How do I get right with God?

When the question, "What must I do to be saved?" rang from the agonised lips of the prison warder at Philippi, the inspired answer did not bid him pray, or strive, or make vows, or anything of that sort. He was told to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Nothing that he could do could secure God's salvation. The doing had all been done by Christ. All that is left for the sinner is the appropriation of the results of His mighty work by simple faith.

Firstly: Our peace with God depends upon our being justified by faith; and hence, since to be "justified" is to be "righted," and thus to be right with God, we may say that to be right with God is the only basis for peace with God. Peace on any other basis must be but a delusion and a snare.

Are you a sinner or not? Do you want God to justify you or not? Do believe God. The Lord Jesus died for our sins and was raised again to justify us. Only believe, accept this work for yourself, and you will be justified by God. (Romans 3:24, 28; 4:5, 25; 5:1, 9).

But what is the jailer told to do? God's answer to man's query is exquisite in its simplicity. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house," falls on the ears of the awakened sinner. How divinely simple. He had only to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and he would be a saved man. There is no word of anything that he must do in order to get salvation. This is a gospel that exactly meets helpless sinners without strength, and no wonder the jailer believed at once. His conversion was a rapid one indeed. One minute asleep in his sins, the next awake and deeply anxious about these sins — and straightway thereafter he hears the gospel and believes it, and rejoices in God with all his house.

Propitiation having been made, God was free both in grace and righteousness to bless the sinner. Hence the apostle speaks of "being now JUSTIFIED by His blood" — the blood of Christ. (Rom. 5:9.) Every one, indeed, who approaches God through faith in Christ is justified. For in virtue of that blood which met all God's claims, all the claims of His holy government - upon the sinner on account of his sin, all the claims of His outraged majesty, and all the claims of His glory, He is able righteously to justify every believing soul. This is distinctly shown in Romans 3. "By the deeds of the law" it is conclusively proved, no flesh can be justified before God. Strive as a man may, and live as upright and moral a life as he may, he can never answer the claims of a holy God. Whoever is on, or takes, the ground of works as a means of salvation is hopelessly lost. Man cannot in any shape or form save himself; and should he seek to obtain righteousness by putting himself under the law, he will only find that "by the law is the knowledge of sin." What, then, we ask, is man's resource when it is demonstrated that he is a helpless, guilty sinner? It is in the righteousness of God, which, "without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:21-23.)

But how, it may further be enquired, can God's righteousness be possessed? The answer is given in the same scripture. The apostle proceeds, "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth a propitiation (mercy-seat) through faith in His blood … to declare at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." (vv. 24-26.) Can anything be more divinely simple? The blood of Christ is the foundation. It is through its virtue, through its value before God as making propitiation, that He can be just, that He can act in perfect harmony with all that He is, in perfect consistency with His holy being, and justify, righteously justify, every one "which believeth in Jesus." We are therefore justified by, through the virtue of, the blood of Christ. We are also "justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus;" for it was God, acting from His own heart, in the exercise of pure, sovereign, and blessed grace, who provided the sacrifice whose precious blood made atonement for sin, so adequate and complete, that God could come out of His place, seek and bring back the sinner to Himself, pardon his sins, and righteously justify him on the exercise of faith in the blood of Christ. Hence it is only believers who are justified. But the moment a soul receives God's testimony to the value of the blood, His testimony to His own appreciation of it, and, trusting in it, comes into His presence, that soul is justified, justified in the righteousness of God, even as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. (Rom. 4: 3.)

Justification is presented in three ways in the Epistle to the Romans. In the third chapter we get the complete ruin of man detailed, and then the statement, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (ver. 23). That is our condition by nature. Then we are told that we are "justified freely by his grace (God's grace) through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (ver. 24). In the first verse of the fifth chapter of Romans we read — "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." In the ninth verse of the same chapter we have — "Much more then being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." So you see justification spoken of in these three ways. Are there then three ways of justification? No. There are three parties to justification. Do you know who they are? God, Christ, and yourself. And what is God's part in it? Listen: "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Grace is the spring of it all. It all comes from God. And what is the next thing? Being now justified by his blood" — the blood of Jesus — "we shall be saved from wrath through him." That is Christ's side — "his blood" — His death. And what is your side and mine? It is faith. Righteousness shall be imputed to us "if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 4:24-25, Rom. 5:1). What is your side and mine? Faith! God's side is Grace. That is the spring. It all flows from Him. And Jesus' side? Blood. His death is the instrumental means and basis — the groundwork of our justification. Your side and mine is Faith! And what is that? It is the hand put out to take the blessing which God's grace offers, and Jesus' blood secures. Justification, therefore, is by grace, through blood, and on the principle of faith — not works.

God has put His seal upon the work of Christ, by raising Him from the dead, and now, through His Name, repentance and the remission of sins are preached to you, and these two things go together. Repentance must come first: there could be no remission apart from repentance. But what does repentance mean? Not fear of the consequences of sin, nor even sorrow for the sin itself, though that will surely go with it. Repentance is a complete turn. When God commands all men everywhere to repeat, it is as though He said, "Right about turn!" Unconverted sinner, you have turned your back upon God, and you must admit that that is a serious thing to do; it is, to say the least about it, a most discourteous thing to do. If you were admitted to the presence of His Majesty the King, you would not turn your back upon him, certainly not if he wished to speak to you. God is speaking to you, He is beseeching, entreating, commanding you, and you will not listen. You have turned your back upon Him. I call upon you at this time to "Right about turn," and hear what God is saying to you.

How awful the fact that every one of us is described in this verse. Yes, born in this very condition, and held fast prisoners by the devil, the god of this world — so fast that, however you, my reader, may desire to deliver yourself from the power of sin, you cannot. Every effort is utterly vain. I believe that such is the awful dominion that sin has over man, that if all the men in the world, and all the angels in heaven, were to unite to deliver one soul from the power of sin and Satan, they could not do it. I think I hear you saying, "If that's the case, I must have been dreaming. I thought a man could repent at any time, and give up his sins, and then God would forgive him; and so I have not been particularly troubled about it. I have thought there is time enough yet." My reader, if this is your thought, you could not well be under a greater mistake. How awful if you should go on in this fatal delusion until the door is shut, and you are lost! Now, come, try your plan. Try to repent — try to give up all your sins — try to love God with all your heart — try to keep His holy law. The effort, sincerely made, will soon convince you of your hopelessly sinful state; but even if you could succeed in such all effort, there would still be the fearful weight of past sins. No amount of bitter remorse could undo, or wipe away, one past sin. Judas is a solemn beacon as to this; he tried this way; but he found it the way to hell. Sorrow for sin is but a very small part of true repentance. Your mind must be entirely turned from sin to God. There is but one only way by which this can be done. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." To repent before you believe would be as if the bitten Israelite had to be healed before he looked at the brazen serpent. No, no. Faith in the love of God, as seen in the death of Jesus, alone can produce true repentance. The moment I believe in Jesus, my mind must be changed toward God. If you have been brought to look at Jesus lifted up on the cross, dying for your sins, and now lifted up to the highest glory — if He is your entire trust — you are, and shall be, certainly saved. "For through him is preached the forgiveness of sins; and all that believe are justified from all things." But if you have not looked, and do not thus look, on Jesus lifted up — if you are trusting in anything else — you are as certain, should you die in this state, to perish, as though you were just now in hell.

So it is today. Men are perishing on every hand. They go to "church," they have Bibles in their homes, and profess to believe in God, but by works they deny Him. They have no real faith. If they had, it would most certainly be shown forth by their works. "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26) "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." (James 2:24) A man can be justified in the sight of his fellowmen by works only, for no man can see into the heart of another. So men can judge whether there is true faith, only by his works. Jonah 3:10 is an illustration of a city that is justified (from man's point of view) in God's sight, by their works. God, Himself, gives us other examples, as Abraham and Rahab.

In these days, through God's infinite grace, a full and clear gospel, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ alone, is often preached. We can thank and praise God for it; but we fear that at times, the balance of truth is not always kept, and we are apt to forget that with us, it should be as in Abraham's case, "faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect." (James 2:22) Please be absolutely clear, it is not that we are saved partly by faith and partly by works. No, we are saved by faith alone, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. But if there is true faith, then it is utterly impossible not to have works. The works are merely the external result, of the internal faith. The faith saves us. The works give evidence that we truly have the faith.

The blessed results of justification are next revealed. What justified believers possess and what they may enjoy is the theme of the opening verses of this chapter. The first thing mentioned is that all who are justified by faith have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Peace was made in the blood of the Cross, He who died for our sins is our peace. His greeting to the assembled disciples on the resurrection day was "Peace be unto you," and then He showed unto them His hands and His side, and again He said, "Peace be unto you." This peace with God we have as believers in Christ. It is settled forever and can never be disturbed. Some times Christians ask others if they made their peace with God. They mean by it, turning away from sin, repentance, conversion, surrender, etc., as if those actions from our side could make peace with God. This is incorrect and the reason why so many professing Christians lack the assurance that they have peace with God is in this very fact, that they are constantly trying what they term "to be right with God." Peace does not need to be made, it was made when Christ died for our sins. And into this peace we enter when we believe on the Lord Jesus and are justified freely of all things. We may live sober, earnest and useful Christian lives for fifty years or longer and at the end of such a devoted life we have not more of the peace with God than we had the moment we trusted in Christ. And our failures and stumbling walk as the "beloved of God, called Saints" our sinning, can never disturb and undo that peace.