September 18, 2020 (Friday)
Yesterday we wrote about “Joy,” because the Bible talks about joy. The naming of the “fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 6)” begins with “Love, Joy, and Peace.” They go together. Since we talked about joy yesterday, let’s talk about peace today, and we’ll talk about love tomorrow.
There are three kinds of peace: Peace with God, Peace Within, and Peace with Others.
First, the Bible speaks of peace with God. In Romans 5:1, the Scripture says, “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NIV). In Christ I am “Justified.” That’s a legal term which means justice has prevailed and everything has been set right between God and me. There was a time when I was separated from God by my sin. There is no doubt about that because the Bible says “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). I had a debt I could not pay. Jesus paid that debt for me when He died on the cross. By grace, through faith, we now have been set right with God. As the old hymn declared, there is now “nothing between my soul and the Savior.” We have peace with God.
Then, the Bible speaks of peace within. In Philippians 4:7, we are told, “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (NIV). You can have a serenity within so strong that nothing in this world can be compared with it. How does it come to you? The preceding verse in Philippians 4 tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” The old song encourages us, “Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.” Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27 NIV). Jesus Christ has made possible my being at peace within myself. The hymn describes it as “Peace, peace. God’s peace. Wonderful gift from above. Oh, wonderful, wonderful peace, sweet peace,the gift of God’s love.”
The third kind of peace is peace with others. He has created the possibility of unity in Christ, ”for he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:14-18 NIV). In those verses we are told that Christ has brought peace between Jew and Gentile. But that peace extends to everyone. I can be at peace with others, regardless of who they are. God makes that possible; we are one in Christ.
The fruit of the Spirit is peace of all kinds: peace with God, peace within, and peace with each other.
Do you have peace with God? Do you know the peace that comes with His forgiveness of every sin you have ever committed?
Do you have peace within your own heart today? Jesus does not want you to be worried. He wants to give you peace.
Are you living at peace with others, as far as it is up to you? Have you forgiven others and are you willing to be at peace with them?
The fruit of the Spirit is peace.