True Peace!

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1

“Give Peace a chance,” “Peace will save the world,” and “Humanity Is My Race Love Is My Religion Peace Is My Weapon” are just a few of the  75 slogans I found when I searched peace slogans.  In February 1971, I was fourteen years old when       Coca-Cola aired their, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing          (In Perfect Harmony)” commercial. The Vietnam war was still going on, and there were peace marches and demonstrations worldwide. The lyrics to the song were,

“I’d like to build the world a home and furnish it with love grow apple trees and honey bees and snow white turtle doves I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony I’d like to hold it in my arms and keep it    company I’d like to see the world for once all standing hand in hand and hear them echo through the hills for peace throughout the land”

The message was loud and clear; if we tried harder, there   would be no more wars, poverty, hatred, or killings. But, there will never be world peace before the second coming of Christ. That does not mean that Christians should not live peaceful lives. In fact, we are commanded to precisely that ( Romans 12:18, I Thessalonians 4:11). Peace for a follower of Christ does not depend on what the world or others are doing.

Paul has just finished his argument, in chapters 1—4, that     nobody can be made right with God by following the works    of the law of Moses. Men and women can only be declared righteous and escape God’s wrath by faith in what He has done for us through Jesus’ death and resurrection, which secures our justification (Romans 4:24–25).   Now Paul tells us what we have gained in being justified by faith. We have indeed escaped the wrath of God, but being righteous before God means so much more than just not being punished for our sin. It’s important to note that Paul is writing to Christians.  Paul’s use of the term “we” in this passage is not universal, and it does not apply to   all of the entire world. He is describing what is true for those who have trusted in Christ’s work for their salvation. This is made explicitly clear by his explanation of faith and belief in the prior passages.

The prior messages. Paul is not saying all people everywhere have peace with God, only those who have believed in the God who raised Jesus from the dead.

Paul tells those who have been justified in God’s eyes have peace with God. Paul does not mean by this that we feel   peaceful, that we experience no anxiety. He means that we have been made right with God. We are at peace with God from now and through eternity. This is possible only “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Christ, God has made a permanent peace with us. And since He is the one who made it, it is a peace that can never be lost. John Macarthur puts it this way:

“The peace that Paul is speaking about here is not  subjective but objective. It is not a feeling but a fact. Apart from salvation through Jesus Christ, every     human being is at enmity with God, spiritually at war with Him (see v. 10; cf. 8:7), regardless of what his     feelings about God may be. In the same way, the     person who is justified by faith in Christ is at peace with God, regardless of how he may feel about it at   any given moment. Through his trust in Jesus Christ,  a sinner’s war with God is ended for all eternity.”

Do you have true peace?

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark