In today’s spiritually invigorating session, we ponder the journey of finding peace in a restless world. Tune in as Charles Stanley shares powerful messages from the book of Romans on how real peace is not an achievement but a gift from God. Learn the significance of justification by faith and discover how surrendering at the cross can bridge the gap between human sin and divine grace. This podcast episode is not just a message; it’s an invitation to experience the freedom and reconciliation Jesus Christ offers.
Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Wednesday, December 3rd. Do you feel like your mind never stops racing? If anxiety has left you tired and worn out, stay with us to discover how to experience the kind of true peace that only comes from God.
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Everyone desires peace in their life. And peace, according to the scripture, turns three different ways. There is peace with God. there’s peace within ourselves, and then there’s peace with other people. And oftentimes we want peace within ourselves and peace with others, but sometimes we think that all of that is manageable and all of that can be acquired without making peace with God. But that is absolutely impossible. Because you see, in order to have real, genuine peace within, there must be peace with God. And there are many people who appear to be peaceful, but when they lie down at night… They take the covers off their heart and they look inside. There is consternation and conflict and oftentimes hostility. What does the Bible say when the Bible speaks of peace with God? And let me ask you this. Has there ever been a time in your life where you made a definite decision to make peace with God? If you expect to have eternal life, you must make peace with God. Without making peace with God, you will be eternally separated from Him. So that’s why it’s so very important you understand how to have peace with God. So I want you to turn, if you will, to Romans chapter 5. Paul, in these first four chapters of Romans, has been talking about the sinful condition of man, that man is hopeless and helplessly lost and separated from God, apart from God. Then he says, beginning in verse one of chapter five, therefore, that is based on everything he said before, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand and we exalt in hope of the glory of God. Look at verse 1. Therefore, having been justified by faith, he says we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, when we talk about making peace, We have to acknowledge the fact that there’s something that happened somewhere back yonder, out yonder, here, there, somewhere, that we don’t have that peace. And when you and I came into the world, we came into the world with a sinful nature. And that sinful nature caused you and me to commit all kinds of acts of sin and disobedience, transgressing the law of God. And it wasn’t very long when you and I came along that we realized there’s something between God and ourselves. We started feeling guilty about things. And somebody told us this is right and that’s wrong. And before we knew anything about the Bible at all, we had an idea that some things were wrong and some things were right. And some things made us feel bad, made us feel guilty. Well, when you and I look at the problem here, the problem is simply this. There is a barrier between God and man. Now, here’s the problem. On the one hand, we have God. The Bible says that He is eternal, that He is the only God, that He is a God of righteousness and holiness, that He is a God of justice, He is a God of mercy and love. He created us to love us, and He created us in order to be loved in return. God has a plan and a purpose. He’s the sovereign of the universe. He is in absolute control of all things. He’s the creator of all things, and He’s the ruler over all things. This wonderful God of mercy who looks towards sinful man, and all of His desires are to so work in a man’s heart and a woman’s heart that they will indeed want the best for their life, which is what God has to offer, and that they will accept the best which God has to offer, and that in turn that person will be made like God. That is that their character will begin to express the character of God. So here we have this holy, righteous, perfect God on the one hand, who desires to have peace with man. But on the other hand over here, we have mankind. And so what is the character of mankind? The Bible says that first of all, we’re sinners. We’re sinful by nature. We have a sinful nature. We came into the world with it. We inherited it all the way back from Adam. And so having a sinful nature, what happens? We rebel against God. We transgress the law of God. We are indifferent toward God. Many people deny the very existence of God, and others doubt God. By our nature, our very condition is that we are separated from God, hostile toward God, oftentimes angry with God, separated from God, and have no hope in this world. So the question is, how does this righteous, holy God over here, in all of His righteousness and holiness and justice and goodness and purity, make peace with this rebel over here who is indifferent, unbelieving, self-centered, selfish, egotistical, prideful, and sees no need for God? How in the world can it happen? Well, you can see immediately there is a barrier. We come into this world with a nature bent away from God and sinful. That’s our character. That’s our nature. We’re not talking about behavior and conduct. We’re talking about nature. We have a sinful nature. We do what comes naturally. And that is, we do those things that are selfish. Those things that cause us to do as a result of being self-centered. So that our whole attitude is selfish. Things that bring us pleasure, things that bring us satisfaction. We’re looking out for number one, and so what happens? We have a bent not toward God, but away from God. That doesn’t mean that a person can’t have a change of life early in life, but our very nature is sinful. Now, There is no human way for a sinful man in his sinful nature to make peace with God on his own. It absolutely cannot be done. I want you to turn to three passages of Scripture in Isaiah, beginning with Isaiah chapter 48. It’s interesting that Isaiah says this three times in rather a quick order here. First of all, chapter 48 and the 22nd verse. Last verse of the chapter, he says… There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord. He didn’t say they may get some. He says there’s no peace for the wicked. Look in chapter 59 and verse 8. Listen to what he says again. First of all, he says there’s no peace for the wicked. Verse 8 of 59 says they do not know the way of peace. And there is no justice in their tracks. They’ve made their paths crooked. Whoever treads on them does not know peace. They don’t know anything about peace. That is, the unbeliever does not know peace. Now go back, if you will, to the 57th chapter and look at this verse because this is a real, genuine, accurate description of the unbeliever. Listen to what he says in verse 20. But the wicked or the unbeliever are like the tossing sea, for it cannot be quiet. The waves are always coming, crashing, and its waters toss up refuse and mud or sand and so forth. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.” That is, the heart of the unbeliever is continuously tumultuous. The heart of the unbeliever is continuously in a state of attempting to quieten that inner spirit. You see, peace is not only a binding together, but it is a state of calmness and quietness on the inside. It is the cessation of hostility. But it is more than that. Peace is an inner quietness. and security that God gives to those who are His children. And you see, before I ever get to heaven, I have to make peace with this God because my sinful nature has made me an enemy of God. You say, well, I’m not an enemy of God. He says, we’re either for Him or against Him. If I don’t believe Him and if I don’t trust Him and if I don’t follow Him, I’m an enemy of His. He says, there is enmity between us. We’re separated from Him, hopeless in this world and without God in this world. How does God put these two together? Well, back to Romans chapter 5 and look, if you will, in this first and second verse here. Here’s what he says. And I want you to notice something here. And that is that the pathway of peace is certainly not paved at all with the initiative of man. Because I think, well, look, if you will, while you’re holding the fifth chapter, look back, if you will, the third chapter of Romans and listen to what he says. This chapter talks about the condition of man, that there is none who seek after God, none who are good. And he says, not even one. Then verse 17 says, and the path of peace have they not known? Those who are sinners, those who are living ungodly lives, those who are without Christ, he says the path of peace they have not known. Now, let me just drop this in at this point. Here’s the issue. Remember we said it’s conditioned. Now remember this, that peace with God is not a reward, it is a gift. In other words, we don’t get peace with God for something that we did. We’re not rewarded with peace with God. It is a gift, not a reward. Secondly, listen to this, it is an effect, not an effort. It is a gift, something He gives, not something we’re rewarded for. Secondly, it is an effect. Something happens that affects us, that makes peace with God, not effort on our part. It is the reestablishing of a relationship that is broken. So every single person who is right with God has been brought back into a peaceful relationship with Him. Does that mean that you and I are never sent again? No. Does it mean that there’s never any conflict between us? No. Because even after we’re saved, we can have conflict with God. We can lose the peace of God, but we can never lose peace with God. And the reason I want to say that is because I want to show you how very important this is. Peace with God says that God has bound himself together with me. It does not say that I have bound myself together with him. God Almighty always, without exception, takes the initiative in this whole matter of peacemaking. Not a single one of us could be at peace with God if God had not, first of all, reached down from heaven and convicted you and me of our sinfulness and revealed enough truth to us to make us understand that Christ and Christ only is the way of salvation. And so therefore… It is not a reward for something we do. It is a gift. It is not an effort on our part. It is the effect of something that God does. Now, the question is, what is that effect? Romans chapter 5, verse 1. Therefore, being, listen, therefore, being justified by faith, we have, present tense, now, peace with God. Here’s what justification means. First of all, it is the work of God. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Justification means simply this. Here’s what God says. We stand in the judgment in the courtroom of God. And God says to you and to me, you are guilty of sin. You have a sinful nature. You’ve been declared guilty because you are guilty and you’ve committed guilty acts. I declare you acquitted of all of your guilt, acquitted of all of your wrongdoing, acquitted of all of your sin. You are no longer guilty. And not only that, I bestow upon you the gift of righteousness. Now you are in a right relationship with me, God says. You have been given the gift of righteousness. Not only have you been acquitted of all your sin, you’ve been forgiven of all sin, past, present, future, and you now have the gift of righteousness. You are a righteous man, a righteous woman. You are now one of my children and And you are declared righteous in my sight, no longer guilty. Well, how in the world could God now, who in all of his righteousness and holiness, say to sinful man, in all of his rebellion toward God, no longer guilty? Not only that, but I’m making you righteous. I am today giving you, I’m bringing you back into a right relationship with me. I’m reconciling you to myself. God is the one who justifies man. How does he do it? God, seeing the helpless condition of mankind, sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth. And what did He do with Him? He placed upon Him all of the sin of all men and women, young people, children, for all mankind, past, present, and future, at one moment at the cross. At the cross, he condemned all sin. At the cross, he judged all sin. At the cross, all the wrath of God that was due all mankind was pinpointed upon Jesus Christ, and he received it all, and Jesus bore the penalty for this sinful man’s condition, all of his sinful condition, no matter what that condition was, it was a condition of being alienated, separated, hostile, toward Almighty God, and he says the son bore the penalty. Therefore, this holy righteous God could say to this sinful man, your sins have been dealt with. Now, you have the privilege of no longer being guilty. You have the privilege of no longer being guilty, freed from your guilt, freed from the power of sin in your life, You can now be a free man or woman. And not only that, I declare you now righteous. I declare you in a right relationship with me. The hostility and the war and the conflict is over. And now we become one. God affects it all. Now what is man’s response? While God is the one who initiated it all, man does have a response. What is man’s part? Sinful rebel. Convicted. You see, it will never happen. You will never have peace with God until, first of all, you recognize that you have sinned against God. You are helplessly and hopelessly separated from Him. And no amount of good conduct can ever change your nature. And you see, this holy God, the Bible says, He can’t even look upon sin. He says, in him there is no darkness at all. And darkness in the scripture is a description of the condition of a man’s heart. Dark, walking in sin and disobedience to God. This pure, holy God, and the Bible says he is both truth and light, cannot have fellowship with darkness and rebellion. It cannot be, my friend. Listen. It can’t be. It doesn’t make any difference how good you try to be. Till the sinful condition of your heart is radically changed. Until you are born again with the Spirit of God. Until God gives you a new heart and a new spirit. You’re lost. Separated from Him no matter what you do. There is no peace between you and God. So what does man do? First of all, he hears the Word of God. And for the first time he sees, God says that I am a sinner. God says that I’m a rebel. We don’t usually like that. If you walked up to one of your lost friends and said, do you realize what God says about you? What’s that? He says, you’re a rebel. You are alienated. You are separated. If you went down that long list, he’d probably pop you one. Because he would be insulted. But the truth is, that is what every single living human being is until they are radically revolutionized by the grace of God through the death of Jesus Christ at Calvary. When he died, he bore my sins. So what is my responsibility? I look to Holy God and realize I am helpless and hopelessly lost. And I say to Him, Father, I do believe the testimony of Your Word. That I have sinned against You. I have lived independent of You. And I have wanted my way and not Your way. I acknowledge my sinfulness. I do believe that Jesus Christ died at the cross. I do believe that He died for my sin. I do believe that He bore my penalty. I accept You, Father. As my Heavenly Father, I receive Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. I do believe that through the cross, listen to this, that by the way of the cross, sinful man is able. To touch God. Why? Because God through the cross bridges the gap and sinful man and holy God come together through the cross of Jesus Christ. Listen to me. Every single thing in the Christian’s life will all finally ultimately go back to the cross. Without the cross, we don’t have anything. The only way anyone can make peace with God is by accepting His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as their personal Savior. And that’s why Jesus said… Listen, Jesus didn’t say this to make things narrow, just for the sake of making them narrow. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. Now watch this. Here’s the problem. Remember. His righteous, holy God, sinful, rebel, alienated, hostile man, Jesus says… There’s only one way to get these two together. And Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. And what’s the way? Here’s the way. He says, it’s the way of the cross. God takes all the initiative. Man is a responder. You see, that’s why we said it’s not a reward, but it’s a gift. It is the gift of forgiveness. It is the gift of a right relationship. It is the gift of peace. It is not the effort of man. It is the response of man. What is man doing? Man is saying, yes, God. I do believe what you said. Yes, Father. Yes, I do surrender. Now, here’s the whole issue. If sinful man and holy God are to come together in peace, and a man or a woman is able to have a relationship with God whereby they know that they go into heaven when they die, that they can walk with Him daily in their life, the only way for that to happen is for God the Father and that person to meet in the person of Jesus Christ. It is the gift of Christ. And that’s why we say that there is only one way, not because we are Baptists or Methodists or Presbyterian or anything else. It is because that’s what God says. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and through none other. There is no other way. It is the blood of Jesus Christ that makes the peace. It’s my surrender in faith. That makes that peace offered by him a reality in my heart. My friend, if there’s no surrender, there will be no peace. Because remember, we’re talking about a war. There is a war going on in the heart of multitudes of people between them and God. And my friend, the only way you’re going to have peace with God is throw up the white flag of surrender in your heart and tell him, yes, I am a sinner. I’ve sinned against you and I’m hopelessly and helplessly lost. I need you, God. He loves to see the white flag of surrender. You know why? Because he knows that isn’t slavery. That is the beginning of freedom at its very, very best.
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Thank you for listening to today’s podcast titled Peace with God. If you’d like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
