10.18.09 // Romans 5:1, Peace with God

People are still going to hell without Christ at an alarming rate! That is a startling way to begin our study on peace with God, isn’t it?

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates world death in 2009 to be over 55 million .
Globally, there are over 150,000 deaths daily.
If 80% of deaths are unsaved, over 120,000 enter into hell on a daily basis.

These are numbers based upon past data and are probability numbers. But they represent numbers which corresponds to what Jesus said in Matthew 7:13,

For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
 

And He should know!

There is so much talk of the love of God which is a good thing, but nobody wants to talk about God’s holiness and His hatred for sin because it is unpopular. God because of His holiness demanded sin to be dealt with. He sent His Son to Calvary to provide a remedy for us, to make a way to God through the shedding of sinless blood for the remission of sins (Mt 26:28). If God could not tolerate sin before we had peace with God, God being unchangeable in His holiness (Mal 3:6; Heb 13:8) does not overlook sin after we have peace with God. We live in an ever-changing world serving the never changing God. 

Any talk of God sending people to hell because of sin is considered by New Age thinking as regressive theology pulling the modern Christian man back into the dark ages of myth and superstition. Presenting the love of God apart from God’s holiness only results in a warped view of the love of God (for example, a loving God would never send someone to a burning hell). God loves you; but because God is holy the issue of sin must be addressed. It is addressed either through the Son leading to everlasting life (Jn 3:16) or through the sinner to everlasting death. Jesus warned in John 8:24, 

Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. 

During the next seven weeks, God willing, we will be shadowing Billy Graham’s book, Peace With God, providing another reflective look into this wonderful subject. Today, we will begin our study from the book of Romans in chapter 5, verse 1. We will talk about the doom and gloom before we had peace with God and the hope and happiness after we have peace with God.

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

Peace with God 

What is the opposite of peace? War. If we had peace with God at salvation, what was our relationship to God prior to salvation? We were in a state of war with God! Whether or not we understood this adversarial relationship before salvation, God was at war with us; it’s not even debatable. We were mutual enemies. It doesn’t matter whether we figured that out or not. We were viewed as enemies of God. This war was Garden grown. 

In Romans 5:12, Paul states, Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.

Here is a powerful illustration of how God looks at sin quite differently than we do. Because man chose to violate God’s one and only prohibition in the Garden of Eden, humankind and all of creation (Rom 8:19-22, nature [animate, sub-human, and inanimate] were subjected to the curse of sin. The ripple effect of rebellion was and is never ending this side of eternity. Man looks at this situation and questions, “You mean to tell me that everything that is wrong in the world can be traced back to someone eating forbidden fruit!?”….

The ramification of this sin against God was so great that it ultimately resulted in the death of His Son to provide a remedy for Adam’s and our sin (death spread to all men, because all sinned).  

For as by one man's [Adam] disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's [Jesus] obedience many will be made righteous (Rom 5:19).  

The truth of the matter is that God looks upon sin differently than we do. It may have never occurred to us that before salvation we were looked upon as enemies of God even though we may have had no “beef” with God, and if we died as unrepentant sinners we would be consigned to an eternal hell. Let’s look at a couple of verses from each Testament revealing that God is at war with unrepentant sinners. In fact God is so angry that the wicked are ultimately sent to a fiery abode called the lake of fire.

Old Testament <><

• 2 Kings 22:13b for great is the wrath of the LORD that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.

• Psa 7:11 God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked every day.

• Isa 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it.

• Nah 1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD avenges; The LORD avenges and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies;

New Testament <><

• Rom 1:18, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

• Rom 5:10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

• Php 3:18-19 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.

• Eph 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

• Col 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled

• Rev 19:15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword [Jesus returns], that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

What do the above verses teach us? God is at war with unrepentant sinners. He is so angry that God seeks the destruction of those who reject Him and ultimately will send them to an eternal fiery hell. I know it is unpopular to expound upon these things due to its ghastly nature but do you recall the probability rate of people dying around the globe entering into Hades without Christ at a rate of 120,000 on a daily basis?

· Did you know that Jesus Christ mention hell more than heaven? Why? He knows firsthand what awaits the ungodly, and He sees the number of unsaved souls entering into Hades.

· The approximate casualty rate (if 80% unsaved) in the global spiritual warfare we are engaged in is staggering:

o 44,000,000 yearly
o 120,000 daily
o 5,000 hourly
o 83 per minute
o 1 per second

· God provided a remedy to stop the death rate by giving His own Son on the cross for sinners. With faith placed in Christ all hostility ends; without faith hostility never ends. God is at war with the unrepentant sinner.

God’s love must always be presented in the context of His holiness. Though it would be a woeful thing for a sinner to fall into the hands of an angry God, how much more comforting to be rescued by the nail pierced hands of Jesus, and all hostility ceases; the war is over forever!….

Now when we read that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ that sounds pretty good right about now, doesn’t it! That the fury of God Almighty’s wrath was poured out on His Son at the cross of Calvary and appeased His anger, and reconciliation (restoring to a right relationship or standard, to make peace) was made possible through the death of His Son to all those who believed.

In Romans 5:1 peace with God is not referring to some subjective emotion, peace of God; though this is certainly a result of having peace with God, a peace of mind, a sense of tranquility. Cessation of war would make anybody feel at peace.

1. The peace mentioned here is an objective peace, nothing to do with feelings and everything to do with relationship.
2. Because of having been justified by faith there has been a dramatic turn of events in this war against the sinner; the war is over between God and us when we through faith receive His Son! Peace with God should take on a whole new meaning for us being reconciled to God through the death of His Son.

Love your enemies (Mt 5:44; Lk 6:27, 35)

Wonder of wonders that the Almighty, who is at war with unrepentant sinners, would love His enemies, worthy of the eternal fires of hell, enough to send His only Son to die for His enemy so that His enemy might become His son and He becomes their Papa. This gives fresh insight into Jesus’ command to love our enemies, I2P stuff. 

There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1).

If the sinner receives God’s peace offering, the war is over; otherwise, the unrepentant sinner remains condemned to a sinner’s hell to pay for his or her own sin.  

He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (Jn 3:18).  

Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins (Jn 8:24).

It is only in Jesus that we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sin (Col 1:14).

Christ bore on the cross every sin we should have been punished for in hell in order to bring reconciliation of God’s enemies (us) to God (having made peace through the blood of His cross [Col 1:20]) in order to present us as holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight (Col 1:22).

Therefore, having been justified by faith

1. In the NT the verb justified (dikaioo) never means a man can be set free from the penalty of sin and condemnation through his own efforts.
2. Sin (hamartia) means missing the mark. Man in his sinful condition will always miss the mark of God’s standards, thus condemning him.
3. The Bible speaks of man needing to be reconciled (restored to a right relationship) to God, never the other way around.
4. Justified is being judicially declared by God to be righteous.
5. Man cannot justify himself this is why Paul stated in Eph 2:8-9, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

But what does the natural or lost man try to do? He tries to justify himself by some kind of works apart from faith; Paul makes it very clear in Romans 4 that justification is not of works. 

Look in Romans 4:25, 

who [Jesus] was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. 

There is no small debate among scholars concerning the two prepositions because of (retrospective versus prospective purposes). Jesus was delivered up for our past, present and future offenses and His bodily resurrection was evidence that God the Father was satisfied with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. We are now holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight (Col 1:22).

1. The little Greek word dia can be translated because of, on account of, for. Christ was delivered up because our offenses needed dealt with. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:21).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
   
2. Christ was raised from the dead assures us that the sacrifice is accepted, and God is forever satisfied; our sins are forgiven. There could have been no justification if Christ had remained in the tomb.
   

The resurrection of Jesus is fundamental in the gospel record (1 Cor 15:4, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures).

How important is the resurrection?

1 Cor 15:17, Paul argues, And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

The bodily resurrection of Christ was absolute proof that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice for sin. Through faith in the sacrifice that satisfied or propitiated the just demands of a holy and righteous God, we are judicially declared by God the Father to be righteous. God’s wrath ultimately consigns the sinner to an eternal hell if His provision for mankind is rejected. At the cross, Jesus received the full fury of God’s wrath for our sins. Jesus paid our penalty for sin at the cross, and Jesus’ bodily resurrection substantiated that we are reconciled to God only through faith in the sacrifice of His Son.

The question remains; are you satisfied with the sacrifice that satisfied the just demands of a holy and righteous God? Or are you still attempting to justify yourself some other way? It is not of works but of faith! Paul quoted Genesis 15:6 in Romans 4:3, Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

Further Paul stated in Rom 4:23-25, Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.  

Being justified by faith and not of works, we have peace with God. The wrath of God is satisfied by the sacrifice of His Son. When we accept through faith the sacrifice that satisfied God the Father, we are at peace with God; the war is over, folks.

Not only does the resurrection of Jesus Christ prove God was satisfied, but the writer of Hebrews states God the Father will no longer remember our sins,

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more (Heb 8:12). 

Why will God remember our sins no more? Because the wrath of God is satisfied with Christ’s work on the cross! From God’s point of view we were once His enemies but are now we are His sons; from our point of view, we who are saved, God once was our enemy but now God is our Papa (Abba)! Note the connection between Jesus’ use of "Abba" in the garden of Gethsemane and Paul’s usage of "Abba."

Mar 14:36 And He (Jesus) said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will." 

Gal 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" 

Jesus called the Father, “Abba”; we call the Father, “Abba!” What incredible reconciliation thanks to Jesus, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross (Col 1:20). We have peace with God.

And it’s all through our Lord Jesus Christ; look at end of Rom 5:1.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ

Everything we have, beloved, is through Jesus Christ. It says in Ephesians 1:3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. 

Because we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, just like our spiritual father Abraham. What a difference faith makes!

2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

2Co 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,

2Co 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

2Co 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

2Co 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

1. The terrible price of reconciliation (to be at peace with God) was the death of God’s Son. The result was eternal life in heaven by receiving Christ.
2. The awful price of irreconciliation (to be at war with God) is the death of the unrepentant sinner’s soul in hell. The result is eternal death or separation in hell for rejecting Christ.

We are former enemies (former unrepentant sinners) reaching out and pleading to God’s enemies (current unrepentant sinners) to be reconciled to God. God is reaching out to His enemies through us saying to end this war that you cannot win (see 2 Cor 5:20 above). The cost of personal rejection is far too great. Be reconciled to God through faith.

Mat 16:26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?....

How long will our reconciliation to God last? It all sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? This is a natural question to ask, “How long will our peace with God continue?” Will I cause an act of war with God and hostility resumes if I fail to repent because of some sin I have committed? Will I go to hell for unrepented sin as a child of God? Will my peace with God only last as long as I believe or will sins of unbelief or doubt cause me to be sent to hell?

When Jesus cried out on the cross, “It is finished” in John 19:30, we are forever accepted in Christ, not as long as we are faithful, but as long as Christ lives. Don’t miss out on this important truth here. The proof of our acceptance is in the bodily resurrection of Christ. 

In the past our sins were paid for by Christ; that is settled. Presently and in the future Christ continues to intercede for us and maintains our reconciliation, our peace with God. Eph 2:14, He is our peace. As long as Christ lives He will maintain our peace with God. Jesus is unchanging and eternal, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8). 

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 

Our reconciliation is maintained not only by the past act of Christ on the cross but in His present high priestly ministry as a mediator or intercessor at the right hand of God where He always lives to make intercession for them (Heb 7:25b). 

Before salvation the opposite of peace was war; after salvation, the opposite of peace is broken fellowship caused by disobedience. 

Our position never changes in Christ but our fellowship is broken by willful sin, affecting our walk, our communion with Him, our joy, the sweetness of fellowship, and our tranquility (peace of God, not peace with God). We restore fellowship with the Father by simply agreeing (= confess) with God about our sinful behavior.

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
 

Though peace with God in Romans 5:1 refers to an objective relationship (war with God is over) reconciliation does produce in us a sense of peace and tranquility, doesn't it? We are in the family; and God is at peace with us. We are no longer hell-bound but heaven-bound. In Christ we are forever secure because His sacrifice satisfied the just demands of a holy and righteous Father. We are in Him; and He is in us. And Jesus gives us a peace that passes all understanding which is a glorious comfort in a world subjected to global terrorism.


And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Php 4:7).

Quickly, let me mention about eternal security. When eternal security is in question or when people advocate genuine believers can lose their salvation there are two dangerous accusations directed toward God.

1. The past work of Christ on the cross was insufficient.
2. The present priestly work of Christ is insufficient.

You really don't want to go there and accuse God of this. Jesus’ sacrifice satisfied the wrath of God forever. Christ ever lives to make intercession for us. And Jesus always got His prayers answered (cf. Jn 8:29)! We are accepted in the Beloved.

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life (Jn 5:24). 

There is your eternal security. As our spiritual father Abraham believed and it was accounted to him for righteousness; so it is with us (Rom 4:23-24).

Do you remember when the death angel was going through Egypt? Yahweh gave Moses specific instructions on applying the blood of an unblemished lamb (type of Christ) with a hyssop bush on the lintel and the two doorposts to protect God’s people.

Ex 12:23 For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 

Every household that the blood was not applied, the death angel entered and destroyed the firstborn. It wasn’t a matter of how sympathetic you were to God’s people. It didn’t matter if you were someone of importance. It didn’t matter if people were depending upon you. It didn’t matter if you were a good and moral upright individual in the community. It didn’t matter if you were some great philanthropist. It didn’t matter if you were ambivalent toward God. It didn’t matter if the whole nation of Egypt liked you. It didn't matter if you were rich or poor, male or female. It didn’t matter what your age was. And by the way, if any unbelieving Jew didn’t apply the blood, their firstborn would die, too.

The only thing that mattered was the blood applied in the manner prescribed by God? This is the essence of reconciliation. Has the blood been applied to your heart by faith in Christ’s work on the cross? If Christ’s blood is applied on the lintel and doorposts of your heart, you are His and can never be separated from the love of God. You have been reconciled; you have peace with God. You are justified.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me (Rev 3:20).

When the blood is applied we have peace with God. The war is over, and a new relationship has begun that will last forever! And let the peace of God rule in your hearts (Col 3:15). Now that is hope and happiness all the way to glory! Amen.





Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Rom 5:1