The Gospel of Peace
Being Righteous We “Have Peace”
God is the only One who can define and determine the standards of right and wrong.
Any attempt on our part to define righteousness apart from the Word of God is actually humanism.
From the time that Adam partook of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, man has been a god unto himself.
Man has decided right and wrong by his own definition.
Man has even attempted to make God accept his standards.
This is where we have the birth of humanism, which is the basis for false religion.
Humanism:
- Places man at the center of the universe.
- Mans personal opinions determine right and wrong.
- Man is god to himself.
- Man makes his own standards and rules.
- Worse of all, man fabricates his own definition of righteousness.
Only God can define righteousness.
Heresy is used very loosely in Christian circles. Usually they define it as anyone who disagrees with their beliefs and opinions too.
Heresy = to choose.
A Heretic:
- Is one who chooses what he believes.
- Says that the Word of God is not the absolute authority.
- Views truth as optional; therefore, he lives life by preference instead of conviction.
A Christian should believe:
- God’s Word is the final authority on what he should believe.
- God’s Word forms all our views and opinions.
- Regardless of how he may feel about a particular thing, he surrenders to the right choice to His lordship.
When we enter the realm of choice about our beliefs, we are functioning outside the realm of Christ’s lordship.
The church down through the ages has chosen to believe many wrong things about God, about the cross of Christ, and about how to have a relationship with God.
Church history reveals that man has continually opted for beliefs that are more convenient or less threatening.
For example, baptism by immersion was the standard for hundreds of years.
Later, when it was convenient, the church modified it to sprinkling.
This was more socially acceptable.
Some people have a false concept of God as an angry taskmaster.
However, we see God’s character revealed in Jesus.
John 14:9 “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me?" Jesus asked him. "The person who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
Jesus was the exact representation of God.
God would not relate to man in any fashion contrary with Jesus’ life and ministry.
When Jesus was confronted with the adulteress, He didn’t judge her.
Yet we insist that God is angry and faultfinding.
Why?
It is a convenient way to control others.
Christianity is not a religion of choice and convenience.
People come to God hurting and faced with all sorts of problems that are the product of decisions based on our personal beliefs.
Our lives cannot change if our beliefs do not change.
One cannot come to Jesus and experience any change apart from surrendering his beliefs.
One who does not surrender his views and opinions to God will:
- Continue to be a god unto himself.
- Continue to experience the same hurts and difficulties as before.
God works in our lives as a product of believing the truth.
The greatest devastation in the Christian’s life comes about by the refusal to accept God’s standard and definitions of righteousness.
Because of this Christians cling to works-righteousness.
Works-righteousness works like this:
- If I do only good things, I am acceptable to God and I get the blessings.
- If I do anything wrong, I am unacceptable to God, and I get chastened.
Works-righteousness brings:
- Fear and rejection.
- One never knows if what he has done is good enough.
- One doesn’t have the confidence of God’s forgiveness.
This fear is torment
The only deliverance from that torment is believing and experiencing the love of God?
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for the salvation of everyone who believes, of the Jew first and of the Greek as well.
When one does not believe the Good News:
- He is void of the power of God.
- He is unable to live the salvation Jesus purchased for us.
Whatever part of the Good News you can believe, you can receive the power to live.
Rom 1:17 For in the gospel God's righteousness is being revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, "The righteous will live by faith."
Faith-righteousness is the Good News.
Faith-righteousness is the beginning and the end of the Christian life.
It does not go from faith to works; it is faith to faith.
Everything we experience with God is a product of what we believe, not a product of what we do.
God has set us free from works-righteousness to qualify us to receive the life (Zoë) that is earned by Jesus.
Yet people cling to works-righteousness simply because they do not believe and understand faith-righteousness.
We make the sacrifice of Jesus void of power through our traditional beliefs.
Mar 7:13 You are destroying the word of God through your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many other things like that.
Works-righteousness appeals to the carnal mind.
The carnal mind is a mind set on the flesh.
Rom 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
We live in the flesh when we attempt to be made righteous by the works of the flesh.
The person whose mind is set on what the flesh does:
- Is a person who has man and his works at the center of his religion.
- Erroneously places God on the outside.
- Not set his mind on the work of the Spirit of Christ.
- Not have an awareness or sensitivity to the reality that righteousness is a work of the Spirit of righteousness.
Rom 8:8 Indeed, those who are under the control of human nature cannot please God.
Why?
Heb 11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.
Gal 2:16 yet we know that a person is not justified by doing what the Law requires, but rather by the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah. We, too, have believed in the Messiah Jesus so that we might be justified by the faithfulness of the Messiah and not by doing what the Law requires, for no human being will be justified by doing what the Law requires.
God has defined righteousness. We cannot reject His definition for our reasonable, rational preferences.
The great restraint concerning faith-righteousness is that we do not understand it.
We have mistakenly thought that we could believe by understanding.
There is some truth to that in the natural realm, but the Bible presents just the opposite.
In the spiritual realm, we must believe in order to understand.
Heb 11:3 By faith we understand that time was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are invisible.
Therefore, we will never understand what we do not believe.
Why is it so essential that we receive righteousness as a gift?
Rom 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus the Messiah.
God is at peace with man.
Why is it so important that we see this?
- God is at peace with us, we might not be at peace with Him.
- If we are living in fear or insecurity about our relationship with God, we cannot break free from sin.
- Law causes us to hide our sin.
- Mercy and forgiveness create an environment of peace and love that lets us deal with sin.
Until we can deal openly with our sin before God:
- We cannot be set free from sin.
- We cannot deal openly and honestly with it if we do not realize God’s peace.
An environment that says God will judge you or your sin is a negative, unproductive environment that:
- Promotes self-righteousness and deceit.
- We become defensive of our actions.
- Instead of being teachable, we are ready to defend our every position.
- After all, if we are wrong, we run the risk of judgment.
Yet if God poured all His judgment out on Jesus, we need not fear that He will judge us.
Many ministers are afraid of this message, and fear it will promote a loose and casual lifestyle.
They are afraid people will take advantage of God’s goodness and get into sin.
Actually, if people believe this, they will be less compelled to sins.
When one believes the Zoë life of God they:
- See all the good things God has to offer.
- See the goodness of God.
- See that the world has nothing to offer.
Most people believe the world has good things to offer in comparison to the false “suffering message” of Christianity.
People think that being a Christian is a defeated lifestyle of eating crumbs and wearing worn-out clothes.
This is simply not true.
There is indeed a time of scriptural suffering, but we should not suffer because of unbelief and ignorance.
If we must suffer for the Gospel, we should do it gladly.
Even in that suffering, we are victorious.
If we must suffer, we must suffer as Jesus did.
Heb 2:18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Christ suffered when He was tempted.
His suffering was in denying Himself, living for God, and saying no to sin.
This is what it means to take up my cross.
I will gladly say no to sin and self.
I also will suffer by surrendering my will, my opinions, and my preferences to His will, His view, and His opinion.
The message of wrath, suffering, trials, and testing has turned the world away from the Gospel.
The world will be won by the Good News.
The news that God:
- Is not angry with you.
- That God loves you.
- That righteousness is a free gift.
- That your sins have been paid for.
The news that Jesus provided all of this is the Good News the world needs to hear.
The message of wrath does not keep people from sin; it makes them hypocrites and liars.
They do not stay out of sin any better than anyone else; they just hide it better.
Before a person can properly deal with sin, he must be free from the fear of judgment.
Isa 1:18 “Please come, and let's reason together," implores the LORD. "Even though your sins are like scarlet, they'll be white like snow. Though they're like crimson, they'll become like wool.
Our reasoning with God is not trying to convince Him we are right or justified in our sin.
Our reasoning with God is where we come face-to-face with a loving God in an environment of peace and confess our sins.
It is here:
- That mercy and truth meet together.
- That the goodness of God draws us into repentance.
- That a troubled and convicted heart finds mercy and grace to help in time of need.
Rom 2:4 Or are you unaware of his rich kindness, forbearance, and patience, that it is God's kindness that is leading you to repent?
Heb 4:16 So let us keep on coming boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
If we are not fully convinced that we are righteous through the Lord Jesus:
- We will never have peace.
- We will never be sure.
Our peace cannot be based on our performance; that is too unpredictable.
It causes us to vacillate up and down.
Neither can our peace be in a false doctrine.
Then we would have to defend that doctrine to maintain our peace.
Our mind must be rooted in the certainty of the finished work of Jesus.
If Jesus is our righteousness, He is the center of my life.
For every promise in the Bible, I look to Him and His finished work and say, “Because of You, I am qualified.”
When trouble comes my way, I look to Jesus and say, “Because of You, I know this is not from God.”
When fear tries to enter my mind, I look to Jesus and say, “Because of You, I don’t have to be afraid. You are my peace.”
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