There is a truth in Scripture that touches one of the deepest questions of the human heart: the question of our sinful past and our broken relationship with God. The Bible does not leave that question hanging in the air. It states something remarkable: we have peace with God.

In Romans 5:1 we read—and these are the words we already considered in the last video: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We have peace, and that is the topic of this video.

In the last video, we already saw what it means to be justified. This applies to those who believe in the Lord Jesus. Justification means that God declares someone to be righteous. He says, “This is a righteous person.” That is how He looks at us. We have an entirely new standing before Him.

I would like to quickly repeat the seven facts about justification that we considered in the last video: 1. It is God, as the highest authority, who justifies. 2. The righteous foundation on which God justifies is the death of the Lord Jesus. 3. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the proof that God has accepted His work on the cross. At the end of Romans 4, we read that “He has been raised for our justification.” 4. We are justified freely by His grace. We do not have to pay anything. 5. Justification is on the principle of faith—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 6. The scope: on the one hand, everyone can be justified. The work of the Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient for everyone. But on the other hand, only those who actually believe will benefit from it. 7. The quality of justification: all our sins are forgiven. Not one is left out.

Now, because we have been justified, Romans 5:1 continues: “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Notice those two little words: we have. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Peace is not something we are chasing after. It is not a goal we are slowly moving toward. It is a definite result of having been justified by God. Peace with Him is a settled fact.

And yet, so many believers do not seem to enjoy this peace at all. If you ask them, “Do you have peace with God?” you often hear answers such as, “Well, I’m working on it. I hope so. Maybe someday. We’ll see.” But why is that? Why do people who belong to the Lord live without enjoying the peace that Scripture says is already theirs?

The reason is that they rely on the wrong things. They rely on their feelings, their actions, their confession, and their experiences. And so they turn inward and begin asking themselves a whole series of questions: Have I confessed all my sins? Have I repented enough? Is my faith strong enough? Do I really do enough? Do I love the Lord Jesus Christ enough? Do I follow Him enough? And so on and on.

Do you notice something about all these questions? Every single one of them is about me. These believers are occupied with themselves. But that is not the right perspective.

If we want to enjoy our peace with God, we must stop looking at ourselves and look at the Lord Jesus and at what He has done on the cross. That is how we can truly enjoy what is already ours.

The Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself so that God could demonstrate on the cross how He thinks about sin. God dealt with sin exactly as it deserved in His eyes. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 we read: “Him who knew not sin, He has made sin for us, that we might become God’s righteousness in Him.” God did to sin what sin deserved.

We can also listen to how the letter to the Romans puts it: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, having sent His own Son in likeness of flesh of sin, and for sin, has condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3). He condemned it, and the result of that work is peace.

In Colossians 1:20 we read that the Lord Jesus Christ has made peace—“having made peace by the blood of His cross.” Every righteous demand of God against sin has been fully satisfied. Nothing is left outstanding. That is how the Lord Jesus Christ has made peace: through His death.

So how, we might ask, does this peace become ours? There are three things we need to hold on to.

First, the Lord Jesus suffered and died for our sins. There is nothing for us to add. We cannot add anything, and we must not try to.

Second, God is the One who, on the basis of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, justifies. God justifies. If you want to put it in a nutshell, He does so for two reasons. First, as we have already seen, because of the accomplished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Second, when He sees faith in our hearts, God justifies those who believe in the Lord Jesus. We may sometimes have difficulty determining whether someone truly has saving faith or not, but God does not have that problem.

Third, our fundamental peace with God is the result of that justification. Having been justified, we have peace. Scripture plainly connects the two in the verses we have considered. Let me repeat Romans 5:1: “Therefore, having been justified on the principle of faith, we have peace towards God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Justification has taken place, and now, as a result, we have peace.

In Romans 3:26 we also read that God is “just and justifying him that is of the faith of Jesus.” This is the heart of it: everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is justified by God and therefore, as a result, has peace with God.

Not only the strong believer and not only the experienced believer—everyone who believes. The person who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ five minutes ago is just as justified and has just as much peace with God as the seasoned believer who has known the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior for many decades. They are equally justified and equally have peace with God.

Before we continue, however, it is important to make a distinction. We must distinguish between the fundamental peace with God that we are talking about in this video and the peace that we may or may not experience in the various circumstances of life. The Bible itself makes that distinction.

Let us briefly turn to John 14. In verse 27, the Lord Jesus Himself says, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.” Here the Lord Jesus speaks about two different kinds of peace, and this distinction is relevant for us.

First He says, “Peace I leave with you.” That is the peace we are talking about in connection with justification. It is peace with God—a peace that rests entirely upon the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have this peace. We can call this fundamental peace.

But secondly, the Lord Jesus continues, “My peace I give to you.” That is the kind of peace He experienced while living here as a Man upon this earth. For example, He was sleeping in the boat while the storm was raging all around Him. He had peace. He was not afraid. He trusted in God. Here we can speak about circumstantial peace—peace in the difficult circumstances of life.

In that same situation, while the Lord Jesus was sleeping during the storm, the disciples were so afraid that they woke Him up with the words, “Lord, don’t You care that we perish?” They had no peace at all. Why not? Because they did not trust the Lord. They were occupied with the storm. They did not, so to speak, bring the Lord Jesus Christ into the storm.

And so it often is with us. We go through difficult situations and become restless, afraid, and troubled. Why is that? Or let me put it as a question: Is it not often because we do not commit the situation to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust Him that He is in control?

Philippians 4:6 gives us the recipe for having peace in difficult circumstances: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” And what will be the result? “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

It says here the peace of God, but that is the same peace that the Lord Jesus called “My peace”—peace in the various circumstances of life, the same peace that God Himself has. He is never troubled. He is never afraid that something may get out of His control.

But whether we experience this peace in our circumstances really does depend, to some extent, on us. When it comes to our fundamental peace with God, however, it depends entirely on the Lord Jesus. We have it, and it cannot be shaken or taken away. That is something very important to remember.

Coming to the end of this video, let us remember five facts about the peace we have with God—our fundamental peace.

1. It is a fundamental peace. This peace defines our entire relationship with God. I know that the question of my sins—my sinful past—has been dealt with divinely. I have peace with God.

2. It is a full and complete peace. Peace is peace. It is 100 percent peace. Otherwise, it is not peace. There is no such thing as half peace or 20 percent peace. We must not and cannot add anything to it.

3. It is a present peace. We can enjoy this peace right now. We do not have to wait until we reach heaven. No—we have it now.

4. It is a secure peace. It was accomplished entirely outside of us. Its foundation is the cross of the Lord Jesus. And because its foundation is His cross, no one can ever take this peace away from us.

5. It is an independent peace. It does not rest on us—not on our feelings, not on our trust in the Lord through changing circumstances, not on our prayer life, and not on our faithfulness.

Now, do not misunderstand me. Faithfulness, devotion, holiness, prayer, and many other things are truly important. They matter enormously in the Christian life. But they have nothing to do with our fundamental peace with God. Nothing.

That peace was made by the Lord Jesus at the cross once and for all. Believing in the Lord Jesus, we have been justified by God, and as a result, we have peace with Him.

So, dear brother, dear sister, stop looking at yourself. If you lack the enjoyment of that peace, look to the Lord Jesus Christ, because in Him and through Him we have peace with God.