Can You Have Peace With God? (Reconciliation) | Season 06, Episode 4 | Simple Truth Podcast

Can you really have peace with God? You know, there have been times you've ignored God, you've resisted God, or simply lived your own way. And even after putting your faith in Jesus, knowing he died for you, you can still feel like God is distant or even against you. When guilt or fear shows up, it could be hard to believe that you really have peace with him. Maybe you've wondered, "Is God really at peace with me? or is there still something standing between us? In this episode, we're going to answer three important questions. First, were we really enemies with God? Second, can I really have peace with God now? And third, if we've been reconciled to God, what should change about the way we live? [music] Welcome to the Simple Truth Podcast. I'm Ted Ross and this is season 6, episode 4. Can you have peace with God? We're talking about reconciliation. Last episode, we saw that through Jesus's blood, God declared us right with him, justified. Today, we're going to see how that same sacrifice brought us back into peace and a relationship with him. So, today we're answering three questions. Let's start with question number one. Were we really enemies with God? Most of us know that we're imperfect and need to do better, but I think we probably wouldn't describe ourselves ever as enemies of God, right? The problem is that sin goes much deeper than just a list of mistakes. Sin puts us in opposition to God's rightful rule over our lives. Sin separates us from him. And we could not repair that relationship ourselves. This wasn't something that we were going to be able to solve on our own. So, what did God do when you and I were still enemies with him? when we refused his rightful rule and we were separated from God. Romans 5 shows us. Let's take a look at Romans 5 verses 8-10. As a reminder, all Bible verses are from the New King James Version of the Bible. So, feel free to follow along here in Romans 5:8-10. We're going to see that while we were still sinners and enemies, Christ reconciled us. Romans 5:8, quote, "But God demonstrated his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Verse nine, "Much more than having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." It says God demonstrated his own love in that while we were sinners, while we were people falling short, rejecting God's rightful rule, Christ came to die for us. Right? Much more than having now been justified or declared right or acquitted by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath, same from judgment from him. For if when we were enemies, it says in verse 10, enemies means we were hostile, we were opposed. If when we were hostile to God and opposed to God, we were then reconciled to God, to be reconciled is to be restored to favor and restored to a relationship. So reconciliation involves a hostility and an opposition and a separation. And then actions are taken to restore the favor and restore the relationship to bring us back, if you will. It says, "Having then been reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." If we were running away, if we were rejecting God's rightful rule and God still extended such a wonderful thing to send his son to die on our behalf, how much more that now we are not enemies at odds and in hostility with God, how much more will God do for us? How much will God work in us, so to speak? Do I need to fix myself for God to be at peace with me? That's a question that I've heard before. What do I need to do? What do I need to make up? How do I need to be right with God? And how do I need to fix myself up for God to be at peace? The answer is no. While we were still enemies, God acted first. And he acted through Jesus Christ and he reconciled us. He restored us back to favor and back into the relationship. So, the solution for our separation, it came from God. It didn't come from us. And what did our alienation, our separation look like? Colossians chapter 1 shows us. Colossians 1:21 and 22. Here we see that sin, it alienated us from God. In our minds and in our behavior, but through Christ's death, we are reconciled. Were holy and without fault before God. Colossians 1 21. And you who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled. You're going to see that term reconciled and reconciliation over and over again in this episode. Verse 22, in the body of his flesh, that's Jesus, through death to present you, that's you and me, holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight. Praise God. It says, "And you who were once alienated." To be alienated is to be estranged, to be shut out from fellowship. And we were enemies. Again, that's to be hostile, to be opposed to God. And we were doing so through our mind, through our thoughts, through our understanding, and by wicked works. Right? Yet now he has reconciled. Right? Before we were estranged, we were alienated. We were enemies, especially doing so in our mind by wicked works. But now we're restored to favor. We are restored to the relationship. We are reconciled. And that was done in the body of his flesh through death. That's the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And he did so to present us holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight. We'll be looking at verses that discuss this more later in this episode. So, did my sin affect the way that I thought and lived? That's a good question from it. Were the things I'm doing, rejecting God's rightful rule and the bad behavior that you and I did before, did it affect the way that we thought and the way we lived? Absolutely it did. Our sin alienated us with God and we needed reconciliation. So, what's the meaning of reconciliation? What exactly does reconciliation mean? It's a pretty big word and it's a word that gets used from time to time to reconcile. Sometimes they talk about it as like a marriage, right? a husband, wife, maybe they're strange or they're distant and they become reconciled back together. These are kind of the modern uses of the term. So what does it mean? Well, reconciliation is the removal of hostility and separation. It removes it. There's a hostility and a separation. And reconciliation is the removal of it and the restoration of relationship and favor. So through Christ, God ended the hostility and separation between us and him and restored us to peace, to favor, and to a relationship with him. Praise God. You don't have to live like God is against you, right? In your actions in your day-to-day, sometimes people talk about, "Oh, I don't want to do that. God's going to be angry with me for that." Or you treat God like he's just carrying a big stick and he's ready to hit you over the head. You don't have to live like God is against you. He's not against you. When you were against him, he sent his son to die for you. That shows the relationship. And in scripture after scripture, we're seeing in the Bible that in doing so, he has reconciled you back to him. You and him are at peace. And we're going to discuss this in more detail. Through Jesus, you can know and you can live knowing that you have peace with God. Which brings us to simple truth number 106. Sin made us enemies, but Jesus's death reconciled us back to God. We know why reconciliation was necessary, and we know who made the first move. It was God in sending Jesus Christ. But the title of this episode asks something personal, doesn't it? Can I really have peace with God now? That's what we're asking. Can I have peace with God now? In other words, if Christ brought me back, if he reconciled me through his blood and his sacrifice, can I really be at peace with God now? Is that old beef, so to speak, permanently squashed? Colossians 1 shows us where this peace was made. Colossians 1verses 19 and 20. Here we're going to see that the father made peace with us through the blood of Jesus Christ. our peace with God. It doesn't rest on our good works or our actions or how much God likes us. Maybe we're a favorite child or we feel that we're not a favorite child of God's. It doesn't rest on those things. It rests on Jesus's sacrifice. It doesn't rest on our ability to keep God calm, so to speak. That's the way people describe it. I got to keep God calm. No, no, no, no. That's not how that works. Jesus sacrifice, he shed his blood and he did it so that we could be at peace with him. Let's take a look. Colossians 1:19 quote for it pleased the father that in him in Christ all the fullness should dwell. Verse 20 and by him to reconcile all things to himself by him whether things on earth or things in heaven having made peace through the blood of his cross. Right? It pleased the father that in Jesus Christ all the fullness should dwell, the completeness, the totality of God. And by him to reconcile, to reconcile in this case is to reconcile fully, to bring us back fully from hostility. To reconcile all things back to himself, to the father by him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace. To made peace is to establish harmony. Having made peace, Jesus Christ established harmony through the blood of his cross. The blood of his cross is his sacrificial death. Right? His sacrificial death, his burial, and his resurrection, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, it may beg the question, what if I still feel like God is angry and he's waiting to punish me? Right? Look to the cross. You're going to need to start applying your faith. Look to the cross. Meditate on these scriptures and look to the cross. If these questions are churning inside of you, look to the cross. The father made peace with us through Jesus's blood. The cross is where peace was made. So how does that peace come to us as Christians? Well, Romans chapter 5, it gives us a hint with three words, faith, grace, and peace. Romans 5 verses 1 and 2. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have peace with God and we stand in his grace. Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. It says, "Therefore, having been justified by faith," if you want to learn more about justification, that was our last episode. You can learn all about it. And we're justified by faith. Faith is trust, belief, confidence in God. What declares us right before God? What acquits us of our sins before God in judgment? It's our trust. It's our belief and it's our confidence in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are believing the gospel. And it says we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. To have peace is to have harmony, to have wholeness. And we have that with the father through Jesus Christ. Through whom? Through Jesus also we have access. To have access is to have admission to have an approach into God's favor. So through faith, through belief, through trust, through confidence in the work of Jesus Christ, we have peace and we have access. We have admission. We can approach God. We can come to him. And we have access by faith into this grace. Grace is God's unearned favor, his kindness. We actually have access to the favor and the kindness of God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. It says in which we stand. So we have access to the father by faith into this unearned favor and kindness and we remain established. We stand in it. Do I have to prove that I belong every time I make a mistake? Do I have to prove somehow to God that even though I made a mistake, I should still be counted as a child of God? No. Through faith in Christ, by simply applying your belief, by believing in the work of Christ, you have peace with God and you stand in grace. You stand in favor. You stand in God's kindness. believe that that means peace with God is settled by our relationship through Jesus Christ. It doesn't have to be added to or built upon. It's settled. Yet you and I can still we can feel anxious. We could feel ashamed. We could feel afraid. So we need to understand the difference between having peace with God and feeling peaceful. So here we're going to see peace with God is not the same as feeling peaceful. So why can I have peace with God and still feel unsettled? Well, you have peace with God. That's what this episode on reconciliation is talking about. And we saw it in Romans 5:1, for example. Quote, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ." your relationship with God, it's already settled through Christ. That's why you need to apply faith. It's so clear in scripture after scripture, but your feelings will resist you. The hostility is ended through the blood of Jesus Christ. That's why this is good news. That's why the gospel is good news. But while you have peace with God, you want the peace of God. Philippians 4:6 and 7, right? It's an often quoted scripture in church and on this podcast. Quote, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus." As you bring anxieties to God, as you get better at taking your anxieties and bringing them to God through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, he guards your heart and your mind and you start to get the peace of God. Feeling unsettled does not mean you are unreconciled. So you see the difference between these two. You are reconciled to God through what Jesus did, but you also want the peace of God. You want to feel settled. So feeling unsettled doesn't mean you're unreconciled. And you can learn more about this in Simple Truth podcast episode 3.8 on how to hear and recognize the Holy Spirit. We talk a lot about peace. Sometimes, you know, we hear peace with God and we assume that all anxiety and all inner conflict, it goes away when we're reconciled. Reconciliation is really, really important. But there's still a transformation that has to happen in your soul as you build your relationship with God. We're actually going to talk more about that in next episode on sanctification. So continue in your Christian growth and be led by his spirit to get the peace of God in your life in addition to the peace with God that you have now. Ephesians 2:13 and 18. Here we're going to see the blood of Jesus. It brings us near to God through the son by the spirit to the father. Remember we saw in Colossians we talked about it pleased the father that in Jesus all the fullness dwelt. Here we are seeing a scripture which talks about the father the son and the holy spirit all in one set of verses. Ephesians 2:13 quote but now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ. Verse 17. And he came and preached peace to you who were a far off and to those who were near. Verse 18, for through him we have both access by one spirit to the father. It says, "But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off, you and I, we were distant, we were separated, we were far off, and we have been brought near by the blood of Christ." That means to be brought close, to be made near, to be given access. Praise God. Notice how much of the Bible, it just absolutely ticks and ties with the rest of the Bible. We read verses in Colossians. We'll read other scriptures and we see over and over again the same messages. If we're paying attention, reiterated over and over again because it was very important to various churches that these messages were central and critical and important and that they need to be reiterated. And if they need to be reiterated to the church at Colosse and the church at Ephesus, you can believe it needs to be reiterated to you and to me. It says, "And he came and preached peace to you who were a far off and to those who were near." Verse 18, "For through him, through Jesus, we both have access." Access is admission. It's approaching to God's favor. We both have access by one spirit, that's the Holy Spirit, to the Father. Is God reluctant to receive us when we come to him through Christ? Does God look at us and say, "No thanks. Not this time." Absolutely not. You and I know. I think you're getting the message here quite clear. Through Christ, by the spirit, we have direct access to the father. Well, what if I feel like I don't have access? Do those feelings matter? It's quite clear in scripture and the Holy Spirit will bear witness that the truth is we have direct access to the father through the blood of our lord Jesus Christ. So the question is do we believe that? Do we apply faith to that? Because it is the truth regardless of how you or I feel. Notice the words the Bible keeps using about our reconciliation to God through the blood of Jesus. We keep seeing the words peace, grace, access, nearness, right? Everything scripture shows us, it leads us to one really clear conclusion. Simple truth number 107. The blood of Jesus gives us peace with God and brings us near. So the relationship is settled through Jesus's blood. We have peace with God and have been brought near to God and we have access to the father. But what should we do when this biblical truth and our feelings don't match? Well, when the truth and your feelings don't match, who wins? I think you know the answer to this one. And it goes the same for me, too. I have times where my feelings and the truth don't match. So, if I have peace with God, why do I still sometimes feel far from God? Well, our feelings can drift. What were we discussing in our season on the whole Christian? We were discussing how you have a spirit, a soul and a body. And your spirit will know the truth and your soul can wrestle with it. And in next episode, we're going to discuss sanctification where we talk about God's transformative work in us by the blood of Jesus. And he transforms us because he's renewing our soul to believe the truth. Our feelings can drift even when our relationship with God is secure in Christ. It was made secure when he died, was buried, and rose again, and we believed it. We accepted it, and we are building our life on it. Feeling distant does not mean Jesus's work has changed. It doesn't change anything that Jesus has done, regardless of how we feel. And if you're paying attention to your feelings, you'll know that you'll feel one thing at one moment and another thing the next. And it really isn't often a rhyme or reason to it. We could listen to a song and it may be soul stirring. And in the beginning of the song, we feel one way. At the end, we feel a different. These feelings, they come and go, but the truth remains. The truth remains. Instead of pulling away from God, use the access Jesus gives you and draw near to God. If your feelings are making you feel like God is far away, use that access that Jesus has given you through his blood to come straight to the father and go straight to him and get help. Practice the five disciplines. Right? We talk about the importance of reading the scripture and meditating on the scripture and praying and fasting and being led by the spirit. We have a whole season on this in this podcast, season three, because we use it to intentionally reconnect our attention back on God. These biblical habits, they help resettle you in his truth when your thoughts and your emotions, they become unsettled. So feel free to check out Simple Truth Podcast episode 3.1 for more information. Let Christ's finished work define your relationship, not today's feelings. When Jesus said it is finished, it's finished. It doesn't mean it's finished when Ted's feelings believe it's finished. Oh, it is finished regardless of how my feelings are. When you read the book of Revelations, you see all sorts of people with all sorts of feelings. And Jesus Christ isn't looking to their feelings to decide what he's going to do. He comes back and he comes back as the conquering messiah. He comes back as the conquering king. and your feelings and my feelings don't matter when the conquering king returns. Let Christ's finished work define our relationship. Don't let today's feelings do so. When your feelings say God is far away, resist them. Remind yourself of the truth and draw near to God through the access that Jesus Christ gives you by his blood. And if we've been reconciled to God, how should that change our lives? That brings us to question number three. If I've been reconciled to God, what should change about the way I live? A reconciled life, it starts with what God has done for us, right? But it doesn't end there, does it? God reconciles us to himself and he sends us out with a message of reconciliation to others. Okay? 2 Corinthians 5:18- 21. We're going to see here that God reconciles us to himself through Christ. Then he entrusts us with the message and a ministry of reconciliation. Interesting. What do I mean by this? 2 Corinthians 5:18. Quote, "Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ." Again, notice how often the word reconciliation and reconciled are used in the New Testament. So I'll repeat verse 18. Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself not imputing their trespasses to them and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. It says all things are of God who has reconciled. He has restored to favor and relationship us to God the father through our Lord Jesus Christ his blood and his sacrifice. And he has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Ministry is service. It's work entrusted to us by God. And that's a ministry of restoration to favor and relationship. Right? There's that word reconciliation again. And it says that God was in Christ reconciling the word to himself. not imputing, not accounting or counting their trespasses against them and has committed us to the word of reconciliation, right? The word of restoration, to favor and relationship. What are we urging and telling people do? We're telling them to be restored. We're telling them to come back to favor and come back into a relationship with God. When Jesus in Mark chapter 1, his first message that came after the wilderness, what was his first message to the world? The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. That is a message of restoration. That's a message of restoration to favor and a relationship with the father. So is reconciliation only something that I receive or can I share it too? I think you know the answer to this. We receive reconciliation and then we carry that message to other people. The things that God is doing in our lives, we share. As we experience reconciliation and peace with God, we now represent Christ and we carry his message to people who still need peace with God. Second Corinthians 5:20 and 21. Here we're going to see that because Christ made reconciliation possible. Reconciled Christians, that's you and I, we represent him and we urge others around us to be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were pleading through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Now then, we are ambassadors. It says we are authorized representatives who speak on behalf of another. We speak on behalf of God. God has authorized us as representatives to speak on his behalf. That's a powerful service. Remember we said we're given the ministry of reconciliation. We were given a service. We were given a charge. We were given a command work that God has called us to do. And it says as though God were pleading through us. We implore you. We urge you on Christ's behalf. Be reconciled to God. Be restored to favor. Be restored to a relationship with God. That's what God is sending us out to say as ambassadors. It says, "For he made him, that's Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us." Jesus knew no sin. He was sinless. And God made him to be our sin, to take our sins onto him. And why did he do that? Why did the father make him Jesus who knew no sin become sin for us? He did it that you and I might become the righteousness of God in him. What does being an ambassador for Christ look like in this world? Well, it's actually simple. We represent Christ in ordinary life. Our conversations, when we have conflicts with people, we represent Christ. In various relationships, we represent Christ. In our workplaces, at home, we actually represent Christ everywhere. There's no time where we clock in representing Christ. And then we clock out representing Christ. He's in us. Do you not know that you're a temple of the Holy Spirit? As the scripture says, God dwells in you. He's an inhabiting in you. He is a helper. He's doing all these things for various reasons. He's working in you and he wants to work in others through you. If we've received peace with God, that should begin to shape the way that we actually handle our conflicts with other people and the way we live our life. Romans 12:18 actually shows us what this looks like. Romans 12:17 and 18 we see here that reconciled Christians we pursue peace but it doesn't make us responsible for other people's response or their repentance. Romans 12:17 repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible as much as depends on you live peaceably with all men. It says repay give back or return no one evil for evil. Evil is harm. Evil is injury. Don't give back or return to anyone harm or injury. Have regard for the good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably. That means to live at peace with everybody. Am I responsible, you may ask, for fixing every broken relationship in my life? No. No. You're being asked, you're being commanded, you're being instructed to pursue peace as far as it depends on you, as far as you can go with peace. Do that. But you can't control other people's response. That's between them and God. So reconciliation doesn't just change our relationship with God. It changes how we approach our relationships with others. That leads us to simple truth number 108. reconciled people draw near to God and pursue peace with others. So, you might be asking, how do we take everything we've learned in this episode and actually live it out? What should I do now? Okay, because Jesus's blood, I've been brought near to God. I've been given peace with God. Praise God. And called to carry that peace into my relationships with others. I now know that I need to come to God with confidence, knowing Jesus brought me near. I could come boldly. The scripture says because Jesus paved the way. Jesus's blood and sacrifice paid the way so that I could have direct access to the father. I should trust the peace that Jesus made. Even if my feelings disagree, I don't feel like I'm at peace with God. It is quite clear throughout the Bible that peace has been made with God. Praise God. And we need to tell our feelings to get with the program. Pursue peace with others and leave their responses to them. Right? But if you're still living like God is far away from you, what can you do about it this week? This week, let's practice living like people who have really been reconciled back to God by the blood of Jesus Christ. Here is our the live reconciled 7-day challenge. Say that three times fast. Right. Day one, I recommend you notice the distance. Right? Where am I keeping my distance from God? Where am I acting like I'm not at peace with him or that he's angry with me or he has trouble with me in some way? Right? Secondly, since reconciliation is both about being reconciled to God and living peaceably with others, you may ask yourself, where am I holding back a step toward peace with someone else? Maybe there's somebody else where I am not doing what I can do to live peaceably with them. So think about your distance from God and think about something you could do to live peaceably with somebody else. Days 2 through 7, use your access to God. As you saw in scripture, you have direct access to the father. Do you take him up on it? If you had a cell phone with you that could speed dial God, would you use it? Because you've got one. Bring that area, that area that we looked at in number one, honestly to God and ask for his help with it. Come to God boldly, trusting that Jesus has brought you near. Talk to him like a father and talk to him as if he's in the room because he is. Talk to him directly as if you're in his presence. Do you understand? Days three through seven, carry that peace with you. Return to what you identified on day one and take one faithful step toward God or toward that peace. Draw near. Speak, listen, apologize, forgive, or respond gently to the other person. Get closer to them. Say something to them. Listen to what they have to say. Maybe you need to apologize. Maybe you need to forgive. or you need to respond to them appropriately and then trust God with the outcome. You cannot ensure peace with them but you can ensure that as much as in you is you are working to live peaceably with them. God bless you. God bless you as you receive and walk in the reconciliation that God has done for you through our Lord Jesus Christ through his blood and through his sacrifice. And don't miss our next episode. We've seen that through Jesus, we've been reconciled to God and brought near to him. But why do we still struggle with old habits and with becoming the person that God wants us to be? We'll talk about sanctification, yet another benefit of the blood and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We're going to talk about how God continues his work in us even after we're saved, even after we are born again. So, watch the video that's on the screen for more practical Bible teaching that answers the questions that you're asking. And subscribe for more simple, biblical, and essential truth. [music]