CHRIST OUR PEACE ~ Reconciled through the greatest injustice of all time ~Biblical Justice ~ Part 5

Today, I was going to focus mostly on Ephesians 2:13-22. I will end our discussion on Biblical Justice for now with that passage. But I want to give a sort of personal testimony, first. Today, I listened to yet another timely, extremely relevant, sermon by John MacArthur entitled, “The Call for Reconciliation”. Often, when we are studying a book of the Bible—interacting with its truths day in and day out for a period of time—we finish our study by saying, “I think this is my new favorite book of the Bible.” I even remember once saying that about the book of Numbers to a woman I had just met, if you can believe that. The sermon I heard by Pastor MacArthur (wherever I go, I will always consider Pastor John my pastor), was by far my favorite sermon ever preached by him. Why? I heard the voice of the Shepherd; what encouragement and affirmation it was for my weary soul.

I have sat under the teaching of Grace to You and Grace Church for 30 plus years. I would like to think my heart is shaped by the truths taught in these ministries. As I journeyed through my prison trial, without the blessing of being able to hear his teaching (or any sound teaching for that matter), I would find out how much my heart had been shaped by the truth. There is no man on the face of this earth that I admire and respect more than John MacArthur. Why? I love his personality and have had opportunities to interact act with him on rare occasions. But that is not why I love the man. I love Pastor John because of his faithfulness to the truth. There is not a man alive I know who has fought harder and longer for the truth amid every wave of heresy that has come down the pike. The Lord has given him a large voice and an even larger stage to showcase the truth of the Gospel. When I wrote my story in my upcoming memoir, I asked Pastor John if he would read my book because there was no one I trusted more to bring to my attention any doctrinal error therein. It is important to me…no vital…that what we say is doctrinally sound. I would have no other desire to write just for the sake of writing than to use it as a vehicle for the gospel.

My memoir has been a long time coming. People around me have said, even with some doubt or sarcasm in their voices, “When is your book going to finally be finished?” I am sure there are those who believe it may be a waste of my time. Never let anyone tell you that spending time in the Word or sharing the good news of the gospel is a waste of time. Only consider the source and remember believers love the truth and unbelievers do not. The Lord taught me to learn how to wait while I was in prison. In application, He has impressed on my mind in a very real way that I need to be patient to wait on Him. Every time I get anxious, my thought immediately goes to: “His timing is perfect. I must wait on Him and trust Him.”

I sincerely do not mean to boast. My book may be a bust in the way the world views success. I have no idea how the Lord will use it. I just know that I am being obedient in writing it. There is so much joy and peace in obedience. The reason I say all of this is because listening to Pastor John’s message today, the message of my story is Pastor John’s message to a ‘t’. Here’s the thing: My message is not my message any more than Pastor John’s message is his. My story and yours are His/story. Only I know what the Lord did in my heart as He took me through the trials in my life. Only I know how He faithfully led me from so much false teaching to truth that would sustain me in my darkest days. Only He knows how His purposes before the foundation of the world was to put godly pastors and teachers in my life who would lead me into the knowledge of the truth as the Spirit took that truth and changed my heart and my mind. What impresses me most about looking back is that my Great Shepherd led me all the way. I cannot see the future, but He leads me. Sometimes, I cannot see to take the next step right in front of me. But I can look back and see His hand led me through the darkness.

My story, and the story of all Christians, could be summed up in the statement, “I once was blind, but now I see.” Isn’t it a glorious truth that we can see? I cannot see Him, but I love Him. So why do we follow who we cannot see? We hear the truth, and we know it is truth. All the confusion and chaos of darkness disappears when the light of truth is brought to shine upon it. Jesus said in John 10:27-28—My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. He knows us (He intimately knows us and loves us). Peter says in 1 Peter 1 that for a little while, if necessary, we are distressed by various trials. Why? So that the proof of our faith, being more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. He then says: …and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9) For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

What do we see with physical eyes? We look at the world around us and we begin to question: Why is this happening? What are we to do? When will this be over? How will we ever come back from this? Where is God in all of this? Even when they get temporarily distracted by what they see, His sheep hear His voice, and He knows them. Loving them with an everlasting love, He calls them back to the truth, and they follow Him! Look at the next words. I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. There is a bigger picture that we cannot see, but we must focus on the eternal as much as we are able to do with the eyes of faith. The more truth we know, the more clearly we are able to see.

This earth is not our home. The problem is that many in Christianity today have been lied to and deceived into believing that we can have our best life now. (The truth of that statement is in the intended recipient. If you have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and are destined to hell, then that is true for you.) If that is the foundation for your belief system then, of course, you are going to struggle when you see the world falling apart. And those who do believe this way are probably not going to like the answers and insight offered by men preaching the truth. Having twisted the text to make it say what that one wants to hear, he will not like the truth that the Great Shepherd is speaking through those He has called to speak His message.

I have been listening to a lot of messages by another godly man, Voddie Baucham, Jr. His messages are also extremely relevant for today. Although their style of preaching seems to be different in many ways, you can hear the heartbeat of the Shepherd in both men. There are answers for those who truly want to know the truth. But you must make the time to listen and have ears to hear. Listen, we can do almost anything else with 100% more focus and passion when it comes to worldly pursuits and things that interest us than taking the time to gain a knowledge of the truth. But so many are sitting in churches sleeping, believing they are doing their duty by just showing up, and relying on others to tell them what to do. Instead of developing minds that are able to discern the truth from error themselves they take no ownership of their personal relationship with Christ. That ought to tell them there is something wrong. There is absolutely no excuse for this laziness in the church in America. It is time for the true church to be about the Master’s business and to wake up! And for those who believe answers for the problems in the world around us are to be found in movements, programs, new policies, or politicians, you must ask yourself if your eyes have truly been opened to see things from the perspective of the one who created the world. 

I want to mention a couple of things from Pastor John’s messages that stood out to me. You know from several of my posts I have mentioned the question that oft came to mind for me in my prison trial. “When did it become so acceptable to lie?” When Pastor John said this: “In a satanic system, expect lies!” I nearly jumped out of my chair. You know I have connected lies to the ultimate liar, Satan himself. But it hit me hard to hear that truth affirmed. I knew the lies of being falsely accused in my own injustice spoke to my own heart of a satanic system in this present world, but this was affirmation that my heart needed to hear from someone I respect and admire. It showed me that I have, not in my lifetime, lived in a time when the spirit of anti-christ is working so forcefully to destroy every restraint God has put into place in this world against evil.

I also see what is happening in our world as a way that God is cleaning house in the church. The truth divides. The church in my generation does not know persecution. In my opinion, for the most part, she has become soft. We have become too distracted by the “good things” in life. The Lord uses our suffering to sanctify us and make us more like Him. Pastor John said that the truth is that we have not had enough suffering because we are not what we are supposed to be.

There’s injustice everywhere in the world. No group of people has a corner on injustice. So, what if I suffer injustice in this world? Well, welcome to a fallen world. Ultimately, because the world is not my home, no judge in the United States can judge with perfect righteousness (because he cannot judge my heart or see all), the world speaks lies continually, I will never be able to have a jury of my peers who sees life from a biblical worldview—I should not expect justice here. But I must put my trust in the only one who does judge righteously. The world is believing the lies and bringing those lies into the church to try and deceive, if possible, the elect. We can rejoice in the fact that all those who belong to Christ can never be plucked from His hand. He gave eternal life to them—eternal life, not temporary/temporal life. He gave them life, and they will never perish. No one—no lying, deceiving, satanic agenda can snatch them out of His hand. Things are going to get worse on this earth before Christ comes back. Much, much worse. We, as believers, are to enjoy the blessings the Lord has given us, keep on speaking the truth in love, and serve Him with obedience and joy as we walk in peace.

It may look like evil is flourishing. We know better. In the end, God will be a refuge for the righteous as He is even now for those who will abide in Him. We cannot lose, Beloved! God will make all things beautiful in His time. I loved this from today’s sermon: In the final judgment, God will bring back the past, connect it with the future, and nothing will have been lost. For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Do we really believe that?

The other day I talked about how the converted Jews were trying to bring the Gentiles under the Law. Had Paul let that false thinking stand, it could have led to a works-based religion that had been distorted from the true gospel. He said in Ephesians 2:11-12 that the Gentiles in the flesh had formerly been separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:13-22)

He is our peace. Christ reconciled us into one body to God through the cross. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. Beloved, our cause in the body of Christ is the Gospel. We need to deal with individual issues of “racism” just like we do any other sin issue. But please do not try to put the Law down on the backs of those who, in Christ, have been set free from the Law. And take into consideration and respect the individual calling of every uniquely gifted believer in the Body. Trust that they are being obedient to the call of God in Christ in their own lives. Lastly, do not judge others to be outside the Body just because they are not participating in a cause you are so passionate about. That is divisive, and a far greater sin.