“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:15-17 ESV
Peace of Christ
What is the peace of Christ? It is peace with God through
faith in Jesus Christ. It is our union with Christ by God’s grace, through
God-given and divinely persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord. For, before
we trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we were hostile
towards God in our minds, doing (practicing) evil deeds. We did not submit to
God’s law. Our minds were set on the flesh to obey its desires (Rom. 8:5-8;
Col. 1:21).
Yet, when we trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior
of our lives, we died with Christ to sin and self, and we were raised with
Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God (in his likeness) in
true righteousness and holiness. We were given new lives in Christ Jesus, our
Lord, to be lived to Him and to his righteousness, that he may now present us
as holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if we continue in the
faith (Col. 1:21-23; Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).
This peace, though, is not the kind the world talks about.
For Jesus also said that he did not come to bring peace but a sword, and that
he does not give peace as the world gives (Matt. 10:34-39; Jn. 14:27).
For, the kind of peace the world talks about involves
compromise of faith and morals and convictions in order to avoid conflict and
disagreements. The peace the world talks about involves uniting ourselves with
all people regardless of differences in beliefs or practices. It involves
sacrificing our faith, and not walking in obedience to our Lord, in order to
blend in with the rest of the world so that we don’t offend anyone with the
gospel.
But, the kind of peace Jesus gives leads us to holy lives,
separate (unlike, different) from the world. It leads us to unite with God in
heart and mind and purpose, to do his will, even if it means the world
(including the worldly church) will hate us and speak evil against us and
persecute us for our walks of faith. It leads us to godly living, and to living
to please God with our lives regardless of whether or not others are pleased
with us or approve of us.
So, this is the peace that is to rule (govern, control,
direct) our hearts. It is first and foremost at peace with God and no longer
hostile in our minds towards God doing (practicing) evil deeds. It walks in
obedience to our Lord and no longer walks (conducts our lives) according to our
sinful flesh. It lives holy lives separate from the world of sin and unto God,
and it lives to please our Lord in all our conduct.
And, then it seeks peace with others, too, but it never
involves compromise of truth or faith or holiness or purity. Peace with others
must remain in conformity with the will of God for our lives. We should never
seek peace with others if it involves losing our peace with God because we
chose compromise of faith over obedience to our Lord. For, if we are at peace
with God, then those who are of this world are not going to be at peace with
us.
Encourage One Another
I guarantee that if we put this into practice, in the way
the scriptures teach that we should do, that we are not going to be at peace
with all people, but we will have a lot of folk hostile towards us, rebuking
us, calling us names, falsely accusing us, attacking us verbally, slandering
us, rejecting us, despising us, not wanting to be near us, and even wanting to
kill us.
For, this says that we are to let the Word of Christ dwell
in us richly. And, the Word of Christ is opposed to the flesh of man (of
humans). For, the Spirit of God is at war with the flesh, and the flesh is at
war with the Spirit. So, if the Word of God (of Christ) is at home in our
hearts, not just in our intellect, it means we are walking the walk and not
just talking the walk.
And, then we are to teach and admonish one another in the
wisdom of God, not in human wisdom or in humanistic philosophy that is contrary
to God’s wisdom. And, to admonish means to warn, to counsel, to exhort, and to
urge others to walk in faithful obedience to their Lord and to no longer walk
(in practice) according to our sinful flesh. We are ALL supposed to be doing
this.
But, the modern church of today in America is opposed to
this. Their message is “stay in your own lane,” i.e. mind your own business,
don’t tell other people how they should live, don’t judge anyone, don’t
confront anyone with the gospel, but just be “nice” to everyone and say happy
things that will make everyone comfortable and at peace with you.
But, “nice” is not loving others. “Nice” is about self, not
about God, and not about doing what is best for others. “Nice” lies to people,
too, in order to make them feel good about themselves, even if they are steeped
in sinful addiction. And, lies are not kind, nor are they loving. But, if we
are truly being kind, and if are truly loving others, as God loves us, we will
speak the truth in love (in love) to others, and we will show them the way to
peace with God and to freedom in Christ from bondage (addiction) to sin.
And, we will encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ in
holy living, and to forsake their sins to follow Christ in obedience, and to
live lives which are separate from the world of sin unto God.
And, this encouragement involves urging, warning, exhorting
and straight talk, too, no “beating around the bush” (1). For, so many who
profess faith in Jesus Christ are still living in sin, still trapped in
addiction, still walking according to the flesh, and they are not walking in
the freedom that Christ provided for them via the cross.
In Ephesians 5 it says that we are to speak to one another
in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. So, this isn’t just about singing. This
is about encouraging one another spiritually via the hymns, which are rich in
biblical doctrine, and via the psalms, which also lead us in holy living, and
via spiritual songs which are based off scripture and which teach the teachings
of Christ and holy living and walks of obedience to Christ.
Be Thankful
Three times this mentions being thankful to God, too. First
was in the context of letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. Secondly
it was in the context of encouraging (warning, urging, exhorting) one another
in our walks of obedience to our Lord. And, the third instance was in the
context of us doing everything, whether in word or deed, in the name (divine
character) of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We need to be thankful to our Lord in all things, whether or
not people receive us warmly for our obedience to our Lord, or whether they
reject us, despise us, speak evil against us, and persecute us for our walks of
obedience to our Lord.
We need to keep giving our Lord our praise and our thanks
for loving us, for saving us, for delivering us out of our bondage to sin, and
for freeing us to walk in his holiness, living godly lives pleasing to him. In
all these things we need to give him our thanks.
Songs
in the Night
An Original Work / December 18, 2013
“About
midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other
prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84
Lord, I praise You forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.
I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!
Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!
I rejoice in His love for me.
I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!
Lord, I thank You for giving me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender mercies now flow within.
Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!
Friday, November 22, 2019
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