GRATITUDE FOR PEACE WITH GOD

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5:1-2

We just celebrated the gems of redemption and justification explained in Romans 3:22-24. Now we find that those gems lead to another bright jewel of grace: peace with God. Peace is listed in the passage on the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. There are actually three aspects of peace: 1) peace with God, 2) the peace of God, and 3) peace with others. In his book The Fruitful Life, Jerry Bridges expounds on peace with God:

The basis of our peace with God is our justification by faith in Jesus Christ. Scripture says, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). This is the point at which all peace begins. We cannot have peace within or peace with other people until we first have peace with God.

The Fruitful Life by Jerry Bridges

Let’s review what it means to be justified. Some explanations are: acquitted, counted as righteous, Jesus’s righteousness imputed to our account. In our book Peace: The Power of God’s Presence, we gave the following explanation:

We are justified through faith. What does that mean? The easiest explanation to remember is that God sees me “Just as if I’d” never sinned. Because of our relationship with Jesus by grace, through faith, we are at peace with God.

Peace: The Power of God’s Presence by Susan Slade and Susie Hale

Because we have been saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39). We have peace with God! And because we have peace with God, the peace of God reigns in us even in the middle of life’s storms. When was the last time you expressed your gratitude to our Father for the gracious gift of being at peace with the all-mighty, all-knowing, all-powerful God!

Father, we are grateful that You chose to adopt us as Your beloved children and grant us peace with You and from you! We can feel peaceful because of our relationship with Jesus. We know that You love us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).

We have two worship opportunities regarding peace with God. The first is “Peace with God” from Stone and Grace:

Worship along with the song “Peace with God” from Morning Dew Music: