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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/byrne-foreshew/peace-with-god/
I want to read with you this evening from the book of Romans and chapter 5. The book of Romans and chapter 5. We do appreciate each one that has taken the opportunity to be with us this evening. And if you would not normally attend a gospel meeting, or maybe this is something very new to you, we thank you for taking the time out of your day to come.
And we trust that this time together around the Word of God will help you understand what God, through His grace and through His love, has done for you. I'm going to read in the book of Romans and chapter 5.
Verse 1, Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Down to verse 6,. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God commended, or God has shown, God has made known, His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than now being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. I want to read one more verse with you in the New Testament again in 1 John.
That's near the end of your Bible. 1 John and chapter 1. 1 John chapter 1. Go to the book of Revelation and work backwards. You'll come to it quick. 1 John chapter 1 and verse 7. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.
And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. We trust that God will bless this word to your heart this evening, that you might come to an understanding that when Christ died, He died for my sins.
I want to think about these verses that we have in the book of Romans in chapter 5 with you for a few minutes this evening and tie in the beautiful truth of 1 John chapter 1 and verse 7. When we come to Romans chapter 5 and verse 1, we read these words, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Some interesting words in that verse. Words maybe you don't understand. Words that we don't use a lot today, but they are used some and they are relevant. Therefore being justified. It's an interesting word.
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. You notice that this verse talks to us about peace. Did you read your newspaper today? Did you listen to the news?
I have no doubt in my mind that somewhere in that newscast, you came across this word. Peace. It's something the world is going after in great momentum and great energy. They are forming committees and they are having meetings and they are bringing together leaders and they are trying to organize nations and they are trying to establish peace.
Oh to have it. Oh to have some kind of quietness and ease of life. That the sound of the roaring of the guns would be silent. And that the fighting between nations would cease. Oh to have peace. Job said you will never have peace until you acquaint yourself with God.
You cannot extract God from the formula. You cannot say there is no God. You cannot say that as far as God is concerned, I want nothing to do with Him. Expect to have peace. God is a God of peace. And it's only God alone that can establish peace.
Now I'm not worried about the nations tonight. I'm not here to talk about that. This isn't a political talk. This is a spiritual understanding of your soul in relation to God. How that you can have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I want to ask you tonight, do you have peace? Do you have it? I'm not talking, I didn't ask if you had some kind of theology. I'm not talking about some kind of philosophy. I'm not talking about a series of programs and courses you went to and you finally come to the end and they give you a big check mark and now you're alright with God.
I'm not talking about that. I'm not even talking about a system, a belief system as far as a church goes. I want to know tonight in your soul, do you know what it is to have peace with God? Do you know what it means to have absolutely no wrath of God against you because of sin, it's all gone?
Do you have that? Are you living in fear of that? Or maybe, maybe you're living every day trying to get rid of that. Therefore being justified by faith we have peace. It's possible. Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
It's interesting that linked with peace we have this word justified. That's a legal term. That's a term that would bring to our minds a number of things. Justified would tell me that there was something committed, there was something whereby someone needed to be declared as right.
Because that's what the word means. To be declared right. To be made right with God in this sense. Then if this word means to be declared right, that must mean that someone did something wrong. This word brings to our mind a sense of offense, a sense of guilt, a sense of here was a standard, here was a law, here was something that was to be obeyed and there was a breaking of that law, an act of disobedience.
Spell it as you will, it's called sin. And if we were just to turn back the page in your Bible, in fact turn back a couple pages and start at Romans chapter 1 and go through chapter 1 and chapter 2 and chapter 3.
And you're going to find out what this offense is. For all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God. There is that in our being by nature, there is that which we communicate in our words, we do with our actions, we think in our mind and our thoughts, and it's sin against God.
We have offended God. There is a standard of holiness that God has set. And there is no capability or capacity in any person to attain to that holy standard. We have all sinned before God. I know that's a difficult thing to accept.
But I'm not here to tell you that tonight. I'm here to tell you what God says. And God says that all have sinned. We have not been able to attain to the holy standard that God has set. And not only have we not been able to attain it, but there is a parameter that He has set and we have transgressed, we've gone beyond His law.
We've broken His law. We've offended Him. We've sinned against God. We've disobeyed. Now that might be news tonight. Do you really grasp that? Because we live in a society that says that's not sin. That's called freedom of expression.
That's not sin. That's my right. That's not sin. That's called an alternate lifestyle. No, it's sin. And God says it's sin. And it's wrong. You and I have all sinned against God. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
And God says that the wages of sin is death. There is God in all His righteousness, in all His purity, in all His holiness. Do you accept that tonight? When it comes to sin, God says that you and I are guilty.
Do you believe that? Would you be willing to accept that? That you're guilty before God? God has declared it. Guilty. Condemned. John tells us about coming into relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and receiving Him as a personal Savior, receiving forgiveness through Him.
When a person receives and believes the Lord Jesus Christ, it says that they have life. They have eternal life. Because the book of Ephesians 2 tells us that we're dead in trespasses and in sins. But when we read about, as John tells us, he says that there it is, you can have life through faith in Christ, but those that choose not to receive Christ, it says they shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth upon them.
So we have God's wrath against sin committed. We have God's judgment against laws broken. We have God who has been offended. You and I. Guilty before God. In a place of condemnation. In a place of the condemned.
What does it say? Therefore being justified. What does that mean? Just very simply. We could go into great explanation, but to be made right with God by God. To be made right with God on the ground that God establishes.
To be made right. You know, Job asked this question again. In the book of Job, chapter 25, he says, there are rights. Is it possible? Can a person? Can a man? Can a woman? Be made right? Be made right with God?
Is it possible? It tells us that we are not right with God. The question is, can we be made right with God? This verse tells us that yes we can. Therefore being made right with God, we have peace. You know, something that we do a lot.
Well, I shouldn't say we. I do a lot. You always try and justify yourself, don't you? You know, you're called up on a certain activity or an action or whatever it may be. Maybe it's at work. Maybe it's in school.
Maybe it's on the side of the road with those red lights flashing in your rear view mirror, and you begin to justify your situation. But, but, but, but. You might be able to talk your way out of those things.
But we begin to justify our position. We begin to say why we are right. You know, people do the same with God. God says that we have sinned. God says that we're guilty of breaking His law. We can't measure up.
And His judgment has passed upon us. And we're guilty, and yet, and yet we begin to justify ourselves. We say, well, wait, wait, God, wait. Do you really know me? Don't ask God that. He knows you better than you know Him.
But you begin to present yourself to God, and you say, well, well, I'm a good person. Look what I do. Well, God says that's fine. You know, if you were driving down the street, and you went through a green light.
Well, you say, what's wrong with that? Nothing. That's fine. That's good. And then you went through another green light. Well, that's good, too. And then you went through a red light. And you got pulled over.
And the officer says, excuse me, I just witnessed that you went through a red light. Oh, well, well, you know, you know, I could, but I went through two green ones. Didn't you see me do that? He's not interested in how many green ones you went through.
He's interested in the red ones. Because that's a broken law. And you know what? You might be a good person, and you might be presenting to God all your good works. God's not interested in that. He's interested in what you've committed against Him.
The law is broken. And by the way, just to clarify that, all the good works that you think that you're presenting to God to justify your position, in the book of Isaiah in chapter 64, he says, there is filthy rags, too.
So even all the good things that you've packaged together, and you've justified yourself before God, and you've went to church, and you've told God that, and you've been a good neighbor, and you've told God that, and you're on the membership list of the community people that do good things, and you've told God that, God's not interested in that.
God's not interested in you justifying yourself before Him. He's not interested. Why? Why? God already knows that you're guilty. And God has already placed that upon you. You're under God's judgment. Who placed that?
God. Why? Who have we sinned against? God. And it's only God that could ever extend to you a pardon. It's only God. It's only God that can ever extend to you forgiveness. God's not asking you to bring anything.
Notice what it says here. We could have read in as we read down here in Romans 5. We read it here in v. 6 and in v. 9. It says that we are justified. We are made right with God by faith. Now that goes along with what we have in Ephesians 2.
You may not be familiar with that. But let me tell you what it says. Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9. For by grace are ye saved, saved from the judgment of God against your sin. For by grace are ye saved through faith.
And that not of yourselves, it's a gift from God. It's not of works, lest any person should boast. So here we have an acceptance. Here we have being protected and saved from the wrath of God against sin that we have committed and that we are sinners.
And it's through faith. It's not by works. You know it's an interesting thing. We could go to the book of Galatians and even turn back to chapter 3 of Romans. And we could find there about people who were trying to keep the law of God to justify themselves as good people towards God to gain some kind of acceptance.
Well if that's the case, then why did Christ die? Why does it say here? Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God. You see, this peace comes about when that which offends God is gone.
You see, our sin has put us in a separated place from God. That's Isaiah chapter 59. Your sins have separated between you and your God. And it's placed us at a distance. Galatians chapter 1 tells us that we are enemies.
Alienated from God. Separated from God by sin. Not at peace with God. Enemies. Now God. God is not your enemy. No, no, let's make that clear. God is not your enemy. We in our wicked works and our sin, we are enemies of God.
But God is not your enemy. In fact, we read that it's God who justifies. It's God who wants to make you right with Him. It's God that wants to do that. That's not the work of an enemy. Are these the words of an enemy?
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Are those the words of an enemy? Let us look again. Are these the words of an enemy?
For when we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Are these the words of an enemy? Verse 8,. But God manifested, made known His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Are those the words of an enemy? No, those are the words of a loving and a caring God. Those are the words of a God who has been offended by our sin. But He's a God who loves you and He cares deeply about you.
Do you understand that tonight? Now God doesn't like your sin. God doesn't like what I have done either. But God, He loves us as people who we are created beings with a soul, with an eternal existence.
And God desires to bring you into peace, into relationship with Himself. God wants to make you right. Who? God. He's not asking you to make you right. God says, I'll do it. I'll do it. And He did it. He laid the groundwork.
He did what was needed. You know, when we come to the book of Romans again, it's a beautiful book. It really tells us what we're all about and who God is. What God has done for us. When we come to Romans 3 .26 and Romans 8, we find these words.
That it is God that justifies. It's God that makes right. How did He do that? And where did He do that? I want you to notice what it says. But God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
God is not a God to say, well, you know, you've been a pretty good person. We'll just take your sin and we'll just put it under the rug. We'll worry about that. God must remain just. God must always remain right and holy.
How then can I ever have a relationship with God if it's my sin that separates me from God and I'm guilty before God and I can't have peace with God because of my sin? You know, it's not because you went to the wrong church.
And it's not because you were raised in the wrong family. And it's not because you couldn't memorize whatever that creed is. It's not because... The reason why you don't have peace with God tonight is because your sin has never been forgiven.
That's why. Because it's only your sin that puts you at enmity with God. And you need that dealt with. God says I'll deal with that. God must remain just. You see, God can't just swipe your sin under the carpet.
He says that has to be dealt with. He says you can't deal with it. It's impossible. All our righteousness is our filthy right. Even the good things we do, there's no possible way we can erase our sin or deal with our sin.
God says it's something I'll deal with. Do you know what the cross of Calvary is all about? Do you understand that the man who hung upon the middle cross was none other than the eternal Son of God in whom there is no sin?
But this One who knew no sin was made sin for us. All our righteousnesses, all our unrighteousness, all our sin, all our transgression, God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. And He who knew no sin stepped into the place of the guilty and became the sin bearer.
He presented Himself to God to think of a man, God's eternal Son. Never commit one sin. Never could He. Yet He presented Himself to God and He said, I will occupy the place of the condemned. I will take what they deserve.
And the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all. When the Lord Jesus Christ was nailed to that old rugged cross, the hymn writer has said, upon His head a crown of thorns. Upon His heart, my shame. For me, He bled.
For me, He died. And dying, He spoke my name. Crucified, crucified and nailed upon a tree. Fearsome hands and feet and sigh. For you, for me. And God punished His own Son. Turned His back upon Him. For succor condemned.
He might remain just. And stretch His hand out to you tonight. Based upon the finished work of Jesus Christ, God says, I can now make you right. The grounds for that to happen took place at Calvary. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
Christ died for your sins. God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You can be made right tonight with God. You can have peace in your soul. The forgiveness of sin when you come to the place where God has sat, where that being made right can happen.
He says, I have accepted that my Son has paid the price and has occupied the guilty price for you. I have punished Him for your sin. And He says, you can go free. You can be pardoned. You can be made right.
You accept what I've accepted. I accept, God says, that my Son died for you. I've punished Him for you. Do you accept that? Do you receive belief when Jesus died, He died for me? What does it say? Much more than being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
I just want to leave these words with you. Much more than being justified, being made right with God by blood. What made us wrong with God? Our sin. What makes us right with God? The removal of sin. 1 John 1 and verse 7 says,.
And the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. And it's on the basis, it's through our Lord Jesus Christ.