The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-04-12

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He demanded it, however, on the
ground of his innocence, while the
Christian believer receives it as an
act of free grace on the ground OF
Chrlst's work in his behalf.
Peace With God and the Peace of God.
II. Being justified by faith, there
fore, we have peace with God" This
Is the second fruit Of faith. The apos-
tie does not say we have the peace
of" God. The one is a condition, the
other an experience Of that condition.
The moment a man accepts Jesus
Christ as his Saviour, he comes into
a state Of peace with God, where all
enmity is put away, and he is no long
er abiding under wrath or condemna-
ton for his sin. 1t may take him
some time to realize or apprehend
this through the weakness of his faith,
but 1t Is a fact nevertheless, and the
sooner he grasps 1t by faith, the SOON
er will he come to experience it, and
know the peace of God which passeth
all understanding.
III. But as the result of being JUST.
fed, the believed not only has peace
with God, but access unto God, as
the apostle says. Sometimes when We
make up" with a man after being at
variance with him, We try neyerthe-
less to keep him at arms length. Not
SO in the case of Gods reconciliation
to lis. He permits us to come into
the closest friendship and fellowship
with him in Christ.
Reasons for Rejoicing.
~, And not only have we access
but rejoicing" There are three
things for the believer to rejoice in.
In the first place, he rejoices lin the
hope of glory" That is, in the hope
of seeing Gods glory in the face of
Jesus Christ when he shall be re-
vealed again, and the hope of enter
ing into that glory and partaking of it
as one of the redeemed ones.
In the second place, he rejoices "in
tribulations also" because as the apos,
tie teaches, the tribulation through
which a Christian passes enlarges his
experience of God as his comforter
and d~eliverer.
This experience assures him of
Gods love for him and contributes to
the quickening and strengthening of
his hope concerning the greater com
fort and deliverance that is to come.
| am a millionaire and promise you a
hundred thousand dollars at a certain
time, and also promise to help you
out of every financial crisis which may
overtake you In the meantime. Now
such financial crises come to be re.
garded by you as blessings in dis
guise if ] keep my promise every
time. In other words, the fulfllment
of the minor promise on each occa-
sion furnishes an additional evidence
of the ultimate fulfillnent of the ma
jor one. This is the meaning here.
V. Finally, the true believer comes
to rejoice in God himself, for to the
verses of our text We may add the
thought of verse II, which teaches that
truth. This is the acme of the ex-
perience Of the justified state, when
We are no longer occupied with the
gifts, but the giver. The love Of God
for us is so shed abroad in our hearts
as more and more We trust in him.
that we are no longer absorbed in the
blessings he bestows so much as we
are absorbed in him. We come to
love him at last not for what he gives
but for what he is.
These are some of the blessed fruits
of u faith in Jesus Christ. Who
would not covet them If they are realp
Who would not desire to be right with
God, to be at peace with him, to have
conscious access unto him, to rejolco
in relationship with him every day?
But why not try If they are real?
Why not taste and see that the Lord
Is good?" Why not in the quiet OF
your heart just now, receive Jesus
Christ as you Saviour, and ask God
to give you his Holy Spirit to make
these things real? God will hear this
prayer as you keep asking him, for he
loves and wants to bless you in his
Son.