Peace With God

This is an exegetical sermon from Romans 5:1. It explains how our peace with God is only possible through the death of Jesus. This sermon was originally preached by Pastor Justin Bragg at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA. Audio unavailable.

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:: The Resolved ::

Justin Bragg (elder)

Romans 5:1 “Peace with God (La Paz con Dios)”

What is it that people seek most in life, after physical needs are met?

Freedom: maybe, but as Americans we are free. Have been for centuries, yet most of us are as restless and discontented (perhaps even more) than those living under strongly oppressive regimes
Wealth: we know from too many “E true Hollywood stores” that this isn’t so. Too many wealthy people have said “I thought money could buy happiness. I have been miserably disillusioned”
Education/careers, fame/popularity, sex/lust, power, sense of belonging –
Most are discontented even when they attain such goals

What is the reason?
Why even when people get rich from the lottery,
When we get married to the girl/boy of our dreams,
When we get college degrees and 100k/yr jobs,
When athletes make millions, have their faces on baseball cards and win championships are they still not content?

Think about it – what do you seek most in life?
Happiness, but when are you most content/happy?
When I’m happy – no stress, no drama, no noise, no burden/responsibility, vacations, beaches, quiet nights beneath the stars, talks with friends over the fire, serenity in the earphones of my iPod.

What it really is that people are searching for in this life is peace.
And ultimately, the only true and genuine peace that can be found is in right-relationship with god.

Rom 5:1 therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with god through our lord Jesus Christ.

How are human beings supposed to find peace in this world of pain, stress, failure,

Taking dogs for walks, getting drunk and stoned, hobbies, reading and writing, watching television, hanging with family and friends, sailing, bowling, exercise and work out, cocaine and LSD, Dr. Mario and buying new shoes…

Here in Romans 5:1, Paul tells us that it is peace we seek most, and how you and I can attain this peace –peace with god

Therefore – refers to chapters 1-4. A big long thought, run on sentence
Be careful not to miss this, cause ‘peace with god’ depends on understanding all that Paul has been saying up to this point

Why does therefore refer to all of 1-4? 2 reasons:

1. “Since we have been justified by faith” – what has 1-4 been all about? What have we talked about every week? Justification by faith through Jesus Christ
The fact that you and I are justified, declared right before god through faith in the death/resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This is the gospel. If you have missed this in chaps 1-4, you haven’t been paying attention

2. “We have peace with god” – why do we need peace with god?
Remember the first 3 chapters of Romans?
Paul made it clear that we have been at war with god.
He has also began to tell us how our enmity with god is absolved – through his son Jesus Christ

So here we are – chapter 5, this giant therefore, and this phrase “peace with god”

What is peace with god and why do we need it?

Peace with god v peace of god (necessary?)

How are we to understand this peace with god?
Verse 10 brings the picture into sharper focus
“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to god by the death of his son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
The picture in Paul’s mind is enmity and war between us and god

God is angry at us for our sin (Romans 1:18)
And we are hostile to god in rebellion against his authority (Romans 8:7-8).

Romans 1:18 says, “The wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”
God’s anger at our ungodliness is our main problem in life.
If god is resolved to pour out his wrath on us we are in a terrifying position.
Romans 8:7-8 “for the mind that is set on the flesh (unjustified) is hostile to god, for it does not submit to god’s law; indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please god.”

Imagine the power of god behind his wrath!
When you look up into the sky on a clear night you can see what is called the Milky Way, the name of our galaxy.
It has about 200 billion stars in it, they say.
You can see maybe a 40-millionth of them on a good night.
The disk of the Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across (about six hundred thousand trillion miles) and 2,000 light years thick.
Our sun will take about 200,000 years to make a circuit.
And besides our galaxy there are, some estimate, 50 million other galaxies.

Now, the god we are talking about here in Romans
Made this universe with a mere command.
He simply spoke and all the galaxies came into being.
And he holds them in being by the word of his power.
This god is so great that any attempt to portray his greatness falls infinitely far short.
But what we can see and feel is this: that if such a great god is angry at us, and has such indescribable power to back up his anger, then we are in the worst of all possible conditions.
Nothing could be worse than to be opposed by the wrath of infinite power.

And that is our situation.
God is revealing his wrath against our ungodliness now and will bring it to a climax in the last Day of Judgment (Romans 2:4).
Our only hope is if god may provide a way of reconciliation.
Verse 1 says that he has “we have been justified by faith through is son Jesus Christ”
Verse 10 says that he has: “we were reconciled to god through the death of his son.”

This happened because Christ bore our sins and fulfilled our righteousness.
Now by faith we are united to Christ, so his righteousness is imputed or credited to us. And the result is peace.
God is no longer angry with us.
We are reconciled.
There is no condemnation.

Now here is the best thing about this situation, all the power that once stood in the service of god’s anger against us now stands in the service of his grace toward us.
(More on that in verse 2 in the coming weeks)

What is peace with god?
Having peace with god refers to:
- Cessation of war/enmity with god because of sin
And also another aspect:
- Cessation of attempting to appease god through works

Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with god
Peace with god is not by works
Since justification is by faith
No room for works
Calvin “faith is abolished if righteousness is sought by works”

Calvin “when any one strives to seek tranquility of conscience by works, (which is the case of profane and ignorant men,) he labors for it in vain; for either his heart is asleep through his disregard or forgetfulness of god’s judgment, or else it is full of trembling and dread, until it reposes (rests) on Christ, who is alone our peace”

You can never experience peace if you are always wondering if you have done enough to appease god
There is no rest in counting your good deeds against your sinful ones and hoping the good out weigh the bad
He who works to achieve his justification will never experience the rest that comes from receiving the grace of god in the peace offered through Jesus Christ

Calvin “perpetual inquietude would disturb miserable souls, as they can find nothing substantial in themselves. But they are rendered quiet and tranquil when we have obtained righteousness by faith”

Peace means tranquility of conscience, feeling itself to be reconciled to god
Not found by the Pharisee or the stupid sinner (Calvin’s terms)

Peace with god – no more war – the stupid sinner has no idea he is even at war with god and his soul is troubled without a solution or a way out.
Or if she realizes she has no peace, she does not know where it can be found

Peace with god – no more works – the Pharisee can never find solace in the bosom of god because his god demands more and more, and his best is never enough.
Judging others and living by legalism is a soul at war with itself, and peaceful rest can never be found

Calvin “miserable souls always tremble, except they repose on the grace of Christ”

How do we get peace with god?
How do our souls escape misery?
How is turmoil and strife within our hearts absolved?

Nothing new here – therefore and since
Justification by faith through Jesus Christ (Romans 1-4)

1:16-17 for in it (the gospel) the righteousness of god is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
3:21-26 but now the righteousness of god has been manifested apart from the law, the righteousness of god through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom god put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show god’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
4:3-5 “Abraham believed god, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
4:9-11 we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,
4:13 for the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
4:16 that is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring–not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
4:22-25 that is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Do you get it?
Peace. Do you want it? Do you seek it? Do you have it?
5:1 tells us that we have this peace – and it is ours through our faith in Jesus Christ
Every person in this world is at war with the god of this universe if they have not trusted in Christ’s perfect righteousness.
We were created for peace. We desire it. We need it. And Christ gives it to us

Augustine: “thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts find no peace until they rest in thee”

Sleep is awesome
Duane and I have different theological and experiential opinions concerning sleep
I love it
Lying down at night, the weight removed
No alarm in the morning, feeling rested
I love sleep, because I love rest, because I love peace