Peace (Part 1 of 2)

The Bible promises believers peace and yet love.

Life often feels frustrating and chaotic. How can we experience the peace God has promised? Today on Truth for Life, Alistair Begg gives biblical answers to key questions about peace as we continue our study in Galatians 5. As we've been seeing, the fruit that is mentioned here in Galatians 5 is not something that is attached externally, like ornaments may be attached to a Christmas tree, or the way in which a flag may be externally attached to a flagpole, but rather this fruit is exactly that fruit, that it grows internally, that it is a product that is spiritual. And the Lord Jesus explained to his disciples when he was with them that they would be recognized not by a particular form of dress or even by a particular way of speaking, but rather that they would be identifiable in terms of their fruit. And we have been noticing already that this fruit is singular, it is not plural, the fruit of the Spirit is, and these aspects are produced together, unlike the gifts of the Spirit, which are given variously. And the obvious implication in studying this—and it is quite a challenge—is that if Jesus Christ lives in us, then there will be fruit to prove it.

And that fruit is not produced by commandment, nor is it produced by law, but it is produced by life. With that said, I want to attempt to answer four simple questions in relationship to our subject this morning, namely, peace. First of all, what is it? Secondly, why is it needed? Thirdly, where is it found?

And finally, how is it discovered? So, first of all, then, and briefly, what is it? At the bottom line, it is the peace that comes from knowing that my account with God has been settled, that my debt has been canceled, and that my account, as it were, is in a favorable balance on account of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. Now, this peace is not simply the absence of something. It's not simply the absence of turmoil or the absence of conflict.

Rather, it is that, but it is also the presence of everything that is necessary for the wellness, for the well-being, and for the good of the individual. So, for example, in the Aaronic blessing, which we sometimes use as a benediction, you remember how it progresses. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you and give you his shalom. And that shalom, the reality of that peace, cannot be discovered absent the light of his countenance and the blessing of his grace and of his goodness.

You remember that it was this shalom which formed the song of the angels when the shepherds, hearing the sound in the skies, realized that they were singing, Shalom, glory to God in the highest, and on earth, Shalom, peace towards those upon whom his favor rests. So, what is it? It is this.

It is also, if you like, threefold. It is, as I've said, first of all, peace with God. It is also peace with others. You remember when Paul writes to the church at Rome, he says, If it is possible, as far as it depends upon you, live at peace with everyone. And it also is peace within. So, peace with God, peace with others, peace within. What is it? It's this.

And secondly, why is it needed? Now, that might seem as—the answer to that may seem as obvious as the nose on our faces. After all, our world is demonstrably lacking in peace. Our world today is a world in which conflict and chaos, if they don't reign, they certainly are present at every turn.

A reading of history lets us know that it has been this way from the beginning. Cain and Abel, when sin enters into the world, are immediately at war with one another. Siblings are at war. Parents and children are at war.

Husbands and wives are at war. And if you read the history of Europe, even over the last three hundred years, Europe itself has been an arena of almost constant conflict. In fact, the changing map of Europe, both Eastern and Western, is fascinating even in some of our lifetimes. And that map and the geographical boundaries of nations is in part tied to the issue of conflict. Since the sixteenth century, it is estimated that there have been eight thousand known peace treaties signed. They were signed with the intention that the peace would last forever.

We're told that by and large, most of them lasted little more than two years. And this international conflict is reflected, as I say, in the interpersonal relationships. Just if I bleed into this evening for a moment, I can't stop myself, because as I was working on this during the week, I said to myself, I wonder what there is about stress. Stress is a very sort of trendy word. You're stressing me out, or don't stress me. And as I said, I don't think stress, in terms of its background, etymologically, is about that. So I got my Oxford English Dictionary to prove that I was right, and I was right, which I always liked that.

My wife, she loves that when I'm right as well. She said I could have told you that before you looked it up. But anyway, then I discovered that stress actually, as is used in contemporary vocabulary and as a part of our human existence at this point in history, is a relatively new usage of the word. It came about as a result of a research paper written by a Hungarian doctor that had to do with psychology and endocrinology and all manner of chronologies, and I read a little bit of it enough just to get myself off to sleep. But the fact is that ever since then, stress is front page. Now, we're here because we ask the question, Why is it needed?

Why is it needed? Well, the Bible gives the answer, and it does it categorically. It says, A, B, C, that we are A, by nature, alienated from God, B, we are in bondage to our own sinful desires, and C, we are in conflict not only with God and with others but also with ourselves. It also says that the wicked cannot know peace. So by nature we are sinful, we are wicked, and therefore it is impossible for us to know peace. This is, in fact, what the prophet says. The wicked—this is Isaiah. The wicked are like the tossing sea, for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt. It's a graphic picture, isn't it?

The idea of this constant moving of the tides, churning things up. You see it internationally. You see it interpersonally. Let's be honest, you see it in your own heart, don't you?

Some of you are here today. The reason you've begun to attend church, the reason you've begun to come around these things, is because you know in your heart of hearts that you have not been able to find a satisfying peace, something that will deal with your conscience, something that will deal with your death, something that will deal with the difficulties and the vicissitudes of life as they confront you. You've come to a good place, because the great need is the need that the Bible confronts us with—namely, the need of peace with God.

Thirdly, where, then, is it found? If our great need is peace with God, where is this peace with God to be found? In short order, in God, in himself, that he is the God of all peace. In other words, peace is not, as we read our Bibles, found in a program or in a philosophy, but in a person.

In fact, Jesus, as he's getting ready to take his leave of his disciples—and John records this for us so very, very well, beginning, you know, in chapter 14 and proceeding from there all the way through 16—you remember, in chapter 14, it begins, Let not your hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe also in me. And Jesus says on that occasion, I've said these things to you, that in me you might have peace. That in me you might have peace.

Now let's just think about that for a moment. He doesn't say, In my ideas you might have peace. In obedience to the commands of God you might have peace. But in me you might have peace.

In other words, he says, What to the best of my knowledge no one else has been prepared to say, and rightly so. You don't find it in comparative religions. These religions may prepare to say, We can help you with carnal karma. We have a philosophy here. We have an idea. We have a concept, a construct, if you will embrace this, if you will apply it to your life, if you will sit here quietly, and so on.

There are all kinds of opportunities. But here, standing on the stage of human history, is a Galilean carpenter, Jesus from Nazareth, and he gathers his disciples around him, and he says, Listen, fellas, in me I've told you all this stuff so that in me you might have peace. In other words, the peace is in Christ. Therefore, if I am outside of Christ, there's no peace.

I need to be in him, and he in turn needs to be in me. Now, that's why, incidentally, I read from Colossians chapter 1, because if you think about it, you say to yourself, Well, on what basis, you know, does this carpenter from Nazareth say, you know, in me you might have peace? Well, then we need to figure out who this carpenter from Nazareth actually is. When I was at the Jewish synagogue during the week, I mean, we spent the majority of our time—I was invited there by the rabbi, as you know—and we spent the majority of our time just asking the question, Who is Jesus of Nazareth? Is he the person he claimed to be? And here Paul says of Jesus, he is the image of the invisible God, he's the firstborn of all creation.

Listen to this. For by him all things were created, he's before all things, in him all things hold together, he's the head of the church, he's the firstborn from the dead, in him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood shed on the cross. It is this person who says, In me you might have peace. Now, as I say, this peace is far more than simply the absence of warfare.

It's talking here about a peace that is more than simply an inner well-being. It's talking about that which is not simply the calming of our troubled spirits, but it is that which is three things. Number one, essential. Number two, spiritual. And number three, eternal. Essential, spiritual, eternal. You see, the Bible, like a good physician, examines us and gives an honest diagnosis. A good physician will give a straightforward diagnosis.

They may do so gently and kindly, but they must, if they are true to their oath, tell us the truth. It's not always easy to take, but it is always essential. So when I read my Bible and I come to the Bible and I say to myself, I wonder why it is that my life is like just a walking rock-and-roll show. Why is it that I go one step forward and two steps back?

Why is it that despite all of my endeavors to try and fix myself and cure myself, I'm still like this great tossing ocean, throwing up this and throwing up that? And then I turn to the Bible, and this is what it says. It says the reason you are that way is because you are at enmity with God. You are alienated from the God who made you for a relationship with himself. So both by your rebellion and by the extension of his righteous wrath, you're enemies. And there is no peace as long as that conflict remains.

So the Bible speaks so clearly about it. The answer to that, as we're going to finally see, is mitigated by the notions that exist in our humanism, in our humanity, in our self-assertiveness. My colleagues, my children actually, just about everybody is pretty well tired of my lyrics from the sixties. But they're the only ones I really have. I will be happy to be convinced that there are better lyrics when you read them to me, and I will use them.

So far, you're not doing a very good job. But you see, when the Bible says what it says and shines—and, you know, they take the image, the X-ray image, and they put it up on that screen, and they point it to you. They say, Look, if you see this, and you can see this and this.

You're like, Oh dear, oh dear. And now, the answer, when the spiritual MRI goes up, of so much of humanity is, in the words of the Beatles, Hey, we can work it out. We can work it out. Think of what I'm saying.

Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on? We can work it out. But we can't.

So it's a red-letter day when we close that track and we open up a different track, which starts, Help! I need somebody! Help! Not just anybody! Help! You know, I need someone!

Help! Now, let me ask you, have you ever cried help to God in that way? I'm not asking you if you decided to rearrange the external elements of your life, sticking them on the artificial Christmas tree of your life. No, I'm asking what the Bible asks. Have you ever, like blind Bartimaeus, cried out, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me?

Because I am alienated, I'm in bondage to my sinful self, and I'm in conflict with others and with myself. You see, on that day you will discover what an amazing God it is with whom we are in conflict. Because this God is the God who seeks out those who are his enemies. This God is the God who extends grace to those who say, I don't want anything to do with him. This is the God who pursues the least and the last and the rebellious. It is this God. Because in Jesus he bore the penalty that our sins deserve in order that we might enjoy the peace that he provides. This is how the prophet puts it. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace.

And with his stripes we are healed. You see, this shalom is essential for all. The real issue is the real issue for you and for me, because by nature we haven't known the way of peace. Now, as I stop, let me do two things. First of all, let me disavow the notion, which is a prevalent notion—and often people will say this at the end of a conversation, say, Well, that was very interesting talking with you. But we'll all be dead one day, and what will it really matter?

Well, it's gonna really, really matter. Because we're gonna face the God who has come to pursue us in the prince of peace. If we have rejected the peace that that God offers in time, on what basis do we believe that it will be granted to us in eternity?

The idea that in eternity all bets are off makes a nonsense of the entire Bible and essentially of the death of Jesus upon the cross. So don't think, if you're agnostic and wondering, to sneak out, as it were, intellectually, under the cover of your death. Finally, if it is to be discovered, how is it to be discovered? Well, it's to be discovered in a person, as we said. It's to be discovered in the person who is described in Isaiah 9 as the prince of peace. And it is to be discovered in coming and receiving from him all that he has made available to us by his death on the cross.

That's Colossians 1 again, as we read it, in verse 21. Having started in the sixties, I'll finish in the sixties. Because the songs of the sixties, it seems to me, represent unfulfilled longings and a whole ton of unanswered questions—classically, in the moody blues, questions.

Why do we never get an answer when we're knocking at the door with a thousand million questions about hate and death and war? That's how the song begins. Do you remember the refrain, how it goes from that hard-driving guitar music and then goes into a tranquil peace?

What does he then sing? I'm looking for someone to change my life. I'm looking for a miracle in my life. Well, I've got good news for the person who has the unfulfilled longing for peace, who has the unanswered questions about death and life and destiny and hope. That is all answered in and through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is the enjoyed reality of those who will come to him, to him who is the prince of peace, who will lay down the arms of our rebellion, who will admit that our intelligence and our materialism has not provided what we've hoped for, and who will say, Help, I need somebody.

Not just anybody. Help. I need you, Lord Jesus. And from all I can tell from reading the Bible, every time someone comes to Jesus in that way, they never go away disappointed.

And neither will you. You're listening to Alistair Begg on Truth for Life. We'll hear more about peace tomorrow. Well, as you've likely heard me say, this month we are celebrating 30 years of ministry at Truth for Life, and we've been receiving some encouraging congratulatory comments from some of our friends. Hello, this is Josh Moody, and I bring greetings to Alistair and the whole Truth for Life ministry. I want to say thank you so much, Alistair, and I'm so grateful for you, the example you are to many of us, and I praise God for the way he's used you and Truth for Life over all these 30 years.

Thank you, Josh. And you know, from the very beginning, our mission at Truth for Life has been to teach the Bible with clarity and relevance. As Alistair often says, we have one string to our bow, and by God's grace, he's kept us steadfast and faithful to our calling. Our ministry has always been upheld by your prayers and your financial support, so if you are one of our truth partners, thank you for your commitment to see the gospel proclaimed far and wide through the Bible teaching of Truth for Life. Your investment makes it possible for many others to hear about Jesus. If you're not yet a truth partner, our 30th anniversary is the perfect time to sign up and become an important part of what God has in store for the next 30 years. You can become a truth partner easily.

Go to truthforlife.org slash truth partner, or call us at 888-588-7884. And whether you become a truth partner today or give a one-time donation, we want to say thank you by inviting you to request a copy of the book, The Character of Christ, The Fruit of the Spirit in the Life of Our Savior. This book is a helpful supplement to our current study on the fruit of the spirit. You'll learn how Jesus displayed the attributes of the fruit perfectly and how the spirit is working in each of us to nurture this same character. Thanks for listening. Tomorrow we'll learn how to fight back against things that disrupt our peace. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life, where the Learning is for Living.