Is there peace?

Perhaps one of the greatest pitfalls in the Christian life is when we deceive our own selves into thinking everything is ok. It is one thing to be living contrary to our Savior and know it, but it is entirely a different thing to think everything is ok when in fact it is not.

When we come to the book of Jeremiah, we are reminded of the deceitfulness of sin. The book of Jeremiah is perhaps one of the most shocking and sobering books in the Old Testament. Because we have the Word of God and are looking back into history, we can easily see the folly in the decisions that the people of Jerusalem made. We can also see the deception that was believed by the people of Jerusalem. They certainly experienced a bitter end as they were swept off into captivity. As we look at just a few verses our eyes should be enlightened as we discover the truth that they were blinded and deceived thinking there was peace.

Consider the following verses from Jeremiah chapter 6:

"Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets. To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days. And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD. For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 6: 8-15)

Please make note of the specific phrase in verse number 14, the Bible says that the message of the day was “Peace, Peace.” In the ears of the people they thought, “everything is going to be okay.” “God certainly would not bring destruction upon this place, this is Jerusalem, the privileged city of God.”

At the beginning of these few verses God is calling to His people with this simple thought:

Be thou instructed

We would do well to make note of these three words, “Be thou instructed…” Those words should resound in our hearts every time we pick up the Word of God. When we enter into the church house we should come in with the desire to “Be thou instructed…” When we are around the spiritually mature our motto should be, “Be thou instructed…” When our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ speaks we ought to say within ourselves “Be thou instructed…” Unfortunately, too often in our day we reject being instructed. We reject the Word of God. we reject the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. We reject the counsel of men and women of God, that our Lord has placed in our lives. The truth is we allow everything else to instruct us, rather than the Lord. We look to the television and are instructed of it. We look to google and are instructed of it. We look to Social Media and allow it to instruct us. It is no wonder that our spiritual eyesight is dim.

In our passage Jerusalem, the great city of our great God allowed themselves not to be instructed by God, but rather were deceived by false teachers. They readily received what was palatable to their itching ears. “Peace, peace” is what they heard.

If we are to avoid this pitfall we must not only be prepared to be instructed, but we must then listen to the instruction.

Notice as the passage continues we find these words:

“To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.”

This question should alert us to the truth that our Lord desires us to be warned. Jesus made this statement in Matthew 23:37 as He looked upon His own precious people:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”

Perhaps this same question is being spoken to us today, “To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear?” The indication is by the context of this passage, that nobody was listening. Though God sent Jeremiah to testify, ‘their ears were uncircumcised’ and ‘they could not listen.’

Why could they not hear the pleading of their God? Why were they deceived with the false message of “Peace, Peace!”? The sad comment and answer to the question is given in the latter part of the verse:

“…the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach they have no delight in it.”

A reproach and no delight. When they heard the message, they decided not to yield to the Lord. They heard the message with contempt. They rejected the ‘hard’ sayings. One commentator said this, “they reproached it, and blasphemed it, as a novel and false doctrine, and thought it a dishonour to them to receive and profess it; and just so the Jews vilified the Gospel, in the times of Christ and his apostles; and as many do now, who treat it with contempt, as unworthy of God, as contrary to reason, as opening a door to licentiousness, and think it a scandal to preach or profess it:” (John Gill)

Those two vividly descriptive words ought not to be in our vocabulary when the Lord speaks to us. Rather we should hear and accept what God is teaching us. We should yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit as He makes application of God’s Word in our lives.

So simply put, Hear the warning.

When we refuse to listen we willfully stop our ears and therefore we “cannot hearken.” So often it is that until people are willing to hear, they cannot and will not hearken. All of the wisdom of God spoken with great oratory will do nothing until we ‘hear’ willfully. Such was the case with Jerusalem, they rejected Jeremiah’s delivering of the message of God, and chose rather to be deceived.

The Bible plainly declares the turning point in one word in verse 11, “Therefore…” The next few verses catalogue for us the list of frightening judgments that the Lord would “pour” out upon the people. None were exempt for it states, “from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.” (v.13) Yet they said, “Peace, peace.”

So much could be gleaned from this rich passage in Jeremiah chapter 6, but what application can you and I see from these few verses:

1. Be Thou Instructed – Have a willing heart to be instructed by God. (God has given us His Word, the Holy Spirit, and teachers/preachers for our instruction. We would do wise to have a heart that is willing to be instructed. In the Bible, people were often called, stiff-necked and hard-hearted who were not willing to be instructed.)

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” – Proverbs 1:7

2. Hear The Warning – Perhaps you have received warning from one of the biblical avenues listed above: the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, a teacher/preacher (a spiritually mature man or woman of God). We would do well to hear the warning. This is not just a willingness to be instructed, but the actual reception of instruction. Remember the earlier verse:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” – Matthew 23:37

This verse tells us “prophets” were sent. Not just once, nor twice, but the Word of God is littered with evidence that God repeated over and over again the message of warning. He is doing the same for you and I today in His mercy and grace. If you are being warned of God over and over again concerning the same area of your life, and it lines up with the Word of God, it would be foolish to disregard the warning.

3. True Peace Can Only Come With A Right Relationship and Fellowship with God.

“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

Peace with God comes first when we trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Before one can have any peace with God at all, they must repent of their sin and trust in Jesus as their Saviour. Agree with God that you have missed the mark, and ask Jesus to save you. Jesus paid for your sin. He was crucified, He died, and rose from the grave victorious. The Bible plainly declares, “repentance toward God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21) “….the word of faith, which we preach;…” (Romans 10:8b) is this, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” (Romans 10:9-11)That is believing on Jesus Christ for salvation. Until that takes place in your life, you can say “Peace, peace” all you want, and yet there is no peace.

Secondly, for those who have trusted in Jesus as their Saviour ask the Lord is their truly “peace” in terms of your fellowship with Him? Is there something that you are failing to be instructed in? Is there a warning that you are ignoring? Surely, our Lord and Saviour desires us not to be deceived with a false message of “Peace, peace” when there is no peace.

- Pastor James Grandinetti, Community Outreach Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church