Fruit of the Spirit—Peace
Series: Fruit of the Spirit Teaching Series
Chuck Sligh
May 18, 25, 2014
TEXT: Galatians 5:22-23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Q. = Discussion QUESTION for the class / A. = ANSWERS or possible answers
INTRODUCTION
One of the longings of humanity throughout all ages has been peace. As long as there has been war, there has been a desire for peace between nations. But there is a deeper longing as well. There has always beat within the heart of all people the desire to be at peace with God, to be at peace with themselves, and to be at peace with others. And yet all three kinds of peace have eluded humanity for millennia.
Peace is a prominent theme in the Bible. In fact, the word peace itself is found in 400 verses in the Old and New Testament. That does not count synonyms of peace and allusions to peace in all it various shades of meaning and usage.
However, important and prominent as it is in the Bible, peace is perhaps one of the most illusive qualities in our lives. The Bible speaks of three kinds of peace in the Bible. Let’s look at them, and how we can find peace in these three areas.
I. LET’S NOTE FIRST THAT THERE ARE THREE KINDS OF PEACE IN THE BIBLE.
1) The first is what the Bible refers to as peace WITH God – Romans 5:1 – “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
The Bible tells us in Isaiah 53:6 – “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way…”
Q. What does this verse imply about our relationship with God?
Because of our sin, we’re at war with a God who hates sin and cannot allow sin in His presence.
Illus. – Jonathan Edwards, the great eighteenth century colonial American theologian and preacher vividly illustrated God’s attitude towards sin in his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” In this famous sermon he accurately portrayed mankind as sinful and separated from God and deserving of His judgment. He graphically pictured lost men and women hanging by a slender, fraying rope over hell, any minute ready to plunge into an eternity of judgment. His sermon was so vivid and powerful that God used it to convert many sinners to Christ and begin a great revival to the American colonies in a time of great moral decline known as the Great Awakening.
Yes, man is a sinner at war with God. But the real truth is that, as Jonathan Edwards portrayed, God is at war with man. But, praise God, God loves us and has devised a means whereby we CAN be at peace with God.
Q. What in your opinion is this “peace with God” Paul talks about in Romans 5:1?
A. [GET RESPONSES & IF APPROPRIATE ADD THE FOLLOWING:] Peace with God is when a sinner turns to God and is reconciled to Him. When this occurs, the guilty sinner and the Judge of the Universe are no longer in conflict with one another. The relationship changes from sinner before eternal Judge to child before his or her heavenly Father—and there is peace between them.
2) The second kind of peace the Bible speaks of is the peace OF God – Philippians 4:7 – “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Q. What do you think the peace OF God” is, and how is it different from peace WITH God?
A. [GET RESPONSES & IF APPROPRIATE ADD THE FOLLOWING:]
The peace OF God may be defined as “an inward spirit of tranquility and a serenity of heart and mind that abides even in the midst of trouble and trial.”
Illus. – The story is told of two artists who set out to paint a picture representing perfect peace. The first artist’s painting depicted a carefree boy sitting in a boat on a small, placid lake, without even a ripple to disturb the surface.
The other artist painted a raging waterfall with winds whipping the spray about. But on a limb, overhanging the swirling water, a bird had built its nest, and sat peacefully brooding her eggs. Here she was—safe from her enemies, shielded and protected by the roaring falls.
Real peace is being able to remain CALM and TRANQUIL in the midst of trial.
3) The third kind of peace is peace with others.
Note Hebrews 12:14 – “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” This kind of peace is harmony and fellowship that Christians have with others that results from following biblical principles of relationships.
II. LET’S CONSIDER NOW HOW TO HAVE THESE THREE KINDS OF PEACE
1) First, how can we have peace WITH God
• The first step is to recognize your predicament
The Bible says that we are sinners who will someday answer to a God who hates sin. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Q. What exactly is sin?
A. Hint – See 1 John 3:4 – “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”
Q. What does it mean that we “come short of the glory of God.”
A. We fall short of God’s righteous standard of perfect holiness.
Hebrews 9:27 tells us “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
The Bible also teaches that sinners are alienated from God and separated from possession of eternal life, the hope of heaven, and the blessings of God for Christians here on this earth – Isaiah 59:2 – “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
So we must recognize our condition. A person cannot be cured of a disease until he first accepts the doctor’s diagnosis.
Likewise, a sinner cannot accept God’s cure for his sin-sick soul until he admits his condition as a sinner before a holy, just God.
• The second step to have peace with God is to recognize our mediator—
Paul tells us in Romans 5:1 – “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Peace with God is obtained through Jesus Christ alone. Jesus paid the sin debt on the cross so that God is satisfied and you can be reconciled to Him.
Look with me at Colossians 1:20-22 – “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.”
Q. What do you think this verse teaches us about the role of Christ in our reconciliation with God?
A. It was made possible only by the blood of his cross.
• The final step to have peace with God is to understand how we can appropriate this reconciliation.
Romans 5:1, the verse I quoted just a minute ago emphasizing a different part of the verse says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Q. What does this verse say we must do to appropriate peace with God?
A. Believe in Jesus Christ.
NOTES: We are justified by FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. Good works, obedience to the Ten Commandments, church attendance, giving to the poor—none of these can do ANYTHING to make peace with God. To have peace with God you must by faith receive God’s free gift of salvation and reconciliation. Then, and only then, can you make your peace with God.
2) How can we have the peace OF God? Let’s think about that next.
Go with me to Philippians 4:6-9. This is the premier passage in the Bible dealing with how to have the peace of God in our lives.
Note four keys to obtain the peace OF God in this passage:
• The first one is to STOP WORRYING – verse 6 – “Be careful for nothing;…”
> Worrying is a waste of time.
Illus. – The uselessness of worry was proven by a study on worry carried out by the University of Michigan that found the following results:
60% of our worries are unwarranted—they just never happen.
20% have already become past activities and are completely out of our control.
10% are so petty they don’t make any difference at all.
Of the remaining 10%, only 4-5% are real and justifiable.
Of the remaining 5%, you can’t do anything about half of them.
In other words, what they discovered was that only about 1% of the things we worry about are real and 99% of the things we worry about are a complete waste of time and fruitless.
> Furthermore, worrying changes nothing
Jesus said in Matthew 6:27 – “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?”
That’s a good question. Worrying about things does no good whatsoever, but it will do a lot a bad. It is emotionally draining and can cause mental anguish and sometimes even physical damage, releasing chemicals in your body that cause ulcers, skin rashes, and other unwelcome manifestations. So the first key is to stop worrying—period!
[LET’S READ VERSE 6 NOW AND TELL ME WHAT ELSE PAUL SAYS WE SHOULD DO TO HELP US HAVE THE PEACE OF GOD] – verse 6 – “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” – The second key is to turn your cares over to God in prayer and LEAVE THEM THERE
Peter says in 1 Peter 5:7 – “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” In his wonderful song “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” Joseph Scrivner wrote those beautiful words we sing so often:
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
The key is seeing that GOD is in control of your situation. Jesus told us in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Note the phrase “I have overcome the world.” LISTEN—GOD IS IN CONTROL OF YOUR SITUATION! He has already overcome your problem. I love the little poem:
Said the robin to the sparrow
“I should really like to know
Why those anxious human beings
Rush around and worry so.”
Said the sparrow to the robin
“Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me.”
Oh, but the tragedy is that we DO have a heavenly Father who cares for you and me. It’s just that we do not turn our cares over to him as we should.
> The third key is to change your thought patterns – Verse 8 – “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Here God tells us that we have to change our thought patterns from the things that rob us of our peace to things that are positive and uplifting and edifying.
Isaiah puts it this way in Isaiah 26:3 – “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
In the end, the REAL key to peace is found in that last phrase, “he trusteth in thee.” If we keep our mind on the Lord and His things and trust in Him in the midst of our terrible times of trial and difficulty, God gives us a solemn promise—that He will keep us in “perfect peace.” That’s what we’re looking for, isn’t it?—Peace.—Perfect peace.
> The final key is to be obedient to the truth you have been taught – Verse 9 – “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”
This is one of the primary reasons God’s people do not have peace. You cannot have the peace of God if you are in disobedience to God’s Word.
Let me explain to you what I mean:
---Some have no peace because of the things you allow in your life & home. When you allow unrestricted TV, soap operas, R-rated and even a lot of inappropriate PG videos, questionable books, sensual romances, fleshly magazines, rock music, and video games that glorify unchristian themes—you can count on it—you will not have peace! God will make sure of that! The Holy Spirit will make you feel guilty and restless, with no peace or tranquility in your heart. What’s the answer? CLEAN OUT YOUR TRASH! Purge your home of these things, for they bring wrong thoughts and sin and these will cause you to lose your peace.
Illus. – of going on vacation and forgetting to empty the trash. Stinky things need to go out early rather than later.
---Some of you have no peace because you have stepped outside of your God-given place in the home. (EXPAND AS LED)
So what do you do? Paul says in verse 9 – “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, DO: and [THEN AND ONLY THEN…] the God of peace shall be with you.”
You have learned and received and heard about God’s way to live in each of these areas. Now DO them. Only then will the God of peace be with you.
3) Lastly, we want to examine how to have peace with others.
When we have vertical peace WITH God and we experience the internal peace OF God, we can then extend peace horizontally to others. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Follow peace with all men…”
As we saw earlier, this kind of peace can be defined as “harmony and fellowship that Christians have with others that results from following biblical principles of relationships.”
Two thoughts come to my mind when I think about God’s people having peace with others:
• First, there is peace when we have the “wisdom wthat is from above.” – James 3:17 – “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” – Really, there are only two things describing the wisdom that is from above
> The first is that God’s wisdom is pure (untainted by sin).
> The second is that it is PEACEABLE and then James elaborates on what is characteristic of peaceableness (EXPAND ON EACH AS LED):
---A peaceable person IS GENTLE. –
---Second, peaceable person HAS A TEACHABLE SPIRIT (“easy to be intreated”).
---Next, James says a peaceable person IS MERCIFUL.
---A peaceable person HAS GOOD FRUITS (good works).
---A peaceable person DOES NOT SHOW PARTIALITY.
---A peaceable person IS NOT HYPOCRITICAL.
Q. Look at each of these characteristics we just mentioned and explain how you think one of them contributes to or engenders peace with others, and if you can think of an illustration where you were faced with a potential conflict that was thwarted by exercising one of them, share that story with us.
• The second thing I want us to see about having peace with others is how God’s “One Another” commands contribute towards peace. (PASS OUT HAND OUT “3-Handout-List of 1 Anothers in NT” & GO OVER ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW THEY CONTRINUTE TO PEACE AS WE GO THROUGH THEM).
> Accept one another – Wherefore receive (=“accept”) ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. (Romans 15:7)
> Admonish one another – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)
> Bear one another's burdens – Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)
> Bear with one another – With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2)
> Build up one another – Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. (edify=”build up one another”). (Romans 14:19)
> Care for one another – That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. (1 Corinthians 12:25)
> Comfort one another – Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:18)
> Confess faults to one another – Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16)
> Be Devoted to one another – Be kindly affectioned (=devoted) one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another (Romans 12:10a)
> Honor one another – Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another (Romans 12:10b)
> Exhort one another – But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:13)
> Forgive one another – And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)
> Greet one another – Greet one another with an holy kiss. (2 Corinthians 13:12; Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:26)
> Be Honest with one another – Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds (Colossians 3:9)
> Be Hospitable to one another – Use hospitality one to another without grudging. (1 Peter. 4:9)
> Be Kind to one another – And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)
> Be Likeminded with one another (united) – Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus (Romans 15:5)
> Love one another – Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8)
> Pray for one another – Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16)
> Remember that we are all Members one of another – So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. (Romans 12:5)
> Serve one another – For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. (Galatians 5:13)
> Spur one another on – And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works (Hebrews 10:24)
> Submit to one another – Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:21)
