–Acts 10:34-36Apart from Jesus Christ men cannot have peace with God or with one another.We are born with Adam's nature. Our hearts, minds and wills are hostile to God and one another. We are children of wrath and sons of disobedience. We are all born separated and alienated from God and one another. We are self-absorbed, slaves to our own lusts.
For example, read these descriptions of our nature apart from Christ:
separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Ephesians 2:12
the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God...Romans 8:17
alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds...Colossians 1:21
sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry...Colossians 3:5
anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth... Colossians 3:8
But then we read the good news of reconciliation and peace God makes available to us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ:
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
–Ephesians 2:13-18
Please reread that passage and notice who is doing the acting:
God. Men are doing nothing.
God is bringing us near. In
Jesus Christ. By the blood of
Christ. Christ himself is our peace
. Christ has made us both one.
Christ has broken down.
Christ has abolished.
Christ reconciles us both to God.
Christ came.
Christ preached. Through
Christ. In one
Spirit. And so forth.
Then please notice
how this happens: by the grace of God and by blood and the flesh of Christ, we have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Apart from Christ we have no hope or ability to reconcile ourselves to God. God did for us what we could not do. Read in Romans 5 we read of God's gracious provision for us through Jesus Christ:
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 rejoice in hope of the glory of God...
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Men are weak. Men are sinners. We can do nothing. God does it all!
How do we receive that peace, that reconciliation? By grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have no other means of peace apart from believing. And that faith itself is God's gift to us.
Notice too that this peace is not an indefinite or uncertain peace. The peace God gives is both sure and steadfast because its source is in Jesus Christ and His blood! Christ died for us! What else do we need? Read Paul's words and notice the confidence with which he speaks.
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 rejoice in hope of the glory of God
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God
...now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life
we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation
you have been brought near by the blood of Christ
might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility
through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father
Is there an iota of doubt in those words? No, there isn't.
Do we see any "maybes" or "possiblies" there? No, we don't.
Peace with God for the Christian does not depend on
us but on God's provision of Christ
for us as an atoning sacrifice. That's why Jesus said the His peace is not as the world gives. There's no doubt whatsoever! Christ's blood paid the penalty for all the sin of those who believe in Him so we might have total forgiveness and cleansing of our sin through His blood. Christ's sacrifice was accepted by the Father; He was raised from the dead and has ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father in glory.
Beware of those who teach false messages about peace.
There are many people who teach about peace. Government leaders speak of peace, many authors and poets write about it and many musicians sing about it. Many of these messages can be quite fuzzy and unbiblical. Know this: there is no true peace between God and man or among men apart from the peace God gives through Jesus Christ. It grieves me that even many churches today preaching that same generic message I found at Lincoln Cathedral:
"Peace be with you."
"Peace Sign"If you're anywhere, even in a church, and you are hearing a message of peace
without the blood,
without the cross,
without Christ,
without the Gospel,
without God's gracious provision of the spotless Lamb to die for sin in our place,
without justification by faith in Christ's precious blood,
then you're not hearing the one and only way to peace with God and with one another.
Anybody can give you their version of peace but there is only one true Gospel of peace: the everlasting peace God makes available to sinful men who we trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
There's absolutely no true peace apart from belief in the sacrifice of Christ. Christ needed to take on our sin so He might be punished for our sin and bear the just wrath of God in our place. God is holy and must punish sin. Apart from our accepting Christ's sacrifice, we remain under condemnation and separated from God. It's only as we trust in Christ's sacrifice on the cross can our sins be forgiven and we can have peace with God and one another.
Many have their conferences and peace talks, they form their nonprofit, religious, political, governmental organizations and they all mean very well, but as much as they may try they can never concoct, orchestrate, create of even come close to the peace God provides only by grace through faith in Christ's blood.
Many authorities, leaders, teachers and speakers will tell you you can have peace with God apart from Christ, but know this: there is one and only way, the way God has ordained: through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. We can never reconcile ourselves to God. We can only be reconciled to God as we accept the offering of Jesus' blood shed for us on the cross.
Jeremiah warns us of such false teachers (Jer. 6:14 and 8:11):
They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace.
And Ezekiel tells us that many will speak of peace but the peace they speak of is only a false promise of peace, a delusion. Any peace apart from Jesus Christ is likened to untempered mortar which will not withstand the storm:
Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, Peace, when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, 11 say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. 12 And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, Where is the coating with which you smeared it? 13 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. 14 And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD.
15 Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, 16 the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord GOD.
God sent His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him might have peace with God. That is God's word to men. That is God's' merciful and gracious offer to sinful men. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to reconcile men to God. Any other word, any other message, any other gospel is false. If you notice in many of the New Testament letters you see the words grace and peace linked, that's because we can have no true peace apart from the grace of God.
Have you received the peace God alone can give, and if so, what are you doing with it?
Would you please read Paul's wonderful words of praise and acclamation to our Savior, the Lamb who died so we might have peace with God:
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
–Colossians 1:13-23
Do you know peace with God? Have you believed on Christ and His sacrifice? Can you say without a doubt you know Christ died for your sins? Do you know God the Father intimately through the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you able to draw near to God without fear of condemnation? Have you experienced a growing love for your brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ because God has reconciled you to them as well as you to Himself?
If you already do know the gift of God's peace through Jesus Christ, what are you doing with it? Are you taking this message of peace out to a world which so needs to hear it? All who have freely received peace and reconciliation from God through Jesus Christ are called and sent to be His ambassadors of peace and reconciliation to the world. Do you know someone who is in need of hearing this message of peace today? Will you pray today and ask God what He would have you to do and ask Him for to provide you with His power to do it?
"Peace Sign" by my son Colin. Licensed under
Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-Share-Alike License 3.0.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
