“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27. Christians have “embedded in them” the peace of Christ. What exactly does that mean? If we seek a more in-depth explanation of the Greek word for peace we will find the word explained thusly: “Of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is.” Wow! Assured of Salvation, fearing nothing, content with their earthly lot? Is that you?

 

Why then are there so many fearful Christians? Letters keep rolling in – Christians fearing tomorrow. Why not just place all your fears at the foot of the cross of Christ and leave them there? To remain in a fearful state after receiving the peace Christ promised (salvation paid for on that cross) is tantamount to unbelief and will ultimately allow the enemy an open door into your life. Contentment for a Christian means knowing the peace of Christ. If you don’t believe Jesus is fully capable of saving you and providing you with His peace you’ll always find contentment just out of your reach.

 

Believing and trusting are synonymous when referring to our faith in The Prince of Peace. If we don’t trust Jesus to do all He said He’d do then we don’t believe He is who He said He is. There can be no doubt in our minds of who Jesus is. Why? Because the flames of doubt are stoked by our fears. In the verse above, the Greek word for troubled, refers to a severe disturbance in one’s mind, a disquieting affect in the spirit, and a sense of dread, anxiousness, distressing, to be filled with doubts. “Filled with doubts” and “assured of our salvation” are two incompatible states of mind.

 

Jesus admonishes us to not allow our hearts to be troubled. Why? Because fear leads to doubt which leads to more fear and before we know it we are consumed with a disquieted spirit in which the enemy can and will aggressively attack. Satan’s influence over a believer in Christ is evident in that person’s defeated attitude. He will do anything to render a believer of non-affect. Imagine, just for a moment, how awful life must be for the non-believer when faced with mounting fear? There is no peace of spirit for the Christ rejecters of this world.

 

God loves every man, woman, and child on this planet. It’s not his desire that even one person perish “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9. Certainly fear is something He never intended for humankind, only peace. Jesus, being fully God, knew there would be an over abundance of fear to go around. All who would believe in Him and accept the peace which only He can give would be able to endure anything in the enemy’s seemingly unlimited arsenal of weaponry.

 

Chapter 14 of the Gospel of John opens with these words from the Prince of Peace, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” John 14:1. Obviously Jesus is resolute in His admonition that we keep our hearts from being troubled (not to be filled with fear and doubt). He knows how the enemy works. After all, He created Lucifer; He was there when Lucifer fell from his lofty position “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth... Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” Ezekiel 28:14a,15. Lucifer can’t surprise God, thus we see in John’s Gospel that God is trying to convince us that when we place our hope, faith, and trust in His only begotten Son we are indwelt with His peace (Justified – Saved).

 

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;” John 14:16. When the peace of Christ is obvious in our lives, Satan sees a big sign on that “Temple of God” which reads “No admittance”. “…the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me” John 14:30b. Satan has absolutely no hook, no foothold, no toehold of deception in our Lord Jesus the Christ, which also means that Satan has no hook, no foothold, no toehold of deception in any of those who truly follow the Prince of Peace.

 

The last days are upon us and those of us who are actively pursuing God’s agenda for our lives are being vehemently attacked. If the enemy sees a rift in our spiritual fabric he cultivates that tear (fear, doubt, lack of faith) until it becomes a huge stronghold where he will dwell, and for as long as he’s able. Peace, the peace Jesus promised, is our salvation security that we accept through faith when we are born again, and is the only barrier to the enemy filling us with fear.

 

Forgetting or doubting Jesus’ promises will lead to fear. Especially when confronted with the current state of world affairs. Something most of us who study Bible prophecy are in high anticipation of is Jesus’ soon to occur, “snatching away” of His Church. It seems the closer we get to the fulfillment of those “last days” scriptures the more forgetful and fearful Christians become. “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:2-3. This promise from the Creator of the universe should be on our minds continually. He’s coming back, and soon; fear not, you’re saved, no longer are you subject to the enemy’s every whim.

 

What Jesus clearly promises in those two verses above should replace all our fears with hope. Why then is there still so much fear among the brethren? Wouldn’t we, as His followers, prefer to be with Jesus where He is instead of remaining here on this very ungodly planet? 

 

Dare I say it? Could it be that the fear in the hearts of many of my brethren is not actually a fear of the evils this world holds, but rather a fear of giving up all they’ve accumulated here on earth? That topic may be for another commentary, but it certainly bears thinking about here and now.

 

“Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.” John 14:19. Embrace the Lord’s words. Those who believe in Jesus Christ and who have asked Him to be Savior and Lord over their lives will live forever. To live with Jesus Christ for eternity is our hope and His promise, so stop fearing the natural world. Those who are perishing are not going to give you and me one bit of comfort or rest. God is our comfort and our rest.

 

“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28. This verse is so very important to all believers in Christ who find themselves consumed with fear these days. Fear is a weapon that the enemy wields and which will certainly weaken the little faith many of the brethren have. Most of us have been guilty, at some point in our walk with Christ, of allowing the enemy to infect us with fear. We fear the malevolent supernatural world; we fear what we cannot see. We fear those who hate us. Why fear the condemned? Our salvation is our security and our peace.

 

“Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice…” John 14:28a. Too many professing Christians don’t read their Bibles, thus these verses are foreign to them. Jesus promised to return. Whenever we neglect or ignore the obviousness of the scriptures we begin to move away from God.

 

That same old tired tune we’ve heard from the doubters of God’s word for the past two thousand years continues to raise its ugly head. These two verses from 2 Peter explain it quite well. “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. ” 2 Peter 3:3-4. Many Christians today are in sync in their denying of the soon return of the Son of God, The Prince of Peace, our Savior and Lord, Jesus our Messiah. They will soon see how foolish they’ve been.

 

And there you have it. Fear and doubt have replaced the peace of Christ in the hearts of many of His followers. Yes, we should have fear, but a fear (reverence for the Lord – never doubting what He’s plainly told us. We’re told to “hold fast to the faith and to occupy ‘til He comes”. I say do what God tells you to do.

 

Fear and doubt are complacent allies of apathy and ignorance. Jesus gives us peace. Peace from the King of kings and Lord of lords is all we need to remain steadfast in our hope of His soon return. A huge misconception of who Jesus is permeates Christian churches today. Many professing Christians don’t even believe Jesus is who He says He is. In the Gospel of John we read where Jesus claims to be God “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58. Again fear leads to doubt which leads to a lack of faith, which leads to unbelief. You don’t believe Jesus Christ is God Almighty? And off they go onto a very wide and destructive path.

 

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6. Isaiah lays it out for everyone who wants to know who Jesus Christ really is. Just read those names he attaches to the Creator of the universe. The one name that should stand out for all who’ve gotten this far in this commentary is The Prince of Peace.

 

Jesus Christ, called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace, bestows His peace upon all who will receive it. So just what is there to fear now that you are born again? “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4. Fear Not!

 

God bless you all,

 

Ron Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

All scripture is from the KJV and God breathed