We cannot maintain our own spiritual prosperity. When God gives us grace to rejoice in liberty, even then, we must come to Him like Jehoshaphat saying, "Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out ofthy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit (II Chron. 20:11)."
Believers are rightful possessors of all of the privileges of God. We are joint heirs with Christ and heirs of God; this means that we are heirs of the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc); we are rightful heirs of communion with Him, and heirs and beneficiaries of all His gospel promises. Yet, the accuser of the brethren and our own flesh condemns us for sins, deeds not done, licentiousness, and squandering away our seasons of grace. What shall we do against this great host of enemies? Jehoshaphat continued, "O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee (vs. 12)."
And, this is the best thing that we can do. If I experience liberty, squander it, and then defile my conscience, I'm being even more deceived if I think that I can get it back. If the Lord delivers me from a great ditch, then I'm deceiving myself if I think that I can keep myself from falling. In the flesh, we all think that we have some ability to keep ourselves. And legalism, self-righteousness, and the deceiver all play upon this carnal zeal (Gal. 4:17-18). We think that we can PAY GOD BACK for all the good that He's done. But, all we're really doing is trying to make ourselves less indebted. We're trying to bring ourselves under a subtle system of works–God does His part, and we do ours. And, this, as you know, is nothing but bondage.
Instead, come to Him and turn to Him for everything. Confess, 'Lord, these accusations are too much for me. The responsibility to walk before you in obedience is too much for me. But, you are the Mighty God who keeps, preserves, and leads your people. YOU keep me from falling, appease my conscience by Christ's shed blood, and give me confidence in my liberty.' David wrote, "I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth (Ps. 57:2-3)."
How does God keep us, uphold us, and present us spotless? Just as David declared, He sends forth His mercy and His truth... He shows us the satisfaction of mercy and justice in the cross–that He justified us by the righteousness of Jesus Christ and forgave us our sins by the payment of His shed blood. Therefore, He is merciful and just without any compromise of His character. Therefore, He is fully merciful and fully just. All of His justice has been satisfied and all of His mercy shall be fulfilled. "Mercy and truth are met together... (Ps. 85:10)."
Through His prophet, God told Jehoshaphat, "Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's... Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you... (II Chron. 20:15, 17)." The believer comes to recognize that all of these things (forgiveness, peace, joy, guiltlessness, power over temptation, peace amidst the storm, and understanding of Divine providence, etc) are already ours... not because we do something for them, but because He gives them to us as sons.
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