He Preached Peace

In this part of the sermon: The fact that peace is 'good news' assumes a prior state of discord and alienation. Martin argues that humanity, both Jew and Gentile, is by nature in desperate need of this…

If a couple is already living in peace, a book on how to live in peace is not 'good news.' This illustrates that the gospel of peace is good news precisely because humanity is in a state of discord and enmity.

And so, it's as though peace has such a predominant place, that the gospel can actually be called, a gospel of peace. Now that assumes something. If the good news of the gospel, comes particularly as a gospel of peace, then it assumes that the condition, the condition of men is such, that such a message will be good news. If I come to one of you couples, who are all gushy and gooey, not just on the outside, but on the inside, not just to impress others, but because that's just the way you are, you've really established a wholesome relation.

17:12 - 17:53 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The fact that peace is 'good news' assumes a prior state of discord and alienation. Martin argues that humanity, both Jew and Gentile, is by nature in desperate need of this…

A life preserver is 'quacky information' to someone on dry land but 'good news' to a drowning man. This illustrates that the gospel of peace is good news because it is suited to humanity's specific dilemma of alienation and sin.

Because by the grace of God, we know a great measure of amity, and peace, and delight in our relationship. So the very fact that the specific, the content of the message that Christ preached at Emphasis, was good news of peace, the assumption is that people were in desperate need of the very message that came. It's another declaration that men in and of themselves do not know anything about peace between each other, and peace between themselves and God. Come to a man on dry land, and tell him you have good news, you have a life preserver, it's not received as good news,

18:23 - 19:08 Read in full sermon

The point: If you truly love peace between men and between men and God, be willing to contend earnestly for the apostolic gospel, as it is the only source of true peace.

A person with guilt from a double life goes to a shrink who tries to reframe guilt as psychological immaturity rooted in 'false beliefs' rather than acknowledging sin and the need for repentance. This illustrates the world's folly in trying to solve spiritual problems with secular solutions, fighting against God's voice in the conscience.

The poor soul, who thinks that guilt because of a double life is a sign of psychological immaturity, goes to the professional shrink to find out what's wrong with myself and rather than him saying, look, there is no peace between you and God because you're alienated through sin. Repent and flee to the fountain open for sin and uncleanness. The professional shrink tries to fight against God who's speaking in the very conscience of his client and says your problem is you've got guilt feelings rooted in a false belief. A false standard that goes back to those old days when you allowed your mom an...

26:22 - 27:01 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that peace with God, achieved through Christ's atoning work and the Spirit's operation, is the basis for experiencing peace with your fellow man and access to God in prayer and worship.

Martin describes how some in the congregation, though 'near' (reared in Christian homes), were spiritually dead until Christ preached peace to them. Others, 'far off' (ignorant of God), also heard and embraced the gospel, illustrating the universal power of Christ's proclamation.

he came preaching as good news peace and he came to some of us who natively were very near reared in Christian homes Bibles opened up to us from our infancy we were near oh how dead we were how blind we were how deaf we were we knew no peace with God we knew no true peace with our fellow men but he came and preached peace to us even though we were near and when we heard it by the power of the Spirit as though we heard it for the first time though we'd walked up and down in front of the cross that was placarding Christ before us day after day

40:24 - 41:09 Read in full sermon

The point: If you are alienated from God, believe the voice of Christ who comes preaching peace, repent, and believe the gospel to find peace with God.

Christ's preaching is compared to the voice that spoke 'Lazarus, come forth,' emphasizing that His word gives life to the spiritually dead, explaining why people come to rejoice in salvation.

these are the things that are the meat and drink of your soul how did it all come to pass he came and preached peace to you when you were far off he took the initiative other sheep he said I have which are not of this fold them also and I love the next word I must bring and there shall be they shall hear my voice and there shall be one fold one shepherd why are you here among the people of God this morning dwelling in peace with God and his people here's the answer Christ came and he preached and he preached as no human preacher can preach he preached with the very voice

41:53 - 42:37 Read in full sermon