Jesus Is Our Peace

Ephesians 2:1-17, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.”

I love this Bible passage. The world is filled with carnal knowledge, bad advice and ungodly counsel. Secular psychologists, relationship experts and educators will tell you all kinds of advice to find peace, but the Bible teaches that JESUS IS OUR PEACE. Robert Puff, Ph.D., is host and producer of the 'Happiness Podcast,' with over 8 million downloads, who states:

A daily practice of appreciating nature is one of the most beneficial activities you can do to increase happiness and reduce stress. While you may feel like you have no time in the day, it only requires a few minutes. Start by taking a five-minute walk outside every day. During this time, disconnect yourself from electronic devices.

...Being in nature is our opportunity to check in with ourselves and listen to our bodies and minds. We may realize that our mind chatter is so intense that the stillness of nature is actually stressing us out. We may be exhausted once we’re at our retreat destination. All of this is important information that will help us take better care of our minds and bodies.

SOURCE: How To Find Inner Peace

I agree with those helpful ideas. Spending time in nature is good for the soul. When I am feeling a bit down and frustrated, I take a long walk in nature. It doesn't matter where you live. Whether it be a tropical ocean in the south Pacific, or a dreary winter day in Indiana, being in nature is good for the soul. There's nothing, to me, that cheers my soul than a snowstorm. I love the big flaky snowflakes that stick to everything. I encourage you to get out of the house and spend time in nature if you are battling depression. Go bike riding or buy a drone to take pictures in the air. Millions of Americans today are depressed, because they stay inside all the time. Psalm 19:1 teaches that nature declares the glory of God.

That brings me to the point of my article. Although I agree with the preceding advice about spending time in nature, the author totally misses the most important thing about finding inner peace, which is being right with God. NO ONE can truly have inner peace who is at odds with his or her Maker. Isaiah 45:9, “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?” There is no greater inner joy and peace, than knowing that you are at peace with God. Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” The ONLY way for anyone to find true lasting peace is by faith alone in Jesus Christ. I KNOW that I am saved and on my way to Heaven.

Many years ago I unintentionally greatly offended a Muslim co-worker. I asked him if he “ knew” that he was going to Heaven when he died. That is a common question that a soulwinner asks others. The man, Ed, was very offended. He harshly replied, “How arrogant! How proud of you, to think you KNOW you are going to Heaven!” Ed further added, “You had better do your best and hope to God that he accepts you someday when you face him.” I deliberately used lowercase letters, because Allah is a myth, not the true and living God. Kindly said, Islam is a false religion. Sadly, there are an estimated 1,600,000,000 Muslims in the world, all of whom reject Jesus as the Christ. 

According to the Holy Bible, they are all going to burn in Hell forever (Revelation 20:11-15). 1st John 2:23, “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” John 3:36 teaches that God's wrath rests upon all Christ rejecters! I love Muslims, as my fellow human beings, but as a born-again Christian I feel sorry for them, because they will die IN THEIR SINS for not believing on Jesus Christ (John 8:24; 20:31). I am sad for my old co-worker Ed, because he never would listen to my wise advice. I gave him the truth of the Gospel, but he rejected it. In fact, some of my unsaved co-workers started harassing me for even witnessing to Ed, angry that I had said he couldn't get to Heaven through Islam. They will sadly all burn in Hell one day, by their own foolishness. John 5:40, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

Ed does not have peace, and neither does any Muslim. Ed used to religiously (no pun intended) uses his breaks and lunch time to roll out his mat on the floor, facing the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia (the holiest city in Islam), praying to Allah. Muslims pray in coordination with the cycles of the moon, 5 times per day. Islam is literally rooted in worship of the moon. It is a wicked false religion that rejects Jesus as the Messiah, just as Judaism also does. Both of these religions will foolishly embrace the Antichrist when he comes, thinking he is Christ. 

Ed used to take a squirt water bottle with him into the bathroom. To put it delicately, Muslims are so entrapped into religious bondage, that they are required by the Hadith (one of their holy books) to cleanse their body every time they use the restroom, lest they go to Hell for being defiled. I kindly asked Ed one time if he believed that he would go to Hell for not washing himself after using the bathroom. He replied, “You got that right!” In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have asked him that, but it blew my mind that a person could actually believe such nonsense. Ed does believe it, with all his heart. No wonder Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Islam is a hard religion of bondage, fear and uncertainty.

This is why I get so upset at false teachers like Dr. Steve Pettit (president of Bob Jones University since 2014), who preaches the same type of bondage as Islam:

“You can't just speak about getting saved, and you accepted Christ, and then that's it! There is a justification; There is a sanctification; There's ultimately a glorification, and though there are three parts, they are all part of the whole, and you cannot separate them. In order for you to qualify for the award, you have to get into the race, you have to stay in the race, and you have to finish the race. If you want to win, you have to run to the end; and winning in the Christian life is everything, because if you lose—if you don't finish—you lose everything—you lose your SOUL. And so, the Christian race is the life of faith that begins, is run, and is finished when we cross over into Heaven!” [emphasis added] —Dr. Steve Pettit (“What Does It Mean To Run 'The Race'?” - 11:34)

What do you mean I cannot just accept Christ and speak about GETTING SAVED? Of course I CAN! Dr. Pettit is preaching another gospel, not the gift of God. Pettit is a heretic, an infidel in the pulpit who perverts the free grace of God. You CAN speak of getting saved because you accepted Christ. By requiring MORE, Steve Pettit is just as guilty as Muslims, who require living one's life up to a certain standard of self-righteousness to get to Heaven. According to Steve Pettit's ungodly plan of salvation, you cannot have the sweet absolute assurance of salvation until you've faithfully lived the Christian life to the end. How is that a free gift? How is that the grace of God. It isn't, not even close!!! 

Sadly, for exposing this woeful evil and crying aloud against this great evil, I have been banned, ignored and ostracized by the ungodly Harvest Baptist Church of Guam since 2014. Pastor Marty Herron is a close personal friend of Steve Pettit, who are both devout followers of Dr. John MacArthur. Kindly said, these three men are all infidels of the faith (false Christians). They masquerade as preachers of righteousness, but in reality they are Satan's ministers of unrighteousness, preaching another gospel (2nd Corinthians 11:13-15; Galatians 1:6-9). I speak THE TRUTH as your friend. I love these men, enough to tell the truth to them. I personally handed several books to Pastor Marty Herron in 2014 at HBC. I was trying to help him see THE TRUTH. He was greatly offended and drove me out of my church family I lost everything near and dear to me. Pastor Herron lost nothing, collecting his undeserved paycheck, stiff-necked against THE TRUTH.

Do you see how they agree? They both teach that you can't just get born-again and that's it. They both say more is required, that you are OBLIGATED to live a life of obedience to God. This is the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation!!! Dear reader, God knows my heart, I am not a troublemaker. I LOVE YOU!!! I love every human being. I am not a respecter of person, and neither is our great God (James 2:1). I simply don't want you to miss Heaven and end up in Hell. Islam is a false religion. Calvinism (which is the garbage Steve Pettit is teaching) is false religion. Calvinism has been repackaged in modern times, now commonly referred to as Lordship Salvation (LS). In essence, LS simply says that faith is not enough to get to Heaven, MORE is required of a person. The Bible says faith is all that is required. Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

Dear friend, Jesus is our peace. Jesus is our peace concerning eternal life. Jesus is our peace as Christians. When you have problems, run to the Scriptures and claim the PROMISES of God. Jesus said this Himself in John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” Jesus doesn't give us peace, JESUS IS OUR PEACE.