How to Have Peace With God

Peace with God begins with your admission that you need Him.

First, you need to admit that you need God to forgive you of your sins, those attitudes or actions that don't meet God's standards.

We find God's standards recorded in the Bible. They are commonly known as "The Ten Commandments". You decide if your attitudes and actions meet God's standards.

1. "You shall have no other God's before Me."

The essence of this command is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength (Matt. 22:36-38). Do you love God more than your family, more than your favorite sports, more than food, more than music, more than your favorite activities, even more than your own life? If you have answered no, you are setting your affections on the gift rather than the Giver. What is your first priority? The god of pleasure and self or the God who created you?

2. "You shall not make for yourself an idol..."

This not only refers to making gods out of wood and stone, but of making a god within the mind ("My god is a God of love" etc.) Who is your God, is He the God of the Bible or one that you have created?

3. "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name."

Have you ever sworn using God's title or name? If a person hits their finger with a hammer, they may express their pain with a four-letter word. Then again, they may use the name of God. When someone does this, they take the Name that is above all other names, the holy Name of their Creator and bring it down to the level of a four-letter swear word.

4. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."

Have you given God honor by spending any time in worshipping Him, and fellowshipping with Him, much less one day per week?

5. "Honor your father and your mother..."

Some of us have had a difficult family life and it has been hard to honor our parents. Yet God has commanded us to honor them, have you?

6. "You shall not murder."

How many of us have committed murder in our hearts and minds? Have you hated anyone and wished that they were dead? Scripture says: "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (1John 3:15)

7. "You shall not commit adultery."

Jesus said, "...whoever looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Have you ever looked at a woman or a man with lust in your mind? Adulterers will not enter the Kingdom of God. (1Cor. 6:9-10)

8. "You shall not steal."

Have you ever taken something that did not belong to you? Perhaps a pen from work, cheated on your taxes, these count too. Thieves will not enter the Kingdom of God. (1Cor. 6:10)

9. "You shall not give false testimony..."

How many times do we tell "white lies", or tell fibs? Lying also includes making exaggerated claims. Remaining silent to falsely take credit for the accomplishment of another is also wrong. But the Bible says "All liars will be thrown into the lake of fire." (Revelation 21:8)

10. "You shall not covet."

This means not to be greedy or materialistic. Have you ever wanted something that belongs to someone else, this too is coveting?

Have you broken any of God's commands? I have to confess that I am guilty of breaking most, if not all of them. The Bible says: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-9).

Second, you need God to give you eternal life through His Son, Jesus.

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

There is no other way to gain eternal life. We can't earn it. It is God's gift. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6) We also read in Acts 4:12, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." It is God's way or no way.

Third, you need God to show you His purpose for your life.

"The thief [Satan] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10).

The penalty for your sin is death. God loves you so much, He provides a way for you to escape that penalty. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16). Jesus can and will save anyone from an eternity without God, no one is too bad for Him to save. He died and rose again for your justification, to right your relationship with God.

You also need to "believe" to have peace with God.

Believe that Jesus died for your sins and that He rose from the dead.

"He [Jesus] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." (Romans 4:25).

Belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus for your sins is essential for salvation, but it is not enough. The Bible says: "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble." (James 2:19) We can believe the facts about God but not be saved as this verse shows. Belief that God desires of us is to trust in Him and what He says.

You must do more than believe in Jesus. You must confess him as Lord or master of your life.

Confessing Jesus as Lord means to commit total control of your life to Christ. You give him the ownership of your life. He becomes your new master. If you confess Jesus as Lord of your life, the Bible says you will be saved. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9-10).

If you want Jesus to save you, all you need to do is ask Him. You can use the following prayer or pray using your own words.

Dear God, I admit I am a sinner in need of you. Please forgive me for my sins and give me abundant life here on earth and eternal life with you in heaven. I believe Jesus died and rose again for my sins. I confess Jesus as Lord and Savior of my life. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus' name, Amen.