Christian: You Have Peace With God

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1

I remember telling someone once that I was committed to reconciling with them. Their reply was, “I didn’t even know anything was wrong.” Sometimes that’s how it goes: You learn about a problem from someone telling you that they’ve found the solution. That’s the kind of thing that can happen when reading the Bible too. Paul tells the Romans something absolutely mind boggling. He says, “you have peace with God” (Rom 5:1). Before I get to how amazing this is, I want to tell you what this solution tells us about the problem.

War With God

For some, that verse might be the first time they’ve considered that they don’t have peace with God. “Wait a minute. Peace with God? Why would I need peace with God? I thought I was ok with God.” Wrong. Apart from Christ each one of us is at war with God. There is no one neutral with God. The Bible calls it enmity or war or rebellion. You are not just uninterested in God. You are at war with the living God.

And not only are you at war with God, but God is at war with you. You have broken his law. As R. C. Sproul famously said, you have committed cosmic treason against the King of the Universe. And God plainly tells us that the soul who sins will die (Eze 18:4) and that the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). God is a just Judge and is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11). God is not wicked so as to sweep your sin under the rug. He is just and will bring every deed into judgement (Ecc12:14). By nature you are a child of wrath (Eph 2:3). By default you do not have peace with God.

Peace With/From God

But that is what makes this statement so amazing. In Christ you have peace with God. Let that sink in. You are by default at war with God, and God is at war with you. The terms have been laid out that the soul who sins shall die, and you have sinned countless times. You are awaiting a certain judgement where every deed will be examined under the perfect scrutiny of the Judge of the universe. And in this state you hear the whisper of, “Peace.” Peace? How could sinners like us have peace?

We are incapable of paying the debt, and we are unqualified to set the price. We cannot bribe the just Judge with good works. No. The offending party cannot set the terms for peace. God alone offers peace on His terms. There had to be a just payment for sin, so God did what we could not. God sent His own Son, Jesus, to save sinners. He lived the perfect life that we could not, yet he suffered the death that we deserved. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us (2 Cor 5:21). Jesus took our sin onto Himself on the cross, and the righteous wrath of God that we deserved fell on Him. He gave us His righteousness, “making peace through the blood of His cross” (Col 1:20). So God remains just and is also the justifier of the One who trusts in Jesus (Rom 3:26). Therefore, though we were enemies, Paul can say that we can have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

---

Don’t ever lose the wonder that the just Judge can justify you. Don’t ever let it cease to amaze you that you, Christian, have peace with God. Don’t let another day go by still an enemy of God. Turn from your sin and trust in Jesus. He offers peace and reconciliation through His cross. May God be praised for His incredible grace.

Jacob Crouch 2024