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Prince of Peace. On the
night Jesus was born the angels said,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests. (NIV) Luke 2:14 During Christmas this verse is often quoted, but did you notice what it says? God only gives peace to those
He favors. In John 14:27, Jesus, speaking to His disciple, says,
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. (NIV) John 14:27 God gives us peace. How? What kind of peace? Jesus gives the answer in Luke 7:48, 50 when He tells a woman,
Your sins have been forgiven . . . Your faith has saved you; go in peace. (NASB) Luke 7:48, 50 That woman was spiritually at war with God (Romans 5:1, 10-11) until she met Jesus who forgave
her sins and gave her peace with God. You see, the peace that is most important to Jesus is spiritual peace,
not political or civil peace. In fact, God will use strife to help us see that we need Him because there is
no one else (Acts 4:12), no man, no woman, no saint, no one but Jesus who can rescue us from the judgement
we deserve because of our disobedience to Him. Only Jesus is the real peacemaker. He is the Prince of Peace
(Isaiah 9:6), and He sets people free from their sins. Are you at peace with God? Have you been rescued from
the penalty of your sin? Are you free at last? Do you have peace at last?
Sons of God. When God forgets your sins, He calls you a child of God (John 1:12)
- a son of God (Gal. 3:26). We become sons of God by faith in Jesus Christ. As we have seen in our study of
the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has been giving us the characteristics of true Christians. He has told us how
true Christians behave. He is not telling us how to become a Christian. He is telling us how to relate to God
and how Christians treat others. In this beatitude Jesus tells us that the real peacemakers are the sons of
God. In Matt. 5:3 He has said the “blessed one” will see the kingdom of heaven. In the next and following verses,
the “blessed one” will be comforted, inherit the earth, be satisfied, receive mercy, and see God. Now He says
the “blessed one” will be called the son of God. These things are only true of Christians! Is your life characterized
by being a peacemaker? |
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| Sermon on the Mount | |||||
