The Gospel (Part 5 of 5)

The Gospel of Peace

“. . . and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15)

The Gospel is the announcement of Divine accomplishments. This means that the essential message of Christianity is not about what men have done or should do, but about what God has done for man. The Law of Moses was about the duty of man, or what we must do for God. Moses preached “do this, and live.” In other words, under the Covenant of Law the whole relationship with God depended on meticulous obedience to the commandments. There were not just the Ten Commandments, which was really just a summation of the Law, but there were actually well over six-hundred different commandments that the Israelites were to keep! Anyone today who wants to live according to a principle of law must remember that the main thing in this arrangement is what we do, or don’t do, in order to please God and be in a covenant with Him. The Gospel is not like the principle of law but is something completely new and different. The Gospel is good news about God’s work for us. God has done something for us that we could never have accomplished for ourselves. The gracious works of God for man are what makes the Gospel good news.

The good news is that God has accomplished something for us what we could never have done. Having a law was insufficient. The law never changed anyone. Law is actually designed to alter behavior, rewarding or punishing us for what we do. But simply having a commandment does not change my nature or how I feel about God and His law. There is enmity between God and sinners. That means that by nature man has a dislike, even hatred, for God and His law. We are born rebels and there is no commandment that can change our rebellious hearts. In fact, the Law actually stirs up this innate hatred in man for God. A commandment is a limit placed on man’s behavior. But sinful man resents this limitation and wants to be free to do what he pleases. And so the commandment chafes against man just like a harness or a bridle and a bit would frustrate and anger a wild horse. We have all probably seen a man trying to break a wild horse to wear a bit and bridle. The horse does not want to be under control and fights against this strange contraption that man has placed on his head and his back! That is a picture of the enmity of sinful man against the Law of God. There can be no peace and fellowship with God as long as this enmity exists in our hearts. The Law was given to show us our sinful, rebellious nature. But the Law by itself could not change us. Something else had to be done to remove this enmity from our hearts.

God has made peace with the world through the Cross of Christ. Our rebellion against God also has an effect on God. God is not passive about rebellion in His universe. God is righteous and cannot ignore sin. When the Devil and his angels rebelled against God, they were cast out of heaven. When Adam and Eve sinned they were cast out of Eden. There are always consequences for sin because God is righteous. Sin angers God. God’s righteous anger is called wrath. There is probably no concept in the Bible that is so distasteful to modern man than the doctrine of Divine wrath. But it is literally everywhere in Scripture. Man tends to think that God does not see His sin or does not care enough about it to do anything. Yet the Biblical record gives many examples of God reacting to human sin, as if to teach us the folly of thinking that God is neutral about our sin. Modern man tends to believe in a kinder, gentler God. This is why modern man has often missed the reason for the Cross. Sin is so offensive to God, Jesus had to suffer and die so that sin could be put away from God’s presence. Jesus was God’s peace offering which enables God to put away His anger or wrath against man’s sin. Now that God’s righteousness has been satisfied by Jesus’s sacrificial death, He can make peace with sinners.

The peace that Jesus made has to be appropriated. There are those who hold to a doctrine of universal salvation, meaning that all men are saved unconditionally, regardless of their knowledge of the Gospel or their response to it. This ignores the need for a response to the Gospel of peace. The Gospel declares that peace has been made, yet it is still possible to remain at war with God, refusing to accept what He has done. When nations go to war, it might be that one side wants to have peace, yet the terms of that peace are rejected and the war rages on and on. This is also the case with the human race and God. God has offered terms of peace. Those terms are to believe on His Son, Jesus Christ, who has made peace with God. All those believing in Christ are reconciled to God, accepting and appropriating the peace that Jesus made. However, if we will not accept peace with God through Jesus, the wrath of God still hangs over us. I believe this needs to be preached to sinners more than it is today. The truth is, if God has made peace and offered us this peace, we dare not reject the offer and then think we are guiltless and free from danger.

Preachers of the Gospel are sent to reconcile men and women with God. The Gospel is not preached by angels but by men and women sent from God, who have themselves been reconciled to God by the same message that they preach to others! The Apostle Paul understood the ministry of preaching in this way: “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). Preachers who preach God’s message are really speaking for God, and God is making an appeal through their preaching. The appeal is to be reconciled, to be at peace, with God. Sinners are called, are even begged, to lay down their arms and stop being at war with God. God’s wrath has been satisfied in Christ and He no longer has to be angry with you! Instead of God being your enemy, He can become your heavenly father. Come home to the Father and be at peace with Him! That is the message of the Gospel of peace.