Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. – Romans 5:1

In these messages we shall discuss peace as prophesied and developed in the Word of God. We shall first present Him who is our peace and the Prince of Peace. Then we shall see that this Prince of Peace can give peace to everyone who trusts in His blood. We shall see that there can be peace only where He is, and where He is not there can be no peace; and finally we shall look to the grand, consummated, glorious peace on earth when He shall come to rule and reign in righteousness.

No Honey or Leaven – Continued

The death of Christ made payment for sin. It saves us from hell, but still cannot fit us for heaven. When Christ died He made payment for sin and those who believe will never be lost, but if no more had been done, man, though saved from hell through faith, could not enter heaven. He would be a forgiven sinner and no more. Therefore, to fit him for heaven as well, Jesus provided righteousness with which He clothes the forgiven sinner and imputes to Him His Own perfect righteousness. We are saved from sin by His death and saved for heaven by His life. Why did Jesus have to live thirty-three years before He went to the Cross? Why did He not come to the world as Adam did, a full-grown man, and immediately go to Calvary? It would have spared Him the reproach and reviling of thirty-three years. Friend, God is so holy that merely paying for sin was not enough. There must be a righteousness provided, a human righteousness as well as a divine righteousness. This Christ did when He lived to mature manhood in perfect righteousness and kept the law of God entirely. When we come to Him by faith, He imputes to us His death by which our sins are put away, and then He also imputes to us His righteousness; He “wraps us up,” as it were, in His own righteousness, so that when God looks upon us He sees us in Christ, not as pardoned sinners, but as men and women in Christ, as perfect as though we had never committed a single sin but had always lived as perfectly as the One in whose garment we are arrayed.

The Peace Offering

Now follows the peace offering, and not until now. When we accept Christ by faith He becomes our substitute in death and our righteousness in life. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” God accepts us in Him as perfect and holy; as though we had never sinned. Sinner, will you accept this peace? There is nothing to do but receive Him by faith.

The Sin and the Trespass Offering

We have discussed the whole burnt offering as representing the death of Christ upon the Cross for the sin of man. By this offering the penalty of sin was borne by the Lord Jesus Christ and now all who believe on Him are free from the penalty of sin, eternal death and woe. More was needed, however, than merely salvation from hell. Provision must also be made for our acceptance into God’s presence. This, we saw, was provided by the same person to which the five offerings in Leviticus point. The second of these five offerings in Leviticus, the meal offering, is a type of the perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. This perfect righteousness is imputed to all who by faith have believed on Him and have been delivered from the judgment of God. The result of this is the peace offering whereby the sinner is at peace with God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Before considering the last two offerings in Leviticus 1–5, permit me to list them again in their exact order, for the order in which they occur is as important as the offerings themselves. In the first five chapters of Leviticus we have five offerings, one for each chapter. They are in their order as follows:

1.   The Whole Burnt Offering—Leviticus 1.
2.   The Meal Offering—Leviticus 2.
3.   The Peace Offering—Leviticus 3.
4.   The Sin Offering—Leviticus 4.
5.   The Trespass Offering—Leviticus 5.

The first two have to do with God’s provision for the sinner and result in justification. The last two have to do with the sins of the saints after they are saved, and result in sanctification. The result of the first group is peace with God, and the result of the second group is the peace of God which passes understanding.

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from M. R. De Haan, The Second Coming of Jesus.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.