For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. – Romans 10-11.

We are not yet what we will be, and that is why we can never find a basis for security or confidence before God through anything in ourselves. There is only one solid ground of assurance, and it is nothing to do with me: It is the blood of Christ. We are “justified by his blood.”

All the labor of my hands can’t fulfil Your law’s demands: Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, All for sin could not atone; You must save and You alone. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Your cross I cling: Naked, come to You for dress, Helpless, look to You for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly: Wash me, Savior, or I die. ¹

It is important to understand that the phrase “justified by faith,” or “justified through faith” (Romans 3:28; 5:1; Galatians 2:16; 3:24), is a kind of shorthand. We are justified by Christ through His blood applied to us when we put our faith in Him. But the justifying thing is the blood of Christ. Faith is simply the means by which this justification comes to me. God does not invite me to have faith in my faith, but to have faith in Christ.

In the words of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones:

It is not faith that saves us. What saves us is the Lord Jesus Christ and His perfect work. It is the death of Christ upon Calvary’s cross that saves us. It is His perfect life that saves us. It is His appearing on our behalf in the presence of God that saves us. It is God putting Christ’s righteousness to our account that saves us. This is the righteousness that saves; faith is but the channel and the instrument by which His righteousness becomes mine. . . . Faith is nothing but that which links us to Christ and His righteousness. ²

So if you want to cultivate assurance and joy in God, the question you should be asking is not, “How strong is my faith?” or “How warm is my heart?” or “How deep is my commitment?” Instead you should ask, “Is the blood of Jesus Christ rich enough and strong enough to wash away every sin and to cover every weakness, failure, and inadequacy of my life from this point until the day I arrive in the presence of God?”

The answer to that question is, “Absolutely, without question, yes!”

Since our standing before God is not based on anything in us but rather on the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, we can be absolutely confident that all will be well on the Last Day, because our salvation will rest, then as now, not on us but on Him. No wonder Paul said, “We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We rejoice because our final salvation rests not on our performance in the Christian life but on the blood of Jesus Christ.

¹ Adapted from Augustus Montague Toplady, “Rock of Ages,” verses 2–3.
² D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans: An Exposition of Chapters 3:20–4:25.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
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