https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/gods-invitation-rest/ Accept God’s Invitation to Rest August 24, 2025 | Scott W. Kay © iStock.com/nullplus Share Post Email Advertise on TGC “It feels so nice to finally stop and catch my breath.” Can you remember the last time you had a moment like that? For some of us, it’s been a while. In our hard-working, highly productive culture, we can sometimes feel like exhausted swimmers swept downstream in a fast-moving river, fighting to keep our heads above water, gasping for air. We get up early and stay up late. We never waste a minute. Our schedule is full, running here, running there, running late, running to catch up, running on empty, until we collapse in utter exhaustion. Underneath the satisfaction of being hard-working, hard-playing people is a weariness that’s desperate for the pace to relent so we can rest and recharge. Deep down, we’re dying to slow down and take a break. We keep telling ours...
- The result of justification (1):
Enjoy peace with God
“Therefore, having
been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(Romans 5:1)
According to Romans 5:1,
the Bible says “… we have peace with God
….” The first result of justification is
to have peace with God (v. 1). We have
been reconciled to God (v. 10) only through our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 1) (past
tense). While we were “still helpless” (v. 6), while we were “yet
sinners” (v. 8), and while “we were enemies” (v. 10), Christ died for us (v. 8).
Because we have been justified by His blood
(v. 9), we are reconciled to God (v. 10) [Method/Means of justification: Faith
(“Therefore, … by faith …”) (5:1)]. God has reconciled us to Himself through
Christ (2 Cor. 5:18). Therefore, we must
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1) (present tense). We, who were enemies with God (v. 10), became
children of God (8:16) and were able to cry out to God “Abba, Father” (v. 15)
only because He is the one mediator between God and us (1 Tim. 2:5) through our
Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1). Since we
have already been reconciled to God only through our Lord Jesus Christ (past),
we now have peace with God (present). Here, ‘have” peace with God also means
“enjoying” peace with God [Ref.: (Rom. 5:2) “through whom also we have obtained
our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in
hope of the glory of God,” (5:11) “And not only this, but we also exult in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the
reconciliation”].
How, then, are we to
enjoy peace with God? We must enjoy the
peace of mind that God gives us in heaven. For example, Paul and Silas enjoyed the peace
of mind that God gave them, so they prayed and praised God even in inner prison
(Acts 16:24-25). When we too enjoy peace
in the heart that God gives us from heaven, we can praise God like this: “I cannot
tell thee whence it came, This peace within my breast; But this I know, there
fills my soul A strange and tranquil rest” (hymn “I Cannot Tell thee Whence it
Came,” verse 1), “And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The
clouds be rolled back as a scroll, The trump shall resound and the Lord shall
descend, Even so it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul” (hymn “When
Peace, Like a River, Attendeth my Way,” verse 4 and chorus). In order for us to enjoy the peace of mind that God gives us
in heaven, we must obey the twofold commandment of Jesus. Look at Matthew 22:37-40: “Jesus replied: ‘Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.’ This is the first and greatest
commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love
your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law
and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” When we keep this twofold commandment of
Jesus, God's love is truly perfected in us (1 Jn. 2:5). In this way, God's love is perfected in us,
and when we abide in the light, there is nothing in us to make us stumble (v. 10). Therefore, we enjoy the peace of mind that
God gives us from heaven. And in order
to enjoy the peace of mind that God gives us in heaven, we must fix our eyes on
Jesus who sits at the right hand of God (Mk. 16:19; Heb. 8:1; 10:12) and make
intercession for us (Rom. 8:34) and who is the author and perfecter of faith (Heb. 12:2).
The result of
justification is to enjoy peace with God. Since all of us have been justified by faith
alone through our Lord Jesus Christ, we must enjoy peace with God (Rom. 5:1). I hope and pray that you and I will be able to
taste and experience peace with God in real life, not just in our heads.
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