Romans 14:17,18
The Lord does not want believers to be bogged down by ‘non-essentials’. He expressly gives us a checklist of what the kingdom life entails – “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost”.
These three virtues are not mutually exclusive – they work together.
Every good Christian must not only possess righteousness, peace, and the joy in the Holy Ghost, but must be a channel through which these virtues flows to the world.
“If you carefully fulfill the various duties of life, from a principle of obedience to your heavenly Father, you shall enjoy that peace which the world cannot give nor take away.” – Samuel Adams.
P1. Righteousness: The Door to Divine Peace
Isaiah 32:15-18; 48:22; 57:19-21; Job 22:21-30
Righteousness unlocks Divine peace:
- Many people want the peace of God, but they don’t want the God of peace
- Only those who have made peace with the Prince of Peace can enjoy the peace of God
- It is the righteousness imparted by the Holy Ghost that brings divine peace; self-righteousness begets condemnation (Philippians 3:7-11)
“…Your peace will be like a river, when you put away your sin; but not one word of true peace, not one drop of true comfort, can you have till then” – Alexander Whyte.
P2. Peace: The Derivative of Divine Righteousness
Isaiah 26:3,4; John 14:26,27;16:32,33; Philippians 4:6-9
Peace is the reward for possessing the righteousness of God:
- Don’t confuse the peace of God with the ‘peace’ from gold
- Divine peace is perfect peace; the peace from the world and its idols only leave us in pieces
- Divine peace cannot be derived from creature comfort, but from the companionship of the Comforter even in the stormy seas of life (Psalm 119:165)
“If you see a man unterrified in the midst of dangers, untouched by desires, happy in adversity, peaceful amid the storm, will you not say: a divine power has descended upon that man?” – Seneca.
P3. Joy: The Determinant of Divine Peace
Psalm 30:1-5; Esther 4:3; 8:3,15-17; Isaiah 61:1-7; Nehemiah 8:9-12
Joy gives hands and legs to Divine Peace :
- Joy springs up from the well of divine peace in the heart of the righteous
- It is the outward reflection and expression of the divine peace within
- It is the Holy Ghost (the Comforter) who imparts joy to the believer
- This divine joy is protected from the external circumstances and situation of the righteous (1 Samuel 1:10;15-18; 2 Corinth. 12:7-10)
- A joyless Christian life is a contradiction in terms – we are happy people!
“If you have no joy, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere” – Billy Sunday.