SeniorSeeker
Active member
Hello Fellow Seekers!
Romans 5:1 "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ..."
To have peace with God is more than to feel comfortable in His presence. It means that we, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds (Col. 1:21, NKJV), have been reconciled and restored to fellowship with God. Once we were at war with God, but by His death on the cross, Jesus has made it possible for the hostilities to cease and for us to be God's friends and not His enemies. In one sense, this peace is not something we grow in, as in starting out with just a little bit of peace. Rather, we are reconciled to God, once and for all, by the Cross of Christ. It is an accomplished fact. There is another sense, though, in which we do grow in peace with God. The more clearly we see God's ways and walk in them, the more we appropriate His power to live as His sons and daughters. In this sense, peace with God is indeed a fruit of the Spirit. As we grow to maturity as children of God, we experience more and more the blessings and benefits of living in His kingdom until we can say, Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble (Ps. 119:165, NKJV).
Colossians 1:20-22 reveals that sin did not cause God to be merciful and pardoning; rather, it revealed that He has been that way from eternity. The plan of salvation demonstrated that God loved us and was willing to forgive even from the beginning.
Dwell on this idea that only because of what Jesus has done, because of His perfect life credited to you by faith, can you stand pardoned, forgiven, and accepted before God, regardless of your past. Why is this teaching so important to us if we are truly to know peace?
Romans 5:1 "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ..."
To have peace with God is more than to feel comfortable in His presence. It means that we, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds (Col. 1:21, NKJV), have been reconciled and restored to fellowship with God. Once we were at war with God, but by His death on the cross, Jesus has made it possible for the hostilities to cease and for us to be God's friends and not His enemies. In one sense, this peace is not something we grow in, as in starting out with just a little bit of peace. Rather, we are reconciled to God, once and for all, by the Cross of Christ. It is an accomplished fact. There is another sense, though, in which we do grow in peace with God. The more clearly we see God's ways and walk in them, the more we appropriate His power to live as His sons and daughters. In this sense, peace with God is indeed a fruit of the Spirit. As we grow to maturity as children of God, we experience more and more the blessings and benefits of living in His kingdom until we can say, Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble (Ps. 119:165, NKJV).
Colossians 1:20-22 reveals that sin did not cause God to be merciful and pardoning; rather, it revealed that He has been that way from eternity. The plan of salvation demonstrated that God loved us and was willing to forgive even from the beginning.
Dwell on this idea that only because of what Jesus has done, because of His perfect life credited to you by faith, can you stand pardoned, forgiven, and accepted before God, regardless of your past. Why is this teaching so important to us if we are truly to know peace?
Betty