriptures speak of the Christian as if it were just possible for him to sin. “If,” the Apostle John says, “ If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” The possibility of sinning is barely admitted. Such is the dignified manner of scripture, when speaking of the children of God: though, when speaking of our old nature, it affirms there is no good thing in it. And it is worthy of notice that he does not say, “If any man repent and pray for pardon, he will be forgiven;” but, “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father.” Nevertheless, we ought to repent, and repent deeply, when conscious of failure.
But, in the meantime, Christ sees to our interests in heaven, and the Holy Ghost sees to our interests on earth, so that we are well cared for; adored be the goodness of our God! What a mercy that we are in Christ’s hands! How often we may sin and never be conscious of it; but Christ sees it at once, and meets the need in virtue of His blood, so that the sin never reaches the throne of God. All praise be to His blessed name!
The work of Christ has set us as children in the Father’s presence, and fitted us to be there; and the advocacy of Christ maintains us holy, and without blame, before Him in love. The Lord give us to be in the intelligence of scripture, and may we stand firm on the great truth, that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin. A. M.