JESUS Is Our Peace with God: Part IV

The Humility of Jesus Christ

John 1:1-2

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

The Word of God has always existed in perfect fellowship—peace—with God, before the world began, before you and I were born.

As we have seen, we deserve death because of our sins. We do not deserve peace with God and cannot earn it by doing good things or by following religion.

God knew that unless He did something on our behalf, we would be condemned to an eternity separated from His holy presence, with no chance of being reconciled to Him whatsoever.

Although He did not have to help us, God chose to love us. And God, Who is love, did so in a way that is at once incomprehensible, awe-inspiring, humbling, and infinitely wise: God gave His only Son. The Word, who was God and was with God, became the Son of God.

John 1:14

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen His glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.

God's only Son's name is Jesus. He is called the Christ (the Anointed One). He was born of a woman, just like you and I, but His Father was and is God (Matthew 1). He is, therefore, the Son of God and the Son of Man, possessing both a unique relationship to God and a body like ours. So, He did not inherit the sinfulness that we are all tainted with, but He was still a legitimate human being.

Why did God send His Son?

The Apostle John declares,

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil,
for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.

The reason the Son of God appeared
was to destroy the works of the devil.

(1 John 3:8)

Jesus came "to destroy the works of the devil." These evil works are sins, as the first part of the statement makes clear: “the devil has been sinning from the beginning.”

In order to do this, Jesus had to live a perfect life in place of sinners like you and I who could not and would not do it for ourselves, and then die for our sins, satisfying the justice God requires and allowing us to partake of His righteousness.

Hebrews 5:7-9

In the days of his flesh,
Jesus offered up prayers and supplications,
with loud cries and tears,
to Him who was able to save Him from death,
and He was heard because of His reverence.

Although He was a Son,
He learned obedience through what He suffered.

And being made perfect,
He became the source of eternal salvation
to all who obey Him…

Although it was unspeakably difficult, Jesus did what we could not do: He did not sin. Not only did He do everything that His Father, God, commanded Him to do, but He did nothing that was against God’s will. In other words, He did everything that was right for Him to do and He did nothing wrong. I cannot fathom the difficulty that Jesus experienced in living perfectly up to God’s standards for every second, minute, hour, and day of His life, but He did it.

But a life of perfect obedience, while incredible and necessary for our sakes, was not sufficient to pay the penalty for sin, much less earn peace with God for sinners like you and I. Since “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a), Jesus had to do more: He had to be obedient “to the point of death” (Ephesians 2:8). And not just any death would suffice; He had to endure death on a cross, because it was the will of God.

Jesus described the manner in which He would die – being lifted up on a cross – and the reason that God sent Him, to save the world through Him. The Apostle John recorded His words:

No one has ascended into heaven
except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through Him.

(John 3:13-18)

In accordance with the plan of God, Jesus died an excruciating physical death on the cross, which is possibly the cruelest form of execution ever devised by human minds. However, the slow suffocation and physical torment He experienced on it paled in comparison to what He had to endure on a spiritual level.

Isaiah 53:3-12

He was despised and rejected by men;
a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as One from whom men hide their faces He was despised,
and we esteemed Him not.

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Jesus was not just dying physically in our place; He was experiencing the terrible separation from God that we would otherwise have to experience. And, as the Son of God who had enjoyed constant fellowship with God since the beginning, it was unspeakably terrible.

On the cross, the torment was such that Jesus, despite the suffocation induced by crucifixion, “cried with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?’ which means, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” shortly before taking his last breaths (Mark 15:34).

The Apostle Paul, a man personally sent by Jesus to preach about Him, wrote this:

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
For one will scarcely die for a righteous person —
though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die —
but God shows His love for us in that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

(Romans 5:6-8)

Jesus Christ died for us while we did not deserve it. Nothing we could do would earn us peace with God. We were "still sinners". But, like a king’s son paying the impossibly high debts of foreigners, Jesus stood in our place and took the pain and death we deserved.

It was not a quick and painless act; quite the contrary. Our sins deserved to be punished wholly and thoroughly, painfully and permanently. Jesus suffered throughout His life. He was tempted, mistreated, mocked, tortured, and betrayed. Eventually His sufferings culminated in His death on the cross.

Centuries before all this actually happened, a prophet of God, Isaiah, foretold the sufferings of Jesus:

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush Him;
He has put Him to grief;
when His soul makes an offering for sin,
He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied;
by His knowledge shall the Righteous One, My Servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and He shall bear their iniquities.

(Isaiah 53:10-11)

Jesus, God's "Righteous One," paid the debts we deserved to pay when He died on the cross. Notice in the last part of the passage above that Jesus would "make many to be accounted righteous" and He would "bear their iniquities."

This is incredible news. Jesus took the punishment for our sins ("iniquities"), so that we do not have to be punished for them.

If we believe that Jesus did this for us and trust Him instead of any of our good works, religion, or anything else, we are "accounted righteous" in God's sight. Because of Jesus' death, we can be declared righteous, and we can be forgiven by God for the sins we have committed.

These are great and glorious truths. However, if Jesus had remained dead, our penalty for sin would have been paid, but we would not have eternal life and peace with God. We would have been freed from the death we deserved to die, but we would not have been granted life, fellowship with God and His Son. Praying to His Father, Jesus stated, “And this is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). We could not “know” Jesus if he had remained dead.

It is therefore wonderful that God, in addition to taking out the wrath we deserved on His Son, also raised His Son from the dead, making it possible for us to have eternal life as well. But, not only did God raise Jesus, but He also promoted Him to a unique position; He made Him Lord. The implications of this are quite important.

We'll look at that in the next section, if the Lord wills.

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All emphases are mine.
All Bible quotes are from the English Standard Version (ESV).
All pronouns for God and the Lord Jesus Christ are Capitalized.

For the previous part of this series, go here.
For the next part of this series, go here.
To go to the beginning of this series, go here.

JESUS Is Our Peace with God: Part III

Can following religion
achieve peace with God?

We've already seen that doing good things cannot earn us peace with God.

Now we'll look at religion. Can dedication to religion - any religion, even Christianity - achieve peace with God?

In this section, I’ll be using the term “religion” in a different sense than it is commonly used. Essentially, religion is an attempt to earn peace with God by observing standards—even God’s standards.

Religion is at odds with the Gospel, because the Gospel presents the fact that only Jesus is our peace with God, while religion asserts that we can earn peace with God by doing good things. Essentially, following "religion" in an attempt to earn peace with God is very similar to attempting to be a morally excellent person, which we looked at in the previous section. However, religion as a means to salvation is particularly problematic, because it affects people who claim to believe in Jesus as well as others.

This distinction may seem strange or confusing. However, I bring it up because there are many people who think they have peace with God because they practice the Christian religion. That is, they may attend church, read their Bibles, or sing in the church choir. But the Christian religion is not necessarily the same as a true positive relationship with Jesus.

Jesus is not just a part of the Christian religion; He is the all-important fundamental Person that must be recognized by everyone, "Christian" or otherwise, in order to have any hope of salvation at all.

We'll examine a religious approach to earning peace with God and contrast it with the Gospel. Then, we'll look at why Jesus is the way, and no religious leader or religious act can commend us to God.

One form of religion is “legalism.” We looked at this a bit in the previous section. Legalism is when a person takes the Law of God, which is intended to point out our sinfulness and our need for a sinless Savior, and attempts to follow that Law to earn peace with God instead of trusting in the Savior.

One can be a legalist using the Law of God revealed in the Old Testament. Or, one can be a legalist by following any other set of rules found in any other scriptures, creeds, or doctrines, even if the person makes them up him or herself.

A legalist ignores God’s offer of eternal life in Jesus and attempts to earn his or her own salvation by obeying the Law perfectly, even if he or she “also” believes in Jesus. Instead of relying on Jesus to save him or her, a legalist tries to save him or herself by their own actions. As we’ve seen so far in this series, that is a foolish thing to do, doomed to end in failure, since none of us are or can be as perfect as God requires.

The Apostle Paul, who was personally commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ to speak about His death and resurrection, wrote this to believers in the region of Galatia:

Galatians 1:1-10

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but
through Jesus Christ and God the Father,
Who raised Him from the dead—
and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Who gave Himself for our sins to deliver us
from the present evil age,
according to the will of our God and Father,
to Whom be the glory forever and ever.
Amen.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him
who called you in the grace of Christ
and are turning to a different gospel—
not that there is another one,
but there are some who trouble you
and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

But even if we or an angel from heaven
should preach to you a gospel
contrary to the one we preached to you,
let him be accursed.

As we have said before, so now I say again:
If anyone is preaching to you a gospel
contrary to the one you received,
let him be accursed.

For am I now seeking the approval of man,
or of God?
Or am I trying to please man?
If I were still trying to please man,
I would not be a servant of Christ.

The Apostle Paul was convinced that no one--not himself, nor even "an angel from heaven"-- could or would change the Gospel. In fact, he was so convinced of the truth of the one Gospel that he was willing to suffer beatings, stoning, imprisonment, shipwrecks, and execution for his steadfast pursuit of his goal of preaching the Gospel, primarily to non-Jews, all over the world (see 2 Corinthians 11).

That one true Gospel is concisely proclaimed in the earlier part of this passage:

“…the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to Whom be the glory forever and ever.”

“…Jesus Christ and God the Father, Who raised Him from the dead.”

Jesus died. He died for our sins, in order to deliver us from the present evil age and the wrath of God that is coming upon it. This was all done according to the will of God. God, His Father, raised Him from the dead. Implicit in this passage is the fact that we can be called children of God if we believe in Jesus. The Apostle Paul insists that there is no other Gospel, no other way to be delivered from the present evil age, than to accept and truly believe the news about Jesus.

Many have come after the Apostle Paul claiming a different means of peace with God than Jesus. Some add things to the Gospel. Others claim that Jesus did not really mean what He said, that He did not really die, that He was not really raised from the dead, or even that He did not really exist.

However, although many have claimed to see visions from God or heard directly from angels, none of them are speaking the truth if what they proclaim does not line up with the one true Gospel. Unlike those who came after him, the Apostle Paul was personally sent by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself to testify to the truth, and he did not pull any punches in declaring that "even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed."

The Apostle Paul did not shrink back from the truth of the Gospel, that Jesus, not legalistic obedience to Jewish laws, is our peace with God.

In fact, even when the Apostle Peter (otherwise known as Cephas), who was likewise personally sent by Jesus, failed to consistently uphold that truth, the Apostle Paul confronted him:

Galatians 2:11-21

But when Cephas [Peter] came to Antioch,
I opposed him to his face,
because he stood condemned.

For before certain men came from James,
he was eating with the Gentiles;
but when they came he drew back and separated himself,
fearing the circumcision party.
And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him,
so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

But when I saw that their conduct was not in step
with the truth of the Gospel,

I said to Cephas before them all,

"If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew,
how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;
yet we know that
a person is not justified by works of the Law
but through faith in Jesus Christ,
so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be
justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law,
because by works of the law no one will be justified.

But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ,
we too were found to be sinners,
is Christ then a servant of sin?
Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down,
I prove myself to be a transgressor.

For through the law I died to the law,
so that I might live to God.

I have been crucified with Christ.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me.

And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.

I do not nullify the grace of God,
for if justification were through the Law,
then Christ died for no purpose."

Here, the Apostle Paul declares that "works of the Law" (legalism) cannot justify us in the sight of God. The Apostle Paul argues, "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification were through the Law, then Christ died for no purpose." If it were possible for us to obtain salvation by observing the Law, then Christ Jesus died needlessly, and God was a fool for executing His Son.

The Apostle Paul, prior to meeting Jesus, was a legalistic, committed Jew. He was committed to wiping out believers in Jesus, and he would persecute them and drag them to prison. He knew the Law of God inside and out. But, he didn't realize until after being saved that Jesus is the fulfillment and the end of the Law.

Justification, as the Apostle Paul rightly states, comes not through the Law, but through Christ Jesus. Or to put it another way, peace with God is only found in Jesus, not in obedience to the Jewish Law.

To return now to religion in general, some who have examined the claims of the various religions of the world claim that they are all basically the same. In other words, they claim that the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth are basically compatible with the teachings of other religions and that practicing any religion should amount to the same thing. I’ll not dwell on that argument here, but I will say that the problem with such a perspective is that Jesus Himself disagrees with it, insofar as it applies to having peace with God.

Jesus boldly and categorically declared,

“I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
(John 14:6 b)

Having been asked by one of His disciples what the way to God, the Father, is, Jesus did not mention joining a certain denomination of church or reciting a certain creed. He mentioned Himself. No one has eternal life except in Jesus. No one is in the truth unless he or she is in Jesus. No one comes to God except through His Son, Jesus.

Thus far, we have seen that Jesus' Apostles and He Himself testified that He is unique. In addition, His Father, God, validated Him as well. The following passage demonstrates this:

Matthew 17:1-8

And after six days Jesus took with him
Peter and James, and John his brother,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

And He was transfigured before them,
and His face shone like the sun,
and His clothes became white as light.

And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah,
talking with Him.

And Peter said to Jesus,
“Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

He was still speaking when, behold,
a bright cloud overshadowed them,
and a voice from the cloud said,

“This is My beloved Son,
with Whom I am well pleased;
listen to Him.”

When the disciples heard this,
they fell on their faces and were terrified.

But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
“Rise, and have no fear.”

And when they lifted up their eyes,
they saw no one but Jesus only.

Although Moses and Elijah were great prophets of God, there is no comparison between them and Jesus. To even speak of them in the same category as Jesus, as Peter did, is disrespectful, and when we lift up our eyes toward God, so to speak, Jesus stands alone.

To sum up, let us consider these words of Jesus:

Matthew 7:21-27

“Not everyone who says to Me,
'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but the one who does the will of My Father
who is in heaven.

"On that day many will say to me,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name,
and cast out demons in Your Name,
nd do many mighty works in Your Name?'
And then will I declare to them,
'I never knew you; depart from me,
you workers of lawlessness.'

“Everyone then who hears these words of Mine
and does them will be like a wise man
who built his house on the rock.
And the rain fell, and the floods came,
and the winds blew and beat on that house,
but it did not fall,
because it had been founded on the rock.

"And everyone who hears these words of Mine
and does not do them will be like a foolish man
who built his house on the sand.
And the rain fell, and the floods came,
and the winds blew and beat against that house,
and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

The will of Jesus’ Father is not that we live a perfect life or do many great things in an attempt to earn our own salvation. Rather, God's will is that we believe in and obey His Son.

John 6:28-29

Then they said to Him,
"What must we do, to be doing the works of God?"
Jesus answered them,
"This is the work of God,
that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

John 3:35-36

The Father loves the Son
and has given all things into His hand.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life;
whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life,
but the wrath of God remains on him.

Religion cannot save us; only Jesus can.

But, this may be a surprise: Believing in God cannot save us either.

As we know, some people believe in a subjective sense of God. Some people think that they are God, or that everyone is God. Others believe in multiple Gods or Goddesses. Others think God is a state of mind. Some even misquote and misappropriate Scriptures to ‘prove’ these things.

None of those beliefs matter very much in the final analysis. What is most important is not what we believe about God, but what we believe about His Son. If we believe in Jesus, our thinking about God will be corrected accordingly, since we will come to realize that Jesus is God's Son and that God is holy.

The only eternal life that God has given us is in His Son, Jesus. Jesus alone is our peace with God.

Why? What makes Jesus so special? Why is peace with God found only in Him?

We're finally going to get there with the next parts of this series, Lord willing. See you then.

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All emphases are mine.
All Bible quotes are from the English Standard Version (ESV).
All pronouns for God and the Lord Jesus Christ are Capitalized.

For the previous part of this series, go here.
For the next part of this series, go here.
To go to the beginning of this series, go here.