Integrity- People of God

To be blessed, as said before, is to be divinely favored of God, to have been given access to the kingdom of heaven on earth and to be highly exalted of God in this life. Remember it is not some soft, dull or week word, like the world has tried to give it, but it is to have amazing awesome access to God’s divine kindness and goodwill.

Jesus tells us that those who are peacemakers are not only blessed, divinely favored and highly exalted of God but they are also called sons, children of God. They look like their heavenly Father and the world will know them because of their love, which is shown by their actions, their behavior, their performances and deeds. Sons of God will strive to bring peace into any hostile, explosive or volatile situations.  It takes the love of God for a person to risk their own comfort and wellbeing for the purpose of bringing peace to a bad situation. That is why they will not only be blessed but will bear the character of God as sons who reflect the image of their Father. 

Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. NKJ

John 13:35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. NKJ

Mankind was the enemy of God because of their rebellion against their God and Creator. A Just, Holy and Righteous God could not tolerate or overlook the sins of mankind.  The Righteousness of God required all humanity to walk perfectly before Him, the Holiness of God demanded mankind’s total obedience to Him and a Just God requires justice and punishment for sins. 

The wages of sin is death and blood is required for the payment and the atonement of sin therefore a just and Righteous God required the death of all mankind and demanded a blood payment for sin. The blood of Jesus became the payment and the atonement for all humanity but the choice to accept or reject Jesus’ blood payment is our choice to make.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’  

Justice required payment for sin, the death and blood of mankind. But God in His mercy, His great compassion and love for humanity became the Peacemaker between mankind and God. God Himself became the payment and the justifier to bring peace between Himself and humanity. Though we are saved by His Grace through faith in the blood, death and resurrection of Jesus, the payment was at a high cost to God, the life and death of His Son on the cross. 

It is a horrible mistake to think God forgives sin just because He felt sorry for us or for His love only. To be true to Himself, a Holy and Just God, He paid for our sins at a great cost, that is the pain and suffering of His Son.  Jesus the Son of God, paidthe wages for our sin, which is death, He gave His life and His blood to make atonement so that we could be reconciled back to God. 

God’s only requirement for mankind is to believe in the completed work of Christ and to accept His blood and death as the punishment for our sins. To refuse this so great a gift from God is to despise and to treat with disdain the death of the only begotten Son of God.  It was God’s love and great compassion for us that initiated His desire to make peace with humanity. But it was the Holiness and the justice of God that necessitated He become the justifier, even at the greatest expense to Him, which was the death of His Son, 

Romans 3:24-26 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth asa propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. NKJ

Jesus chose to become the peacemaker between man and God, the propitiation and payment for the sins of the world and He took the punishment that was due all mankind to make recompence and restitution to God.  To be a peacemaker is always at the expense of the person who is making peace. They must be willing to give of themselves, to give up their rights or their comfort so that others may obtain peace. It is at the cross that the justice of God and the mercy of God met and came together. 

Justice had to be administered, but the mercy of God could not have been shown without the sacrifice and the payment of Jesus Christ for all humanity. The truth of God’s Holiness had to be satisfied, it was through the blood of Jesus that His mercy was able to meet and coexist with justice.  God has bestowed mercy for mankind at the cross of Christ. The righteousness of God which required a payment of death has kissed and made atonement and peace at the cost of Jesus the Son of God for all humanity through faith in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 85:10-11 Mercy and truth have met together;Righteousness and peace have kissed.
Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven.

It is when we become broken bread and poured out wine for the sake of peace for others that we take on the nature and characterof God our Father in heaven as His sons. This is when we reflect His image and bear the fruit of peace as a good tree of God. We then become an example to a lost and dying world and will be called the sons of God.

Matthew 7: 16-18 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

When we are persecuted, mistreated, oppressed or victimized because we stand for the righteousness of God, Jesus says we are blessed.  We are divinely favored of God, highly exalted ofGod and have been given access to the kingdom of heaven on earth. 

Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Some followers of Christ have a disconnect to the ways and principles of God’s kingdom on earth. They tend to respond to people according to the fads, notions and perspectives of this fallen world ideology, thoughts and beliefs. They evaluate their situation based on the attitude of the world and not on the character of Jesus or the heavenly principles and the ways of God. 

Sometimes when a follower of Christ is persecuted, mistreated or harassed, they want to feel sorry for themselves or they will question God for allowing such things to happen. When we walk in the character of Jesus and are persecuted, God says we are highly favored. That is to say we are exalted and have the authority and access to the kingdom of heaven to help us navigate through these hard times and turmoil. It is the righteousness of God that is being persecuted, it is not about us, but it is about showing a world who we are and whose we are while living under or going through this adversity. 

There are ways that seem right to a person but is rooted in deceit, treachery and darkness. The righteousness of God will always go against the grain of this world system, which is embedded and established in deception, trickery and lies. Instead of falling for Satan’s lie and giving in to feelingshopelessness and depression we should understand this life is about the journey God has set before us. 

We are to show a dying world how to live in the midst of darkness because we have access to the light and the kingdom of God here on the earth. When we activate God’s principles and spiritual truths in our lives we can rise above the persecution and allow the light of Christ to shine in dark places.

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

As followers of Christ, we must understand our life is a journey and we are on a rode of discovery with continuousmovements and encounters. Things may appear to be disruptions but are actually are divine appointments of God. Just as Jesus walked through life being persecuted by some, while healing others and then having a mountain top experience with God only to descend into a demon oppressed valley. 

We too will meet different challenges in life that will disrupt our plans, but are God’s divine appointments. The question is how will we respond? Will we respond in peace with the authority and understanding of God’s heavenly kingdom and spiritual principles on earth, or according to the context and whims of this fallen world system.

 

Proverbs 19: 21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. NIV