Peace with God

Peace with God through Jesus Christ

1. Salvation in Adam

· Covenant conditions - “personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience”

· Covenant mediator - Adam

· Covenant initiation - natural generation

· Covenant community - city of man

2. Salvation in Christ

· Covenant conditions – passive and active obedience of Christ–it is un-transgressible

· Covenant mediator - Christ

· Covenant initiation - supernatural regeneration

· Covenant community - city of God

Sermon in a sentence: Peace with God can only be attained “through Christ.”

I can think of no greater relevant, comforting, and important concept than peace with God. It is relevant in that so many people attempt to quiet their consciences with varying ideas of peace with God. They do this because God has clearly revealed himself in the things that have been made, and the work of the law on their hearts accuses them. Friendly omnipotence makes peace with God the most comforting truth in this world. Peace with God is also important because it must be obtained the way in which the offended party stipulates and is not subject to negotiation. God tells us how we must have peace with him if we are to have peace with him at all, and we see from our text that we only have peace with God if we are justified by faith! But, the words I would like to call your attention to this morning are “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” If we are to look for peace with God through justification, we must look nowhere else but in Christ, for it is from his fullness that we receive every grace. I want you to notice also the “throughs” in verses 12-21: “sin came into the world through [Adam],” “much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded,” “because of [Adam’s] trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” Let us then consider peace with God through Adam under the covenant of works and peace with God through Christ in the covenant of grace.

1. Peace with God Through Adam in the Covenant of Works

Covenant Conditions

Shockingly, I agree with the foundational motivation of much atheism today: the god of much evangelicalism cannot exist in light of overwhelming injustice and suffering in the world. The god of popular “Christianity” is thoroughly man-centered. He cannot stand to be apart from us or see us sad, he would never challenge our lifestyle of sin, but rather tolerates and encourages it, and he makes it his highest priority to make us happy in this life. How can a god like that be reconciled with human suffering? When a 4 year old child witnesses the slaughtering of his entire family; when a missionary is so sick they do not know if they will recover; when countless people still starve to death every day; when babies are murdered by the millions; when racism is still prevalent; when parents are informed that their 16 year-old son has been in a fatal car accident. Where is this needy, man-infatuated god who is dedicated to the success of our dreams? The atheist has something right here–that god does not exist! But, the God of Scripture, who is incomparable, dwells in unapproachable light, yea, he is pure light and in him there is no darkness at all! All that God is he is incomparably, perfectly, and infinitely. God is pure existence in every sense of pure! There is no end or imperfection in his strength, knowledge, wisdom, glory, love, mercy, holiness, justice, and goodness.

It is this God whom we have sinned against. We have treated this glorious God with contempt, indeed, we have fallen short of his glory! Every person has recognized him from his works and worshipped the creature rather than the Creator– that is why man’s conception of God is of him worshipping the creature as well. But, the one true and living God does not owe man health, wealth, and happiness, he only owes them justice! Of course, we cannot always connect specific sufferings with specific sins, tit for tat, but we have to conclude that God is not guilty of injustice. God is not guilty of injustice because he wrote his law on Adam’s heart, a law that demanded “personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience.” That is what it takes to have peace with God under the covenant of works: never-ceasing, perfect obedience to all of God’s holy law. That is the condition of the covenant of works and there is not an ounce of mercy in it. Sinner how can you stand to die in Adam, to die in your sins? Do you think any of the ways you attempt to cope with your guilt will help you on the day when God judges the secrets of men by his inflexibly holy law?

Covenant Mediator

The covenant being made with Adam not only for himself but for his posterity.

Covenant Initiation

All mankind descending from him.

Covenant Community

The city of man is selfish and self-glorifying, and its end is destruction.

2. Peace with God Through Christ in the Covenant of Grace

Covenant Conditions

Christ has fulfilled the covenant of works, thus the only condition of the covenant of Grace is being in Christ.

Here is the question: how can those in Adam have peace with God? Sometimes a teacher might grade on a curve because everybody did so poorly on a test. If the highest grade was an 80, a 70 might get you an A. Is this then what God has done for those in Adam under the covenant of works? Has he lowered the standard of absolute moral perfection because everyone has done so poorly? According to Christ this is not what happened at all. Jesus says that he has not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. But that begs another question, why did Christ come to fulfill the law? Did the second person of the Godhead take on flesh to prove something to himself? No! He fulfilled the law on behalf of the posterity of Adam. Make no mistake perfect righteousness is the condition of peace with God, but now this righteousness has been manifested apart from the law–the righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ! I am speaking of justification by faith.

Justification is a legal declaration of righteousness based on evidence. Justification is first legal. Look at how it is contrasted with condemnation. Condemnation certainly has a “courtroom feel” to it does it not? Notice also the words “judgement” and “trespass,” this is what is being fixed with the grace of justification. The picture is man on trial before God in heaven’s courtroom. Secondly, justification is a declaration. If a boss recognizes the work of their employee and says, “Thank you for your good work. You are one of our best employees!,” he is not making the work good but pronouncing it good. In the same way God does not make a sinner righteous by justifying them, but rather, declares them righteous. Even while we are unrighteous God counts as righteous–that is justification! Which brings me to my last point that justification is a legal declaration based on evidence. God himself forbids us to pervert justice. If he simply declared us righteous in heavens courtroom because he felt bad for us would that not be a perversion of justice? If a judge let a murder go free sheerly out of compassion would we not petition his removal? How much more would God pervert justice by clearing the guilty without evidence? But he does have evidence–the active and passive obedience of Christ! Christ actively lived a life of moral perfection–the very condition of the covenant of works, and Jesus suffered the just retribution for the sins of his people, and so fully paid the penalty of sin! Being found in Christ we are counted righteous and acquitted of all our sins for his sake. God is both just and the justifier of sinners who believe in Jesus Christ! The last Adam has fulfilled the conditions of the first Adam!

Covenant Mediator

Christ is the prophet, priest, and king of the new covenant.

A prophet is not merely someone who can predict the future. Biblically, a prophet is primarily one who speaks authoritatively on behalf of God. Christ is both the message and the messenger! Obviously Jesus is the point of the New Testament, but in Luke 24:44 he tells his disciples that he is the point of Old Testament as well! Is it any wonder that John calls him “the Word.” Jesus, as the prophet of the new covenant, reveals to us by his Word and Spirit the will of God for our salvation, which is to believe upon him!

Christ’s priestly duties can be summed up in sacrifice and intercession. Have you ever read Exodus and wondered about the passover lamb? Maybe you have made it to Leviticus and wondered about the connection between blood-sacrifice and sin. Does God not say in Hebrews 10:4, “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin”? Why then would he command something which ineffectively deals with sin? In Hebrews 10:1, God also speaks of these sacrifices being “but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities.” The blood-sacrifices of the Old Testament were but a shadow of the “once for all time sacrifice of Christ.” The blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin, but the precious blood of Jesus Christ effectively does take away sin! Christ, as our great high priest, has offered himself up, once for all time, as a sacrifice to satisfy the divine justice of God on behalf of his people. Jesus also intercedes on our behalf. If the prophet represents God to man; the priest represents man to God. It was through the priesthood that Israel approached God. Consider one of many examples, in Exodus 28:12 God says, “And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance.” The priestly vest had two stones set on the shoulders, each with 6 names of the 12 tribes of Israel, and Aaron was to bear these names before the Lord. The priest represented man to God! Jesus comes with our names engraved upon his hands and continually bears our names before the Lord as the great high priest of the new covenant! How could we not approach the throne of grace boldly in the name of Jesus Christ?

I can think of no greater duty of a king than protecting his people and this is what our king does indeed!

Covenant Initiation

Regeneration.

Covenant Community

The city of God is selfless and God-glorifying, and its end is eternal love and joy.

Can you imagine a world where everyone loves each other as they love themselves? I think we naturally fixate on the prohibitions of Scripture, “thou shall nots,” but what would it look like for everyone to do what they are supposed to do? Jonathan Edwards, I believe rightfully, said that rewards in heaven are greater capacities to enjoy it, and that those of lower glory will not envy those of higher and those of higher will not be pompous toward those of lower. Instead, we will all rejoice in one another and the grace we have been given. Wont it be a glorious day when we are freed from all selfishness?

The city of God is not merely a human utopia where man is at peace with himself and others. Heaven is heaven because God is there! Every beautiful landscape you see, heavenly feeling you feel, glorious meal you taste, heavenly smell you smell, and rapturous sound you hear are a meager shadow of the goodness of God! The comforts, joys, and sensations of heaven will be inexpressibly many, but in them all we will recognize and give worship to the One who gave them! Isn’t it hard to worship God now? It is so easy to get sinfully entangled in our schedules that we do not think about the beauty and majesty of God. Not only that, but the old man is terribly strong even as he is passing away, and there are enemies outside of us: demonic and human. But one day every enemy of God will be subdued, and we glorified, and there we will worship God without restraint!

The city of God is not something completely in the future but exists now in the church. Then we will be cognizant, sensible, emotive, and growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes growing! We will behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and be continually changed from one degree of glory to the next. Eternal love and joy! But even now are we not cognizant, sensible, and emotive creatures? And as such creatures, are we not being changed from one degree of glory to the next as we look to the founder and perfecter of our faith? The notion of “online church” being a substitute for the local gathering is a silly one in light of the fact that our corporate worship is a foretaste of the eternal worship of the saints in the city of God. Saints of God is that not motivation enough to cast off the works of darkness and live as citizens of light?

3. Objective Peace and Solid Joy

Through Christ we have an objective peace! I hope you have seen that from our text today. This is not simply a peace of mind or conscience, but the hostility between God and the justified has been fully and forever removed. How might we face COVID-19 with confidence knowing that it could be the closest thing to hell we will ever have to experience? How might we rest our souls on the unshakeable riches of heaven while the economy is so wobbly? For some of you, the pandemic is the least of your troubles. But in all these things how might we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God though our Lord Jesus Christ, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.