WHAT IS PEACE WITH GOD?
Preached at Emmanuel, Workington on Sunday, 26th February 2006
Reading: Psalms 121, 122, 123.
Text: Romans. 5 v 1, “We have peace with God.”
Text: Romans. 5 v 1, “We have peace with God.”
In Romans 51, Paul lists the blessings of the Gospel. Head of the list is peace with God. There are 2 problems with peace. First, we think we know what peace means but we are vague; we know its English meaning not its biblical meaning. Second, we think we have peace with God, but do we really have what the Bible means by peace with God?
1st: IT’S INCREDIBLE!
I start with a couple of statements about peace with God.
First, to have peace with God is far more unlikely and incredible than it would be for the lowest criminal to have close and warm friendship with the King he rebelled against! Kings have no time or mind-space for plebs and kings put rebels to death! For the high king to befriend a traitor is virtually unthinkable!
Our having peace with God is yet more unthinkable! Psalm 8 asks, “What is man that You / God are mindful of him?” Isaiah said, (chapter 40 v 15): before God, “the nations are as a drop in a bucket and are counted as small dust on scales!” God is infinite and transcendent; man is as nothing before Him! In the presence of God man is so insignificant!
Worse than that: God is holy and cannot look upon iniquity! We are unworthy, high-handed sinners! How can God Most Holy possible be at peace with sinners without contaminating Himself, without acting unrighteously? Paul starts his statement of the Gospel in Romans 1 v 18 with, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all” the sin of man! How can there be substantial peace between an offended God and sinful people? Surely, it is unthinkable and impossible!
Until we take that point on board, we will never begin to appreciate peace with God! Naturally speaking peace with God is unthinkable and impossible. It is altogether out of the question for sinners to have peace with God - not due merely to the corruption that is in the heart of man, but rather on account of the holiness and perfections of God!
2nd: I CAN’T DO IT MY WAY
THE ONLY BASIS FOR PEACE WITH GOD – PAUL’S GOSPEL
Second, sinners may only have peace with God on the basis of the Gospel which Paul preached, the Gospel of justification by faith. If we water it down at all, it becomes inadequate to achieve peace with God for sinners!
THE ONLY BASIS FOR PEACE WITH GOD – PAUL’S GOSPEL
Second, sinners may only have peace with God on the basis of the Gospel which Paul preached, the Gospel of justification by faith. If we water it down at all, it becomes inadequate to achieve peace with God for sinners!
What happened between Romans 1 v 18, God’s anger against sinners and Romans 5 v 1, sinners have peace with God? Paul tells us what happened in Romans 5 verses 6, 8 and 10: “Christ died for the ungodly! God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! When we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son!” That is what happened! We did nothing; God’s Son accomplished it all for us – He died for us!
God so loved the world that He sent His Son into the world to take our flesh and to represent us before God! Our sin was transferred to Him and He paid our penalty by His death on the cross, thereby propitiating - turning away the wrath of God from us ! When God raised Him from the dead and received Him into glory, God received His people with Him! So it is that when we come to faith in God and in His Son, God counts our faith for righteousness, because He has transferred the righteousness of Christ to us! That is substitutionary atonement by double imputation - our sin counted to Jesus Christ; His righteousness counted to us!
That is the Gospel: “Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Without the blood of Christ, without double imputation and without the preaching of the Gospel of justification by faith, sinners could have no peace with God! I can’t do it my way!
Preaching the Gospel is preaching peace for it is “the Gospel of peace!” Peter summed up the ministry of Jesus as “preaching peace through Jesus Christ,” Acts 10 v 36. Paul said of Christ, Ephesians 2 v 14f, “He Himself is our peace; He reconciled us to God through the cross and He came and preached peace.” Paul quoting Isaiah 52 said, Romans 15 v 15, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace.”
There is no peace apart from Paul’s Gospel. Never alter it or water it down lest we preach an inadequate Gospel unable to save sinners! Paul claims that his Gospel demonstrates the righteousness of God that God might be just and the Justifier of those that believe in Jesus Christ. Don’t cheapen peace with God – it cost Jesus Christ His life!
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN BY PEACE?
So, what is peace with God? The English language is unhelpful. In English ‘peace’ means freedom from war. That is a negative view of peace and it falls far short of the biblical idea of peace; it is a profoundly inadequate understanding of peace.
To illustrate the point: the idea of peace as freedom from war allows for peace without friendship. That is a meaningless peace! Winston Churchill coined the expression ‘cold war’ for that kind of relationship: peace without love or agreement or harmony! The prophet Amos asked, (Amos 3 v 3), “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” Peace without agreement is no peace at all.
In English parlance, Romans 5 v 1 seems to say no more than that hostilities with God are at an end! But Paul meant far more than that! To Paul peace had positive content. The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. Its range of meanings includes to be well, to be healthy, to be intact, to be safe, to be alright, to be prosperous, to be successful.
In simple terms, by peace the Bible means well-being ! Applied to relationships, to be at peace means to be getting on well. To be at peace means to have a good relationship, full of care, kindness and friendship. The idea of peace without friendship is foreign to Scripture!
So for man to have peace with God means far more than the absence of hostilities. It means, our relationship with God is good, healthy, well! Peace speaks of agreement and harmony, intimacy and friendship, warmth of relationship! It implies a sharing or fellowship as belongs to a tight-knit family! Peace with God implies the most perfect and ideal Father-son relationship!
Sadly the English language devalues peace, reducing it to the absence of hostilities. But Scripture enriches peace as well-being in relationships . Shalom, peace, in Scripture is for close family relationships or for a healthy marriage.
LET’S LOOK AT AN EXAMPLE
Let me show you something of the riches of God’s peace. Come in your mind to the end of a typical synagogue service. It ends in a most distinctive way. A Levite, preferable a Cohen or priest descended from Aaron’s family, says the blessing in accordance with God’s command in Numbers 6 v23:
He says, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace!”
All that is involved in having peace with God. The Levitical blessing is an analysis of peace with God. Let’s spell it out. God pledges Himself 1to bless and prosper His people; 2to keep and preserve them intact; 3to shine upon them and enlighten them with His truth and so put His glory on them; 4to be gracious and merciful to them, pardoning their sins; 5to be present with them in face to face fellowship; 6to smile upon them with His favour; to be for them! What more could we ask for in life? That’s heaven on earth! Much of that is encapsulated in Psalm 121.
God commanded Aaron and his sons to say the blessing and He added a promise: Numbers 6 v 27: “And I will bless them.” God guarantees to do it, to bless them fully!
THE NEW TESTAMENT GREETING
What about the NT? Almost every NT Epistle starts with a greeting of peace and some end with a benedict-ion of peace . For example, Romans 1 v 7, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” That is an echo of the Levitical blessing. It’s the NT, Christological version of the Levitical blessing!
No wonder Jews adopted the custom of greeting one another with “Shalom!” It also was short-hand for the Levitical blessing! And when they parted company they said, “Go in peace! Go in shalom!” That, is, “Go in God’s peace!” It meant what we mean by “God bless!” It meant God bless and prosper you; God keep and preserve you; God shine on you and enlighten you in His truth; God be gracious to you and forgive your sins; God be with you and for you and favour you and smile upon you!
Peace is so rich and profound that Paul, writing to the church in Philippi said: (Philippians 4 v 6), “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
I NEED PEACE WITH GOD AND MORE OF IT
My friends, I asked at the start, ‘Do you have peace with God?’ No doubt you thought I was being stupid. Of course we have peace with God – we are not enemies of God!
Now I ask again, if you have caught a glimpse of what peace with God really means, “Do you have peace with God?” Don’t accuse me of taking away your peace with God! I am not taking it away; I am seeking to enrich your peace with God, by showing you something of its height and depth and length and breadth!
God grant you each a fuller measure of this great blessing of the Gospel, that you may enter into the fullness of quality peace, supernatural peace, peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
