"Christ the Rock of Peace"
Let me show you…the rock from which justification and peace with God flow. That rock is Christ. The true Christian is not justified because of any goodness of his own. His peace is not to be traced to any work that he has done. It is not purchased by his prayers and regularity, his repentance and his amendment, his morality and his charity. All these are utterly unable to justify him. In themselves they are defective in many things and need a large forgiveness. And as to justifying him, such a thing is not to be named. Tried by the perfect standard of God’s law, the best of Christians is nothing better than a justified sinner, a pardoned criminal. As to merit, worthiness, desert, or claim upon God’s mercy, he has none. Peace built on any such foundations as these is utterly worthless. The man who rests upon them is miserably deceived.
I believe that no man can be justified by his works before God in the slightest possible degree. Before man he may be justified; his works may evidence the reality of his Christianity. Before God he cannot be justified by anything that he can do. He will be always defective, always imperfect, always short-coming, always far below the mark, so long as he lives. It is not by works of his own that anyone ever has peace and is a justified man. But how then is a true Christian justified? What is the secret of that peace and sense of pardon which he enjoys? How can we understand a Holy God dealing with a sinful man as with one innocent, and reckoning him righteous notwithstanding his many sins? The answer to all these questions is short and simple.
The true Christian is counted righteous for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is justified because of the death and atonement of Christ. He has peace because “Christ died for [his] sins according to the scriptures” (1Co 15:3). This is the key that unlocks the mighty mystery. Here the great problem is solved, how God can be just and yet justify the ungodly. The life and death of the Lord Jesus explain all. “He is our peace” (Eph 2:14). Christ has stood in the place of the true Christian. He has become his Surety and his Substitute. He undertook to bear all that was to be borne, and to do all that was to be done, and what He undertook He performed. Hence the true Christian is a justified man (Isa 53:6).Christ has suffered for sins, the “just for the unjust.” He has endured our punishment in His own body on the cross. He has allowed the wrath of God, which we deserved, to fall on His own head. Hence the true Christian is a justified man (1Pe 3:18). Christ has paid the debt the Christian owed, by His own blood. He has reckoned for it and discharged it to the uttermost farthing by His own death. God is a just God and will not require His debts to be paid twice over. Hence the true Christian is a justified man (Act 20:28; 1Pe 1:18-19). Christ has obeyed the law of God perfectly. The devil, the prince of this world, could find no fault in Him. By so fulfilling it, He brought in an everlasting righteousness, in which all His people are clothed in the sight of God. Hence the true Christian is a justified man (Dan 9:24; Rom 10:4). Christ, in one word, has lived for the true Christian. Christ has died for him. Christ has gone to the grave for him. Christ has risen again for him. Christ has ascended on high for him and gone into heaven to intercede for his soul. Christ has done all, paid all, suffered all that was needful for his redemption. Hence arises the true Christian’s justification—hence his peace. In himself there is nothing, but in Christ he has all things that his soul can require (Col 2:3; 3:11).
Who can tell the blessedness of the exchange that takes place between the true Christian and the Lord Jesus Christ! Christ’s righteousness is placed upon him, and his sins are placed upon Christ. Christ has been reckoned a sinner for his sake, and now he is reckoned innocent for Christ’s sake. Christ has been condemned for his sake though there was no fault in Him. And now he is acquitted for Christ’s sake, though he is covered with sins, faults, and shortcomings. Here is wisdom indeed! God can now be just and yet pardon the ungodly. Man can feel that he is a sinner, and yet have a good hope of heaven and feel peace within. Who among men could have imagined such a thing? Who ought not to admire it when he hears it? (2Co 5:21). But we read in gospel history of a display of love…We read of Jesus, the Son of God, coming down to a world of sinners, who neither cared for Him before He came, nor honored Him when He appeared. We read of Him going down to the prison-house, and submitting to be bound, that we the poor prisoners might be able to go free. We read of Him becoming obedient to death—and that the death of the cross—that we, the unworthy children of Adam, might have a door opened to life everlasting. We read of Him being content to bear our sins and carry our transgressions, that we might wear His righteousness and walk in the light and liberty of the sons of God (Phi 2:8). This may well be called a “love that passeth knowledge”! In no way could free grace ever have shone so brightly as in the way of justification by Christ (Eph 3:19).
This is the old way by which alone the children of Adam, who have been justified from the beginning of the world, have found their peace. From Abel downwards, no man or woman has ever had one drop of mercy except through Christ. To Him every altar that was raised before the time of Moses was intended to point. To Him every sacrifice and ordinance of the Jewish law was meant to direct the children of Israel. Of Him all the prophets testified. In a word, if you lose sight of justification by Christ, a large part of the Old Testament Scripture will become an unmeaning tangled maze. This, above all, is the way of justification which exactly meets the wants and requirements of human nature. There is a conscience left in man, although he is a fallen being. There is a dim sense of his own need, which in his better moments will make itself heard, and which nothing but Christ can satisfy. So long as his conscience is not hungry, any religious toy will satisfy a man’s soul and keep him quiet. But once let his conscience become hungry, and nothing will quiet him but real spiritual food and no food but Christ. There is something within a man, when his conscience is really awake, which whispers, “There must be a price paid for my soul, or no peace.” At once the gospel meets him with Christ. Christ has already paid a ransom for his redemption. Christ has given Himself for him. Christ has redeemed him from the curse of the law, being made a curse for him (Gal 2:20; 3:13).
There is something within a man, when his conscience is really awake, which whispers, “I must have some righteousness or title to heaven, or no peace.” At once the gospel meets him with Christ. He has brought in an everlasting righteousness. He “is the end of the law for righteousness” (Rom 10:4). His name is called “the LORD our Righteousness” (Jer 23:6). God has “made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2Co 5:21). There is something within a man, when his conscience is really awake, which whispers, “There must be punishment and suffering because of my sins, or no peace.” At once the gospel meets him with Christ. Christ hath suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, to bring him to God. He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. By His stripes we are healed (1Pe 2:24; 3:18). There is something within a man, when his conscience is really awake, which whispers, “I must have a priest for my soul, or no peace.” At once the gospel meets him with Christ. Christ is sealed and appointed by God the Father to be the Mediator between Himself and man. He is the ordained Advocate for sinners. He is the accredited Counsellor and Physician of sick souls. He is the great High Priest, the Almighty Absolver, the Gracious Confessor of heavy-laden sinners (1Ti 2:5; Heb 8:1). I know there are thousands of professing Christians who see no peculiar beauty in this doctrine of justification by Christ. Their hearts are buried in the things of the world. Their consciences are palsied, benumbed, and speechless. But whenever a man’s conscience begins really to feel and speak, he will see something in Christ’s atonement and priestly office which he never saw before. Light does not suit the eye nor music the ear more perfectly than Christ suits the real wants of a sinful soul. This is the one true way of peace: justification by Christ.
Hold fast the truth of God about justification and be not deceived…Oh, believe me, there is no peace with God except through Christ! Peace is His peculiar gift. Peace is that legacy which He alone had power to leave behind Him when He left the world. All other peace beside this is a mockery and a delusion. When hunger can be relieved without food, and thirst quenched without drink, and weariness removed without rest, then, and not till then, will men find peace without Christ. Now, is this peace your own? Bought by Christ with His own blood, offered by Christ freely to all who are willing to receive it—is this peace your own? Oh, rest not! Rest not till you can give a satisfactory answer to my question: Have you peace?
-J.C. Ryle
I believe that no man can be justified by his works before God in the slightest possible degree. Before man he may be justified; his works may evidence the reality of his Christianity. Before God he cannot be justified by anything that he can do. He will be always defective, always imperfect, always short-coming, always far below the mark, so long as he lives. It is not by works of his own that anyone ever has peace and is a justified man. But how then is a true Christian justified? What is the secret of that peace and sense of pardon which he enjoys? How can we understand a Holy God dealing with a sinful man as with one innocent, and reckoning him righteous notwithstanding his many sins? The answer to all these questions is short and simple.
The true Christian is counted righteous for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is justified because of the death and atonement of Christ. He has peace because “Christ died for [his] sins according to the scriptures” (1Co 15:3). This is the key that unlocks the mighty mystery. Here the great problem is solved, how God can be just and yet justify the ungodly. The life and death of the Lord Jesus explain all. “He is our peace” (Eph 2:14). Christ has stood in the place of the true Christian. He has become his Surety and his Substitute. He undertook to bear all that was to be borne, and to do all that was to be done, and what He undertook He performed. Hence the true Christian is a justified man (Isa 53:6).Christ has suffered for sins, the “just for the unjust.” He has endured our punishment in His own body on the cross. He has allowed the wrath of God, which we deserved, to fall on His own head. Hence the true Christian is a justified man (1Pe 3:18). Christ has paid the debt the Christian owed, by His own blood. He has reckoned for it and discharged it to the uttermost farthing by His own death. God is a just God and will not require His debts to be paid twice over. Hence the true Christian is a justified man (Act 20:28; 1Pe 1:18-19). Christ has obeyed the law of God perfectly. The devil, the prince of this world, could find no fault in Him. By so fulfilling it, He brought in an everlasting righteousness, in which all His people are clothed in the sight of God. Hence the true Christian is a justified man (Dan 9:24; Rom 10:4). Christ, in one word, has lived for the true Christian. Christ has died for him. Christ has gone to the grave for him. Christ has risen again for him. Christ has ascended on high for him and gone into heaven to intercede for his soul. Christ has done all, paid all, suffered all that was needful for his redemption. Hence arises the true Christian’s justification—hence his peace. In himself there is nothing, but in Christ he has all things that his soul can require (Col 2:3; 3:11).
Who can tell the blessedness of the exchange that takes place between the true Christian and the Lord Jesus Christ! Christ’s righteousness is placed upon him, and his sins are placed upon Christ. Christ has been reckoned a sinner for his sake, and now he is reckoned innocent for Christ’s sake. Christ has been condemned for his sake though there was no fault in Him. And now he is acquitted for Christ’s sake, though he is covered with sins, faults, and shortcomings. Here is wisdom indeed! God can now be just and yet pardon the ungodly. Man can feel that he is a sinner, and yet have a good hope of heaven and feel peace within. Who among men could have imagined such a thing? Who ought not to admire it when he hears it? (2Co 5:21). But we read in gospel history of a display of love…We read of Jesus, the Son of God, coming down to a world of sinners, who neither cared for Him before He came, nor honored Him when He appeared. We read of Him going down to the prison-house, and submitting to be bound, that we the poor prisoners might be able to go free. We read of Him becoming obedient to death—and that the death of the cross—that we, the unworthy children of Adam, might have a door opened to life everlasting. We read of Him being content to bear our sins and carry our transgressions, that we might wear His righteousness and walk in the light and liberty of the sons of God (Phi 2:8). This may well be called a “love that passeth knowledge”! In no way could free grace ever have shone so brightly as in the way of justification by Christ (Eph 3:19).
This is the old way by which alone the children of Adam, who have been justified from the beginning of the world, have found their peace. From Abel downwards, no man or woman has ever had one drop of mercy except through Christ. To Him every altar that was raised before the time of Moses was intended to point. To Him every sacrifice and ordinance of the Jewish law was meant to direct the children of Israel. Of Him all the prophets testified. In a word, if you lose sight of justification by Christ, a large part of the Old Testament Scripture will become an unmeaning tangled maze. This, above all, is the way of justification which exactly meets the wants and requirements of human nature. There is a conscience left in man, although he is a fallen being. There is a dim sense of his own need, which in his better moments will make itself heard, and which nothing but Christ can satisfy. So long as his conscience is not hungry, any religious toy will satisfy a man’s soul and keep him quiet. But once let his conscience become hungry, and nothing will quiet him but real spiritual food and no food but Christ. There is something within a man, when his conscience is really awake, which whispers, “There must be a price paid for my soul, or no peace.” At once the gospel meets him with Christ. Christ has already paid a ransom for his redemption. Christ has given Himself for him. Christ has redeemed him from the curse of the law, being made a curse for him (Gal 2:20; 3:13).
There is something within a man, when his conscience is really awake, which whispers, “I must have some righteousness or title to heaven, or no peace.” At once the gospel meets him with Christ. He has brought in an everlasting righteousness. He “is the end of the law for righteousness” (Rom 10:4). His name is called “the LORD our Righteousness” (Jer 23:6). God has “made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2Co 5:21). There is something within a man, when his conscience is really awake, which whispers, “There must be punishment and suffering because of my sins, or no peace.” At once the gospel meets him with Christ. Christ hath suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, to bring him to God. He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. By His stripes we are healed (1Pe 2:24; 3:18). There is something within a man, when his conscience is really awake, which whispers, “I must have a priest for my soul, or no peace.” At once the gospel meets him with Christ. Christ is sealed and appointed by God the Father to be the Mediator between Himself and man. He is the ordained Advocate for sinners. He is the accredited Counsellor and Physician of sick souls. He is the great High Priest, the Almighty Absolver, the Gracious Confessor of heavy-laden sinners (1Ti 2:5; Heb 8:1). I know there are thousands of professing Christians who see no peculiar beauty in this doctrine of justification by Christ. Their hearts are buried in the things of the world. Their consciences are palsied, benumbed, and speechless. But whenever a man’s conscience begins really to feel and speak, he will see something in Christ’s atonement and priestly office which he never saw before. Light does not suit the eye nor music the ear more perfectly than Christ suits the real wants of a sinful soul. This is the one true way of peace: justification by Christ.
Hold fast the truth of God about justification and be not deceived…Oh, believe me, there is no peace with God except through Christ! Peace is His peculiar gift. Peace is that legacy which He alone had power to leave behind Him when He left the world. All other peace beside this is a mockery and a delusion. When hunger can be relieved without food, and thirst quenched without drink, and weariness removed without rest, then, and not till then, will men find peace without Christ. Now, is this peace your own? Bought by Christ with His own blood, offered by Christ freely to all who are willing to receive it—is this peace your own? Oh, rest not! Rest not till you can give a satisfactory answer to my question: Have you peace?
-J.C. Ryle
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8 things to consider in a young ladyThe Gospel According to Spurgeon"How the Spirit enables us to Pray""Christ our Mediator""Christ the Rock of Peace""What if I Doubt that I am Real Christian?""Identifying False Peace""I Don't Know the Precise Time of My Conversion""Struggling With Sin""Sinful Urges More Intense""Comparing Spiritual Growth""Discerning Hypocrites and Apostates""Falling Short of Biblical Saints""Unprecedented Temptations""Unusual Afflictions""Resting in the Assurance of Christ's Love"Definir nuestra relación
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