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.