Today’s Reading: Jer 27:1–28:17, Rom 5:1–21, Prov 20:1–12

Today’s Theme: Peace with God

Today we read about the peace we have with God through the justification we revive by faith, the grace in which we stand and the gift of righteousness we joyfully recieve.

This is one of the key promises of the gospel proclamation, the war is over, the King has won and established his kingdom so end the futile hostility and enter into his peace with us, his former enemies through his abundant grace.

Jeremiah 27:1–28:17

The Sovereign

“It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me.(Jeremiah 27:5, ESV)

God is declaring his total sovereign rule over all creation.

Restoration, in God’s time

They shall be carried to Babylon and remain there until the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.”(Jeremiah 27:22, ESV)

Restoration of the children of Israel happened on God’s clock when they were taken to Babylon and this is still true today for the restoration of the modern state of Israel and the future kingdom.

The right attitude

and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles.(Jeremiah 28:6, ESV)

Jeremiah was wise and had the right attitude of heart to the Lord’s decree. How is your attitude towards God’s word?

The biblical pattern

The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms.(Jeremiah 28:8, ESV)

Be careful of new prophecies that break the biblical pattern. Every word or prophecy must be measured against the bible.

The danger of false prophesying

In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.(Jeremiah 28:17, ESV)

A false prophet is a very dangerous person to others and to themselves

Romans 5:1–21

Peace with God

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.(Romans 5:1, ESV)

The point here is that those who have been justified by faith into grace have peace with God.

This is the great gospel of God, that peace between God and man has come through Christ. The war can be over, the relationship reconciled and the offence of sin atoned for.

This is one of the things we celebrate at this time of year, that Jesus came to bring peace on earth.

The gospel of God is the declaration of God’s victory over evil, his conquering of our sin and routing of the enemy. The war is won and peace has come with the king ruling in his kingdom.

This is such great and good news!

Access grace by faith

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.(Romans 5:2, ESV)

We have right now obtained access to the grace of God by our faith in Jesus. Hallelujah!

We stand now in the grace of God and we were able to do this through faith in the promise of the gospel of God.

This is all done with a rejoicing heart as we await the manifestation of the glory of God in us and throughout the earth.

Rejoice in Suffering

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,(Romans 5:3, ESV)

We are supposed to suffer sometimes and we should rejoice in it knowing that it is building character and endurance in us

Desiring God have a good free book on suffering and the sovereignty of God available http://www.desiringgod.org/books/suffering-and-the-sovereignty-of-god

Build character

and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,(Romans 5:4, ESV)

You can not get character over night, it can only come though a period of time because endurance can only be tested over time

God’s love

and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.(Romans 5:5, ESV)

This is an amazing truth, God’s love has been poured into our hearts, we have God’s love in our hearts. Another great comfort is that we all receive the Holy Spirit at conversion

Jesus died for the ungodly

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.(Romans 5:6, ESV)

Thank you Jesus, I was so ungodly, and you died for me. We should all thank God for his love for us that at God’s appointed time Jesus died for us.

God’s love, demonstrated

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.(Romans 5:8, ESV)

The substitutionary death of Christ was a demonstration of God’s love

Now justified

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.(Romans 5:9, ESV)

Jesus blood justified us 2000 years ago and Jesus shall save us in the future from the wrath of God

Saved by Jesus’ life

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.(Romans 5:10, ESV)

We are saved by the life of Christ, by the resurrection and the fact that he is alive. We also have his perfect life, lived in victory over sin, imputed to us as if his life were our life and ours were his.

Rejoice in God

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.(Romans 5:11, ESV)

We are glorifying God by enjoying him forever because through Jesus our relationship has be reconciled and we are at peace

Sin is universal

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—(Romans 5:12, ESV)

The universality of Sin is again stated reminding us that we all have the same problem which Jesus came to solve

God’s gift

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.(Romans 5:17, ESV)

We must receive Gods free gift and abundant grace. God’s free gift is actually the righteousness he credits to our account. This is all made possible through Jesus, the last Adam who secured this for all those who believe, setting us free from the curse of the first Adam

The universal gospel

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.(Romans 5:18, ESV)

Justification and life are available to all, not just one race or type of people but all humanity. It is important that Paul compares Jesus to Adam and shows us that Jesus is the remedy to the curse of Adam which means he is the solution for the whole world

Many made righteous

For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.(Romans 5:19, ESV)

The mission of Jesus was no failure, many have been made righteous as they have activated their faith and accessed the grace that God so abundantly provides in Christ.

This does away with the idea of universalism which teaches that all are saved by Jesus work on the cross. Only the many who believe are saved. We can rejoice that it is not just a few but many, a multitude so big that they can not be numbered in the vision of heaven in Revelation.

The reign of grace

so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.(Romans 5:21, ESV)

It seems grace and death are both reigning at the moment, one day the reign of death will be over for good and grace alone will reign. Today the grace of God can rule in our lives through the righteousness of God which is fulfilled, satisfied and imputed through Christ.

Proverbs 20:1–12

Don’t be mocked

Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.(Proverbs 20:1, ESV)

For me this verse is reason enough to stay away from drink.

Plough at the right time

The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.(Proverbs 20:4, ESV)

Lord please help us to plough at the right time to get the necessary reward. In this case the ploughing can be seen as preparation, planning and hard work.

Be faithful

Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?(Proverbs 20:6, ESV)

Lord help us to be faithful