Sunday, May 27, 2012

Peace with God


Peace with God
Romans 5: 1 – 11.

Introduction
Peace is an important biblical concept.  For example, the Apostle Paul lists “peace” as Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”  We also encounter “peace” among some of the last words of Jesus to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid (John 14: 27).”
According to Jesus, there is a difference between the “peace” Jesus give us and the “peace” the world gives us.  Perhaps a simple explanation about this difference is to say Jesus’ “peace” is an eternal “peace,” and the “peace” of the world is only temporary.
I can certainly agree with this interpretation that worldly “peace” is only temporary.  In my short lifetime, I can only recall a few times when our nation has experienced “peace.”  I was born during the Vietnam War.  One of my earliest memories is of the American Hostages in Iran.  I remember living in fear during the 1980’s that the Russians would use a nuclear bomb.  I was in college during the first war in Iraq.  I remember numerous peacekeeping missions to countries I had never heard of before.  And, now we are engaged in the War on Terror.
It certainly makes sense that Jesus is describing a lasting and eternal peace which the world cannot provide.  However, it is also possible that Jesus is referring to a different kind of peace.  Jesus’ peace is different in both quantity and quality.
If we believe that Jesus had a thoroughly Jewish upbringing, and if we believe that Jesus spoke primarily in the Aramaic language, then it is entirely possible that Jesus’ understanding of peace comes from the Hebrew word “Shalom.”  We traditionally translate “Shalom” with the English word “peace.”  But, “Shalom” does not mean what we think peace means.  Sometimes we use the word “peace” to refer to the absence of conflict.  Sometimes we use the word “peace” to refer to an internal feeling of calm or quiet.
“Shalom” means much more than the absence of conflict or inner calm.  Instead, it means “wholeness” or “well-being.”  It includes the ideas of having your physical needs met as well as living in harmonious relationship with God, other people and the creation as a whole.  The world cannot give us this kind of peace.  This kind of peace is only possible through the presence of God in our lives.  In other words, true peace is not the absence of conflict…True peace is the presence of God in our lives.
God gives us true peace by establishing a new kind of relationship with himself.  Our new relationship with God is no longer defined by the barrier of sin and the wrath our sin deserves.  Our new relationship with God is source of joy, in that we live in harmony with God, other people and the creation.

Romans 5: 1 – 11.
It is entirely possible that Paul is making a political statement in his reference to “peace with God.”  At the time Paul wrote the Book of Romans, most Roman citizens would acknowledge that they were living in peaceful times.  There were no civil wars going on within the Empire, and there were no external wars with other nations.  However, this peace was made possible through the presence of Roman soldiers in every corner of the Empire.  It was an enforced peace.  People lived in fear of what would happen if they disturbed the peace.
According to Paul, there is a better kind of peace.  This peace was not accomplished by soldiers’ threatening to kill other people.  This peace was accomplished when Jesus gave his own life on the cross.
Our Scripture begins with the word “therefore.”  That tells us this passage is linked to the passage that comes before it.  Romans 5: 1 – 11 is a kind of conclusion to Romans 4.  In Romans 4, Paul uses the story of Abraham from the Old Testament to illustrate the connection between faith and righteousness. 
According to Genesis 15: 6, Abraham believed God and God credited righteousness to Abraham.  Paul uses this verse to teach us that righteousness is not something we earn for ourselves.  Paul says that righteousness does not depend on circumcision or on meticulously keeping all the commandments found in the Old Testament Law.  Instead, righteousness is something God credits to us (or gives us as a free gift of God’s Grace) when we have faith.

Since We Have Been Justified through Faith
You might think that Paul has changed the subject here, since he doesn’t use the word “righteousness.”  Actually he does use it.  “Righteousness” is a noun which means to be in a right relationship with something—either a right relationship with the Old Testament Law or a right relationship with God himself.  The word “Justify” is the verb form of the same word.  To justify something is to put it in a right relationship.
In one sense, “Justify” is a legal term from the courtroom.  A defendant stands before a judge to receive his sentence.  If the judge declares the defendant “not guilty,” he has been justified—placed in a right relationship with the law of the land and a right relationship with society at large.
I think there are a couple of important points about Paul’s notion of “justify.”
It is important to note that this is written in the passive voice.  We do not work our way into a right relationship with God.  No one can be good enough, righteous enough or even religious enough to satisfy what God requires.  Instead, God does the work to make us righteous.  This is an event in the past.  God accomplished the work to make us righteous in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
It is also important to note that we are justified through faith. On one hand, Paul says we are no different from Abraham.  Abraham was not justified by his ability to keep the Law, because the Law did not exist when God credited Abraham as righteous.  Abraham was not justified by circumcision, because there was no such thing as circumcision when God credited Abraham as righteous.  Abraham was made righteous by God, because Abraham believed God.  On the other hand, Paul tells us there is both an objective and subjective side to being made righteous.
Salvation is an objective and accomplished fact.  When Jesus died on the cross and rose again, he accomplished our salvation.  The crucifixion and resurrection happened one time in history.  It was a complete act of salvation which does not have to be repeated.  In that sense, salvation is an objective fact.  However, there is a subjective side to salvation in that it must be received by individual people through faith.
The person who has been justified through faith experiences peace with God.  This is not peace as the world gives—peace that is a temporary absence of conflict.  This is the peace that only God can give us—peace which is best described as a new kind of relationship with God.  Our relationship with God is no longer defined by the sin that separates us from God and which deserves God’s full wrath.

Since We Have Been Justified by His Blood
Verse 9 is very similar to verse 1.  The only difference is that Paul does not say we have been justified through faith.  Instead, he says we have been justified by the blood of Jesus.  Here, Paul is emphasizing the objective side of salvation.  Our justification has already been accomplished by the blood of Jesus.
“The blood of Jesus” is a reference to the death of Jesus on the cross.  Justification came at a price.  You and I did not have to pay for our salvation.  But, Jesus did pay.  He paid for it with his blood.  Salvation cost Jesus everything he had.  He paid with his life.
For a person like Paul, who grew up in a Jewish household and eventually became a very devout Jew, the word “blood” is a very important word.  In the Old Testament, blood was an important part of both covenant and sacrifice.  When the Jewish people entered into a covenant relationship with God, they sealed their covenants with the blood of animals.  When the Jewish people sought God’s forgiveness for their sins, they found their forgiveness through the sacrifice of blood.  Therefore, Paul wants us to view the crucifixion of Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins.
The Old Testament Law makes it clear that God demands a high ethical standard from his people.  God wants his people to honor God in all of our relationships and even in the ways we live our day to day lives.  The Law addresses the way we behave in worship, the way we relate to our families, the way we relate to our neighbors, and the smallest details of life.  The Old Testament, the New Testament and our experience of life make it clear to us that none of us is capable of living up to God’s standards.  We cannot make ourselves righteous in God’s eyes.  This is why it was necessary for Jesus to give his blood.  His life was a sacrifice to provide forgiveness of our sins and to place us in a right relationship with God.
There is another difference between this section (verses 9 – 11) and the previous section (verses 1 – 5).  In the first section, Paul says that since we have been justified we have peace with God.  In this section, Paul says that since we have been justified we have now received reconciliation. Perhaps we are supposed to understand peace with God and reconciliation as similar concepts.  That would lead us to affirm that peace does not refer to the absence of conflict as much as it refers to a new kind of relationship with God.  We are no longer alienated from God.  Instead, through the death and resurrection of Jesus we have been brought together with God in a reconciled relationship.  This reconciliation is only possible because Jesus has forgiven our sins.
Through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, we have both forgiveness and reconciliation.  For God, there is really no difference between forgiveness and reconciliation.  For you and me, forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same thing.  Forgiveness means to let go.  To let go of the sin someone has committed against you and to refuse to punish them for their sins.  Reconciliation means to restore the relationship.  Sometimes it is enough for us to forgive someone in our lives and never restore the relationship.  But, that was not enough for God.  God went the extra mile and offered us forgiveness of sin and a new and reconciled relationship with himself.

God Demonstrated His Love for Us
Of course, that raises the question about why we needed forgiveness and reconciliation.  Paul has a great answer for this question in the way he described God’s love for us in verses 6 – 9. 
God knows who we are and loves us anyway.  We were not good, righteous, or eve religious.  In fact, Paul used four terms to describe who we are.  Any one of these terms would be bad enough.  But, notice that Paul used them in a way that they get progressively worse.  Jesus died for us because we are Powerless, Ungodly, Sinners, and Enemies of God.
Powerless…Weakness is a part of what it means to be human.  Our bodies and minds are aging.  We are subject to disease, decay and all kinds of suffering.  We cannot solve our own problems.  In particular, we are powerless to fix the sin problem which alienates us from our Holy God. 
Ungodly…Ungodly literally means opposite of God.  We are the opposite of God.  God is the powerful Creator.  We are the powerless creatures.  However, we think we can live independent of God.  This should probably remind us of the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  Satan told them they could be like God if they just ate the fruit God had forbidden.  Paul described the lifestyle of the ungodly in Romans 1: 18 – 32. 
Sinners…There are two types of sinners: those who do not know the Law, and those who know the Law and choose not to obey.  This should remind us of Paul’s words in Romans 3: 23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Paul doesn’t leave us any wiggle room here.  All people are sinners.  We have inherited a sinful nature as human beings.  And, we continue to commit individual sins by breaking God’s Law.
Enemies of God…The word enemy can refer either to a passive enemy who is hated by God or an active enemy who is hostile toward God.  Without any context to help us interpret what Paul means, perhaps we would do well to interpret it as both.  We are actively hostile toward God in the ways we rebel and sin against him.  God is hostile toward our sin, because our sin deserves to experience the wrath of God—just as enemies of the Roman Empire experienced the full wrath of Rome.
Some people may hear this list of terms and think, “I know I am powerless and ungodly, but I don’t really think I am a sinner or an enemy of God.”  Paul is not asking us to choose a few of these terms to describe ourselves.  No.  He says we are all of these things.
When we were enemies of God, God still loved us enough to send his only Son to die for us.  A sacrifice for our sins and a way for us to be reconciled as friends of God.  We are not able to change our status as enemies of God to friends of God.  Only God can change our status.  It is a gift which we receive through faith.
Faith is more than simply acknowledging the truth of the Christian Gospel.  Of course, believing the Gospel is a true story is an important first step of faith.  But faith also involves admitting we are powerless, ungodly, sinners and enemies of God.  Then, trusting in God’s promise to make us righteous…to reconcile us to himself.

Conclusion
Just last week, a US Congressman from California demanded that the Department of the Navy turn over their investigation of the death of US Marine Rafael Peralta. 
Peralta was born in Mexico City and immigrated to San Diego, California as a child.  He became a US citizen and immediately enlisted with the Marine Corps.  He died in combat in Iraq in 2004.
On November 15, 2004, 25 year old Sgt. Peralta was serving as scout team leader in Fallujah, Iraq.  As a part of Operation Phantom Fury, Sgt. Peralta and his team were ordered to clear houses suspected of containing enemy insurgents.  In the fourth house the team cleared that Monday, Sgt. Peralta led his team through two empty rooms on the ground floor.  While entering the third room, Sgt. Peralta was shot several times with AK-47 fire leaving him severely wounded he dropped to the floor, leaving other marines to return fire. 
The insurgents threw a grenade at the Marines, who were unable to exit the room.  Sgt. Peralta, still conscious despite his grave wounds, reached out took the grenade into his chest, and absorbed the explosion killing him instantly – and saving the lives of his team.  For his heroism he was awarded the Navy Cross.  Multiple petitions to have his selfless action recognized by the Medal of Honor are making their way through the military and political systems but have so far been rejected.  Medical examiners have determined that he was dead before the grenade exploded, and was thus unable to pull the grenade into his own body to save his fellow Marines.  (The other Marines insist that they watched him pull the grenade into his own chest to save their lives.)[1] 
Sgt. Peralta is a hero; he gave his life for his friends; and he is one of the reasons why we observe Memorial Day as a nation.
However, Peralta’s death was nothing like the death of Jesus.  Peralta died for his fellow Marines—for his friends.  Jesus died for his enemies.
Dying for your friends might make you a hero…But, Jesus died for us when we were actively hostile toward God.  While we were powerless, ungodly, sinners and enemies of God, Jesus gave his life for us. 
For some people, this is an opportunity to place your faith in the only One who loved you enough to provide a way for you to be forgiven and reconciled.  For others, this is an opportunity to acknowledge how unworthy we are for our Holy God to give his Only Son.
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