The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1912, Page 25

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The Lutheran Pioneer,

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

Pusiisnep By THE EvancenicaL Lutineran Synopicat, ConFERENCE or Nori

AMERICA.

R. A. BISCHOFY, Eprror.

Entered at the Post Ofice at St. Louis, Mo., as second-class matter.

Vol. XXXIV.

Peace Is Made.

Peace is made; for Christ is risen,
Conqueror over ev'ry foe!

He has broken death’s dark prison,
Savior from all sin and woe!

Peace is made, and heav'n rejoices;
Jesus lives who once was dead.
Join, O man, the gladsome voices;
Child of God, lift up thy head!

a

“Peace Be Unto You!’’

“Peace be unto you!” With these words the

risen Savior greeted His disciples as He came to
them on the evening of the first Easter Day. They
were not mere words. No. ‘The words brought to
them the peace which He obtained for man by His
bitter sufferings and death, and certified to man by
His glorious resurrection.

Sin had caused enmity between God and man.
If peace was to be restored, sin must be put away,
the punishment due to sin must be borne. To this
end Christ took upon Himself our sins and suffered
the punishment which we deserved. ‘Thus He put
away sin and made peace. ‘The chastisement of our
peace was upon Him,” says the prophet. He “made
peace through the blood of His cross,” says the
apostle. Christ’s resurrection is the proof that peace
is made. “The God of peace brought again from
the dead our Lord Jesus,” Hebr. 13, 20. By bring-
ing Him again from the dead, God the Father de-
clared that He is perfectly satisfied with the work
of His Son, and that peace is made. Every enemy
has been conquered, every accuser silenced. Peace
for sinners has been secured by Christ, “who was
delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for

'

T. LOUIS, MO., APRIL, 1912.

No. 4.

our justification,’ Rom. 4, 25. Therefore Christ,
after His resurrection, came to His disciples with
the greeting, “Peace be unto you!” It was not
an empty greeting. No; it brought to their souls
the whole blessing of His finished work of redemp-
tion. The peace which Christ brings includes the
forgiveness of sin, deliverance from death and the
devil, and the soul’s eternal salvation.

Christ still comes to us with His “Peace be unto
you!” as surely as He came to His disciples on the
day of His resurrection. THe comes to us in the
Gospel, for in the Gospel He preaches peace to
sinners. Christ “preached peace to you that were
afar off, and to them that were nigh,” says the
apostle. The peace which the risen Savior brought
to His disciples from the cross and the tomb was
secured for all sinners and is to be brought to all.
Therefore he instituted the Gospel ministry. “As
my Father hath sent me, even so send I you,” He
said to His disciples. ‘They were to be His mes-
sengers with the blessed message of peace to a god-
less, restless world.

The Gospel is still brought to poor restless sin-
ners by Christ’s servants as a message of peace.
Wherever God’s Word and sacraments are, there
the risen Savior comes to sinners with His “Peace
be unto you!” offering unto them through His
servants all the blessings of His redeeming work.
Those who by faith accept the Gospel have the peace
which it brings. They are “justified from all
things,” and “being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” says the
apostle. And having peace with God, they need
not fear. In all their troubles and heartaches they
are comforted by the words of their risen Savior
who continually says to them in the Gospel, “Peace
be unto you!”