Righteousness Brings Peace
Therefore, since we have been made
right in God's sight by faith,
we have peace with God because
of what Jesus Christ our Lord has
done for us… The Apostle Paul
When the Holy Spirit raises us from the dead,
He comes to live in us. As His temple, we not
only have grace, but we have peace, joy, love,
hope and glory. We have peace with God because
of Christ's righteousness. God is not angry with
us, He loves us. We are not at war with God's
ways any longer by our wrong doings, but we're
at peace with God, because of grace through faith.
He is not only our Father, but our friend.
PEACE WITH GOD
The free gift of righteousness causes our hearts
to be at peace. In Paul's epistles, he greets
the church with, "Grace and peace from
God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ."
He gives assurance to them, that they have been
made right with God and given peace [complete,
whole, and at rest; nothing missing, nothing broken].
After Paul wrote four chapters to the Romans concerning
their sinful condition before Christ, he proclaims,
"Therefore, being justified [made righteous]
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1, emphasis added).
This peace came through the blood of Jesus Christ,
fulfilling all the Old Testament sacrifices. "For
it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness
dwell; And having made peace through the blood
of the cross, by him to reconcile all things unto
himself…" (Colossians 1:19,20).
Isaiah prophesied of our suffering Servant saying,
"But he was wounded and crushed for our
sins. He was beaten that we might have peace.
He was whipped, and we were healed" (53:5
NLT). He took upon Himself everything we deserved,
so that we could have the righteousness, peace
and joy in the Holy Spirit, which He deserved.
Paul explained to the Corinthians that our alienation
from God has been dealt with at the cross (2 Corinthians
5:19). We have inner tranquility and confidence
in our relationship with God because we trust
in Christ. This peace is a combination of hope,
trust and quiet in mind and soul, brought about
by a reconciliation with God. The host of angels
praised God at Christ's birth saying, "Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good
will toward men" (Luke 2:14).
We are new creations and made righteous in Christ
Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17,21). We are seated with
Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:20;
2:6). We are sitting beside our Heavenly Father
unashamed, "So let us come boldly to the
throne of our gracious God. There we will receive
his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when
we need it" (Hebrews 4:16 NLT).
PEACE WITH OURSELVES
Paul pinpointed our problem when he wrote the
church at Colosse saying they were enemies of
God in their minds. It is the mind that is badly
in need of renewal, where the enemy attacks our
righteousness in Christ, stealing our peace and
causing emotional break downs. He assured them
because of the finished work of the cross, they
were "…brought into the very presence
of God, and you are holy and blameless as you
stand before him without a single fault"
(Colossians 1:22 NLT).
Paul says, "Don't worry about anything;
instead, pray about everything. Tell God what
you need, and thank him for all he has done. If
you do this, you will experience God's peace,
which is far more wonderful than the human mind
can understand. His peace will guard your hearts
and minds as you live in Christ" (Philippians
4:6,7 NLT).
It is our mind that is constantly tempted to
think wrong thoughts. Paul encourages us to "…Fix
our thoughts on what is true and honorable and
right. Think about things that are pure and lovely
and admirable. Think about things that are excellent
and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice
all you learned from me and heard from me and
saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with
you" (Philippians 4:8,9 NLT). As the
prophet Isaiah sang, "You will keep in
perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts
are fixed on you!" (Isaiah 26:3 NLT).
Our mind comes into God's point of view, as we
trust His promises to meet our every need.
We also have the ability to know what to do in
life. If we do or don't have peace about our plans,
God will reveal it to us. Peace must be based
on the truth of God's Word, otherwise, deception
is easy. We have the Holy Spirit [our Helper]
to direct us in all our ways as we live in the
presence of God. We have become a house of prayer,
talking to God continually about our worries and
frus-trations. Jesus said, "Peace I leave
with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the
world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart
be troubled, neither let it be afraid"
(John 14:27).
Jesus went on to say, "If you abide [dwell]
in me, and my words abide [dwell] in you, ye shall
ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you"
(John 15:7, emphasis added). As we settle down
and make ourselves at home in God's presence,
we find rest. Paul said, "Let the word
of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching
and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your
hearts to the Lord" (Colossians 3:16).
We are blessed to have the Word of God, easily
available to us, to guide us and direct us and
give us His mind. "Thy word is a lamp
unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
(Psalm 119:105).
As born again Christians, we have peace with
God, in that He dwells in us. We have peace with
ourselves, in that we like to dwell with ourselves-the
new person. And, we have peace with others, in
that we dwell with our brothers and sisters in
Christ. Isaiah says, "How beautiful upon
the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth
good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth
good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation;
that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"
(52:7).
When we have peace with God, we have a loving
rela-tionship with Him. God loves us, so when
the Lord says it is not right to cheat, steal,
do drugs or have sex out of wedlock, we listen
because we know He is directing us in love. As
a result, we desire to please God and not hurt
the One who loves us. Our conscience is cleansed
to serve the living God.
PEACE WITH OTHERS
Our heart can now be at peace, not only with
God and ourselves, but with others. Broken relationships
of the past, can now be restored. We have the
ability to go to our parents and siblings to apologize,
asking for forgiveness. Paul's counsel to the
Colossians was to "…let the peace
of God rule in your hearts, to the which also
ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful"
(3:15).
When our heart is at peace with God, we no longer
project judgmental attitudes on others, but instead
we reflect our new identity of peace. The spirit
of fear that once led us to judge is gone and
replaced by God's love and self-discipline. Paul
comments about this character change, saying,
"…the love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given
unto us" (Romans 5:5). We must "…live
in peace with everyone, as much as possible"
(Romans 12:18 NLT).
We are to declare to others, "Our God
has triumphed!" Paul, writing from Isaiah,
says, "How beautiful are the feet of them
that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad
tidings of good things… For Isaiah said,
Lord, who hath believed our report?"
(Romans 10:15,16). Our mission is to announce
the truth, so others will be enabled to believe
and receive the gift of righteousness. Jesus said,
"God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God"
(Matthew 5:9 NLT).
When peace between one another is broken, the
Scrip-tures tell us how to solve the problem (Matthew
18:15-20). Paul says, "Let no corrupt
communication proceed out of your mouth, but that
which is good to the use of edifying, that it
may minister grace unto the hearers"
(Ephesians 4:29).
Again Paul exhorts us, "And be ye kind
to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you"
(Ephesians 4:32). In Ephesians, Paul encourages
us to walk in unity (4:1-16); holiness (4:17-32);
love (4:31-5:2); light (5:3-14); wisdom (5:15-17);
praise (5:18-20); and harmony (5:21-6:9).
Peace is an important concept in Judaism. They
say the word often: "Shalom." The word
comes from the root word "shevet," which
means "to dwell." It is the same root
word for "Shabbot" or "Sabbath."
The connection between these words and their meaning
is best seen in the current situation in the Middle
East. This situation has been present throughout
Scripture. If the Palestin-ian Arabs would agree
to "dwell" with the Palestinian Jews
(Israelis); there would be "peace"-Shalom
(Psalm 133:1). It will take righteousness to bring
about such peace. "And the work of righteousness
shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness
quietness and assurance forever" (Isaiah
32:17).
WHO IS GOD?
He is our Peace. "Jehovah-Shalom,"
meaning "The-LORD-Is-Peace." This is
the name Gideon gave the altar that he built in
Ophrah. The LORD said to Gideon, "Peace
be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die"
(Judges 6:23,24).
Isaiah prophesied our coming Prince saying, "For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the govern-ment shall be upon his shoulders:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
The mighty God, The ever-lasting Father, The Prince
of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).
The Lord may have spoken more through Isaiah
than any other prophet concerning Jesus, the Prince
coming to bring peace to the earth. He told of
His birth, and in Isaiah, Chapter 53, he depicts
in graphic details our suf-fering Servant.
In Chapter 54, he tells of the great exchange,
Christ reconciling us to God and bringing forth
the covenant of peace. He said, "For a
small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great
mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath
I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with
everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee,
saith the Lord my Redeemer" (vs. 7,8).
God turned His back on Jesus for a moment on the
cross. The Lord had to be our redeemer in order
to be our peace. God put the penalty for the sins
of the world upon Jesus, so we would be free to
have peace with Him.
Isaiah continued the prophecy of peace, saying,
"For this is as the waters of Noah unto
me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah
should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn
that I would not be wroth with thee, nor re-buke
thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the
hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace
be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on
thee" (54:9,10). God's cove-nant of peace
with us is as sure as His with Noah, and will
never depart from us, because of the finished
work of the cross. It is unchangeable!
Isaiah says, "In righteousness shalt
thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression;
for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for
it shall not come near thee… No weapon that
is formed against thee shall prosper; and every
tongue that shall rise up against thee in judgment
thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the
servants of the LORD and their righteousness is
of me, saith the LORD" (54:14,17).
Truly, God sent our Prince of Peace to conquer
for us and to give us the ability to reign in
life. As a result, our new life should be filled
with "Giving thanks unto the Father, which
has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints of light" (Colossians 1:12).
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