Skip to main content

Christ Our Peace


"His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit" (Ephesians 2:15-18).

From this we find out there were two kinds of people in the world, both kinds estranged from God and from each other: Gentiles and Jews. Both kinds were sinners—sinners far away and sinners close at hand. They both needed reconciling to God through the cross. The cross put to death their hostility. Jesus Christ is our peace. He preached peace to both and died for both. Now we have three kinds of people in the world: Jews, Gentiles and the church of God (1 Corinthians 10:32).

 

Written June 1992.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ripe for Harvest: Prepared to Give an Answer

As you read through the book of Acts, look at every conversion, and see what happened right before it: what was said, who said it. The situations are the same today.     A long time ago, my duty in the Officer’s Christian Fellowship was the east coast of the United States. I went to an officer’s office at Fort Lee, VA, and stayed overnight, then I went on to Norfolk and Fort Bragg.    Forty years later, I was no longer on the staff of OCF, but I had to go to Denver. While I was in Denver, I checked in at the OCF offices. There was the same Air Force officer I had met in Fort Lee, retired now, a colonel. I had stayed in his house when he was a first lieutenant. He asked me, “Do you know what happened when you stayed overnight?” I said, “No, I just remember staying in your home.” He said, “You led the next-door neighbor to Christ.” I had no memory of it.    Ten years after that, I was speaking at a banquet at the Hotel Salisbury, and who was th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Is Obedience So Hard?

There are several reasons why obedience seems hard. I will comment on some of them and then speak positively on how obedience is easy. We think: 1) Obedience is an infringement on freedom. Since we are free in Christ, and obedience is somehow contrary to that freedom, we conclude that obedience is not good. Yet we know it is good. Thus, we become confused about obedience and are not single-minded. 2) Obedience is works. We who have been justified by grace through faith are opposed to works; therefore, we are opposed to obedience. 3) We have tried to obey and have failed—frequently. Therefore, the only solution is to disobey and later confess to receive forgiveness. It is easier to be forgiven by grace than to obey by effort. 4) We confuse obedience to men with obedience to God. Although these are sometimes one and the same (see Romans 13, 1 Peter 2-3, Ephesians 5-6, Colossians 3, and Titus 2), sometimes they are not the same (see Colossians 2:20-23, Mark 7, 1 Timothy 4:1-5, a...
6 comments
Read more

Marriage Counseling, Part 2

Dear Friend, This letter is long overdue. It has been in my head for months. First, I think you know that I both love you and like you and respect you. If you do not know that, please take my word for it. You know that I am willing to be confronted without dissimulation. In the many years we have known each other, I have assumed you were a Christian. I do not have to know absolutely (God knows those who are His). You have had an interest and an education in Christianity. Even if you were not, or are not, a Christian, this does not affect my love, like, or respect for you. The last few times we have been together, you have assured me that any adultery was in the past and that you were ready to get right with the church and with your family and that you had repented toward God. You assured me that you loved your wife and your children and you were committed to them. I recognize that Christians can (and sometimes do) sin repeatedly. I also understand that it is possible for Chri...
Post a Comment
Read more