“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoiced in hope of the glory of God.”

— Romans 5:1-2

God wants to help you when you are weak, but you must be bold enough to go to Him when you need help. Don’t allow the guilt and shame of failure to keep you from going to God. He already knows what you’re going through, and He already punished Jesus for your mistake.

You know we can go to Him for mercy after we sin, but do you know you can go to Him for grace before you fail? There’s even better news; you don’t just go to God for help in failure, continually asking for forgiveness; you can walk away changed. There is mercy to forgive and grace to help strengthen you, so you don’t repeat the same sin habits. That is the power of grace.

How To Get Grace To Work

There is a pattern and process to accessing grace by faith. The Word of God tells us how to use faith, and we can trust that grace will come alive in our hearts when our faith is focused properly.

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoiced in hope of the glory of God.

Ephesians 3:12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Placed by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Here’s the pattern. Our faith is in Christ and the work He has done for us. Our faith is in the fact that He has given us righteousness as a free gift. Because of this gift, we have access to God for mercy and grace to help. His grace helps us by making us strong in our inner man.

We can conclude that our inner man is continually before God’s throne, receiving mercy and grace. Stand in that faith, so grace moves from your inner man to your outer man.

Be Bold and Confident

We “enter” that place with boldness and confidence because our confidence is in Christ and what He accomplished. And again, He accomplished making you righteous before God and qualified you to be a partaker of the saints' inheritance in light.

You belong there. You belong with God, you belong before God, and you are qualified to receive help from Him.

There is an element of repentance involved in going into God’s throne room for mercy and grace. We do confess our sins to God in this process, but confess means “to say the same thing.”

TRY THIS: Envision yourself before God saying, “God, you set me free from the flesh, you set me free from the Law, I am righteous, I am not a sinner, the sin that’s killing is not my master, you are my master. I want to glorify you with my life. Thank you that you placed all your wrath for my sin on Jesus. I open my heart to receive grace to strengthen me. Thank you for forgiving me, and thank you for helping me.”

It’s important to clear your conscience before God, but also expect to walk away with the power to change. Don’t hold on to your guilt and shame and call it humility. Feeling bad for your sin doesn’t cause God to forgive you. The blood of Jesus does. Acting contrite as if you’re sorry for your sin and seeing yourself as dirty before God is still self-righteous. You’re still trying to relate to God based on your behavior.

Don’t stand before God conscious of your behavior, stand before God conscious of your identity in Christ, and watch grace radically empower you beyond all you can ask or imagine.

Confess your identity before God and receive the power to change!!