You’ve seen the bumper sticker: “Know Jesus, Know Peace. No Jesus, No Peace.” Or perhaps you’ve heard some of the songs that extol peace that we have because we’re in his presence or because we know Him or because he’s in our heart, et cetera. The message for non-Christians? Get Jesus, and you’ll have peace.
Is it even true? Not if you’re talking an earthly peace outside of the Christmas event. Nero fed Christians to the lions. Muslims receive the death sentence for converting to Christianity. The pastor’s ability to label certain behaviors as sin has been threatened by legislation or judicial fiat.
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Picture the non-Christian who hears the peace sale and starts going to church. Picture the Christian who has been singing hymns that talk about peace but doesn’t see much peace in his life. How long does one last, looking for the peace that verifies his attending church every week?
The maladies that we face today pale in comparison with the horrible things that await some for eternity. You and I deserve the outer darkness, the weeping and gnashing of teeth, the fiery furnace, and the gathering with the goats. You and I are sinners, and sinners don’t belong in a new creation.
The peace that Christ gives us is not a freedom from want, war, or other earthly troubles. It is the peace in knowing that because of Christ your sins are not accounted to you. The second death of eternal damnation is not meant for you. The sentence we have earned has been abated. God and sinners, reconciled.
There are many people who join a church and clean up their act. A holier life is the gift of the Holy Spirit, brought about by the preaching of the law and the gospel. A new Christian may actually have a more peaceful life, because he has learned to forgive as he was forgiven. Praise God when people bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Yet we do not measure our salvation, our justification before God, by how peaceful or seemingly holy our lives are.
Know that Jesus that bore your sin on the cross, and know that peace that comes from no longer being at war with God since Genesis 3.
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Great post Dan! Luther often comforted people in his correspondence with those physically and spiritually afflicted with John 16:33 – “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” True Peace is nothing less than Christ Jesus Himself, who has overcome the world, so that when it feels like the world has overcome we can turn to the sure and certain promises of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.