The Gospel of Peace
Peace on Earth
Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
God the Father is identified as the God of Peace.
The fruit of the Spirit is peace.
We are told that we should allow the peace of God to rule in our hearts.
Why then are so few Christians experiencing peace?
Instead of being filled with peace, many Christians are:
- Brimming in fear.
- Guilt.
- Condemnation.
- Feeling insecure.
- Feeling that they can’t measure up.
Christians should be free from these and any negative emotions.
The legalistic, unscriptural tendency to reject righteousness as a free gift creates guilt and low self-worth in the presence of a holy God.
Low self-worth among Christians is the product of fear in our relationship with God.
Instead of accepting and believing the truth about our new identity in Jesus, believing what God has made us to be.
We are trying to become what we think God would have us to be.
We were created in the likeness and image of God.
Yet we simply do not believe it.
This puts us into a trap.
So instead of what we do stemming from who we are, we try to make who we are the product of what we do.
If we think we must become something to be acceptable to God, then we must also believe that we are not acceptable to God in our present state.
This causes:
- Low self-worth.
- Rejection.
- Fear ruling in our hearts, instead of peace.
- Find ourselves striving instead of resting.
- Doubting instead of believing.
Col 3:15 Let the peace of the Messiah also rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body, and be thankful.
Our hearts should always be ruled by peace. There should never be a time when another emotion is allowed to dominate our thoughts, feelings, and actions.
But in truth, if we believe what mainstream Christianity teaches about God:
- We will never have peace.
- We will never have an abiding peace that dominates our every decision and thought.
But instead we will:
- Live in dread.
- Have a fear of what God might to do us.
- Forever be striving to measure up to the standards of behavior imposed on us by the religious system.
John 14:27 I am leaving you at peace. I am giving you my own peace. I am not giving it to you as the world gives. So don't let your hearts be troubled, and don't be afraid.
Jesus came to give us peace!
Col 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to the which also ye were called in one body; and be ye thankful.
We must allow peace to rule in our hearts.
Isa 26:3 You will keep perfectly peaceful the one whose mind remains focused on you, because he remains in you.
His perfect peace will protect us from fear and guard our hearts from trouble.
As with all our beliefs, we must look back to the cross to find the basis for our peace with God.
We do not want:
- A false peace that is not based on reality.
- To look to ourselves and our performance to determine our level of peace.
We want to:
- Look to the work of Jesus.
- We want a peace that has its foundation in what He has done for us.
When Jesus was born, the angels appeared to the shepherds in the countryside around Bethlehem. Their announcement of the birth of our Savior and Lord was magnificent. There was joy in Heaven that could not be contained.
Luke 2:10 Then the angel told them, "Stop being afraid! Listen! I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.
Luke 2:11 Today your Savior, the Lord Messiah, was born in the city of David.
Luke 2:13 Suddenly a multitude of the Heavenly Army appeared with the angel, praising God by saying,
Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to people who enjoy his favor!"
This announcement was so glorious that it could not be contained in heaven.
There was good news coming to man from God.
This would be the most valuable announcement God had ever made to fallen man.
For the first time, there would be peace between man and God.
Because of Jesus there is reconciliation. Man is restored to God.
Heb 2:15 and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Jesus delivered us from the power of evil by delivering us from the fear of death.
After man sinned, God still wanted man to have the very best, so He gave him the law.
Why did God give us the law?
- So that man would have a way to avoid falling under the curse of sin.
- So that a sinful, undeserving man could receive the blessing of God.
It was not given to make us righteous, there has never been a law that could do that.
Even when we were dead in sin and enemies of God, He loved us so much that He wanted us to experience the best.
Righteousness demands that sin be paid for in the flesh of the one who commits the sin.
Under the Law:
- There was never peace under the law.
- Man was always fearful of judgment.
- Man was always struggling to measure up.
- There was always fear.
- There was always enmity between God and man.
Under the law, man feared and therefore did not trust God.
Under the law, God was angry at a wicked heart.
Psa 7:11 God is a righteous judge, a God who is angry with sinners every day.
When sin reigned, God was angry.
God was required by righteousness to judge sin in the flesh of man.
With the coming of the Messiah, there would be a new day for man and God.
Keep in mind that God’s plan for man had not changed.
God did not change from the old covenant to the new.
He had worked every day for four thousand years to bring man into a place to experience His love.
But now, through Jesus, it would happen, a loving relationship between God and man. There would be peace.
God has made us righteous.
God finds no fault with us because we have been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb.
In this environment of peace and acceptance, we can:
- Come to God without fear.
- We can establish a real relationship with Him.
- We have no need to be afraid that He will reject or hurt us.
We are at peace.
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