Do Not Worry – 10

Not peace in the empty way in which the world so often uses the word. It’s the peace that comes through knowing that your sins are forgiven and your guilt is removed. It’s the peace you have when the ruler of the universe is reigning in your heart, when you know you have that place in heaven prepared by God’s grace.

They would have peace with God (Rom 5.1), because their sins were forgiven and the peace of God (Phil. 4:7) would guard their lives.

The world is unable to give this kind of peace.

Fear of death (Heb. 2:14–15) and fear of the future are removed as Jesus’ followers trust in Him. Thus, they need not be troubled.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

What kind of peace does the world give?

The world’s peace is determined by outward things and is as changeable as external conditions.

But the peace of God changes not. It is not fitful and transient, but an abiding and ever-increasing reality. Ecstatic joy fluctuates like the waves of the sea, but peace flows on without interruption, like a river ever flowing and full.

Philippians 4:6–7 (NIV84)

6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The phrase the peace of God only appears here in all of Scripture.

All Christians have peace with God, but this peace of God transcends every mind, every attempt of the strongest intellect, to realize its qualities and to describe it. Like the love of Christ, it ‘passeth know-ledge’, or, as the apostle says in writing to the Philippians, it ‘exceeds all understanding’.

There is a clear distinction between peace with God and the peace of God, though they are so intimately connected that they are rarely if ever separated.

There are doubtless some cases in which there is peace with God, while the poor trembling heart, not being assured of the blessing, is not enjoying the peace of God; but

there are none who know the peace of God without being first brought to peace with God;

for the peace with God is the holy, happy, peaceful rest, which is granted to the heart, which is no longer at enmity, and no longer under the burden of unforgiven sin.

There must be the forgiveness before there can be the peace.

Peace with God is reconciliation. It is the blessed fellowship between God and the sinner, when every barrier is removed, and the two, instead of being at variance, are at one.

God’s law being satisfied and His righteousness maintained, He is no longer called to shut the sinner out from His presence, but can, without the compromise of His own holiness, give him a welcome to His home in all the fulness of parental love.

Romans 5:1–2 (NIV84)

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

All Christians have peace with God, but not all Christians have the peace of God.

The peace of God is more than peace with God; it is a peace which God has and which Christ gives (Jn 14:27).

The peace of God comes to a child of God who trusts and prays. One may have peace with God without having the peace of God.

Peace with God is dependent upon faith.

Peace of God is dependent upon prayer.

Peace with God describes the state between God and the Christian.

Peace of God describes the condition within the Christian.

Jeremiah 23:16–18, 21–32 (NIV84)

16This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.

17They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’

18But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?

[Read vss. 21-32 in your Bible.]

This is a warning to all who have a false sense of peace.

Vss. 9–15 speak of the immoral character of the false prophets.

These prophets were supposed to be the nation’s spiritual leaders.

How are the people to respond to the false prophets?

God commands the people to simply not listen to them. (He also provides criteria for judging the veracity of a prophet in Deuteronomy 13 and 18.)

Counterfeit spiritual leaders lead people into futility, into things that are worthless and profitless.

They claim authority from God, but they have no authority (23:18–22).

God is against all false prophets and anyone who misrepresents what He has said in His Word (23:25).

One characteristic of false prophets God points out is that they simply repeat what they hear each other say (23:26–27).

Charles Spurgeon: Here is one mark of a false prophet: He makes you feel that you are fine, that something in you is good. “They speak visions from their own minds, not from the Lord’s mouth.”

Here is another of the marks of a false prophet. Such a man as that is a great thinker. He has thought out his theology himself; he has imagined and invented it himself. “They have said to everyone who follows the stubbornness of his heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’ ”

This is yet another mark of the false prophet. He always tries to smooth down the consequences of sin. “In the future state,” he says, “sin may occasion some temporary inconvenience, but all things will come right sooner or later.”

By these three tests we may prove who are the false prophets—

They make us vain.

They speak out of their own heart, not out of the mouth of God.

They try to make it easy for us to sin by denying the greatness of the penalty attached to it.

“What is straw compared to grain?” Human thoughts, human conceptions, at their best, are but as straw; only the word of the Lord is the true grain. (Jer. 23:28)

Micah 2:11 (NIV84)

11If a liar and deceiver comes and says, ‘I will prophesy for you 06/07/2026, 11:00 amplenty of wine and beer,’ he would be just the prophet for this people!

Isaiah 30:9–11 (NIV84)

9These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.

10They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.

11Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!”

2 Timothy 4:3–4 (NIV84)

3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Jeremiah 5:30–31 (NIV84)

30“A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land:

31The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?

Isaiah 8:19–20 (NIV84)

19When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

Jeremiah 6:13–15 (NLT)

13“From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. From prophets to priests, they are all frauds.

14They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace.

15Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions? Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be brought down when I punish them,” says the Lord.

Thomas Watson: Peace flows from sanctification, but they being unregenerate, have nothing to do with peace.… They may have a truce, but no peace. God may forbear the wicked a while, and stop the roaring of his cannon; but though there be a truce, yet there is no peace. The wicked may have something which looks like peace, but it is not. They may be fearless and stupid; but there is a great difference between a stupefied conscience, and a pacified conscience.… This is the devil’s peace; he rocks men in the cradle of security; he cries peace, peace, when men are on the precipice of hell. The seeming peace a sinner has, is not from the knowledge of his happiness, but the ignorance of his danger. (Body of Divinity [reprint; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979], 182)

2 Peter 2:1–3 (NLT)

1But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.

2Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered.

3In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.

Proverbs 14:12 (NIV84)

12There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

Many of the false teachers of today mirror the character and actions of the false prophets depicted in the Old Testament.

One of their methods is Positive Confession.

Positive confession is the practice of saying aloud what you want to happen with the expectation that God will make it a reality.

The most dangerous is the belief that words have a kind of spiritual, magical power that we can use to get what we want. The practice borrows not from biblical truths, but from a New Age concept called the “law of attraction.”

It teaches that “like attracts like”—a positive statement or thought will draw a positive reaction.

The net result is the idea that our words hold the power to force God to give us what we want—a heretical belief. Additionally, the results attributed to positive confession are powered by the faith of the individual. This leads to the old belief that illness and poverty are a type of punishment for sin (in this case, lack of faith).

There are no examples of positive confession in the Bible. The examples of confession given in the Bible are:

Confesson of Sin (1 John 1:9; James 5:16; Matthew 3:6; Acts 19:18; Psalm 38:18; Proverbs 28:13; Luke 18:13)

Confession of Christ (1 John 4:2-3; James 5:16; Matthew 10:32-33; Romans 10:9; Philippians 2:11)

Philippians 4:13, 19 (NKJV)

13I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

19And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

These verses are often taken out of context and used to promote the false doctrine of Positive Confession.

Philippians 4:13, which reads, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” But we must ask:

Who is the “I,” ?

What are the “all things,”?

How does God “strengthen” a person?

When you look at the previous verse, the context, you see that the apostle Paul was talking about how he had lived in both poverty and plenty.

He had enjoyed times of abundance, and he had faced hunger and need.

He believed that God strengthened him to live for Christ in every situation, in all things, even in times of affliction.

V. 19, The Philippians had sacrificially (cf. 2 Cor. 8:1–3) given of their earthly possessions to support God’s servant, Paul. In return, God would amply supply their needs.

This is not a universal promise that anyone can claim. This promise was in response to the sacrificial giving of the Philippian church, where they gave to the point that they were in need.

Many claim this promise and yet give very little to the work of the Lord.

Hebrews 13:14–15 (NIV84)

14For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

15Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Christians aren’t to confess what they want; they are to confess Jesus Christ as Lord.

Sadly, many Christians have incorporated unscriptural means in their attempt to have peace and rid themselves of worry. Here are a few examples.

Manifestation Disguised as Faith

A person is anxious about finances and repeatedly declares:

"I will be wealthy. I claim abundance. I speak prosperity over my life."

Their anxiety temporarily decreases because they believe they have activated a spiritual law.

This counterfeit peace comes from believing they have gained control over the future—not from trusting God's providence.

Counterfeit peace comes from believing we have solved the problem; God's peace comes from bringing the problem to God and trusting Him with it.

Looking for Signs Instead of Trusting God

A believer becomes consumed with:

Repeated numbers

Coincidences

"Words from strangers"

Social media prophecies

Every new sign produces temporary relief.

The problem is that peace is now resting on receiving the next confirmation rather than on God's revealed truth.

Mystical Experiences

Some believers become dependent on:

Feeling God's presence

Emotional highs in worship

Spiritual experiences

When the feeling is present, they have peace.

When the feeling disappears, anxiety returns.

Their peace is rooted in experience rather than God's promises.

"God Told Me"

Sometimes Christians declare:

"God told me this is going to happen."

The declaration itself relieves anxiety.

But the relief may come from psychological certainty rather than genuine divine guidance.

Proverbs 28:26 (NASB95)

26He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered.

There is no biblical warrant to say, “God told me,” “God spoke to me,” or “I heard Him saying.” In reality, the focus ends up being on the proclaimer and not on God. Christians need to stop describing their musings and promptings, along with their life events, as “God speaking.”

In expressing opposition to the “God told me” cliché, one runs the risk of being accused of challenging orthodoxy and not believing God is involved in the life of a believer. These charges are foolish and untrue.

We need to define and speak properly about our experiences in devotions, prayer, and worship.

We need to call impressions and feelings just that.

They may be wrong, but God’s Word never is.

We can more consistently reframe and restate by saying, “The Holy Spirit ministered deeply to me through the Scriptures,” or “The Holy Spirit deeply comforted me as He communicated Christ to me in the Scriptures.”

The “eureka” moments come from God and His Word (Psalm 119; Romans 15:4), not by our channeling God or Christ. (See 1 Corinthians 4:6b.)

Do not assume that a method is acceptable for use simply because the methods bring change in some situations. Pragmatism is not a basis for deciding truth or selecting techniques. Just because it works doesn’t make it Scriptural.

Hebrews 1:1–3 (ESV)

1Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

3He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Now in these last days, God speaks through His Word.

Since God has spoken finally and fully in the Son, and since the NT fully reports and interprets this supreme revelation once the NT is written, the canon of Scripture is complete. No new books are needed to explain what God has done through his Son.

2 Peter 1:3 (HCSB)

3His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.

God’s Word is sufficient! (Sola Scriptura)

John F. MacArthur, Jr.: Sola Scriptura simply means that all truth necessary for our salvation and spiritual life is taught either explicitly or implicitly in Scripture. Scripture is the highest and supreme authority on any matter on which it speaks.

May we never add or take away from Scripture!

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