Today marks the second week of the advent season. Last week we mentioned that our prayer is that we discover for the first time or rediscover what God has done for us through the birth of His Son Jesus Christ.

We began advent last week by talking about hope. We learned that hope is more than a feeling, it is a reality. When faced with difficulty or despair—and we each will inevitably face such times—we can have hope because, through Jesus Christ, God is merciful to sinners, God is faithful to His covenant, and God will ultimately deliver all those who are HIs.

This morning we’ll be talking about peace. My intention is for us to not simply think about peace as the absence of hostility or hatred…but more in the biblical sense of knowing that we are living in harmony with the God of all creation.

From the Scripture passage we just read—I want us to see how Peter helped Cornelius to discover that even as a Gentile…he and his family could be at peace with God. Let’s focus our attention this morning on only three verses here in this passage—verses 34-36.

1. The meaning of peace.

First of all this morning, we need to define the meaning of peace that Peter is talking about. If you’re here this morning and you have never experienced the peace of God that comes from knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord…it might be hard for you to imagine that the Bible teaches you are living hostile towards God. But—it’s true.

Scripture tells us that sin entered the world through one man (Adam) and as a consequence of his sin…we have all sinned (Rom 5:12). The Bible also teaches that sin is humanities rebellious actions towards the plan and purpose of God’s will for our lives. We are called to be holy as God is holy (1 Pet 1:16)…but man willfully chooses to live for the desires of his/her own heart. Our heart—the Bible says, “Is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” Jeremiah 17:9. Therefore—our sin is willful rebellion and rebellion is hostility towards God.

The apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:3 that “all of us lived as sinners at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.”  In other words—before giving our life to Christ…we did whatever we felt like doing whether it pleased the Lord or not. For example…

If we misrepresented the truth in order to get ahead in life…so what if no one gets hurt and especially if it benefits us personally. Surely a little white lie now and then doesn’t hurt! The point here is this—our sinful activity constitutes enmity towards God. Or, as Paul says in Romans 5:10, “we are God’s enemies.”  Friends, that being the case…we have a problem. No one has ever or will ever have victory over God. No one is able to enter His kingdom by force.

This is why we need to be at peace with God. You and I need to be living in harmony with God…not hostile towards Him. The question then becomes—“Who and how can anyone experience this peace?”

2. The message of peace.

Peter says here in this passage, the message of peace with God is an invitation to the world. Peter tells us here in verse 34 of a personal revelation that he experienced concerning who can and who cannot live in harmony with God. Notice what he said, “I now realize how true it is that God shows no favoritism.”  We need to praise God this morning that the message of peace has come to us as well.

In verses 35-36 Peter helps us understand at least 3 things about the message of peace.

A) Jesus Christ is Lord of all (v36). The Bible says that He is “King of kings and Lord of lords” in Rev 19:16 and that He has been given “all authority in heaven and on earth” in Mat 28:18. He’s God’s one and only Son and He’s in charge…Amen.

B) The good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all…is exactly what Cornelius said he and his family needed ‘to listen to’ (v33). Cornelius had asked Peter to come and tell them about the gospel— the good news of how someone can live in peace with God through Jesus Christ. Cornelius was a God-fearing man (v22) yet, he was about to discover for the first time what God was doing through the birth of His Son.

C) God…accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right (v35). What is Peter saying to us here…God had led him to understand that He does not discriminate between person’s on the basis of race or ethnic background. This means—when the message of peace, which is the good news of Jesus Christ, goes out into the world everyone who responds to that message by faith…is able to live in harmony with God.

The apostle Paul describes this beautifully for us in Ephesians 2:11-20. Church, we begin to hear about this message of peace in the New Testament with an  announcement made by a host of angels to a group of shepherds out in a field late one night near Bethlehem (Luke 2:8-14). They said, “I bring you good news of great joy—today in the town of David a Savior has been born, He is Christ the Lord…glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”  The Savior—Christ the Lord has a name according to the angel of the Lord that appeared to Joseph before he took Mary to be his wife…His name is Jesus. The angel went on to say the reason Jesus was coming was to “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

A question for each of us to consider this morning is this, “Have I discovered the meaning and message of peace as taught in the Bible?” The Bible teaches —we’ve all sinned and fall short of God’s original plan and purpose for our lives (Rom 3:23). The Bible teaches—as sinners basically we live for ourselves, we’ve rebelled against God, therefore, it’s as if we are His enemy (Rom 5:10). Not a good place to be.

The Bible also teaches there is good news—that good news is found in the message of peace through Jesus Christ. Listen to Paul explains this in Colossians 1:19-23. Our peace with God came at a high price. Paul mentioned it here in Colossians 1. The Lord’s Supper reminds us all of that high cost…lest we forget.