The Unshakeable Peace Of God

Unshakeable Peace: Embracing God's Assurance

Bible Passage: Romans 5:1-5

You know I just recently read a story about a preacher and his horse. A circuit riding preacher trained his horse to go when he said “Praise the Lord!” and to stop when he said “Amen” The preacher mounted the horse, said praise the lord and went for a ride in the nearby mountains.

When he wanted to stop for lunch by a mountain stream, he said amen. He took off again saying praise the lord.

The horse started heading toward the edge of a cliff on a narrow mountain trail. The preacher got excited and said “Whoa” Then he remembered what he taught the horse to stop to, so he quickly shouted AMEN!

The horse stopped just short of the edge. The preacher was so relieved that he looked up to heaven and said, Praise the Lord!

A little about this passage...

Paul introduces the profound impact of justification by faith, showing how it leads to peace with God, access to grace, and ultimately, the hope that does not disappoint through the Holy Spirit's work in our lives and an unshakeable peace from God

Romans is one of Paul’s letters written to a congregation he did not start. So, this wasn't a church he planted or started so to say. This letter was written with the hope that the Romans would learn from his message, approve of it, and potentially support his future missionary endeavors

This passage is a pivot passage in Paul’s argument; he moves from how we are justified in Romans 1-4 to what justification produces in the believer's life. It's about the results of being made right with God and Him having unshakeable peace.

1. Peace Through Justification

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

If you remember the last time I was up here I was in Galatians 2 where Paul really hammered down on the Justified by faith part of that book, but I will try to stay away from that portion this morning, I want to zero in on the last part of that verse. “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me state the obvious here, the first step to receiving and acknowledging this unshakeable peace with God, that is to know and trust Jesus Christ. The key words in that verse, “THROUGH our Lord Jesus Christ” That's the first step, is trusting him

here is the next one, acknowledging that we are justified by faith and that we do have peace, forms the foundation of our peace with God. This peace is not just the absence of conflict but a profound assurance of our restored relationship with the father.

this doesn’t mean that there will be no problems, this doesn't mean life will be a cake walk, this means that the Lord is walking right with you, it gives you more hope when you make it through the fire and then you look back to see how faithful the lord has been.

One of the main things I pray for the Lord to give me is peace. I don’t ask for him to take away all the problems and all the evil in my life, well for one you know why I don’t ask for him to get rid of all the evil and bad in my life? Hey, I don’t know if you want to admit it but I'm a sinner, I'm a dirty evil sinner, So if the lord was to get rid of all the evil, none of us would be in this room. But I pray for the Lord to grant me Peace so I can walk through the fire with the Lord knowing everything will be okay.

Psalm 37:10 “In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;”

It will come to pass, the peace we acknowledge through Jesus Christ, even through hard times, he sustains us, it reminds us that our position with God is secure and unshakeable because it is based on Christ’s finished work.

2. Grace Granted Access

Romans 5:2 “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

One Commentator put is as,

“We have taken our stand firmly in or on this grace into which we have been introduced. Justified believers enjoy a blessing far greater than a periodic approach to God or an occasional audience with the king. We are privileged to live in the temple and in the palace. The perfect tenses express this. Our relationship with God, into which justification has brought us, is not sporadic but continuous. We do not fall in and out of grace like politicians with the public. No, we stand in it, for that is the nature of grace. Nothing can separate us from God’s love”

He is exactly right!! Like bro Neal said one Sunday, he highly dislikes the term, “yeah I might just slip into heaven, yeah Jesus might let me in”

WE STAND IN THIS GRACE! WE HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, JESUS TORE THE VEIL, HE SUFFERED ON CALVAVRY NOT FOR YOU TO BARLEY SLIP IN OR FALL IN AND OUT OF GRACE LIKE A POLITICIANS WITH THE PUBLIC, HE HAS DONE EVERYTHING FOR US. FOR YOU, DOESNT MATTER YOUR PAST! AND GUESS WHAT, AFTER THE GRACE WE GET TO STAND IN WE REJOICE!! WE REJOICE IN THE HOPE OF THE GLORY OF GOD!!!

Going back to what I said earlier, we don’t have to worry about the hardships of life, we don’t have to worry about trying to “earn” God's love, we can stand firm and steadfast in the Glory of God, not because of us but because of him. By his merit not ours. I sure am glad its up to his merit and not mine because he would grab my resume and just look at it in confusion, “How in the world do you make a D in a world history, dropped out of college and you missed a huge buck on the powerline at 60 steps with buckshot?? Get this guy out of here”

We always need to have Christ as our source and our foundation to have this unshakable peace. This grace is our source of courage.

A farmer once told his son that the richness of their harvest depended not on their efforts alone, but on the soil's condition. He explained that good soil, nurtured properly, would yield plentiful crops with much less effort. Similarly, our spiritual lives flourish when we rely on the fertile grace of Christ's merit, rather than our own insufficient efforts. Reflecting on John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” , we understand that apart from Him, we can do nothing.

3. Suffering Shapes Character

Romans 5:3–4 “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,”

In Philippians we see Paul in chains, writing letters of encouragement to the churches he had established. Despite his imprisonment, he found joy in sharing the Gospel. His ability to turn his nasty circumstances into a source of hope for others teaches us how the Holy Spirit can transform our turmoil into joy for ourselves and those around us. This reflects 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” , where God's grace is sufficient for us even in weakness.

Paul wrote Philippians in jail, yet it is the most happy and uplifting book in the bible, (in my opinion)

It's not just strictly telling us to have pleasure through the pain, no it's more so telling to see through the pain and acknowledging that there is a deeper meaning behind the pain. When I was struggling and in pain, amidst the turmoil I didn’t see it, then after I got out, I looked back and saw God in every step I took.

Let me give it to you this way, during a workout, when I'm burning out on my last reps, man it is burning and burning and I want to stop, but through the pain I keep going, because that pain is making me stronger, that soreness after is what makes the muscle stronger, or let me give it to you this way, after missing a huge buck at 60 steps on a powerline, regardless of the horror and gnashing of teeth going on in my heart and the pain its going to make me practice drawing on random stuff with my shotgun so I can get better and hopefully kill a buck next year. I had to mention it one more time, I'm sorry lol.

Regardless of what situation you’re in, don’t ever think you’re done for, or that there's nothing good going to come out of that situation, I have said this before, when they make and sharpen up swords, they stick it in the forge, and they beat them and beat them in that fire, until they come out sharper than the dickens, they put it through trials to make it stronger than ever. That can be your testimony today.

Most times as seen as a barrier, becomes a process where God builds resilience and character in us. The trials you face can produce grit and hope because you push toward relying on God and fortify your faith. We need to frame suffering as a tool for spiritual growth, transforming our trials into testimonies. Seeking a faith and a peace that is unshakeable through the trials, molding us into the Child of God we should strive to be.

4. Hope in the Holy Spirit

Romans 5:5 “and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

The commentator speaks again on this, saying,

“What is the ultimate ground on which our Christian hope rests, our hope of glory? It is the steadfast love of God. The reason our hope will never let us down is that God will never let us down. His love will never give us up. But how can we be sure of God’s love? To be sure of the love of his or her parents is almost indispensable to the healthy emotional development of a child. To be sure of the love of spouse or friend is marvellously conducive to human fulfilment. To be sure of God’s love brings even richer blessings. It is the major secret of joy, peace, freedom, confidence and self-respect.”

This Love that God has for us has not end. This hope does not disappoint because it is anchored in God’s Love, poured into our hearts through the holy spirit. This divine assurance keeps us from despair.

Our hope is not wishful thinking but a confident expectation, sustained by the spirit’s witness within us, rooted in Christ sacrificial love.

A world-renowned artist created a masterpiece on a large canvas, but in the early stages, it looked like complete chaos with splashes of colors and random shapes. Critics were baffled until the final reveal, where everything came together beautifully. Our lives can sometimes feel chaotic and purposeless, but God is the master artist who sees the bigger picture—trusting Him instills hope even in the messiness.

When we seek the one true God, and move past our trials and see them as helpful to us, and we understand the hope that his glory gives us and feel the love he has poured out to us, we get to feel that unshakeable peace.

true peace and hope in life come from our faith in Jesus Christ, who justifies us before God. It shows how suffering can produce perseverance, character, and hope, strengthening our relationship with God and a peace that is unshakeable.

at the beginning of this message I said that step one to this sermon is trusting Jesus Christ as your lord and savior, I want to challenge you, I want to plead with you I want to beg you, give your life to him, best decision I ever made, every other believer can second that. (AMEN)

Trust him, He is worth it.