Peace is not sufficiently demonstrated by merely being a Christian and faithfully attending church. This is a matter of condition: whether our very being allows us to reconcile with God. So it is not merely about having the status of being justified and then automatically being at peace with God, but about a state of life that must truly become righteous.
There are also Christians who feel they are already at peace with God simply because they believe they have repented, in the sense of having abandoned ways of life that contradict moral standards. They had previously committed moral violations, then stopped and confessed that they had accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. Yet repentance is a daily life step. In Greek, it is metanoia, meaning a change of mind that leads to a new way of thinking.
A changed way of thinking will transform one’s lifestyle and manner of living. A transformed lifestyle will continue to transform nature so that, from being human in nature, one becomes divine in nature. A person who does not increasingly partake in the divine nature, does not increasingly share in God’s holiness, does not become more like Jesus, and does not move toward perfection like the Father, cannot possibly be at peace with God. Therefore, it is not enough for someone to say that they repented in a certain year, then attended theological school and became a pastor. If their character has not become divine, they cannot be “in sync” with or reconciled to God. A life condition that misses the mark (hamartia, Greek) does not please the Lord, but grieves His heart. Therefore, the older we become, the less likely we are to miss the mark. Everything we think and say should always align with God’s thoughts and feelings. If not, true reconciliation will never take place.
Indeed, for new Christians who still struggle or even commit moral violations, God may show tolerance. But after ten or twenty years as a Christian, one cannot continue living as before. There must be a transformation. Humans typically seek self-pleasure without considering God, and this grieves God. To please God, one must stop pleasing oneself. Many believe self-pleasure brings happiness, but it is a false pleasure that distances us from God. Without change, reconciliation with God is impossible. True fulfillment comes from finding God, and in doing so, finding oneself.
A person who pleases God is actually pleasing themselves. An unbeliever will not strive to find, know, and please God’s heart. A person who stops seeking happiness from this world will seek happiness in the Lord. Therefore, the step we must pursue in this life—and must begin now—is to ensure that everything we think, say, and do always aligns with the thoughts and feelings of God, so that we truly please His heart. God cannot be reconciled with those who do not please Him. Essentially, we were created for Him, for His pleasure and delight. Like it or not, that is the purpose of our creation, and precisely there lies our happiness. Therefore, once we become Christians, we can no longer live “normally” by worldly standards, for we must begin to live theocentrically rather than egocentrically.
God wants to change us. That’s why He gave us the Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truth. He works in all things for our good and works on our lives, perfecting us. However, many people think that the blood of Jesus has covered them, so God accepts them as they are and allows them to remain as they are, as long as the blood of Jesus has “covered” them. This understanding is wrong. That’s why the Lord said, “Make disciples of all nations.” There is a process we must undergo to be transformed. Through this change, we can reconcile with God, be in harmony with God, and be bound to God.
Parents love their children. When children are small, even when they wet the bed or misbehave, parents still comfort and care for them. But parents expect their children to mature, to fit in, and be in sync with them. Similarly, our lives are about becoming more perfect and more like Jesus so that we can walk with Him.