How is the mercy poured out on the cross appropriated?
The tremendous mercy poured out on the cross, precipitated by the grace of God, is appropriated by faith. It is not earned by works or human effort, and it does not give license to sin. Those who enter it rest in God’s purpose and calling, not in their own performance.
Les teaches that this mercy poured out on the cross was precipitated by the grace of God, and the believer appropriates it by faith. He explains that we did not sweat, run, or will ourselves into it; rather, God called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. By faith, as soon as we become a child of God, we can look back and see that we were chosen before Adam and positioned in the body of Christ. Because of that, we rest in God’s purpose and are secure, since nothing can separate us from His love. Yet Les stresses that grace is not license; appropriating this mercy by faith does not give the right to sin.