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Gospel of Peace

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The Gospel of Peace

Ephesians 6:15 (NLT)
15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared.

This passage refers to a believer's stability or sure footedness that comes from peace with God. If a person has genuine peace, then they can stand, even stand against the power and deceptions of spiritual darkness. Anyone can walk when the ground is level, but spiritually speaking, our life is lived in steep terrain, in storms and waves, and often in hopelessness, fear, and pain.

The secret of our stability is not level ground, but the peace that comes from being at peace with God. When we have real peace then we can keep our faith which enables us to stand; if we have peace then we can stand even when outnumbered and overwhelmed by unfavourable circumstances.

We are informed by Scripture that we can stand only if we have the peace that comes from the Gospel. Only the Gospel provides the foundation upon which we can build our life. Jesus Christ is the Foundation upon which we build.  Our peace rests, not in pleasant circumstances, but in the Gospel that joins us to the Prince of Peace. We rest in His covenant of Salvation and the promises of His Word.

A The Gospel that Brings Peace

The Gospel brings peace for many reasons:

  • The Gospel reconciles us to God
  • The Gospel joins us to Christ
  • The Gospel solves the dilemma of our sinfulness
  • In the Gospel we find a perfect righteousness
  • In the Gospel we find a clear conscience
  • In the Gospel we find victory over death
  • In the Gospel we find an eternal future with God
  • In the Gospel we find God's power to stand against spiritual darkness
  • The Gospel allows God to define reality
  • In the Gospel we find God has given us a place of secure rest

 

The Gospel reconciles to God.

Colossians 1:21-22 (NKJV)
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.

We cannot wage an effective war against darkness if we have never obtained peace with God. Peace with God is the result of accepting the work of Christ for us. He reconciles us to God by taking our sinfulness on Himself.

Jesus becomes sin for us. He takes our sinfulness in His body to the Cross, and makes an atonement which is fully satisfactory to God, thereby making peace for us. In order to stand against darkness, we must forever look to Christ and forever settle the question of our reconciliation to God.

By forgiveness we are  reconciled to, and at peace, with God. If we are going to he healthy spiritually, we must be able to stand in the work of Christ. Our victory over darkness rests in the truths of the Gospel, not our personal strength.

Peace with God gives us the emotional strength to stand. Worry, fear, discouragement, etc.., all work against our faith. We will never escape difficulties and to stand we must have an effective living strategy that will equip us to face every trial. The only strategy for living that will never fail is the Person and work of Christ, for He alone reconciles us to God.

The Cross Satisfies

Romans 6:3-4 (GNB)
3 For surely you know that when we were baptised into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptised into union with his death. 4 By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.

We are joined to Christ in His death, and in this way, our sin is atoned for. There is no more payment, death satisfies all claims, all demands for justice are met.

Death is the penalty for sin.  God set the penalty and is completely and forever satisfied with the death of Christ as an atonement for our sins. With the death of His Son, Jesus Christ we are completely forgiven, God is completely satisfied and our guilt is completely removed.

Since death is the penalty for sin, once we die, there is no more penalty for sin. The good news is that we have been joined to Christ in His death, and His death for sin, becomes our death for sin, and God is fully satisfied!

We can be guilty only if we're alive, once the person is dead all guilt is resolved.

It is through forgiveness, and the justification that follows, that we have peace with God.

Romans 5:1-2 (NKJV)
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God

The Devil attacks the message of the Gospel by attacking the identity of Christ, the meaning and effectiveness of His work, and the reality of our salvation.

Forgiveness alone makes us right with God, and it is this truth that results in peace with God. It is through a good understanding of the Gospel that we are able to battle the lies of darkness and stand in the freedom and acceptance which the Gospel brings.

Luke 4:18-19 (KJV)
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord .

Emotional Dependence on Jesus and on the Gospel

There are many reason for a lack of emotional stability but one major reason is that we do not emotionally relate to Christ or to His work for us. We can be born-again, but be an emotional atheist in the sense that we have the feelings of an unbeliever. To be healthy we must become emotionally and intellectually dependent on the Gospel. See emotionally dependent.

We must not only know we are accepted by God, but we must also feel we are accepted. Let me repeat, to be a healthy and a strong Christian, we must emotionally relate to the work of Christ; we must feel accepted by God. If we are not emotionally and intellectually dependent on the Gospel, then we cannot effectively resist the arguments of darkness for our feelings will war against us.

If we do not feel accepted then we open ourselves to the wisdom of spiritual darkness. Our enemy will argue points that only the Gospel can address and if we are emotionally distant from the Gospel, then we will have no answer. It is important that we guard our emotions for they have the power to profoundly affect our lives.

The Weapons of our Warfare

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NKJV)
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ

It is God's counsel that we put on the full armor of God that we might stand against the lies of darkness. The Gospel of Peace provides the only foundation that resolves the sin question and therefore provides peace to our soul. Because we have peace with God we are able to stand against the wiles of the devil. This is God's message to us about the importance of the Gospel of Peace as we stand against the Devil.

God bless you as you faithfully run the race set before you!

Let us move on to faith, for it is by faith that we live-"the just will live by faith."

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Thank you,

Jim