Hal Chaffee Ministries

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… – Romans 5:1

Peace is achieved when two parties cease their hostilities toward one another. Outside of Christ, God and man are not at peace. Mankind, in his sin, is in continual rebellion and hostility towards God and His Kingdom. Every sin he commits tears away at what is good, and every moment he fails to live in obedience he participates in Satan’s work, whether he is aware of it or not. Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Mat. 12:30). Likewise, God is opposed to sinful man. He is angry with them because their stubborn hearts refuse to abandon their destructive ways. If they do not turn, He will ‘sharpen His sword…, and make ready the instruments of death’ (Psa. 7:12-13). However, in Christ, an offer of peace comes from God to man. God will cease from His intention to bring judgment if man will cease from his sins and embrace Christ. His offer is extraordinarily gracious: God will not hold man’s crimes against him but will freely forgive and treat him as if his rebellion had never occurred. If men would only throw down their weapons of resistance and take up Christ as their Lord, all will be forgotten, and peace will reign between two parties once hostile.

In this blog, I intend to show and prove the following:

1. Man can achieve peace with God by faith, despite what he has done, without the need to accumulate good deeds.
2. Peace with God is followed by peace within the soul.

Peace with God by Faith

In many situations, when one party offends another, the offender must offer gifts and groveling for the chance of peace. Even after much is offered in the way of remedy, there is no guarantee of peace. For example, if an employee acts contrary to his employer, spreading unflattering half-truths about his life and business, the damage to the business may result in significant revenue loss and an unfavorable opinion in the community. The employee should not be surprised if he is fired. Even with much pleading and apologizing, it is unlikely that his place in the business will be restored.

Or if a man is unfaithful to his wife, he may beg and plead and make promises, but she is under no obligation to allow him to come back. Yet even if she does, it will likely be many years before the relationship can bear any resemblance to the trust they once had. It may never return to such a state, even if he were to act better than he ever had before.

In our society, many relationships are in shambles, with little chance of peace. Friends, through conflict, become friends no more; business partners are separated by shady dealings, and children are hurt deeply by their parents. Sometimes the damage is so bad and the hurt so deep that peace between these parties becomes extremely unlikely. The offending party may deeply desire reconciliation, but the offended is not willing. Or it may be the other way around: the offended party is willing to forgive, but the offending party won’t give up their pride.

God has every right to condemn us. The majority of us have enjoyed His blessings as Creator but spurned his instructions as Law-giver. We have been like children who take many things from their parents but return no respect or obedience. Or we are like those who siphon every benefit from our nation without any desire to return to it our service. God has given us an abundance to enjoy. Most of us lack nothing. Yet we take from God and think nothing of returning to Him obedience and service. Besides our lack of service, we engage in things He has warned us against. We thus become criminals in His eyes, doing damage to everything that is good and holy and, by example, proclaiming that others should do the same. God would no doubt be just to condemn such to hell forever, for if they would not repent, it is evident that they would continue to live in such evil for all eternity, waxing worse and worse over time, becoming increasingly hostile.

However, the amazing news is that God is merciful. Though He has every right to condemn us, He has no desire to do so. Just the opposite, in fact. He desires that we would be saved from such a destructive life. In His mercy, He extends an olive branch of peace to all who will receive Him. He doesn’t ask that we first accumulate good works to atone for the evil we have done. He doesn’t first make us grovel, nor does He burden us by requiring acts of penitence. Instead, He asks us to believe on His Son, who Himself atoned for our sins. He asks us to abandon our ways and adopt His teachings. In so doing, He makes us righteous by faith, and thus at peace with Himself. Past ills are forgotten, never to be remembered again.

It is the picture shown us by the story of the prodigal son. Even though the son profaned the family name by wasting his inheritance on debauchery, the father did not hesitate to receive him back, restoring to him his place in the family. He opened his arms to him, rejoicing that he had returned safe and sound. So will God do with you, if you will likewise return to Him.

This is the doctrine of justification by faith. It is restoration into the good grace of God, not by working for it, but by receiving it by faith. Thus we have peace with God.

Peace to peace

Peace is one of the defining factors of Christianity. The angels proclaimed peace at the birth of Christ (Luke 2:14). It is a peace that all people can experience if they find it in Christ. This peace begins when we are justified by faith and then permeates a Christian’s life. It is peace with God and peace within the soul. Peace is one of the foundational promises of God to His people. It is a peace that can exist within when turmoil exists without.

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. – Isaiah 26:3

Notice that this peace is not dependent on what is happening on the outside, but only what is happening within the mind. When our mind is stayed on Christ, we partake of that peace, even in troubled waters.

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. – John 14:27

It is Jesus’ peace that He gives to us. His peace is one that is maintained even in the harshest of circumstances. When on the sea, in the midst of the storm, the peace that Jesus possessed enabled Him to sleep soundly. The turmoil without did not even wake Him, nor did the boat that swayed violently in the sea. He was only awakened by the panicked disciples, who said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we perish?” (Mark 4:38). He arose and extended the peace within Him to the sea: “Peace, be still.” A tranquil scene was then made.

The disciples soon learned to embrace this peace. Peter, the night before his scheduled execution, slept like a baby, chained between two guards. It took an angel striking him on the side to wake him up. He had the peace of God through Jesus Christ (Acts 12:6-7). Paul and Silas, bound in the innermost chamber of the dungeon with their backs bleeding from a severe flogging, sang praises to God. They had peace in their souls (Acts 16:25). And Stephen, facing an angry mob with stones in hand, shone like the sun in radiance. He had perfect peace in the face of a violent death, which he counted as a privilege, being counted worthy to suffer as his Lord (Acts 7:54-60).

We aren’t promised an easy life, nor riches, nor freedom from pain. We aren’t assured a long life or worldly success. Persecutions may cut our lives short. However, we are promised peace. The kingdom of God is ‘righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Rom. 14:17 ). The wicked do not have peace. They will never have it, though they search far and wide. It is because they do not know the way of peace (Rom. 3:17). Without being in God’s favor, there is no peace for them, for God says, “There is no peace for the wicked” (Isa. 48:22).

I can tell you by experience that the world and all its pleasures cannot outweigh the value of peace within the soul. To sit back and enjoy a heart of tranquility is a treasure beyond words.

How to have the peace of God

Peace in the heart begins when peace is made with God. To have peace, one must make peace. That is done by simple faith in Christ. Abandon your own ways and embrace Jesus and His sacrifice. God will receive you and the enmity will cease. You will have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Those who do this experience immediate peace within the soul, for the Holy Spirit comes to live within. I doubt the salvation of anyone who does not immediately experience the peace of God upon their confession of Christ as Lord. If peace doesn’t come upon your confession of faith, perhaps you have held back some forbidden thing, as with Achan. Or perhaps you have reserved love for the world, as with the rich young ruler. His love of wealth kept him from peace. Or perhaps you have harbored pride, as with Ananias and Sapphira. Get the evil out of your life and peace will flow in.

Once peace with God has been made, and the initial peace of God has flooded the soul, we must continue in the Spirit to maintain that peace. The Bible says that righteousness, peace, and joy are found in the Holy Spirit. As we keep our minds on the things above, walking in the Spirit and enjoying fellowship with Him, peace will continually flow. Certainly things will come along that seek to steal away that peace. In such cases we must separate ourselves to restore and refresh our walk with God. As we do, peace will flood our souls once again. This promise is found in Philippians 4:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phl. 4:6-7)

If you are experiencing anxiety, turn your burdens heavenward. He will answer with peace.

Conclusion

Justification is a wonderful gift that God has made available for all who will approach him in faith. He doesn’t require any great thing from us, but that we simply come in humble repentance and faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ. When we do this, the enmity between God and man is extinguished, and a friendship begins. Furthermore, the peaceful reconciliation that occurs permeates the entire person who keeps His mind stayed on God. It is a peace that is not dictated by outward circumstances. The harshest realities of life cannot steal away the perfect peace of the one whose mind is stayed on God. Threats of death cannot even abate it. Only our faithlessness can hinder its prominence in our life. But even so, if we return to prayer, all can quickly be restored, for God is gracious.