This peace with God is a calm, intelligent sense of friendship with the Lord of Heaven and earth. he that has it, feels as if there is no barrier and separation between himself and his Holy Maker. he can think of himself as under the eye of an All-Seeing Being, and yet not feel afraid. He can believe that this All-Seeing Being looks on him, and yet is not displeased.
Such a man can see death waiting for him, and yet not be greatly concerned. He can go down into the cold river - close his eyes on all he has on earth - launch forth into a world unknown, and take up his abode in the silent grave - and yet feel peace.
It is the lack of this very peace which makes many in the world unhappy. Thousands have everything that is supposed to give them pleasure, and yet are never satisfied. Their hearts are always aching. There is a constant sense of emptiness within. And what is the secret of all this? They have no peace with God.
The peace of the true Christian is not a vague, dreamy feeling, without reason and without foundation. He can show the reason for it. He builds upon solid ground. He has peace with God, because he is justified. He is justified, and his sins are forgiven. However many, and however great, they are cleansed away, pardoned, and wiped out. They are blotted out of the book of God's remembrance. They are sunk into the depths of the sea. They are cast behind God's back. They are searched for and not found. They are remembered no more. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18). And so he has peace.
Let me show you the rock from which justification and peace with God flow. That rock is Christ. Christ has stood in the place of the true Christian. He has become his Surety and his Substitute. He undertook to bear all that was to be borne, and to do all that was to be done, and what He undertook He performed. Hence the true Christian is a justified man.
Christ has suffered for sins, the "just for the unjust" (1 Peter 3:18). He has endured our punishment in His own body on the cross. he has allowed the wrath of God, which we deserved, to fall on His own head. Hence the true Christian is a justified man.
Christ has paid the debt the Christian owed, by His own blood, and death on the cross. God is a just God, and will not require his debts to be paid twice over. Hence the true Christian is a justified man.
Christ, in one word, has lived for the true Christian. Christ has died for him. Christ has gone to the grave for him. Christ has risen again for him. Christ has ascended up on high for him, and gone into Heaven to intercede for his soul. Christ has done all, paid all, suffered all that was needful for his redemption. Hence arise the true Christian's justification - hence his peace. In himself there is nothing, but in Christ he has all things that his soul can require.
Dr. J.C. Ryle
© Revival Movement Association
Thank you for reading & God bless.
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