Go! And Live In The Peace Of Christ (Advent Peace) Series

Go! And Live in the Peace of Christ (Advent Peace)

Romans 5:1 (NLT): “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”

Psalm 119:165 (NLT): “Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble.”

Introduction: Advent and the World’s Longing for Peace

Every Christmas card declares it.

Every news broadcast contradicts it.

And every human heart longs for it.

Peace.

Advent is the season where the Church intentionally remembers that Christ came into a violent, divided, restless world as the Prince of Peace. Every generation searches for peace — world peace, inner peace, peace of mind — yet peace remains elusive.

Technology has increased, comforts have improved, entertainment is everywhere, but anxiety, guilt, conflict, and fear still reign.

But Advent whispers a better word:

Peace has come.

Peace has a name.

Peace is a Person — Jesus Christ.

Today my encouragement to you is: Go! And live in the peace of Christ.

Live in the peace of justification and the great peace that comes from loving God’s Word.

Paul declares the greatest truth the human soul can ever know:

Peace with God is possible — because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done.

And the Psalmist declares the greatest blessing the believer can experience:

Great peace belongs to those who treasure God’s Word.

At Advent, we celebrate both.

Let us walk through these two glorious truths.

1. Peace With God — The Gift of Justification (Romans 5:1)

Paul begins Romans 5 with a glorious “therefore,” pointing back to the reality that all humanity stands guilty before a holy God. No one earns righteousness by works. But in Christ, everything changes:

“Since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith…” (Romans 5:1, NLT)

The Greek verb dikaioo means to declare righteous. It is a courtroom word. It does not describe a process but a declaration. When you trust in Jesus, the Judge of heaven slams the gavel and declares:

Not guilty.

Forgiven.

Righteous.

Accepted.

Mine.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT): "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,[a] so that we could be made right with God through Christ."

This is the great exchange:

Our sin laid upon Christ;

Christ’s righteousness credited to us.

As R.T. Kendall says, “Justification means more than forgiveness. It means God sees me just as if I had never sinned.”

Advent reminds us why Christ came — not simply to be born, but to die, to rise, and to justify sinners.

You cannot earn God’s approval.

You cannot strive your way to peace.

But you can receive it — through Christ.

2. Peace From God — The End of Hostility (Romans 5:1)

Paul continues: “We have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”

This is not the peace of feelings — this is the peace of relationship.

Romans 5:10 (NLT): "For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son."

Before salvation, we were enemies of God.

Advent reminds us that the Baby in the manger came to end the war between God and humanity.

The Hebrew word for peace — shalom — means wholeness, reconciliation, nothing broken, nothing missing. Through the cross, Christ did not merely calm our fears; He ended our rebellion.

Tim Keller said, “The peace of God is not the absence of trouble but the presence of God.”

But hear this:

Peace with God is the foundation for the peace of God.

You cannot experience the peace of God until you first have peace with God.

Ephesians 2:14 (NLT): "For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us."

Christ Himself is our peace.

Peace is not a technique — it is a Person.

3. The Great Peace of Loving God’s Word (Psalm 119:165)

If Romans 5:1 gives us peace with God, Psalm 119:165 teaches us how to walk in great peace.

Psalm 119:165 (NLT): “Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble.”

The Psalmist uses shalom again — but not just peace: great peace.

Not fragile peace.

Not fleeting peace.

Not “peace when life is easy.”

Great peace.

Deep peace.

Advent peace — the peace Jesus came to give.

And who receives this peace?

Those who love God’s Word — His torah, His teaching, His direction.

Charles Stanley once wrote, “The Word of God is our anchor in the storms of life.”

Peace is the fruit of being anchored to the Scriptures — reading them, obeying them, treasuring them.