#396 - Joby Martin //You Cannot Have Peace Without Jesus Christ

Most of us say we want peace, but we keep trying to buy it, earn it, or outrun it. Today we slow down in Philippians 1:2 where Paul offers two words that sound simple until you actually let them define your life: grace and peace. We treat Scripture like it matters, because it does, and we refuse to skim past the “greeting” as if God didn’t mean every word. 

We unpack grace as God’s unmerited favor and redemption at Christ’s expense, then follow that thread straight into the gospel. If we’re honest about what we deserve apart from Christ, we’re not talking about a bad day or a self-help reset, we’re talking about judgment. The good news is that Jesus takes our sin and we receive His righteousness, what theologians call double imputation. That means a real right standing before God, adoption into His family, and an identity that doesn’t rise and fall with your performance. 

Then we turn to peace and the trap of chasing happiness. Happiness depends on happenings, and life will eventually expose how temporary that is. Paul writes about grace, peace, and joy from prison, which forces the question: what kind of joy survives when your circumstances collapse? We believe you will never have the peace of God until you are at peace with God, and that only comes through faith in Jesus Christ. 

If you’re hungry for a clear Bible study, Christian theology you can actually apply, and a stronger foundation for spiritual battle, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more men can stay sharp.

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Welcome To The Daily Blade

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to the Daily Blade. The word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

Philippians 1:2 Sets The Theme

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Welcome back to day three in our walk through the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter 1, verse 2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, so there's two things that Paul is offering here. One of the things I want to point out, this is just the greeting that we have been walking through. And so I want you to know that every single word of Scripture is God breathed. So when you get to things like this in the scripture, don't just skip over them. That God has something for us, even in the introductions of these books of the Bible. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus

Grace Defined By The Gospel

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Christ. Grace is God's unmerited favor. Grace is God's redemption at Christ's expense. Grace comes from God through Jesus Christ. And you cannot receive the grace of God unless you know Jesus Christ. And the way we receive the grace of God is through what we call the gospel, that we, the enemies of God by nature and nurture, are reconciled with Him through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. The word grace means that we are receiving what you do not deserve. You see, what we do deserve by our own merit, by our own activity, by our own sinful and crooked heart, what we do deserve is we do deserve death. We do deserve judgment, we do deserve hell. But instead, because of the grace of God, what we actually receive through Christ is we receive life. We receive adoption as sons into his family. We receive a right standing before God. This is called double imputation. That when Christ goes to the cross, that God made him who was without sin to be sin for us, that we would be made the righteousness of Christ. And for who anyone that would believe that when Christ died on the cross somehow that counted for you, and you confess him as your Lord, then Jesus pays the full penalty for your sin on the cross, and we receive the right standing of God that Jesus earned by living the perfect life.

Peace Versus Happiness And Joy

SPEAKER_00 2:24

But he says, Grace to you and peace from God. You see, peace is what we're all actually looking for. You know, in our founding documents, when the when the Declaration of Independence, when it says that we are to pursue life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the pursuit of happiness, I I think I know what the founders intended. What they meant is that we were on this peace journey. And we look for it in all kinds of different places. A lot of us look for peace or contentment or happiness. We look we look to it in our flesh. That means we're we're in the pursuit of positive feelings, we're in the pursuit of positive relationships, we're in the pursuit of fun, we're in the pursuit of of hobbies, we're in the pursuit of fitness, whatever it is. Some of us sometimes we look for it through through stuff or success or money. Sometimes we look for this kind of peace, this contentment through status and likes. But the reality is, is the pursuit of happiness will always let you down. Why? Because happiness is based in happenings. And as long as everything's going okay, then you'll be okay. When things are not going okay, you will not be okay. And so the pursuit of happiness, it really is a temporary pursuit that will never fully and finally satisfy. So what we have been called to understand is peace. The word that Paul's going to use in the book of Philippians, more than any other word, is the word joy. And what we need is the joy of Jesus. And part of the reason, again, he's writing this from prison. And if we pursue happiness, then when our happiness change, our happiness is gone. But when we know Jesus, then our joy will never end because Jesus never ever changes. And again, keep this in mind: from a prison cell that I've actually been able to sit in in Rome, Paul pens these words grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Peace With God Through Christ

SPEAKER_00 4:22

The reality is this, men, you can make all the money you could make, you could be in the best shape of your life, you could have great relationships, but you will never have the peace of God until you are at peace with God. And the only way that you will be at peace with God is through the blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, until you receive the free gift of grace that He has offered to you by putting your faith in Him. And whoever believes will receive the right to become a child of God. And when you become a child of God, what comes along with that is this peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Stay sharp.