Bobby Stafford Is Peace Possible?        Peace

Is Peace Possible?

Introduction:

We live in a world filled with strife.  The past five thousand years have seen  less than three hundred years of peace!  Well over ten thousand wars have been fought with over three billion casualties.  Who doesn’t long for peace – real peace?  A peace where our souls are calm and we feel a sense of well-being.  This peace is possible.  Listen to the apostle Paul.  (Romans 5:1) “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” NKJV  This peace is the answer to our struggle with others, with ourselves, and with God.

Body:

I.  The Need for Peace

·  Because everyone sins, we all become separated from God and are in need of reconciliation.  (Romans 3:9-10, 23) “What then?  Are we better than they?  Not at all.  For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.  As it is written:  ‘There is none righteous, no not one; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” NKJV  (Isaiah 59:1-2) “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” NKJV

·  Even though God is a merciful God, He is also a just God.  (Romans 11:22) “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God:  on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness.  Otherwise you also will be cut off.” NKJV  God is a holy God and there is no darkness [sin] in Him.  (I John 1:5) “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” NKJV  He cannot tolerate sin.  (Romans 1:18) “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,” NKJV  Sin must be punished.

II.  The Source of Peace

·  Even though God’s justice demands that He punish sin, yet His love for mankind doesn’t want any to perish.  (I Peter 3:9) “not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” NKJV  According to our text, He reconciled these two attributes through Jesus Christ.

·  Jehovah Himself is called the “God of peace.”  (Romans 15:33) “Now the God of peace be with you all.  Amen.” NKJV  Even though we, because of sin, deserved His anger, He made a way for us to be saved.  This way was the way of the cross.  (Ephesians 2:14-18) “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.  And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.  For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” NKJV

·  This peace is the result of being justified.  This word means we are acquitted, pronounced “not guilty.”  Note the words of Paul in  Acts 13:38-39.  “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” NKJV  Even though we have sinned and deserve the penalty for it, Christ paid the penalty for us.  (Romans 5:10) “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” NKJV

III.  The Way of Peace

·  Our text affirms we are justified by faith.  Yet look at Romans 3:24.  “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” NKJV  Here Paul states we are justified as a gift by His grace.  So which is it?  It is both!  Grace is the cause while faith is the means.

·  None of us can ever be “good enough” to go to heaven.  Because of our sins, we deserve death.  But by faith, God will give us eternal life as a gift.  (Romans 6:23) “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” NKJV

·  So even though salvation is a gift, there has to be a point of exchange.  If someone offers you a gift, you can either reach out and accept it, or you can reject it.  Faith is how we reach out and accept it.

·  But when does this exchange take place?  Read Romans 6:6-8.  “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  For he who has died has been freed from sin.  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,” NKJV  We are “freed” or “justified” from our sins when we die with Christ.  When do we die with Christ?  Romans 6:2-4 states it is when we are baptized.  “Certainly not!  How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” NKJV

·  Therefore God saves us “by grace through faith” at our baptism.  Then we receive peace from God.

Conclusion:

Christ on the cross brought us peace.  He took our place on Calvary so we could be reconciled to God and have peace with our Heavenly Father.  So to answer our question: “Is Peace Possible.”  Yes it is, through Jesus Christ.

 

Bobby Stafford 

March 4, 2018