A FRIEND of mine, when visiting in the Yorkshire dales, giving away gospel books and speaking to those he came in contact with about their souls’ eternal salvation, met an aged woman in a cottage reading her Bible, to whom he addressed the following question: ―
“What are you reading your Bible for, ma’am?” She answered in her broad Yorkshire dialect, “I’s trying to make I’s peace with God.” My friend said to her, “I will give you so much, ma’am, if you find one line in all that blessed book that tells you that you have got to make your peace with God.”
She seemed greatly surprised, and told my friend that a gentleman of great religious reputation in the neighborhood had told her that she had to make her peace with God. She, acting on his advice, had diligently set about to do it, but had not accomplished such a difficult task when he met her.
He asked her to turn over on the pages of her Bible to the first chapter of Colossians and read the first clause of vs. 20, “And having made peace through the blood of his cross.” As she looked at the simple words, and read them over again and again, light from God broke in upon her soul. She now saw for the first time that all she had been trying to do had been done for her before ever she came into the world at all. The blessed work of peace-making was all done when Jesus cried “It is finished,” and gave up the ghost.
What a day of unspeakable joy that was for her when she saw for the first time that her peace was made by the very One that created her and all things. The same chapter which speaks of His having made peace, says also, “For by him were all things created.” “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” “By whom also he made the worlds.” Blessed mighty Son of God, if Thou hast made peace, it must be well made! Who in all heaven or earth shall dare to challenge Thy blessed work? Who could add to it or improve upon it?
As her husband entered the door she said to him that she did not now belong to the having-to-make-peace company, but to the company for whom peace was made. He also, through her simple words, soon entered into the enjoyment of the same blessing.
Thus was all their diligent preparation and legal effort brought to an end. How could human effort make peace with an offended God? How could diligent preparation blot out the awful account of our sins? Our very best actions are sinful when examined in the light of God’s holy presence. “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.”
It could only be done by the blood of the Saviour’s cross, which means all that He passed through as a holy sufferer on the cross to atone for sin and put it away from God’s sight. This He undertook to do, and He has done it once and forever. “After he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God.” He sits there in the highest place in all the universe, because He did His work so perfectly.
If anything else would have done, why should such a plain statement be written in God’s blessed Word as “The blood of Jesus Christ his Sou cleanseth us from all sin”?
“The wages of sin is death.” Nothing but death could meet what sin justly merited. Christ gave up His holy life and died a willing sacrifice, thus meeting the whole case. The blood that flowed from His riven side was the evidence of death. It flowed to purge away our sins, and thus to make our peace. If it purged away our sins and made a full expiation for them, how can God ask more?
Enough has been done. He does not ask more. Nowhere in all His blessed Word does He tell us to do more. He has got enough, and more than enough. He is perfectly satisfied, and more than satisfied. He is glorified for evermore by the death of the One who made my peace.
Christ lives in heaven as the witness of it. He is glorified there because He glorified God here through His atoning work. He waits there in heaven until He gets His earthly throne. The throne of the whole universe will yet be His. Awful day for those who have not now yielded to Him!
We do not get into the enjoyment of peace with God by our own doings or strivings or religious earnestness. We never find peace by looking inside ourselves to find evidences of it. This is the mistake thousands make, and have always made in the past. Peace comes through the knowledge of God’s perfect satisfaction with Jesus and His accomplished work. How and where do we get that knowledge? Through the Holy Scriptures. They testify in the fullest and most direct way of it. How can it be ours? By believing the record God has given in the Holy Scriptures of His beloved Son. Faith sets to its seal that God is true. Faith honors God and gives Him His true place, and God always delights to honor faith. “Being justified by faith (believing), we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Some sincere and earnest souls think that this is not enough, because it appears to make the way far too easy. Let such read Matt. 26. and 27., and there see all that the blessed Son of God endured, and say if the way is too easy. Thank God, the way is easy for us if we turn to Him in faith and repentance. No other way would suit those who are completely bankrupt. “When they had nothing to pay he frankly forgave them both” (Luke 7:4242And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? (Luke 7:42)).
When the religious Jews came to Jesus on earth demanding, “What shall we do that we might work the works of God” did He tell them to become more fervently religious? Did He tell them to amend their ways, and do more works of charity? Did He tell them to be more scrupulously particular about all the ceremonies of Judaism? Did He even tell them to go to the temple and make much prayer? Nay, but, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:2929Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. (John 6:29)).
Peace is the result to me of believing God’s unerring testimony. Faith is most productive of good works. Before we exercise faith, all works rendered to God He calls “dead works,” because they are not the fruit of faith. Paul speaks of “remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God our Father” (1 Thess. 1:33Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; (1 Thessalonians 1:3)). “Faith worketh by love.” That is, it produces works acceptable to God in the power of His love as enjoyed in our hearts. When we are brought into peace and joy through believing, then His love takes possession of our hearts and becomes the motive spring of action for all active service that His will directs us to do.
Hear what Chalmers said, who himself, before his conversion to God, was a strict law-keeper and a most religious man―”I am now most thoroughly of opinion, and it is an opinion founded on experience, that on the system of ‘Do this and live,’ no peace, and even no true worthy obedience, can ever be attained. It is, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.’ When this belief enters the heart, joy and confidence enter along with it.
We look to God in a new light. We see Him as a Father; love to Him―which terror scares away―re-enters the heart, and with a new principle and a new power we become new creatures in Christ Jesus.”
Consequent upon believing God’s testimony about His Son, we receive the Holy Spirit, who is the power for the constant enjoyment of peace and every other blessing in Christianity, while the work of Christ is the foundation of peace, and nothing can shake that. Walking in the Spirit ensures the enjoyment of peace. These things must not be confounded, but kept very clearly in our minds. Hence the word, “To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Rom. 8:66For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Romans 8:6)). “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.”
Now, I believe the reason that many true believers are not at times happy, and do not always enjoy peace, is that they indulge the flesh in one way or another, get a defiled conscience, and thus grieve the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Holiness. Then instead of the Spirit being in them to maintain them in the enjoyment of peace and happiness, He rebukes them that He may humble them and lead them to self-judgment and confession.
When confession takes place, as the result of self-judgment, of whatever we may have allowed to grieve the Spirit and rob our souls of the peace of communion, then there is no hindrance to the restoration and full enjoyment of peace.
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.” One is for the conscience, the other is for the heart. He would have our hearts as free from care as we pass through this world as our consciences are from guilt. Nothing ever disturbed His peace as a man on earth, because He ever walked in the uninterrupted enjoyment of the Father’s love.
When the disciples were terrified and affrighted in the storm He remained perfectly unmoved. He knew His poor people would have to encounter many a storm passing through this world, but He says, “In me ye shall have peace.” We turn to Him as our resource along the road, and He meets us both in mercy and in grace. In mercy He may preserve us from the storm or quell it by His power, or if not He will give us grace to sustain us in the midst of the storm, thus making us happy in it, superior to it.
We have all we need in Him, blessed be His name! He is nearer to us than the nearest, and better than the best earthly friend. Oh, that we proved Him more, and learned Him better, and trusted Him with all the confidence of our hearts at all times. Our souls would thus be filled with peace and joy all the day long.
“Peace! what a precious sound!
Tell it the world around:
Christ hath made peace!
Our souls are brought to God
By His atoning blood,
And crowned with every good:
Christ hath made peace!
P. W.