It is impossible to have true peace without our Saviour, because only Jesus IS TRUE PEACE. If Christ does not live inside you, you will have no true rest! . It is HE LORD JESUS HIMSELF , who is our peace! Ephesians 2:14 tells us ……..
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Ephesians 2:14 – For he is our peace, he who has made only one of the two peoples and has broken down the wall of separation”
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THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF TRUE PEACE WITHOUT CHRIST
There are many non-Christian sinners who say that they have peace, yet they live in sin. These people say: “I have peace, I am not afraid, I am at peace”. But their peace is not a real peace. It is not a true rest. It is an illusion, the result of a lie of Satan. It is a false peace that will damn them and destroy them!
No Rest For Those Who Forsake The Lord
In the book of Deuteronomy 29: 18-19, we read of people whose hearts had turned away from the Lord their God, to go and serve the gods of the surrounding nations. A poisonous root was growing in these people – and the Holy Spirit warned them. They were warned that they would be cursed because they had forsaken the Lord and returned to their sinful ways. This was the message:
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Deuteronomy 28: 65-67 – You will not find rest and there will be no place of rest for the soles of your feet. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, eyes that are tormented and anguish of soul. Your life will stand before you as if suspended in uncertainty; you will tremble night and day and you will have no certainty of your existence. In the morning you will say: “Be it evening!”, and in the evening you will say: “Be it morning!”, because of the TERROR that will fill your heart and because of the THINGS that your eyes will see
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In addition to this curse, other words were addressed to the idolaters…..
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Deuteronomy 29:19 – No one, after hearing the words of this oath, deludes himself in his heart saying:” I will have peace, even if I walk according to the stubbornness of my heart.
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Deuteronomy 29:21 – And the Lord would separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the Law,
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God declares that such people can not have true peace – and that the peace they claim to have is an illusion. The Bible tells us in Isaiah chapter 57 ………
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Isaiah 57: 20 to 21– But the wicked are like the rough sea, which can not be calmed … There is no peace for the wicked.
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Isaiah 59:8 – The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
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Philosophies That Fail To Give Peace
The world of non-Christians can not handle TROUBLE AND DIFFICULTY. The ‘Cults’ can not handle it in any other way than by denying it by DISAPPEARING into a world of make believe. They do not face troubles and difficulty head-on. Their advice is: close in a room, meditate and abandoned to non-existence and nothingness. But such a “peace” does not last more than a couple of days, before the anxiety and worries of this world come back to submerge you.
In contrast, Jesus is most glorified in His church during the days of adversity. Those are the moments when Christianity clearly triumphs over every other religion or sect – because it is the Lord himself who faces every crisis of ours! And He grants us abundant peace in the midst of every tribulation.
Some of the most deceived people on this earth are those who proclaim peace without Christ. Theirs is a false security. If you ask a man on the street: “Do you have peace with God? Your heart is at peace?”, He will most likely answer: “Yes. I am not a Christian, but I am at peace.
Another man will tell you: “Oh, I’m fifteen years old, I have peace”. If you ask him how he has had the peace of which he speaks, he will answer: “Years ago I was in all sorts of anguishes, and someone taught me meditation.” I entered a room, and began to repeat my mantra. I have withdrawn from this world, and a spirit has descended on me as fresh and invigorating water. “
You ask him: “But what is the origin, the source of your peace? How can you know that it is authentic?”
He will answer: “I can not say where it comes from or how I receive it.What I know is that I have a calm heart, and in peace I feel happy and happy, and if I have worries, I go back to my room and repeat my mantra I close everything out “.
America today is full of Eastern doctrines, which all claim to be able to give peace in the heart. These eastern Mystics and New Age teachers call the empty mental state they seek to achieve, “NIRVANA”. But it has nothing to do with peace. On the contrary, it is a self-surrender to emptiness. God DOESN’T offer emptiness. On the contrary, he offers fullness. He gives peace like a river – which always flows, pure, and is continually renewed!
The Danger of “Reformation Conversion”
A person sometimes testifies: “I was taking a bad road. I was hurting myself and my family.” I knew it was time for me to change – so I decided for a fresh start. I put my own bad habits aside and I started doing what is right; I now give money to the poor. I started going to church regularly, I’m not the same person I used to be. I worked hard to make this peace I now feel and now I think God is pleased with me. “
But such a person is the victim of religious pride and self-righteousness! The Bible states in Romans chapter 3 ……..
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Romans 3:20 – By the works of the law no one will be justified before Him.
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The next time this person falls into some sin, he will realize that his peace has vanished. All his peace through self-righteousness was all an illusory dream.
The peace that comes from purley moral striving to reform oneself is not true peace, It is numbness! It is spiritual blindness. Only RIGHTEOUSNESS can produce peace, and nothing else:
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Isaiah 32:17 – The effect of RIGHTEOUSNESS will be peace, the result of righteousness, tranquility and security forever.
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I’m Doing My Best
You can say, “I am not a wicked man, I do not do the things that the wicked do.” But in the eyes of God wickedness is more than just unclean sexual lusts, heavy drinking, or drug abuse. In the eyes of God, the wicked is who knows that Christ is the source of all peace – but He rejects it and refuses Christ’s gift of free salvation. Evil is to resist Christ’s call to accept Him as the Prince of Peace.
It does not matter if you seem to be perfect. You may not drink heavily, smoke or cheat. It can even seem to you to have almost all the good qualities that a good person should have. But if you turn your back on Christ, you are wicked in the sight of God, because you have rejected the only way of salvation. God clearly declares that there will be no peace for that kind of person.
True Peace – The Result of Being Justified by Faith.
There must be a foundation on which our peace is based – and Scripture says that that foundation is our justification. We have peace because Jesus Christ has justified us before the Father.
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Romans 5:1 – Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
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Too many Christian believers have never entered into this great peace that the Lord has promised. Beloved, we who believe we are justified – and it is important for us to understand what this important words mean, because it is the secret of our peace!
Justification by faith in the sacrifice of Christ implies two principles: first, the affirmation that my sins are erased. I was absolved of them by the blood of the Lamb. I am no longer charged because Jesus went to the cross for me and paid for them, all of them.
This justification by faith is the rock, the foundation of all peace with God. “To justify” means to declare someone innocent. It means to proclaim that his debt has been entirely paid by Christ and that God is satisfied.
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Rom 4:25 – (Jesus) was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.
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Jesus has been resurrected to declare us free from all guilt!
More Than Forgiven
But being justified means much more than just being forgiven. Jesus not only washed me from all my sins – He also made me acceptable to the Father through His sacrifice. We actually become the righteousness of God in Him! This is the second big part of the justification. I have been declared innocent and without guilt – and I have also been declared a saint in the eyes of God.
Your peace can not come from what you do or how you feel. It can only come from being “in Christ”. It is very possible yo work hard to get the victory over every secret sin and still be far from God. You can get control over every habit, tame your temper or your bad thoughts, and throw away every way of speaking ungodly and still be lost. You can appear irreproachable. But you can still be building on the wrong foundation. Your peace, and your acceptance with God can only come from your being justified by Christ.
To continue reading this article on God’s peace GOTO – The Spirit Gives life
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