We’re looking at how to live in and experience perfect peace and that doesn’t mean the absence of problems but an internal security that no matter what’s happening on the outside we have peace. Ephesians 6:15 refers to the gospel as the gospel of peace. The gospel is the good news message that unlocks peace in our lives. When we realize that we’ve got peace with God because of Jesus, it enables us to live in a place of peace.
Romans 1:16-17 New King James Version (NKJV)
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”.
The gospel is the good news of what Jesus has done for us and freely offers us. It is not the gospel of what you need to do for God but what He’s done for you. The gospel is good news that Jesus has completely forgiven us – it’s not the gospel of how you can be forgiven but that you are forgiven.
When you realize how forgiven you are, you will start to live in peace. There’s a lot of Christians going out of their minds trying to please God, trying to appease God, trying to make right with God, trying to obtain forgiveness for their sins. But the truth is that you are already forgiven! A lot of Christians live under a constant burden of condemnation, guilt and shame because they don’t know the truth; they haven’t accepted the truth that they are forgiven. When we except the fact that God has completely forgiven us and that he’s not holding anything against us we are enabled us to live in peace and freedom. Having peace with God enables us to live at peace with others.
John 1:29 New King James Version (NKJV)
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Jesus was the sacrificial lamb which took away the sin of the world; not just the sin of the believer, but the sin of the whole world. This is the good news: Jesus came to deal with the sin problem for all time, for all men. Every single person on the face of the earth is forgiven, whether they’re a Christian or not. And I know that many Christians struggle with this but the truth is that every drunk, every Muslim, every homosexual, every fornicator, every thief, every glutton, every liar, every paedophile, every self-righteous person in the world – every sinner in the whole world – is completely forgiven! That doesn’t mean that there aren’t consequences for sin here on earth; it just means that God is not holding your sins against you! The Bible says that all have sinned and all need salvation (Romans 3:23) but the good news of the gospel is that every sinner is forgiven past, present, and future because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.
Hebrews 10:10 New King James Version (NKJV)
By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
We are made Holy through the offering of the body of Christ, once and for all! Through Jesus’ sacrifice, we have been made Holy and as a result we are completely forgiven and made holy – once and for all time! “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17) Our sins are removed from us as far as the East is from the West. You’re completely forgiven! This doesn’t mean that you’re automatically going to heaven and that you’re automatically okay with God. God has reconciled Himself to the world but we now need to be reconciled to God. God has made Himself friendly with us, but now we need to respond to His grace, receive His forgiveness and that brings salvation into our lives. Romans 5:1 says that we are justified, may right with God, by faith. Because we are made right with God, we have peace with Him. Believing in Jesus and what he’s done for us brings us justification.
It makes us righteous and right with God, which means that we’re just as if we’ve never sinned – perfect! There’s no record of any wrong in our lives. God looks at you and He’s not thinking about all the sin that you’ve done. All the sin that your grandparents have done and your great-grandparents have done. He’s not holding anything against you. This is the good news of the gospel: God is not holding anything against you. Your faith in Jesus and what He’s done for you is what makes you right with Him and now you’ve been made right with Him. You can now enjoy peace with God; God is not angry with you! God is not angry with anyone! I’m sure his heart breaks because of the, the destructive nature of sin in our lives but God is not going to punish you or anyone else on this earth for their sin because all punishment for sin was put on Jesus on the cross. Jesus bore our punishment and so God will not punish anyone for sin because sin has been paid for. You may have consequences in this life with regard to your sin, but God is not going to punish you. There are no consequences with God. Now that doesn’t mean once again that you’re going to heaven because you need to believe in the gospel in order for salvation to be activated in your life. For us to enjoy the forgiveness and live forever with Him we must believe. All we need to do in order to enjoy salvation is believe in Jesus and believe in what He’s done for us. When we get to this place of enjoying peace with God, it enables us to enjoy peace in every circumstance no matter what, because we’ve got an eternal security and eternal hope deep in our lives.