Dr Greg Bahnsen - The Fruit of the Spirit: Peace (Part 5)

This recording has been released into the public domain by the Bonson Institute, where we aim to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Tonight we're going to continue our special attention to the Fruit of the Spirit as we are expounding the book of Galatians. And so turn with me to chapter five, and again I'll read the entire paragraph and then we'll specifically consider the fruit of the Spirit of peace. But I say this is verse 16. But I say, walk by the Spirit and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. For these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you would. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wrath, factions, divisions, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revelings, and such like of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you that they who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self control. Against such there is no law, and they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof. If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit, let us also walk. Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another. And thus far God's word, verse 22 says, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, or modern translations will say patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self control. We've already studied love in some depth. And then last time we were together, we studied the fruit of joy. I don't know how much we can prove that there is a specific ordering of these things, and it won't be as easy as we get further down the line. But to me it's interesting that we have peace following love and joy, and then patience following that. It does appear to me whether it was intended by Paul, but it appears to be psychologically true that it's very difficult for us to be patient people if we haven't mastered the ability to love our enemies, to be joyful in adversity, and to learn what it is to be a peacemaker and to have an inner calm about ourselves. Think about your own experience or people you know. Is it not true that when we demonstrate impatience that we almost always are failing either in love, joy, or peace at the same time. Anyway, these four do seem to have an interconnection like that. Let's first of all consider peace. However, the Hebrew word for peace is shalom, and you've probably heard this before. The word shalom in Hebrew carries a much broader connotation than the word peace in English does. For us, shalom is not only the absence of strife. You know, we've arrived at peace instead of being at war with each other. But shalom means not good fortune in the sense of good luck, but health, order in your life, and prosperity. To wish somebody peace, then, is to wish that they would have life going the way it's supposed to. They're not weighed down with sickness. They're not having adversity. They're prospering in what they are doing. The fruit of the Spirit is peace. If we live by the Holy Spirit and not by our sinful nature, we should enjoy that kind of spiritual prosperity and that healthy outlook and calm that we call peace. So let's think about some weeds that stand over against the peace God would give us. You know that I'm following John Sanderson's book, the Fruit of the Spirit. Here he lists three that I think are worthy of our attention tonight. First of all, he says, we don't have the fruit of peace when we have the weed of anxiety. Look at Philippians 4, 6, 7. In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be known unto God, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. If you would have the peace of God, verse seven, then you must, as verse six says, in nothing be anxious. Anxiety indicates that we have become preoccupied with things that are of lesser importance, and we've put our confidence in those things which are of less importance than God himself. So the Bible tells us that when we get anxious, fearful, nervous, eager about things in a distressing way, that we need to bring God into the picture. First. Peter 5:7 One of my favorite and comforting verses of the New Testament Cast all your anxiety upon him, for he cares for you. Cast all your care upon him is another translation. Because he cares for you. The word is actually anxiety. All of that nervousness that you have, you need to put it on the Lord, and you know that he'll be willing to take it from you because he cares for you. We bring God into the picture, then we can have peace, because anxiety is going to be pushed away a second Thing that gets in the way of our having peace. Another weed that we have to consider is contentiousness. In Galatians 5, we read some of the works of the flesh, and it's interesting that so many of them mentioned by Paul are the opposite of the peace that the Spirit gives us. In verse 20, he mentions as works of the flesh, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, envyings. Two different ideas, jealousy and factions. The person who is contentious is someone who delights in causing trouble for other people. You know, people like them, they just find it entertaining. They get kind of a kick out of that, just sowing discord. Look at Proverbs 6, verse 19, to get an idea of the biblical evaluation of that. Proverbs 6:19. This is part of a section that began in verse 16. There are six things which Jehovah hateth, yea, seven which are an abomination unto Him. And the seventh one mentioned is he that sows discord among brethren. What are some of the other things God calls abomination in the Bible? Try this one. Homosexuality is called an abomination. And here God says, the person who causes discord, who sows discord, whose feet are swift to run to trouble like that, that's also abominable to God. So when you see that tendency in yourself or others, think of it in the same way you would think of homosexuality in terms of God's disdain and revulsion toward it. Jealousy is listed in the works of the flesh. Jealousy does not comport with the fruit of the spirit. When we are jealous, we feel contempt at the success or happiness that another person has. In the Bible, a good example is found with King Ahab. King Ahab noticed that Naboth had a vineyard that would be very nice for him to annex to his summer palace. So he went to Naboth and offered to buy the vineyard. But Naboth didn't want to sell. Do you remember what Ahab did first, and then second? He went home and pouted. He was the king of Israel. And he went and he laid down on his bed, and he turned his face to the wall, was going to pout because he couldn't get what he wanted, of course. Then his wicked wife Jezebel said, listen, you're the king. You can have anything you want. So charges were trumped up against Naboth. He was killed, and Ahab took the vineyard. Jealousy. He was upset at the happiness or the good fortune of somebody else. He wanted it for himself. And then strife is mentioned by Paul among the works of the flesh too. Where does strife come from? Or what is the context that makes strife possible? Look at third John verses 9 and 10. Third John verses 9 and 10. John, I wrote somewhat unto the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, received us not. Therefore, if I come, I will bring to remembrance his works, which he doeth, pratting against us with wicked words and not content therewith. Neither doth he himself receive the brethren and them that he would forbiddeth and casteth them out of the church. There's this troublemaker, Diastrephes. Diatrephes. I'll say it right. And what's his problem? Why does he cause strife? He loves to have the preeminence. He wanted to be numero uno. And for that reason he wouldn't receive John. And he's caused this difficulty in this division in the church that John is writing to. Self centeredness, pride lead to strife. These are such obvious lessons, aren't they? How long does it take for us individually, how long does it take for us as church to learn these lessons? Okay, anxiety stands over against peace. Contentiousness, jealousy, faction, strife, stand over against peace. The Bible also would have us notice the weed of peace without God. There are people in this world who think that they have peace, who have tried to gain an inner calm, you know, through yoga, meditation, or just telling themselves everything's going to be all right. Let's look at first Thessalonians 5, 3, when they are saying peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them as travail upon a woman or child, and they shall in no wise escape. Paul is talking about the return of Christ and how there will be people who are absolutely convinced that they have nothing to worry about. Jesus is not coming back. Everything is just going to continue as it always was. When they're saying peace and safety, sudden destruction will come upon them. The world is trusting falsely that everything is okay when everything's not okay with God and a day of judgment is to come. Compare this to Jeremiah 6:14 in the Old Testament. Jeremiah 6:14 verse, they have healed also the hurt of my people, slightly saying, peace, peace when there is no peace. This is part of God's indictment of the leaders of Israel. They have not really dealt with the seriousness of their rebellion and their problem before God. And so they've spread the word of peace to the people, even though there is no genuine peace. Scripture says that for the wicked there can be no peace. Two passages in Isaiah, Isaiah 48, 22 and then 57, verses 20 and 21. First of all, Isaiah 48, 22, there is no peace, saith Jehovah to the wicked. As much as the world will attempt to find peace of mind, to gain reconciliation, to put away anxiety, as long as someone continues in wickedness, there cannot be peace. The world is unable to produce the conditions of peace. Isaiah 57:20. But the wicked are like the troubled sea, where it cannot rest and its waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. It's a very striking image for the unbeliever and for the wicked nations. They're like the troubled sea, which is always this picking up of mire and dirt. It's filthy and choppy and unsafe. And that's an image of the life, the spiritual life of the unbeliever. Those who are wicked in the sight of God, they're like the troubled sea. Okay? So if we would have peace, true fruit of the Spirit known as peace, we must learn to cast our anxiety on God, bring him into the picture. Not be fearful, but confident. Secondly, we must not people who show the works of the flesh, contentiousness, jealousy, faction, strife. And obviously we cannot hope to find peace without God in the way that the wicked do. Is there an artificial fruit of peace that some Christians display or that we're able to display? Something that has the outward appearance of peacefulness and yet is not the real thing? I think so. I think in the Christian life, sometimes apathy is confused for peace. Reflect on that for a minute. Sometimes in my own life, or I see it in the lives of others, there's an outward display of it's okay, these things that might bother other people are not bothering me. But it's not because I really have peace with God or I'm pursuing things in a godly way. It's because I've just kind of turned off my inner feelings. I just said, oh, who cares? Become rather apathetic. And so it might seem, well, boy, you've got a lot of peace about this thing. When in fact I have something that's really bad. And it's kind of a crummy attitude inside, but it comes out nicely masked as an ability to accept things and to trust God and to go on. In Ephesians 4:19, Paul uses an expression about unbelievers that might be applied here. He speaks of them being past feeling. Past feeling, that is, they're just kind of numb and no longer have any feeling about the things which are really important. So they might seem to be at peace. You know, unbelievers like that, it seems to everything's okay. Well, everything's okay because they don't care about anything. They're not going to risk caring about things and getting upset. So it seems that they're peaceful when in fact they're without feeling. When we're apathetic, the Bible warns us that we'll become careless about our duties. The Bible expects us to be striving after things and not just sitting back and saying, well, it doesn't make any difference. I'm just going to float along. If you, in the name of peace, are apathetic about your duties, then of course you're not going to be careful to give God the glory and to accomplish what he wants you to accomplish. So this is a good example of artificial fruit. The appearance is one thing, but there's no substance, there's no real nourishment to that kind of attitude. The true fruit of peace can be seen in two ways in the Bible. First of all in the individual peace that we have as believers, and then secondly, in the communal peace that we have as the people of God, the church of Jesus Christ. So let's think about each one of these for a few moments. First, individual peace. Romans 5:1. Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit gives us peace because the Holy Spirit grants us the gift of faith. Faith isn't something that we come to on our own in our own intelligence or goodness. Faith is given to us by God. And by giving us saving faith, the Holy Spirit brings peace to our hearts. Being justified by faith, Paul says, we no longer worry about the wrath of God being directed against us because we trust that that wrath has rather fallen upon Christ in our stead. We no longer tremble then before the Almighty. We have a sense of confidence and acceptance. We have peace with God. Look at verses 9 and 10. Much more than being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. There was a time when we were enemies of God. Do you have a hard time remembering or contemplating how bad your relationship was? God considered you his enemy and his wrath rested upon you. And so of course there can be no peace for the wicked under such circumstances. But when God's wrath is turned away because Christ has taken it upon himself, then we are reconciled with God and peace possible. We no Longer fear standing before God. In Ephesians 6:15 we have another allusion to the fact that the good news of God, the Gospel, brings peace to us. As Paul is referring to the full armor of God. Verse 15 says, Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the gospel of peace. This is good news that brings peace between God and sinners. The Bible constantly points to God himself as the key to having peace. He is the one who grants it. He is the one who has it to give. Romans 16:20 describes him in this way. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. Likewise, 1st Thessalonians 5, verse 23. 1st Thessalonians 5:23 and the God of peace himself sanctify you holy. And then Hebrews 13, verse 20. Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus. These three verses, this is specifically a designation of God. He is the God of peace. If we would have peace, then we must come to God to gain it. Back to Philippians 4. 7. We've already read that, but fits in this context very well. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts through Christ Jesus. The attempt to have any other kind of peace other than what God gives us, because we are right with him through the work of Christ, cannot guard our hearts, cannot genuinely give confidence and remove anxiety. There is no peace for the wicked. But the fruit of the Spirit is that we will have peace within ourselves as we contemplate our standing before God. Secondly, though we will gain peace with one another communally, corporately, in the body of Christ, there should be peace because of the work of the Spirit among us. That communal peace is seen in a variety of ways. First Corinthians 14:33 refers to a kind of peace the church should enjoy. Paul is giving instructions for spiritual gifts and how the worship service should be conducted. And in verse 33 he says, For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. The reason why there should be orderliness in our worship services is because of the character of God. Our services show the peace of God when they are ordered by the instructions. As we find, for instance, in 1 Corinthians 14, communal peace is found also in the unified fellowship of Christians in the church. Ephesians 4:3. Ephesians 4:3 says, Giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. That's something we should pursue diligently. We should push hard to gain it. We should want the fellowship of the church united. There shouldn't be ruptures. Unity is what the Spirit provides in a peaceful bond within the church. Now, we all know of churches that have not enjoyed that kind of unity. Many churches there are, not just one. It's something of a scandal within the Christian church. How many friends do you know and fellow Christians who would say this is one of the most discouraging things? They've gone through a church split or they've seen problems within a congregation. They just got tired of that sort of thing. This is a great defect of Christians, especially in our corporate life, that we do not keep the unity of the Spirit in a peaceful bond. Peace will help arbitrate disputes if we genuinely have that fruit in our lives. Colossians 3:15 puts it this way, and let the peace of Christ arbitrate in your hearts to the which also you were called in one body, and be thankful. And let the peace of Christ you might have as a translation rule in your hearts. Technically in Greek it means to arbitrate. If we have inner peace, that's going to be an attitude that helps arbitrate disputes, helps us to judge and discern how to respond properly to maintain peace where it can be done without injustice. And then Ephesians 2:15 tells us that within the church of Christ, racial tension, Gentile and Jewish in particular, has been put aside. Verse 14 says of Christ, he is our peace, who made both Jew and Gentile 1 and brake down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances that he might create in himself. Of the two, one new man. So making peace. One of the bloodiest conflicts in the world today is what we see going on in the Middle east, the way in which the Palestinians and the Jews cannot live together, cannot coexist. They just hate each other. And from a human standpoint, there is just no reason to expect it's going to get any better. But in the church, Jesus has created peace between Jew and Gentile. He's broken down the middle wall. When we have the peace of God that comes through justification by faith, when we've been humbled, when we know to fear God and to flee to his Son, we no longer have the vinegar in us to fight with those who likewise have fled or refuge to the provision of the Gospel. In the church, Jew and Gentile stand on an equal footing, Christ having brought reconciliation. While we were talking a lot about peace, my guess is, if you're like me. You recognize there isn't as much peace in you or in your communal circumstances in the church as there ought to be. How then can we cultivate this fruit? What can we do to become more peaceful people, people who enjoy the peace of God internally and practice the peace of God externally? First of all, we need to trust God more than we do. Isaiah 26:3 Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee. When I don't have inner peace, when I have anxiety strife, when I worry about my relationship with God, when I'm not getting along with my fellow man, I think this verse would teach me that I'm not resting in God. I am not contemplating God enough. I am not letting my mind stay on him and trust Him. Because you see, once we realize who God is, the Creator, the One who is sovereign over all things, who has promised to be with his people, once we trust him and keep thinking about him, then these other problems, anxieties, and even our animosities with other people get put in a different light. We need to trust the Lord more and we need a greater spirit of Thanksgiving. Philippians 4:6,7 once again go back to this passage. Notice how Paul puts it, in nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your request be known unto God, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall guard your hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus. In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known unto God. We are not peaceful, peace enjoying and peace displaying people when we aren't prayerful, and especially when we are not thankful in prayer. The Bible would say we should also reflect upon the Church as the body of Christ if we would learn to be pursuers of peace. Ephesians 4:3 giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. Verse 4 says, There is one body, one spirit, even as you were called, and one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all, and end all. We need to reflect on the nature of the Church as Christ's own spiritual body. There is one body, there's one body. There must be peace within that body. You wouldn't like it if your own body was at war within itself. You know, the hands fighting with the feet and so forth and pulling against each other and not cooperating. If there's one body, then there has to be peace in that body, and so give diligence to pursue that unity. Another way to cultivate the peace that we've been talking about is to remember the order that God has established in the church first. Thessalonians 5, 12, 13. But we beseech you, brethren, to know them that labor among you and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you and to esteem them exceeding highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves. Isn't it interesting how Paul sandwiches that in there? Be at peace among yourselves. I would suggest there's an intended connection, that if we would recognize and esteem those who labor among us and are over us in the Lord, then we would have peace among ourselves. Now, what happens when you have one part of the body refusing to esteem one part of the leadership of the Church? Have you ever known that? Can you imagine that that would ever lead to peace in the Church? No. If you don't recognize the leadership of the Church and submit to it and honor it. That isn't to say all your leaders are going to be without blemishes. But if you don't, then the suggestion here is that you can't have peace among yourselves. Obviously, insubordination and division within a church are going to destroy its peace. And then finally a submissive spirit is needed if we would be people of peace. Jeremiah 29:7. Jeremiah had a very unhappy message to share with the Jews. They were going into captivity. In verse seven of chapter 29, we read, and seek the peace of the city, whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto Jehovah for it. For in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. Peace, even though you're going to a pagan land, even though you're going to have people ruling over you, which are not your choice, which are wicked people. You seek the peace of the city. Don't be troublemakers, don't be insubordinate, don't be unruly. Because if you cause trouble in the city, then you're causing trouble for yourself. It's like somebody who messes their own bed. You don't want to cause trouble where you're going away captive. Seek rather the peace even of that pagan city. Paul likewise says in 1 Timothy 2:2 that we should pray for those who have rule over us. First Timothy 2:2. According to verse one, we are exhorted that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men. Then verse 2 says, for kings and all that are in high place in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity. We must pray for our rulers if we want to have a peaceful life. This is a good verse for us to hear in this group. Having gone through the recent election, I don't think anybody is particularly happy with the outcome of that election. And yet the Bible exhorts us to pray for our leaders now. I fully expect bad things are ahead for us. I don't agree with the policies and I that leaders that we've recently elected are enunciating and so forth. But you know, nothing's going to get better by my refusing to pray, refusing to ask God for peace and harmony and so forth. So the Bible tells us to have a submissive spirit even under wicked leadership if we would be people of peace and I didn't get through my lesson again tonight, but I'm going to end at least this portion on peace by reminding you of the beatitude of Jesus. If we would be happy and blessed people, he says, blessed are the peacemakers. And what will happen for those who are peacemakers? Not they will see God. No, not inherent. They will be called the sons of God. If we would be designated those that are in a relationship with God, if we would show his own character, we be called sons of God. What is it we must do? Make peace. We need to pray that all of us would learn better to seek peace not only internally, but externally. To be those who are peacemakers. Enjoy the peace of God that only comes through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Because I was so very patient tonight in pursuing this lesson, I didn't get to patience. And so now I need to ask you all to exercise patience and forgive me for not completing the lesson. We'll do that next week.

This recording has been released into the public domain by the Bonson Institute. Duplication, sharing and distribution is encouraged. For more information about the life and Ministry of Dr. Greg L. Bonson, visit our website, bonseninstitute.com where we aim to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.