The Advent of Peace

there are certain concepts that seem to be universally associated with the Christmas season.

They're ingrained in our holiday culture under the banner of Christmas spirit, typically.

Perhaps you've heard that phrase used a number of times already in just the last couple of weeks.

And they show up routinely in our festive songs.

They show up in our movies.

Perhaps if you have your Christmas decorations up in your house, you will see words associated with these concepts on display in your home.

If you've already begun to wrap Christmas presents for the year, perhaps you have some wrapping paper that has these concepts plastered all over it.

But everywhere we turn for the next few weeks, we are going to see the emphasis on concepts like joy, hope, love, faith, peace.

And we're talking culturally here.

I'm not just talking about the church.

You can walk into the stores.

You can go to the mall.

You can drive down the roads.

You can see the ads on television, whatever it is that you're doing.

And you're going to see an emphasis on these things that really, for the most part, are just reserved for religious talk the rest of the year, isn't it?

But it's different this time of year.

And we're going to see it emphasized everywhere.

And, of course, these are totally abstract ideas on their own.

And they're interpreted in a variety of ways, culturally speaking.

So that if you were to go to Target or some other retail location today looking for Christmas presents, you're going to see probably on the signage and on the banners that they have in their store things like joy.

It may even just be that word.

Joy.

Right?

And what is the messaging that comes along with that?

You will have great joy this Christmas season if you buy your Christmas presents from us.

Yes.

That's where you will have your joy this year.

Right?

Or maybe shopping is not your thing.

Maybe your thing is to veg out on the couch and turn on the Hallmark Channel or Netflix or something like that.

And what's the messaging that comes across?

Love, generally, isn't it?

Love is the word that we see.

Christmas love, a Christmas prince, a Christmas tree, a Christmas everything.

And it's all basically the same story.

Right?

And the messaging is the same.

The messaging is you will experience love this Christmas season if you leave your job in the big city and you go back to your small hometown for the season.

And you happen to run into that guy that you knew in elementary school who turned into this successful hunk.

And if you will just do that, you will have love this Christmas season.

Right?

And we could go on and on with that, can't we?

Everyone is telling us that we can have joy and hope and love and peace this Christmas season.

But they all have different answers for what those things mean and for how they can actually be obtained.

Well, what's fascinating is that no matter how hard our secular world works to separate the season from religious thought,

it can't help but borrow from Christian worldviews when using these categories.

That's where they come from.

Thoughts of peace, love, hope, and joy.

Those are distinctly biblical ideas that everyone wants to achieve so long as they can do it their way rather than God's way.

It's interesting, isn't it?

It's fascinating, really.

We want everything that God offers.

We just don't want to achieve it God's way.

We want to be able to get at it our way.

We want to decide what love means and how we can get it, but we at least want the love.

So on and so forth as the concepts go.

Over the next few weeks, we're going to look at how Jesus alone is the fulfillment of these things that we all long so deeply to experience.

If you really do want hope and peace and joy and love this Christmas, you're only going to find it in Christ.

It's the only place, the only person where you can really genuinely find these things.

And this morning, we're going to turn our attention to the birth of Jesus as the advent of peace.

I'm not going to do very thorough expositions through this.

We're going to bounce around, so I want you to keep your Bibles handy and prepare to turn to a few places.

But we're going to start here in Luke chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

Are you there?

Luke chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

Let's read a larger portion of the chapter here, starting at verse 8.

In the same region, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them.

The glory of the Lord shone around them.

They were filled with great fear.

The angel said to them,

We're going to come back to that verse on Christmas Eve.

But maybe take the month.

If you don't like to do a lot of reading, just read that verse every day.

Just meditate on that verse every day.

There is so much packed into just that little phrase.

Unto is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.

Four major, major elements of biblical truth are represented just in that one announcement.

Verse 12,

And this will be a sign for you.

You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,

praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest.

And on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased.

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,

Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,

which the Lord has made known to us.

And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.

And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying, praising God for all they had heard and seen,

as it had been told them.

And peace.

Peace is what we want to focus on here.

Christmas is often regarded as a season that brings peace.

And just like with those other concepts, in the coming days,

we're going to all be instructed in various ways to pursue peace.

Especially with those that we've spent much of the year warring with.

That's what's funny about it, isn't it?

Whatever you're going to do for most of the year, at least at Christmas,

set those things aside and be at peace with one another.

You're going to hear, as if we're not hearing a lot of it already,

but you're going to hear even stronger calls in the next couple of weeks.

And underneath the banner of Christmas spirit,

that for at least Christmas, we want the fighting in Gaza to cease.

At least for Christmas.

And because of Christmas, we want the war in Ukraine to pause.

At least for Christmas, we want these conflicts around the world that are unfolding.

There's going to be urges, stronger urges than maybe normally there are throughout other times of the year.

And it's going to be under this banner of peace that is associated with the Christmas season.

People groups that genuinely hate each other are going to be urged a little stronger to get along.

You're going to be encouraged to love your in-laws when you go and visit their house

and just be at peace with them.

All the things, we're going to be encouraged on those things.

And those are good things.

Those are not things that we should have a problem with.

But this message of peace, noble as it is, really ultimately and annually is fruitless.

It's fruitless because it has no ground or effective mechanism for actually making peace.

That's the problem.

It's so abstract.

We're just simply told to look deep within ourselves,

and there we'll find the strength to do these things.

But the problem is when we begin to be so introspective,

when we look so deep down within ourselves,

what we find, what we come to the end of is the very sin,

the very hurt that we've experienced that caused all the turmoil to begin with.

It's very backward reasoning.

It's, hey, it's Christmas.

Look inside yourself so that you can find the strength to be at peace.

But then when you really begin to think about it,

you think, well, all I can think about is the problems that has robbed me of peace.

How is it that I can find in myself some mechanism for actually making peace now?

And then the Christmas season really just becomes a massive lie.

It's a facade that renders displays of peace utterly superficial.

The message is the basic equivalent of the exhausted parent saying to their kids,

would you please, for 30 minutes, pretend to like each other so we can have a decent meal as a family, right?

That's basically what the messaging comes down to.

We get out of all the ads.

Basically, it's our mom saying, listen, would you just pretend to like each other

so we can enjoy some stories and some cookies and some hot chocolate for a little while?

None of it's real.

It's perhaps spirit lifting to some extent, but it's not real.

It's fruitless.

It's not lasting.

It's not true peace.

It's deferred war.

There's also a kind of messaging this time of year, every year,

that seeks to blend the secular notions of peace with the religious and sacred hopes of peace,

hoping that it might achieve a better result.

that if we can just take a little bit of this and a little bit of that and bring it together,

it will finally work.

Combines elements of religion and culture to offer something everyone longs to experience,

but then it still misses the mark.

What it ends up doing is actually muddying the waters even more.

Can I give you an example?

Maybe a facetious example, but an example nonetheless.

You like Gene Autry?

In 1947, Gene Autry publishes and records for the first time these lyrics.

Peace on earth will come to all if we just follow the light.

So let's give thanks to the Lord above.

Why?

Because Santa Claus comes tonight.

It's this blending notion that we're confronted with every year.

It's been going on for decades where we take a little bit of the secular and we take a little bit of the sacred.

We don't want to emphasize either one too much.

We try to make it work together.

But what it does is it muddies the waters even more.

I know that's not meant to be taken so seriously, so don't come at me after the service.

I'm not saying you can't sing Here Come Santa Claus.

But it does actually symbolize the vast confusion that has existed in Western thought for decades.

It includes an utterly vapid notion of peace on earth first.

What does that even mean?

Peace on earth will come to all if we just follow the light.

Because he immediately follows it up with something that's completely heinous.

He says,

Now we're to give thanksgiving to the Lord, not because of the advent of the Christ who has come to save us from our sins,

but for the advent of a storybook character who comes to bring us toys and eat all our cookies.

Do you see why this is a problem?

Do you see why this kind of blending, it actually makes things worse?

It teases us with thoughts of peace by at least acknowledging that God has something to do with it.

But then it fails to deliver on its promise by replacing Jesus with Santa.

Now, the Bible gives us a better way.

A much better way.

Not only does God issue genuine promises of peace,

but he fully delivers on those promises through his son, Jesus Christ.

We all long for this peace.

The world longs for peace, even those who don't know Christ.

They long for peace because God put that in us.

He put that in us.

He put that desire in us.

And they're trying to find it in all kinds of ways.

But God put a longing in us that only he can satisfy.

Only he can bring this peace.

And what I want to do this morning is look at three passages

that help us understand the meaning of God's peace,

how Jesus is the provider of that peace,

and then how we can actually truly receive that peace once and for all.

Okay?

So we're going to look at what peace actually is,

how Jesus is the fulfillment of it,

how Jesus alone is the fulfillment of it,

and how we can receive it.

Number one, I want you to see the announcement of peace.

The announcement of peace.

This is where we come to Luke chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

The angel's appearance to shepherds near Bethlehem

on the night of Jesus' birth

is such an exciting part of the Christmas story, isn't it?

Like, you just can't imagine what it would have been like

to be on that hill or in those caves

or wherever it was that they were near Bethlehem

when all of this began to unfold.

It says they were in great fear.

I would imagine that's a bit of an understatement.

I would have been scared to death.

But this part of the story is actually hugely important.

The angelic message was a plain declaration of the gospel

to these lowly shepherds.

It even uses gospel language.

Look at verse 10.

And the angel said to them,

Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news.

That's the euangelion.

Evangel.

Good news.

Gospel.

That's the gospel word.

Behold, I bring you good news of great joy,

the angel says.

But we need to notice that the substance of this good news,

of this gospel message,

has everything to do with Jesus.

The good news of great joy in verse 10

is equal to,

Unto you is born this day in the city of David

a Savior who is Christ the Lord,

in verse 11.

That's the substance of the gospel message.

He hasn't got to peace yet.

That's not actually a part of the message

that they deliver to the shepherds.

The message to the shepherds is,

The Christ has come.

He is born a Savior in Bethlehem.

Now, too often we can be guilty

of reducing the gospel message

to what really are just the benefits of the gospel,

but not the substance of it.

Good news of great joy

is not first peace on earth.

Good news of great joy is Christ is born.

Jesus is the gospel.

And you can't experience any of the benefits of the gospel,

like peace and love and so on,

without Jesus,

without who He is

and without what He's done for us.

That's why the notions of blending secular

and sacred together,

they don't actually work.

Because in Jesus alone,

we have both the ground for peace

and the mechanism for peace.

The actual way of achieving it

and receiving it.

So that if you don't have Jesus,

you can't actually have peace.

At least not the peace that we're referring to here.

And we're going to return to this text on Christmas Eve.

But for now,

I want to draw your attention

to the praise of the heavenly hosts

in verses 13 and 14.

Look at it with me.

Suddenly,

there was with the angel

a multitude of the heavenly hosts

praising God and saying,

Glory to God in the highest

and on earth,

peace among those with whom He is pleased.

So with the announcement of Jesus' birth

in verse 10,

comes the announcement of peace

through Jesus

in the praise of the heavenly host

in verse 14.

So if you follow the progression

of the text here,

it becomes clear that the result

of Christ's advent,

of His coming,

is God's glory

in making peace

with His people.

Do you see that in the praise?

The angel appears

and he says,

Listen,

the Christ has come.

He's in Bethlehem.

Go see Him.

And then all of a sudden,

there's all of these angels

and they're praising God,

not the shepherds.

They're not speaking to the shepherds.

They're praising God

and they're saying,

This is bringing God glory,

glory to God in the highest

because this Savior has come.

And because He has come,

He has brought peace on earth

to those with whom God

is pleased to give it.

You see the progression.

But it's essential that we understand

what this peace actually means.

Again, cultural notions of peace

typically have to do with

getting along with other people.

But that's not the kind of peace

that the gospel has in view.

It's not the kind of peace

that the gospel promises actually.

If we think of this announcement

as the end of wars

and the end of interpersonal disputes,

listen, if that's what this is,

then the gospel has failed.

It has not delivered.

And it doesn't take you long

to figure that out.

How many of you had a fight

with somebody in your house

before you even came this morning?

Interpersonal disputes,

they still happen.

Wars, they're getting worse and worse.

More prevalent.

If that's what the angels had in mind

in this announcement,

then the gospel has failed

and we are lost.

The Bible's not promised

that kind of peace

in relation to the first advent

of the Christ of Christ.

Jesus himself said that

there would continue to be conflict

among people,

that nations would continue

in some cases to be at war

because of him even.

Here is words from Matthew chapter 10.

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

Jesus himself says,

Do not think that I have come

to bring peace to earth.

I have not come to bring peace,

he says,

but a sword.

For I have come to set a man

against his father

and a daughter against her mother

and a daughter-in-law

against her mother-in-law

and a person's enemies

will be those of his own household.

Whoever loves father and mother

more than me is not worthy of me.

Whoever loves son and daughter

more than me is not worthy of me.

And whoever does not take up his cross

and follow me is not worthy of me.

Whoever finds his life will lose it.

Whoever loses his life for my sake

will find it.

Those are strong words from the Savior.

And they are immersed in conflict.

They're immersed in war

and in problems.

Now it doesn't mean that we shouldn't

pursue peace with these people.

Jesus' point is that

even the gospel brings division

and conflict.

The gospel doesn't promise

the kind of peace

that we're so used to hearing about

this time of year.

So then what does this peace actually mean?

Are we to understand that

Jesus' teaching

is in contradiction

with the angelic announcement

at his birth?

No.

Because they're not referring

to the same kind of peace.

The peace associated

with the advent of Christ

and that is proclaimed

in the praise of the heavenly host

is not peace with your wife.

It is peace with God.

That's the peace

that is now promised.

Peace

with your creator.

The primary benefit

of peace

in the incarnation

of Jesus

is not that you will

get along better

with those in your family

and in your workplace

but that you might be

reconciled to God

and escape

his eternal wrath.

You see,

the world gets this

completely backward.

But what's good,

what good is it

if we get along

with every human being

on the planet

but we're an enemy of God?

The advent of the Christ

isn't about bringing peace

among men

though it does get there

eventually.

The advent of the Christ

is about bringing peace

between man and God,

their creator.

creator.

Reconciliation.

Restoration together

in eternity.

And the reality

of our standing before God

and his promise

to provide a way

for peace

takes us all the way

back to the Garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve

enjoyed perfect fellowship

and peace with God

until the day

that they disobeyed him.

Think about what happened

on that day.

on that day

they were expelled

from the garden,

the place,

the paradise,

the place where God

had set them.

They were expelled

from that.

They received the curses

that came along

with their sin.

They lost fellowship

with their creator.

And though graciously

allowed to live

a long life,

they were then

destined for death.

That was the ultimate

consequence.

death.

Death.

You see,

God's holiness,

it demands judgment.

But even amid

the judgment,

he promised

that he would provide

a means of peace

and reconciliation

once again.

We call it

the proto-evangelion.

Genesis 3.15.

In the curse

of the serpent,

I will put enmity

between you

and the woman,

between your offspring

and her offspring,

he shall bruise your head,

you shall bruise his heel.

It doesn't say much,

at least in that verse,

it doesn't say much

about how this is going

to happen,

but it's the start.

God,

even in the midst

of the opening judgment,

gives an opening promise.

One day,

he will send one

who will bring peace,

who will reconcile us

back to our creator.

And then through

the scriptures,

God gives us

all these pictures

and promises

of what this

Messiah,

Savior,

would be

and what he would do

and it all has to do

with making an atonement

for our sins.

All of it.

It has to do

with atonement.

The advent of Christ

means the advent

of peace with God.

Sinners reconciled

to their creator

by grace.

The praise of the heavenly host

announced that

God's promised peace

peace was now

being fulfilled

in, quote,

a child wrapped

in swaddling cloths

and lying in a manger.

So I think

Gene Autry

had it wrong.

peace on earth

is an experience

because Santa Claus

is coming to town.

Peace on earth

is experience

because a Savior

who is Christ the Lord

is born this day

in the city of David.

And the peace

he brings

is peace

with God himself.

That's amazing

to consider.

You just let that

marinate on your mind

a while.

This peace,

it restores me

to my heavenly Father.

It's a peace

that escapes

eternal hell.

It's a peace

that takes

the judgment

that I deserve

and puts it

on someone else

so that I can be

at peace

a child of God.

That's the peace

that's promised

in the gospel.

That's the announcement

of it.

Number two,

let's look at

the provision

of peace.

The provision

of peace.

And for this,

I want you to turn

to Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

Would you just

flip there quickly?

Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

It's one thing

to acknowledge

that peace

with God

comes only

through the advent

of the Christ,

but how exactly

does Jesus

provide and secure

this peace?

Let's first say

how he doesn't

supply this peace.

It's not simply

by virtue

of his existence.

It didn't only

require his coming.

It wasn't just

the fact

that he came.

That's not enough.

We're not given

peace with God

simply because

he was born.

And the Bible

nowhere teaches

that the entire

universe

is reconciled

to God

on the grounds

of Christ's

goodness and virtue.

The Bible doesn't

teach that at all.

That's universalism.

That's not what

the Bible teaches.

Even the angelic message

itself declares

that this peace

was limited

to those

with whom God

is pleased

to give it.

So it's not

simply by the

existence of Jesus

that suddenly

everyone is just

okay and everyone's

at peace.

Okay?

Neither does Jesus

provide this peace

by setting

a moral

example

by which

we might

earn our way

back to God.

Doesn't work

like that either.

It's not that

God sends

his son

to do some

things

so that if

we do some

things ourselves

we'll be made

acceptable.

It's not that

he sends Jesus

to do like a

percentage of it

and then if we

cover our own

percentage here

then okay

he's gonna give us

a pass

and things are

gonna be done.

That's not how

this works.

The prevailing

thought of the day

is that if there

is a God

and if he's

good

then he will

reward those

who do their

best and try

their hardest.

But Jesus

himself said

in Matthew

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

that there will

be many people

who stand

before him

in judgment

having lived

exceptionally

moral lives

and still

be condemned

to eternal

hell.

So it's not

just about

providing a

moral example

so that if we

live faithfully

and morally

and ethically

will make it.

No.

Colossians

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

look with me

at verse 19.

I know we're

parachuting into

this text but

hang with me.

For in him

that is in

Jesus

all the fullness

of God

was pleased

to dwell

and through

him

to reconcile

to himself

all things

that's peace

with God

whether on

earth or in

heaven

making peace

by the blood

of his cross

and you

who were once

alienated

and hostile

in mind

doing evil

deeds

he has now

reconciled

in his body

of flesh

by his death

in order

to present

you holy

and blameless

and above

reproach

before him.

Now there's

enough here

for two or three

sermons.

Let me just

give you a

snippet of it

here.

Okay.

Three simple

things about

this text

that refers

to Jesus

as the

provider

of peace

and how

he's

provided it.

Number one

our peace

comes through

his cross.

Our peace

comes through

his cross.

God was

pleased

through Jesus

to reconcile

to himself

all things

making peace

by the blood

of his cross.

Peace with God

is announced

at the birth

of Christ

but it is

provided

and secured

at the

death

of Christ.

We are not

made at peace

with God

simply because

Christ exists

and was born.

We are made

at peace

with God

because

Christ

died

in our

place.

Earlier

I mentioned

the promises

and pictures

in the scripture

regarding the

person and work

of the Messiah

that God

had given us

so that we

would know

what to look

for.

Jesus

is the

fulfillment

of all

of those

things

not the

least of

which is

the

fulfillment

of the

picture

we see

in the

Old Testament

sacrificial

system.

Year

after year

they brought

their lambs

and goats

and bulls

and pigeons

and all the

things that

God had

instructed them

to give

and they

sacrificed

them year

after year

after year

but they

had to keep

coming and

doing it

again

because none

of it

actually worked.

none of it

was sufficient

to provide

atonement

and they

did it over

and over

and over

God

getting them

to look

forward

that one

day

a sacrifice

would come

a once

and for all

sacrifice

that would

never have

to be

repeated

and then

we get

to the

New Testament

and we

see all

that the

Bible

has to

say

about

Jesus

and we

find that

what Jesus

is is the

perfect

spotless

lamb of

God

slain

for the

sins of

the world

it's only

through

the atoning

blood of

his cross

that sinners

can be

reconciled

to the

holy God

why was

Jesus

born

Jesus

was literally

born

to die

that's why

he came

to die

because it's

only in

his death

that we

can have

life

and peace

and be

reconciled

to God

our peace

comes through

his cross

number two

our peace

comes through

his person

our peace

comes through

his person

not just

anyone

could make

a sacrifice

to satisfy

God's wrath

for our sins

it wouldn't

work

we all

have sin

which means

our death

is its own

punishment

but Jesus

had no sin

so his death

is not a payment

for his own

wrongdoing

it must be

for someone

else's wrongdoing

it's a substitution

it took a perfect

sinless sacrifice

to appease

God

and bring

us peace

so what is it

about Jesus'

cross

that made

his sacrifice

efficacious

for us

it's who

he is

it's his

person

we can be

reconciled

to God

through Jesus

because as Paul

says in verse

19

all the fullness

of God

was pleased

to dwell

in him

Jesus

not only

bears

the glory

of God

but all

that God

is

dwells

in him

which is to

say

that Jesus

is truly

God

he's not a

representative

of God

he is God

God

in flesh

that's the

wonder of the

incarnation

isn't it

God

has become

man

to save

us from

our sins

Matt Boswell

and Matt

Papa

have just

recently released

a new

Christmas song

called

In the

Fullness

of Time

it's a

beautiful song

you should

go and

listen to

it

at the

very end

of the

song

they take

that old

hymn

that we

often sing

holy

holy

holy

lord

god

almighty

and they

add a

verse

to it

and it's

so wonderful

it fits

for

Christmas

holy

holy

holy

in a

manger

lowly

Christ

the

son

now

born

as

man

in our

humanity

veiled in

flesh

in our

humanity

kingdoms

bow

before

him

heaven

and earth

endure

him

and I

love

this

phrase

God

here

in

person

God

here

in

person

you know

how this

song goes

in the

other

verses

God

in

three

persons

now it

says

God

here

in

person

on

earth

in

person

God

himself

that's

who

Jesus

is

that's

why

any

of

this

matters

that's

why

Paul

can

write

to

the

Colossians

and say

that

God

was

pleased

to

use

Jesus

to

make

peace

with

us

through

the

blood

of

his

cross

it

was

only

possible

because

of

what

he

said

first

that

all

the

fullness

of

God

was

pleased

to

dwell

in

him

he

is

God

therefore

has

become

the

atonement

for

us

now

that's

real

peace

real

peace

is not

an

olive

branch

between

two

people

who

just

decide

to

now

get

along

real

eternal

peace

is the

one

who

has

been

wronged

giving

himself

for

the

ones

who

have

done

the

wrong

that's

what

God

has

done

and

it's

all

through

the

scriptures

we see

it

everywhere

maybe

most

notably

in

John

chapter

one

the

word

became

flesh

and

dwelt

among

us

and

we

have

seen

his

glory

glory

as

the

only

son

from

the

father

full

of

grace

and

truth

our

peace

comes

through

his

cross

but

that's

only

possible

because

our

peace

comes

through

his

person

who

he

is

thirdly

our

peace

comes

through

his

grace

comes

through

his

grace

look

back

at

the

verses

Colossians

one

notice

the

description

given

for

sinners

here

I think

it's

verse

21

what does

it

say

we

were

once

alienated

hostile

in mind

that is

hostile

toward

God

in mind

doing

evil

deeds

that's

who

we

are

as

sinners

now

notice

what he

says

about us

at the

end

of

verse

22

that

we

are

presented

holy

blameless

and above

reproach

before

God

that's

quite

the

shift

isn't

it

alienated

hostile

in mind

doing

evil

deeds

now

we're

presented

by

Jesus

holy

and

blameless

and above

reproach

before

God

it's a

complete

180

and here's

a point

our

holiness

does not

come

before

being

reconciled

to God

but

after

do you

see that

this is

who we

were

but now

Christ

has

reconciled

in his

body

a flesh

by his

death

he's

reconciled

us

so that

he may

present

us

holy

and blameless

and above

reproach

what is

that all

about

it's

grace

it's

grace

we are

not made

at peace

because we

finally got

stuff together

because we

develop this

holiness

and this

goodness

and this

above

reproach

where God

was finally

willing to

unpinch his

nose

and give

us a

pass

no

that comes

after

we've

made

peace

or he's

made

peace

isn't

that amazing

peace

with God

is not

something

that we

can

achieve

so stop

trying to

earn it

you don't

have to

do that

it won't

work

anyways

it's

given to

us

freely

by God's

grace

through

Jesus

Christ

and it's

only after

we've been

reconciled

to God

that Jesus

begins his

work of

sanctification

making us

holy and

presentable to

God

and even

then

it's not

on the basis

of our

righteousness

that he

presents us

holy

it's on

the basis

of his

own

righteousness

that he

presents us

holy

isn't that

amazing

so what is

this peace

actually that

that the

gospel promises

it's peace

with God

first and

foremost

right

okay

that's

that's

really our

biggest need

other peace

can come

but it's

only going to

come after

we're made

at peace

with God

well

how is it

actually

secured

well Jesus

fulfills it

through the

cross

and atonement

thirdly

how can we

receive it

if that's how

it's been

secured for us

and if we

can't earn it

how do we

actually receive

it

that's the

third thing

the receiving

of peace

now I want you

to turn to

Romans chapter

five

he's gonna

look at the

first verse

Romans chapter

five

we read this

all the time

in our prayers

of confession

and it's

worth doing

again here

we've seen

that the

promised peace

of God

through Christ

is not

universally

applied

okay we

got that

check

we've also

noted that

it's not

something we

can earn

by living

up to a

particular

moral standard

okay we

got that

check

so how

exactly is

this peace

good news

then

because it

seems

impossible to

actually

get

how can

be received

well the

answer is

so simple

that it

almost sounds

too good

to be true

that's the

thing

Romans chapter

five verse

one

therefore

since we

have been

justified

by faith

we have

peace

with God

through our

Lord

Jesus Christ

it's good

enough to read

again

therefore since

we have been

justified by

faith

we have

peace with

God

through our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

peace

with God

is not

something you

earn by

what you

do

it is

something

you receive

by faith

in what

Jesus has

already

done

isn't that

amazing

this verse

makes it

abundantly

clear

peace

with God

through the

cross of

Christ

is received

by

faith

sinners

are declared

righteous

that's the

meaning of

the word

justified

sinners

are declared

righteous

by trusting

in the

person and

work of

Jesus

the righteous

one

that's God's

plan

not for us

to earn our

way

but to see

that Jesus

did everything

that we

couldn't do

and to trust

him

now

to reconcile

us to the

father

but this

faith

it's not

mere belief

it's not

simply

intellectual

agreement

saving

faith

trust

so

fully

in the

finished

work

of

Christ

that it

abandons

all other

pursuits

it

abandons

all

sin

and it

joyfully

submits

to follow

Jesus

as Lord

and Savior

that's

saving

faith

it's not

just

going to

your Sunday

school class

and saying

okay

that sounds

good

I guess

I'll be

a Christian

no

it's

leaving

everything

else

trusting

so

fully

in the

person

and work

of

Jesus

that you

leave

every other

religious

pursuit

you turn

away

from

every

sin

you've

ever

committed

and you

follow

him

joyfully

as Lord

and Savior

of your

life

it's an

act of

faith

produced

by God's

spirit

who draws

the sinner

convicts

the sinner

of their

sin

and then

transforms

the sinner

from the

inside out

it's what

Jesus

said in

John 3

is called

being born

again

I want to

ask you

have you

been born

again

are you

actually

trusting

fully

in the

death

and resurrection

of Jesus

for your

salvation

have you

submitted

all of your

life to

his lordship

if not

he invites

you to

do it

now

Jesus

extends

his

invitation

Matthew

11

come to

me

all

who

labor

and are

heavy

laden

and I

will

give

you

rest

take

my

yoke

upon

you

and learn

from me

for I'm

gentle

and lowly

in heart

and you

will find

rest

for your

souls

for my

yoke

is easy

and my

burden

is life

how do I

receive this

peace

he says

just come

to me

just come

to me

and I'll

give it

to you

come

to me

John 6

all that

the father

gives me

will come

to me

and whoever

comes to

me

I will

never

cast

out

never

think about

that in

regards to

peace

not only is

he's saying