The Bond of Peace
or
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Matthew 5:9
Follow Peace with all men
and Holiness,
without which
no man shall see the Lord
Hebrews 12:14
The fruit of righteousness will be
peace;
the effect of righteousness will be
quietness and assurance forever.
This web site is dedicated to achieving righteousness: the effect of which is quietness and assurance forever. The goal is peace.
Peace begins with the gospel of peace to the world:
He created you. You are on the earth in the midst of evil. You were born in it. You are part of it. He doesn't blame you. He forgives you. His beloved first born Son has paid the price of all your sin. He wants you back with him. He wants to be with you. He wants to love you, and he wants you to choose to love him. He wants to give you riches beyond your imagination, but a different kind of riches than what you know on earth. Trust him. He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. He asks you to please listen to his Son and keep his commands. So he can give you his peace. Follow his commands; be free from worry, doubt, fear, agitation, uncontrolled emotion, habits - all of which disturb your peace. There is peace between God and you. Accept this peace and seek Him through Jesus. Who had the joy of creating you, and now has the joy of reuniting you with the Father. He awaits you.
And so we have God's assurance that there is peace between us and him. The door is open. It is free to all who accept the sacrifice of Christ for us. And knowing this, we are free from fear of punishment or condemnation from him as we seek him.
And this is a peace that no other faith can claim. For they don't have the promise. They don't have the sacrificial example of a perfect life to follow. They can only tell themselves their doubts are probably wrong and force their minds to stop thinking about them, or think about something else. They can train themselves to become less emotional; they can train their minds to not react; but they can't attain the bond of perfect peace in the unity of the Spirit, which we can obtain if we strive to achieve it.
But it is not enough to accept his forgiveness without seeking the Kingdom of God and its righteousness within you, thereby building peace inside yourself, making peace to become a child of God; for without peace within, you stand outside Him and His Kingdom and his righteousness, the fruit of which is peace - quietness and assurance forever.
All below are several selections from George Fox's Journal,
thanks be to God for his record being preserved for us, even today, 350 years later.
The first selection is one where he defines the first step to peace: IN SILENCE:
Therefore be still awhile from your own thoughts, searching, seeking, desires, and imaginations, and be stayed in the principle of God in you, that it may raise your mind up to God, and stay it upon God, and you will find strength from him, and find him to be a God at hand, a present help in the time of trouble and of need. And you being come to the principle of God, which has been transgressed, it will keep you humble; and the humble God will teach his way, which is peace, and such he does exalt. Now as the principle of God in you has been transgressed, come to it, that it may keep your mind down low to the Lord God; to deny yourself, and from your own will, that is the earthly, from which you must be kept. Then you will feel the power of God, which will bring nature into its course, and let you see the glory of the first body. There the wisdom of God will be received, (which is Christ, by which all things were made and created), and you thereby preserved and ordered to God's glory. There you will come to receive and feel the physician of value, who clothes people in their right mind, whereby they may serve God and do his will. For all distractions, unruliness, and confusion are in the transgression; which transgression must be brought down, before the principle of God, which has been transgressed against, be lifted up; whereby the mind may be seasoned and stilled, and a right understanding of the Lord may be received; whereby his blessings enter, and are felt over all that is contrary in the power of the Lord God, which raises up the principle of God within, gives a feeling after God, and in time gives dominion. Keep in the fear of the Lord God; that is the word of the Lord to you. For all these things happen to you for your good, and for the good of those concerned for you, to make you know yourselves and your own weakness, and that you may know the Lord's strength and power, and may trust in him. Let the time past be sufficient to everyone, who in any thing has been lifted up in transgression out of the power of the Lord; for he can bring down and abase the mighty, and lay them in the dust of the earth. Therefore, all keep low in his fear, that thereby you may receive the secrets of God and his wisdom, may know the shadow of the Almighty, and sit under it in all tempests, storms, and heats. For God is a God at hand, and the Most High rules in the children of men. This is the word of the Lord God to you all; what the light does make manifest and discover, as temptations, distractions, confusions; do not look at the temptations, confusions, corruptions; but at the light which discovers them and makes them manifest; and with the same light you may feel over them, to receive power to stand against them. The same light which lets you see sin and transgression, will let you see the covenant of God, which blots out your sin and transgression, which gives victory and dominion over it, and brings into covenant with God. For looking down at sin, corruption, and distraction, you are swallowed up in it; but looking at the light, which discovers them, you will see over them. That will give victory, and you will find grace and strength; there is the first step to peace. That will bring salvation; and by it you may see to the beginning, and the" Glory that was with the Father before the world began;" and come to know the seed of God; which is the heir of the promise of God, and of the world which has no end; and which bruises the head of the serpent, who stops people from coming to God. That you may feel the power of an endless life, the power of God which is immortal, which brings the immortal soul up to the immortal God, in whom it does rejoice. So in the name and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty strengthen you.
and
And now, my dear friends, the Lord does require more of you than he does of other people, because he has committed more to you. He requires the fruits of his spirit, of the light, of the gospel, of the grace, and of the truth; for by your fruits is he glorified, (as Christ said), in your bringing forth much fruit, fruits of righteousness, holiness, godliness, virtue, truth, and purity; so that you may answer that which is of God in all people. Be valiant for his everlasting, glorious gospel in God's Holy Spirit and truth, keeping in the unity, and in the Holy Spirit, light, and life, which is over death and darkness, and was before death and darkness were. In this spirit we have the bond of peace, which cannot be broken except you go from the spirit, and then you lose this unity and bond of peace, which you have from the Prince of peace.
and
CHRIST JESUS said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." Mat 5:9. So all Christian men are to forsake evil and do good, to seek peace and follow it, if they will "love life, and see good days."1 Pet 3:10-11. God has called all true Christians unto peace, 1 Cor.7,15. Therefore, all Christians ought to follow this peace, which God calls them to. They should let the peace of God rule in all their hearts; which is above the peace of this world that is so soon broken. For the apostle commands the Christians to let the peace of God rule in their hearts; to which all Christians should be subject. The practice of this should be among all that profess Christianity; and this peace is above that which Christ takes from the earth. Rev 6:4. which is the peace of the wicked. The apostle said to Christians, "Be at peace among yourselves." 1Th 5:13. All Christians should obey this command, and be at peace among themselves; not in wars and strife. Further, the apostle exhorts Christians to "keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." So this unity, this bond of peace should be kept (and not broken) by all that bear that noble name, Christian. They should keep the unity of the spirit of Christ in the bond of the Prince of princes', King of kings', and Lord of lords' peace, which is the duty of all true Christians. With this they may honor Christ, in bringing forth the fruits of peace, which are love and charity. For the apostle tells you, "The fruits of the good spirit are love, joy; and peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, etc." Gal.5:22. The apostle exhorts Christians, "If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men." This should be the endeavor of all Christians.
and
Therefore be awakened, all you talkers of the scripture, that gather yourselves together by your multitudes and meetings, and have had your teachers; but not having the spirit that gave forth the scriptures, the Lord God of glory, the Father of spirits, will scatter you. All your bonds will not hold you together, who are out of the spirit, which is the bond of peace. The threshing instrument is gone forth, which will beat the hills to pieces. Zion is risen to thresh. Out of the holy mountain is the trumpet sounded.
and
The manifestation of the good spirit is given to every man to profit from; and no man can profit in the things of God but by the spirit of God which brings to deny all sin and evil. It is said of Israel, Neh 9:20, 26 “The Lord gave them his good spirit to instruct them, yet they rebelled against it." If all people would mind this manifestation of the spirit which God has given to instruct them, it would lead them to forsake all manner of sin and evil, enmity, hatred, malice, unrighteousness and ungodliness, and to mortify it. Then in the spirit of Christ they would have fellowship and unity, which is the bond of peace; then would love and peace, which are the fruits of the good spirit, flow among all that are called Christians.
Therefore silence all flesh, and see your own ways be clean;
and as you grow, therein, the way of peace will be more prized by you,
and the perfect bond you will come to know.
And all who are here established shall stand in strength,
when others fall on the right hand and on the left.
(from Letter 47 )
and
Blessed are all those whose minds are staid upon the Lord, for they shall be kept in perfect peace; so where the mind is staid upon the Lord, there is perfect peace, for it is a whole peace which cannot be broken. So here is not only a perfect peace, but a blessing; a perfect peace which comes from the God of all peace, that bruises the serpent's head under your feet, (the troubler) and the blessings which comes from the blessed God. So all imperfect peace may be broken, that is when the mind is staid upon any creature, or in any creature (and not upon the Creator) or in any outward things. Goods, houses, lands or inventions of the vanities, in the foolish vain fashions, which the lust of the eye, and the pride of life go into, which will defile it and corrupt it, when any of these things fail, and are not according to your mind, it being in them, then your peace is broken, and you are cross, and brittle, and envy gets up; so this is not a perfect peace, but is a broken peace, and then you have the trouble and not the blessing; and the reason is, because your minds are in the creatures, and the outward things, and are not staid upon the creator, where the perfect peace is, and the blessing, where nothing can get between you and the Lord. And this is below Job to have the mind in the creatures, and visible things, for when you are tried, and creatures fail you, you are crossed, and troubled, that shows an imperfect state; for God said, that Job was a perfect man: and when that the Lord suffered him to be tried, and when that his goods and houses were thrown down, and driven away, and servants killed, he said, Blessed be the name of the Lord, for the Lord gave and the Lord takes; here his mind was stayed upon the Lord, and he retained his peace. And when that his children were destroyed, and his wife said to him, what, do you continue in your integrity still? Curse God and die; he rebukes her, and calls her, A foolish woman: and said unto her, Shall I receive good of the Lord and not evil? Naked came I out of my Mothers womb, and naked I must return again. Here Job kept his integrity still, and did not all this while offend with his lips. Now many of you who think highly of yourselves, and above Job; but if your Goods and children should be after the same manner taken away, (whose mind is in them), you would be found in a troubled brittle state, far below Job. And when that Job's friends came to reason with him, who kept his integrity, and would no way yield to them, they called him an hypocrite, and said, he denied prayer, and filled his belly with east-wind, and said, What shall mortal man be more pure than his Maker? Shall man that is born of a woman be just? God charges his Angels with folly, and the heavens are not clear in his sight. And these are the scriptures the priests use to bring against friends (who keep their integrity) as Job's friends did against him; but at the last the Lord commanded Job to offer a sacrifice for his friends, because they had sinned, and spoken not right, as Job had, who was perfect and kept his integrity. And the Apostle said to the saints, That he had learned in all conditions to be content. Mark, in all conditions, but this was when he was Paul, not when he was Saul, running up and down with his packet of letters, haling the saints before the rulers like a Praetor; then he was not content, neither with his own condition, nor others: But when he came to learn of Christ, which destroys the devil and his works, which teaches to know all things, then in all things he learned to be content; so that you know that there is learning, learns, and learned; as a child when he is learning, has learned, and become learned is three states; so Paul had learned in all conditions to be content; and who was his schoolmaster but Christ, by whom all things were made, not of man, nor by man (out of the truth;) so while he learned of men, and by men, he was not content; neither are any others.
Therefore all are to learn of Christ the light, the life, and the truth, that you may come to that condition, to have learned in all conditions to be content, and not to trust in uncertain riches, for they have wings and will flee away; and so he is never counted a wise man that will put any confidence in that which will flee away from him: for those are the heirs of the earth and the world that load themselves with thick clay, that they may set their nests on high; but they that be heirs of Christ, and of the power of an endless life, trust in the living God, and come to possess an everlasting inheritance of the power of an endless life, and come to increase in the riches of the everlasting inheritance, and there lay up riches that are everlasting, which will abide for ever. And so therefore mind every one God's word in your hearts, and in your mouths, and obey it and do it; and be not of them that are saying in their hearts, who shall ascend or descend to fetch him from above? Keep down that sayer under reproof, and then your ears will be open to that which the righteousness of faith said, The Word is near you, in your heart, and in your mouth, so thou need not to say, who shall ascend or descend, and that was the Word which the messengers of God preached, and do preach, and rebuke the gainsayer.
George Fox
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Isa 26:3
The way to peace is through the mystical missing cross. You must bear you cross daily to be his disciple. You must crucify the lusts and affections of the flesh. You must mortify the deeds of the flesh by the Holy Spirit. This is the only way to true peace. Then you will be able to worship Christ and the Father in spirit and truth.
THE EXCELLENCE OF PEACE WITH GOD
STEPHEN CRISP speaking at Devonshire House, (meeting house) on the 5th day of the 8th month, 1691.
My Friends,
It is man's great happiness in this world to have acquaintance with God, with the Lord that made him, from whom he has life and breath here, and his eternal welfare hereafter. This doubtless every one will acknowledge one time or another, that peace with God is a great jewel, and the best estate and riches. It is the great desire of everyone, that they may attain to this one time or other; and there is a great neglect of happiness among the sons and daughters of men, in not seeking it, in not laboring to attain it while it is to be had. Oh! How many trifle away their time about fading and perishing objects, and know at the same instant that they are yet destitute of the favor of God, and peace with Him. Oh, friends! The very thoughts and consideration of the worth of this jewel, and all the misery of being without it, and the uncertainty of our time while it is to be attained, might put everyone upon a serious, diligent inquiry, after the way and means by which they might attain it, so that they might have a resting place for their souls, and satisfaction to their inward man; that it shall go well with them, when time shall be no more.
And they that come to this consideration, and are resolved in their hearts and minds, that they will labor after this, and set their whole endeavor after it, they will in the first place seek the Kingdom of God, and the righteousness thereof. These do need a daily encouragement in their way to heaven, and there is nothing on the Lord's part lacking for all such souls, but that they may attain their desire.
But, alas! This has been, and is still, the misery of thousands. They are seeking after peace with God, but they err in the way to it, they do not seek in that way, nor take hold of those methods, by and through which God has promised peace. You shall scarcely find anybody, who would not like to have eternal life, and peace with God; we shall not need to persuade people to wish for, and to desire to have peace with God, when they shall come to die, and lay down their heads in the dust. There is not a Balaam, but he desires to die the death of the righteous, and that his last end may be like his. There is not a Scribe, or a Pharisee, or any that profess religion, but those who are seeking eternal life. The Lord Jesus did witness concerning them, that they were an envious, proud, persecuting people, yet that they did seek after eternal life, and they fixed upon some methods and ways whereby they thought to get and enjoy it, and so are a great many people at this every day. They are in a state and condition in which they are not likely to enjoy it; the methods and ways that they have chosen to themselves, by which to find eternal life, and to obtain peace with God, will never answer the end.
And God has been pleased to discover in us the many byways that people have chosen, and by which they seek peace with god, therefore we are willing at all times to show people their error, in these greatest matters, a highest concern to them. If they did err in their way of seeking to obtain some earthly good, and missed their end, they know the price of it, it is a loss of so much, which, if they had taken a right course, they might have attained; but it is an unspeakable loss, an inestimable loss, if they lose peace with God, and all the pains and labor they seek to obtain it.
I beseech you, friends, consider these things; they are of great weight, and your will say so one day or another. For, said our savior, what will it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Oh, how sad is it to consider, that a man has not made provision for his soul; that he has not a place of rest for his immortal soul, when his body can retain it no longer! If this be a man's state when he comes to die, it had been better for him that he had never been born. Men may live and gather riches, and enjoy a plentiful estate; but if they are destitute of the favour of God, lack peace with Him, what will they do with their perishing enjoyments? They cannot really satisfy themselves with these transitory, visible things; but if these person's mind only their bodies, and neglect their souls, do they not live like the beasts that perish? The beast seeks after his meat, and when he finds it, he eats it with delight and pleasure, and in a little while he lies down and dies; and so it is with careless souls, they have no regard for their future state; but say, Let us east and drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we shall die.
Oh that every one of us here did apply our hearts seriously, to the consideration of the weight of these things which concern our eternal state. If persons did this, then they might come to an inquiry into their own souls, what method and way is most safe for the attaining of so blessed an end. For you know there are abundance of people,--if you look up and down in the world, you will see almost everybody hunting up and down, in some way of religion or other, and engaged in religious performances. What is the matter? What would you have? We would have peace with God here, and everlasting rest in the kingdom of heaven in this life and the next. Thus have the nations been scattered and driven up and down, in the pursuit of happiness and satisfaction.
There is a general belief among people, that there is a heaven, and a hell; and that they must have their part in one of them. There are none that desire a portion in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. These profane wretches that cry to God to damn them, they do not mean what they speak, they would be saved for all that; everyone will cry at last, "Lord, have mercy upon me!" if he only has time to say so. Let us cry now: Lord, have mercy upon me! Lord, bestow your favor upon me! Lord, lift up the light of your countenance upon me! Lord, touch my hard heart and soften it, and break it by the power of your Spirit; open my eyes that I may see the wonderful things of your law; open mine ears, that I may hear your voice! It is good for people to make use of time while they have it. Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, and God will pour out his wrath upon those that do not call upon his name. He that calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved; and God gives great encouragement to people to seek after him.
What do you mean by seeking after God? I have gone to church, and said my prayers; I have gone in that way in which my fathers have led me, and directed me; I hope I shall find mercy at last. I am a believer; I believe in Jesus Christ that died for my sins; and rose again for my justification; I hope, through the merits of Jesus Christ, I shall be saved. What do you mean by seeking after the Lord? Do not we all hear of Him, and pray to him every day?
Is there anything more common than this, that people speak to one another generally about. As for the general knowledge of God, you and I may see to our sorrow, that a great many cry, Lord! Lord! that are never likely to enter into the kingdom of God. If all that take the name of God in their mouths, should enter into the kingdom of heaven, it would be a very foul kingdom. If all the drunkards and fornicators of England, and all the profane and ungodly person, that will take the name of God in their mouths, should enter into the kingdom of heaven, it would be a very unclean and impure kingdom. There is nothing enters therein that is unclean, that is abominable, that loves to make a lie. So that there must be some more peculiar people that shall have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of God; and there must be something that will entitle them to it. For you may remember our savior said, No man knows the Father but the Son, and him to whom the Son shall reveal Him. So much as may be known of God by works, you and I may know, without the revelation of Christ; we need not wait for this knowledge; we can have it by books, we can have it without Christ's revelation. Nothing would serve some in our savior's time but eternal life; and our Lord Jesus bids them Search the Scriptures, for in them, said he, you think to have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. Yet, for all the profession they made, He tells them: No man has seen God at any time, neither seen his shape nor heard his voice. They were strangers to God, though they had a general knowledge of God.
So it is at this day; there is a general knowledge of God, and people hope to attain peace with God, and eternal life. Their parents and their tutors have instructed them in the principles of Christianity, and about the attributes of God; but all this will not bring them to a saving knowledge of God, and reconciliation with Him. For a man who is as wicked as the devil can make him, knows these things, and yet may be a servant of the devil, and do his work. He is not born again, and become a child, by all his eternal knowledge. Now that he desires to come to the true saving knowledge of God, our savior has told us, That none know the Father but the Son, and him to whom the Son will reveal Him. This is the sure way to come to the true knowledge of God the Father. Christ has the key of David, which opens and no man can shut; and shuts and no man can open. He can bring us to behold the glory of God in his own face. Without Him we are never likely to come to the saving knowledge of God.
Poor man is in a lapsed, fallen state! He is fallen into sin, and is in a state of alienation from God; and therefore he cannot come to Him but by a mediator: There is one mediator between God and man, the Man, Christ Jesus; and He must make peace for him, else he will never have it. How then shall we come to Christ, if He is the only means, and there is not other, by which we may come to the knowledge of God, as the Scripture speaks? Hearken to it, how may we come to Christ? I answer, you will never come to Him, if he does not first come to you; you will never be able to do it. It is not coming to Christ, when you say, you believe that Christ died and rose again, and ascended up into heaven and that He sits at the right hand of God, and lives forever to make intercession for his people; and when you read those words and doctrines which He preached up and down, at meetings and solemn assemblies. But if you believe the He is the eternal Son of God, and the author of eternal salvation to all that obey Him, you must come to Him, and entirely give up yourselves to his glory and service. Without this, you cannot come to Him, nor will He bring you to the Father. Christ is come near to us, He stands at the door of our hearts, and He stands and knocks. Behold! that is the word that calls for attention, for people to take notice of, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. What do you knock for? Said Christ, That you may open the door of your heart; for if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me, and this grace that brings salvation has appeared to all men. This manifestation of the Spirit and light within, we have from Christ. These are the ways and methods which the Lord Christ has taken to approach near to us. Now your own reason will tell you, if this is the way and means that Christ takes to approach near to us, we cannot take another way to approach to Him. If Christ has taken I say, this way to approach us, by the light and manifestation of his own Spirit, which convinces us of sin; if this is Christ's way of coming to us, there can be not other way of our coming to Him, but by the same method of his grace.
He said: If you have the light, believe in the Light. I have the light; I am enlightened; there is something that discovers your evil thoughts. Why must I believe in the light? That you may be the children of light as our savior speaks. They that are the children of the light shall have it for their inheritance; and they that are children of darkness, must have darkness for their inheritance. While we have the light, we must believe in it, and we shall be made children of the light. God has sent his Son, and the Son has sent his Spirit and his heavenly grace into our hearts, that we may draw near to Him, and be directed how to attain acquaintance with Him, and to do what pleases God, and come to be in union with Him, and do the works of God. This is what God requires of us, That we believe on Him whom He has sent; that we may embrace the light, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pray what do you mean by believing? There is something within me checks and reproves me for sin, and calls me off from it, and bids me turn over a new leaf. Must I hearken to this? Is this what you mean by believing? As to this degree of believing, they that neglect it now, shall believe it hereafter; for all the world at last, and the damned in hell, shall certainly confess, that there was grace, and light, and means afforded to them, and they might have gone further, and escaped that misery which they are fallen into.
But there is a more precious faith that I would have you partake of, a Faith the works by Love. Since the Lord has been so gracious as to extend his mercy and love to me, I am so captivated with the love of God, that I will be obedient to Him. This Faith that works by love, is the faith of God's elect; that by which we may obtain victory over our passions and lusts, and over Satan and the snares of the world. When we are come close with the grace of God, and to believe in Christ, this is well; but we must also yield obedience and subjection. Yet when faith has brought forth obedience, you cannot be justified by it, you cannot be saved by your obedience, without Christ: He is the Author and Finisher of our faith, and a mediator from first to last.
Now all who come close with the appearance of Christ in their own hearts, they have laid hold of the method appointed for their coming to him. It is Christ they must hear; He is come so near to men that they may hear his voice, and hear Him tell us our very thoughts. Why should I not hear Him when he checks me and reproves me for sin? He comes near, and tells me that I have done amiss. Lord, I have done iniquity, I will do so no more. Thus Christ converses with his people, and does not only check and reprove them, when they do what is evil; but persuades them and enables them to do good. He is a mediator, He is a middle person, and has taken flesh upon Him, that He might reconcile them to God, who believe in Him.
Now, when we come to have acquaintance with God, and have chosen Him to be our God, he teaches us what is good, and reproves us for what evil we have done. Who can choose a better guide, to lead him into acquaintance with God, than Christ that is conversant with us, piercing into our thoughts, and speaking to us? I may hear Him with the inward ear of my heart. When I do evil, He checks me for it, and tells me the thing I should seek is of inestimable value; and if, through my unbelief and carelessness, I miss of it, it had been better for me that I had never been born. Now we are in the way of coming to receive the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls, let us not neglect so great salvation. No man can save himself, nor save the soul of his brother, nor find a ransom, nor procure an offering for the expiating of his sin; therefore let every one that would have his sin expiated and pardoned, and cannot be satisfied and quieted till he has peace with God, let him come to Christ the mediator, and come with faith and truth in the inward parts, and submit to Him, and be willing to be ruled by Him; then Christ will save him, and present him without spot or blemish to his Father.
Consider that those who are the people of God, are led by the Spirit of God; and those who have missed their way to reconciliation with God, that love any other way, or think to come to God any other way than by Jesus, the mediator: their labor will be lost. Therefore I must exhort and persuade you who are out of the way, that you would take God's method, and come into God's way. The terms, I have told you, are made already; the bargain is not to make now,--I will give you so much to be at peace with God, or I will part with this or the other thing that is dear to me. No, the agreement is made between God and Christ, and his Covenant is ordered in all things, and sure; and his covenant stands sure with none, but those that are in Christ Jesus. There was a covenant made with Abraham: In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. The promise is made to the seed, that is, to those that are in Christ; the faithful are counted the seed. Now the faithful are those that are obedient to Christ, who is the seed of promise, in whom all the families of the earth are blessed. They must come to Christ the seed; they must not rebel against Him; they must come to Him, and believe in Him. Be there never so many nations and families in the world, the promise is not to them, but to as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Here is the way for people to lay hold of, for coming into acquaintance with God, which is of so great necessity before they die; they must come to Christ himself, by his Spirit in their own hearts. We need not go to this and the other learned man, and inquire of this and the other sort of people; but we must cry to God for help and direction, and come unto Him, and give up all the powers and faculties of our souls to Him, to be governed by Him. God will have servants that will be obedient to Him. If ever we come to obtain salvation, we must have another master: One is your master, even Christ. I must come under the government of Christ, and He must lead me, and rule me, if I will be a child of God.
When people come to see there is not an effectual way, except submitting to the grace of God in their own hearts, and yielding themselves up to the dictates of the Spirit of Christ in their souls; when they come to this, there are many hazards and difficulties to be encountered. There is the appearance of the cross of Christ, and we must take up this cross if we will follow Christ, and be obedient in all things unto Him. This is what will kill all my pleasures, lay waste all my religion, and destroy all my hopes, I must be like a man that has built a house without a good foundation; I must pull it all down again, and I must come to build up again upon a new foundation.
Here many have turned aside; the cross of Christ has seemed to them so sharp, and hard, and intolerable, that they could not bear it; they would not be at the charge of such a religion. What! Must I part with all my delights, and my beloved lusts and pleasures, and all my interests in the world, for Christ? I cannot part with these; these things lie in my way, I must rather lose my soul than part with what is so pleasing to me, and join with the light of my own conscience, and the truth in my inward parts? What! Must I not have so much as liberty of thought? What! Must my thoughts be regulated by what is so cross and repugnant to my mind? Must I throw out all evil thoughts out of my heart, and suffer none but the good thoughts to remain there? Who can stand here? Who can bear such strictness as this? Rather than endure this, I will choose to lose my soul. Many have lost the truth on this account; and many are in danger to lose their souls.
If there is in you any desire of peace with God, so that you may not go from here before you have attained it, take hold of the present opportunity. Hardness of heart is a desperate plague; it comes from a long obstinate continuance in sin. When we have withstood the day of God's patience and long-suffering, and grieved the Holy Spirit of God; then God gives us up to our own hearts' lusts, because we choose to follow the voice of the charmer, however wise he appears . When we stop our ears, and will not attend to the calls of God; when men will go on, and nothing can stop them, in the career of their lusts and pleasures, but they will retain their carnal delight and friendship with the world, this hardness of heart becomes a desperate plague. Take heed of it, that it does not overtake you, and bring ruin and destruction upon you. Consider the patience and long-suffering of God, and let his goodness lead you to repentance. Consider, God has waited to be gracious to you, he has exercised much long-suffering and patience towards you; whereas He might have cut you off long ago, and given you your portion with the damned in hell: but He has hearkened to the voice of the mediator who has pleaded for you; He has extended his patience and long-suffering to the wicked and rebellious also; and for this reason, the apostle tells us, Christ is the savior of all men, especially of them that believe.
Now the patience and long suffering of God has been lengthened out to all, and we have not improved it. Conscience has been sensible of the inward strokes and rebukes of God for sin, and of the inward calls of his grace to bring us to repentance; but we have not regarded these calls, nor hearkened to the voice of God, so as to hear, that our souls might live. Oh let us not put off our repentance any longer! But today, while it is called today, let us hear his voice, and harden not our hearts; but be of tender heart; let our hearts be softened and tendered under the word of God, and under the strokes of his judgment. If ever the Lord bring you under a tender frame, you will receive the word of God with meekness, and mix it with faith. Then it will work effectually to the amendment of your lives; it will work faith in those that are unbelievers, and strengthen the faith of those that believe. Then we shall have come to bless the Lord, and praise and magnify his great name, for his patience, long-suffering, and mercy, which at this day he has lengthened out, and graciously extended to us.
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We, who accept the sacrifice of Christ and his grace to allow us to seek union with him, have a peace based on knowing that as we seek Him, the creator of the universe is watching over us, protecting us, planning for us, moving the world to our benefit, and always there for us. With this assurance, we know that everything that comes our way is his will for us; and whatever happens, even if it appears to be a problem at the time, we know as it is written "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose;" and because we keep his commands, he knows we love him. We know that he will make something good out of any apparent failure or problem. So we have a peace that is based on the love of God to us. We can cast all of our worries and fears upon him, and depend on him to work everything out to our benefit. We have confidence that he is working for us, even when we can't see how it is happening; we know he controls the whole universe, and to work our life to his union, is effortless for him. We know, that however we fail in our attempts to walk according to his commands, that as long as we are sorry for the mistakes, we are still covered by his forgiveness and love. He's not counting; he not keeping a record; he is only urging us to pick our cross back up, and keep going, not looking back, supremely confident, that the blood of Christ covers it all, and that his sacrifice was for creating more of the ultimate - humans filled with the love of God and in the bond of peace, all in the unity of the Spirit. One spirit, one peace, one love, one God, in all of us who find Him. And as we are seeking, we have his promises to fall back on and reassure us, we have his words of encouragement whispered to us as we quietly wait on Him, we have his commands to comfort us that we are indeed under orders, we have his discipline to remind us that he loves us and will not let us fail, and we have the changes he makes in us as proof - as long as we keep coming back to Him and seeking him in solitude.
Make it your ambition and definitely endeavor to live quietly and peacefully, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we charged you, 1 Th 4:11
Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Ps 85:10
For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within you. Ps 122:8
And the work of righteousness shall be peace;
and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. Is 32:17
And as we receive more of his spirit along the way, we become more confident, our minds shift to being stayed on him more often, and as we become more "God conscious," our peace increases, and keeps on increasing. And as we receive more of him, we eventually understand everything, for he shows us what he is doing, and then our confidence is absolute, for we can see God working around us in a hundred different ways every day, and we can see him in everything, and we have a perfect peace, and we have a bond of peace that cannot be broken. We have a peace that the world cannot even imagine, for we now know the One and Only God, our trust in him is infinite, beyond description, and beyond the world to disturb, for we are in unity, unity with God, and unity with others who are in unity with God, the peace of unity in the Spirit, the bond of perfect peace in unity of the Spirit.
Here is an explanation of my peace. I KNOW he is in charge of my life. I KNOW that anything that happens to me is his will for me and therefore good. I KNOW that he is purifying me and will finish the job shortly. I KNOW that I am going to be with Him forever. I KNOW that he loves me. I KNOW that he is in me and controlling me. I KNOW that a door has been opened which no one can shut. I KNOW what he is doing with the world. I KNOW how I fit in that plan. I KNOW he will be my King forever. I KNOW the Father. I KNOW Christ. I know everything I need to know, for now. I have the BOND of PEACE. It holds me. It stabilizes me. It keeps me. It assures me.
This web site's purpose is to show how to become
free from sin
by benefiting from the changing power of God through the cross,
which leads to union with God in his Kingdom.
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