Finding
Peace With God "Therefore remember, that you,
once
Gentiles in the flesh--- who are called Uncircumcision by what is called
the Circumcision made in the flesh by
hands--that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the
covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who
once were far
off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is
our peace, who has made both one, and has broke down the middle wall
of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that
is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself
one new man from the two, thus making peace, and
that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross,
thereby
putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to
you who were far off, and to those who were near."
Ephesians 2:11-17
A while back I preached in a Bible Conference
with three men called to preach in the early days of my ministry.
One of the preachers was named Bob Hamblen. He has been a very
effective pastor and evangelist for a number of years. As I prepared
for this message I thought back to the night Bob got saved. I came
to Bob’s house on visitation. He welcomed me into his house and
later I began to witness to him. I asked, "Bob, if you were to die
tonight do you know for sure that God would receive you into His
heaven?" He looked at me with such an intensity I thought I had made
him angry. He then blurted out, "Preacher, I would give anything in
the world if I knew that. At night I lie awake in terror that I will
die unsaved and spend eternity in a burning hell." It was my
privilege to share with him and his wife, Rose, the old story that
"Jesus died for our sins and rose again, able to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by Him." That night Bob and Rose
entered into a relationship of peace with God.
Mankind Began In Peace With God
Molded by God from the dust of the earth and made
alive by the breath of God, man opened his eyes for the first time
in fellowship with God. In the first surgical operation of humanity
God took a rib from Adam’s side and fashioned for him "a completer"
that God called Eve. Together, they lived in a paradise called Eden
and evenings were spent walking and talking with God.
The Peace Between Man and God was Broken by Man
Eve was deceived by the subtle serpent to violate
the one prohibition God had given. Adam loved his wife more than the
God Who had created him and given him his wife. He willfully chose
to join his wife in violating God’s command and thus join his wife
in spiritual death rather than remaining spiritually alive and in
peace with God.
Man turned his back on God and the holy and
righteous God had to turn His back on man. All of man’s posterity
would be born with a nature in rebellion against God and unless
reconciled to God, would live under the wrath of God.
"He who believes in the Son has
everlasting life;
and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the
wrath of God abides on him." John 3:36.
God Made Provision For Mankind To Be Restored To
Peace With God.
A Covering for Adam and Eve
Man’s attempt to make himself acceptable to God
fell short. Adam and Eve made coverings out of leaves. God rejected
those but provided coverings from the skins of animals. These skins
suggested that peace with God would be provided by an innocent
substitute receiving the death penalty for sin in the place of
sinful man.
Abel’s Sacrificial Lamb Accepted
The first two sons of Adam and Eve brought God’s
provision into focus. Cain, the firstborn son, offered to God the
fruit of the ground because he was a tiller of the ground. Abel
offered a lamb because he was a keeper of the flocks. God accepted
Abel’s offering, but rejected Cain’s. Both young men offered what
was convenient, but God sent a message that convenience is not a
factor in man being restored to peace with God. The New Testament
gives this explanation of Abel’s offering. "By faith Abel offered
to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the
witness that he was righteous…" Hebrews 11:4. Since "faith
comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ" (Romans
10:17) we can believe that God had given revelation as to how He
would make it possible for mankind to be restored to peace with Him.
Isaac Spared By A Ram Substitute
God told Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, as a
sacrifice on Mount Moriah. The heavy hearted Abraham was willing
because God had given Isaac to Abraham by a miracle birth and
promised that through Isaac Abraham’s descendents would "become a
great and mighty nation and all the nations of the
earth shall be blessed in him". Genesis 18:18. (See also Hebrews 11:18, 19).
At this point Abraham took the knife in hand. God restrained him and
provided a ram as a substitute. However, the major point is easily
missed. By putting Genesis 24:8 and 14 together the following truth
can be seen "God will provide Himself the lamb (Jesus Christ)…And
Abraham called the name of that place THE LORD WILL PROVIDE as it is
said to this day (the day Moses wrote Genesis) "In the mount of
the LORD it will be provided." In 30 AD Jesus, "the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) was
offered as a sacrifice for the sins of the world on Mt. Moriah.
Jesus was crucified on Golgotha, a northern portion of Mount Moriah.
God’s Covenant With Abraham
God’s covenant (agreement) with Abraham is of
supreme importance because it is the covenant upon which all
following covenants between God and man are based. There are several
aspects of God’s covenant with Abraham, but the most important one
is, "And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Genesis 12:3b. That promise was made more specific after
Abraham’s faith and obedience. "And in your seed (a
particular descendant) all the nations of the earth shall be
blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." Genesis 22:18 (See
also Genesis 26:4 and 28:14). Who was this "seed" through whom all
nations of the earth are blessed. It is the descendant of Abraham
after the flesh and God’s Son by miracle birth. We know Him as Jesus
Christ. Our New Testament makes this abundantly clear. See Acts
3:25, 26; Galatians 3:16-19. What is the blessings that all nations
receive through Him? It is the provision for even the worst of
sinners in every nation to be restored to peace with God through the
sacrifice Jesus made for their sins on the cross.
God’s Covenant With Israel Through Moses
The Mosaic Covenant (agreement) is primarily
composed of the Law, the Priesthood; the Sacrifices; the Tabernacle
(and later, the Temple).
The law reveals 1.) that God is perfectly holy
and just 2.) that man is sinful and totally incapable of saving
himself by fully obeying God’s commands, and 3.) that sinful man
desperately needs a Savior. "Therefore the Law has become our
tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith."
Galatians 3:24
The priesthood and the tabernacle/temple reveal
that an innocent substitute must receive the full condemnation of
the law in the place of the sinner. Only this understanding unlocks
the meaning of the Day of Atonement, the Trespass offering, the Sin
offering, and the morning and evening offering of a lamb. It is even
more clear in the offering of the Passover Lamb which was
incorporated into God’s covenant with Israel through Moses.
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of every
teaching, every symbol and every ritual in God’s covenant with
Israel through Moses. Many Israelites have come to see the truth
down through the centuries and found peace with God. Unfortunately,
even more have not seen this truth yet.
The Prophecies
Josh McDowell’s book, "Evidence That Demands A
Verdict" lists 333 prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus
Christ. Let us briefly consider three events:
The Birth of Christ
"Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a
sign: Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she
will call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14. When Matthew quoted
this in regard to Jesus he pointed out that Immanuel means "God with
us". Matthew 1:23 (See also Isaiah 9:6,7 and Micah 5:2)
The Death of Christ
I would like to quote and comment on the entire
53rd chapter of Isaiah but space does not allow.
Please think deeply on verses 5, 6 for they tell clearly what God
has done to make it possible for man to experience peace with God. "But
He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for
our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and
by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone
astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has
caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." (NASB)
The Resurrection of Christ
King David was inspired to write, "Therefore
my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell
securely. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol; Nor will
You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.. You will show me the
path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right
hand are pleasures forever more." Psalm 16:9-11
Both Peter and Paul quoted these verses in their
public preaching to Israel. They pointed out how Jesus Christ was
the only person in history Who could have fulfilled them because He
rose again before His body saw corruption to live "forever". See
Acts 2:25-36 and Acts 13:33-39.
The Official Introduction Of Jesus
All four gospels tell us that John the Baptist
was chosen by God to officially introduce Jesus Christ. His
introduction is most concisely stated in John 1:29 " …Behold, the
Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world." As a
sacrificial lamb Jesus would receive the punishment for the sins of
the entire world of mankind, past, present and future. This is what
He had been fore ordained to do before the creation of mankind and
was a settled fact in the mind of God. This is the reason God could
turn His face back towards man in all ages and offer even the worst
of sinners forgiveness and salvation. (See 2nd Peter
1:18-20).
The Testimony of Jesus
To one of the respected leaders in Israel named
Nicodemus Jesus said, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:14, 15. Jews and
Gentiles, nice sinners and wicked sinners may all receive eternal
life and peace with God through the sacrifice of Christ on the
cross.
The Resurrected, Living Christ
How important is it to have a resurrected, living
Christ? Paul wrote, "…if Christ has not been raised, then
our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain…we are even found to
be false witnesses of God…your faith is worthless; you are still
in your sins…. (1st Corinthians 15:14-17 NASB). Then he
adds, "But now Christ has been raised from the dead…" Verse 20
The cross is empty because the wrath of the
law’s condemnation has fallen once for all. The tomb is also empty
and we have a resurrected, living Savior able and willing to save
all who come to God by him. Those who trust Him by faith to save
them can claim Romans 5:1 "Therefore having been justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Copyright © 2002 Thomas E Berry
All Scriptures quoted from NKJV unless otherwise noted
Copyright © 2008 Truth Helpers Inc.
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