Peace by The Blood | Pastor Michael D'Cunha | Reverb Church

Paul’s words in Ephesians 2 ground peacemaking in something far deeper than avoiding conflict. Christ himself is peace, and through his flesh he breaks down the dividing wall of hostility between God and sinful people. The cross does not merely calm a tense situation. The cross kills hostility and creates one new people reconciled to God.

Evangelism, then, cannot be a manufactured moment or a clever explanation. Evangelism is the authentic pursuit of seeing people brought into peace with God. Peace with God must be received before peace can be carried to others. The peace that believers freely receive is the peace they are called to freely give, especially in marriages, homes, friendships, workplaces, and places where hostility has been allowed to build.

Humanity’s peace threshold gets tested when personal rights, vindication, consequences, judgment, or avoidance feel more important than reconciliation. Hostility often grows brick by brick when people insist on being right, demand a verdict, or hold onto a case against someone else. Silence can sound like peace, but silence and avoidance often become an illusion of peace that leaves the wall standing.

The courtroom image exposes the problem. Romans 3 declares that all have sinned and fallen short, so no one can finally plead innocent before a perfect Judge. Guilt tells the truth about sin, but guilt alone leaves people condemned. Silence tries to avoid the case, but a perfect Judge sees and knows everything.

The blood of Jesus provides the only plea that makes peace. Christ is both just and the justifier, the mercy seat lifted up before the world, whose blood satisfies God’s righteous anger and opens the way home. Jesus lived the life sinners could not live, died the death sinners deserved, and rose again so that those who trust him may stand reconciled before God.

The gospel can be remembered simply: God, us, Jesus, come home. God created people for peace with himself, sin made humanity hostile, Jesus reconciled enemies through his body and blood, and faith brings people home into restored relationship. The verdict for those in Christ is not ongoing condemnation but restored peace. The same blood that closes the believer’s case calls believers to stop prosecuting others and to pursue peace for those far off and near.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Peace begins with Christ’s finished work [14:22] Christ does not simply point toward peace or give advice about peace. He himself is peace, because his cross removes the hostility sin created between God and humanity. Peacemaking must begin with resting in what Christ has already done, not striving to manufacture a calm life through personal effort. [14:22]
• 2. Silence can hide deeper hostility [23:37] Silence may feel safe when relationships are tense, but avoidance does not heal what remains unspoken. A quiet room can still be full of accusation, resentment, and unresolved pain. The gospel calls for something better than pretending there is peace when Christ invites real reconciliation. [23:37]
• 3. The blood is the believer’s plea [25:19] Innocence cannot be defended by good works, and guilt cannot be escaped by shame. The blood of Jesus is the plea that declares both the seriousness of sin and the sufficiency of grace. Faith does not minimize the case against sinners, but rests in Christ’s complete answer to it. [25:19]
• 4. Closed cases should not be reopened [32:20] God does not keep the case file open against those whose hope is in Jesus. Christ’s finished work means that believers stand at peace with God, not on probation before him. That mercy should reshape how believers hold the failures of others, refusing to become prosecutor, jury, and judge. [32:20]
• 5. Peacemaking starts with those nearest [29:52] The call to evangelism reaches beyond strangers and distant mission fields into the closest relationships. A spouse, family member, coworker, friend, or enemy may be carrying hostility toward God beneath the visible conflict. The blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony equip believers to seek blessing, healing, and restored peace there.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:33] - A Practical Word From Ephesians
• [01:32] - Christ Breaks Down Hostility
• [03:19] - Peacemakers Are Participators
• [05:21] - Reconciled Before Reconcilers
• [06:57] - Examining the Peace Threshold
• [12:46] - Hostility and Authentic Evangelism
• [14:49] - How Do You Plead?
• [19:57] - Jesus Is Just and Justifier
• [23:37] - The Illusion of Silence
• [25:19] - Pleading the Blood
• [31:31] - The Verdict Is Peace
• [33:13] - God, Us, Jesus, Come Home
• [36:23] - Peacemakers by the Blood

Bible Reading

Ephesians 2:13-16
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” [01:32]

Romans 3:23-26
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” [15:43]

Romans 5:1
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [35:35]

Observation questions

1. In Ephesians 2:13–16, what actions are credited to Christ, and what does Paul say happens to the dividing wall of hostility? [13:28]
2. In Romans 3:23–26, what problem do all people share, and what is the means by which they are justified?
3. What three responses to the “courtroom” of sin and conflict are considered before the final plea is introduced? [17:40]
4. According to Romans 5:1, what is the result of being justified by faith, and through whom does that peace come? [35:35]

Interpretation questions

1. What does it mean that Christ “himself is our peace,” rather than merely someone who teaches people how to be peaceful? How does this change the way a believer approaches conflict? [14:22]
2. Why is admitting guilt not enough to bring peace with God? How do God’s justice and grace meet together in Jesus’ blood? [19:21]
3. Why can silence in a strained relationship be an “illusion of peace” instead of real peace? What kinds of hostility can continue growing underneath avoidance? [23:37]
4. If all people have sinned, how should that truth reshape the way a believer views someone who has genuinely wronged them? [15:43]

Application questions

1. Where has your peace threshold been tested recently—at home, at work, in traffic, online, or in another setting? What desire to be right, vindicated, heard, or in control was underneath your response? [09:54]
2. Is there a relationship in which silence or avoidance has felt safer than an honest pursuit of peace? What would a gentle, truthful first step toward reconciliation look like?
3. Whose “case file” have you been keeping open in your mind? What accusations, evidence, or desired verdict have you been rehearsing, and how does Christ’s mercy toward you challenge that posture? [30:20]
4. When you think about your own standing before God, are you tempted to plead your good works, sit in guilt and shame, or avoid God altogether? How can Romans 3:23–26 help you rest in Jesus’ finished work instead? [36:12]
5. Think of someone near to you—a spouse, family member, coworker, friend, or enemy—who may be experiencing hostility toward God or toward you. How could you pray for their peace with God and speak blessing rather than accusation this week? [39:31]
6. The gospel can be remembered as “God, us, Jesus, come home.” Which part of that simple message do you most need to remember right now, and with whom might you be able to share it naturally? [33:43]