Now that we have God’s approval by faith, we have peace with God because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. Romans 5:1 (GW)
Many people think they have to clean up their lives prior to accepting Christ—or before Christ will accept them.
But did the thief crucified beside Jesus clean up his life first before accepting Jesus’ sacrifice? No—he didn’t have time! Yet that same day, he made Heaven because he believed on Jesus (Luke 23:39-43). You see, today’s verse does not say we gain peace with God by cleaning up our lives first or through behaving perfectly. No, it says we have God’s approval when we place our faith in Jesus.
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we become a brand-new creation—regardless of how messed-up or sinful we are (John 1:12-13, 2 Corinthians 5:17). The other good news is God’s peace and love within us then empower us to clean up our lives.
That’s important because without God’s peace and love at work inside you, you’ll struggle with trying to prove yourself to Him. You’ll live stuck in a behaviour-based mindset of, “I can’t get healed until I do enough for God,” or “I can’t have God’s blessing on my marriage until I do things right.” That mentality puts you right back into the claws of religion, focused on your works and performance instead of enjoying the freedom found through Jesus’ work on the cross.
The devil desperately wants you to lose your peace in Christ and think, “I have to work for God to accept me.” Don’t believe his lies.
Jesus paid your debt in full and bore all of God’s wrath so you could enjoy peace and right-standing with Him—just the way you are.