SAVED ACCORDING TO THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD
It is true that God is full of grace, but you do not have to be saved by His grace. You can be saved by His righteousness. The grace of God is based upon His love towards us. It makes Him willing to save us. But His righteousness is based upon His Son’s death for us. It makes Him unable not to save us. Before Jesus died, God was free either to save or not save us. But once Jesus died, God was bound! He is absolutely obligated to save whoever comes to God by the blood of Jesus! Have we read this? It is impossible for Him not to forgive us!
This is salvation according to His righteousness. Before the death of Christ, if He had forgiven any of our sins or had acquitted us from the punishment for sin, He would have made Himself a sinner. Now He has caused His Son to be crucified on the cross. The judgment of sins has been accomplished. The problem of sin is solved. God can no longer reject anyone who comes to Him by the blood of Jesus. Now He will make Himself a sinner and an unrighteous one if He does not forgive.
IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD NOT TO SAVE US
Some may think, "Is it that easy to be saved? I am afraid that I need to pray more. I have to pray to an extent that God softens His heart and has favor upon me. Only then will I be saved!" There is no such thing. Today, even if God would not soften His heart, He still has to forgive your sins! Even if God is absolutely disgusted with you, He still has to grant you this forgiveness. It does not matter whether you pray for a long time or not. Rather, it depends on the fact that redemption has been accomplished. Even if God does not want to save you, it is too late for Him to change His mind. It would be all right if it were two thousand years ago. However, God has accepted the sacrifice of Christ; now it is impossible for Him not to save you. A sinner can suffer judgment only once! He cannot be judged twice.
In order to forgive our sins, God has taken all the trouble to accomplish the salvation in Christ. Now He has commissioned us to go to the whole world to show others that God has accomplished this work of salvation. He can now forgive sins without placing Himself in an improper standing.
GOD FORGIVES UPRIGHTLY
Others may say, "Why don’t I feel saved? Why is it that after I believed, nothing special seemed to happen? I don’t feel the peace inside." Please remember that it is not a matter of whether you have the peace or not. Whether or not you have the peace is immaterial. The important thing is for God to have the peace. He has to grant a forgiveness that is just and honest. When God forgives you in Christ, He does so righteously, uprightly, and openly. All you need to do is receive it.
A passage that is quite familiar to many people is Mark 10:45: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve." Unfortunately, many only read up to this part. They cut off the remaining half. The word "and" following this phrase should be translated as "even to the extent that." To what extent did the Lord Jesus come to serve? He came to serve to the extent that He gave His life as a ransom for many.
In Matthew 26:28 the Lord Jesus said, "For this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Hence, the shedding of His blood is for the forgiveness of our sins and for our redemption. We can only obtain forgiveness in Christ. Outside of Him, whatever kind of forgiveness you have is not just.
(The Normal Christian Faith, Chapter 9, by Watchman Nee)
