Isaiah 32:17 - "The Righteousness That Brings True Peace"

Isaiah 32:17

 "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever."

The text before us declares the Hope and the only Foundation for True Peace with God: “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.” That single sentence from the prophet frames the whole Gospel—righteousness accomplished, peace established, and lasting quietness given to the conscience.

The prophet is speaking of a work of Righteousness—one definite work—which results in peace. Not a hundred small deeds that merely soothe the conscience for a season, but a finished, legal work that satisfies the holy law of God so that God Himself is at peace with those sinners for whom Christ died. This is not mere subjective calm or a transient feeling; this is a legal standing before God, the Holy Judge. Until the Spirit reveals this truth in the heart of the redeemed sinner, the law can only continue to accuse, the conscience remains restless, and the soul only knows unrest.

Scripture is plain about the incapacity of fallen man to produce that work. "By one man sin entered the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). We are not born with a blank slate; we are born under a sentence. Our best acts are impure, and our attempts at righteousness fail to meet God’s absolute, holy demand. The prophet exposes the vanity of human goodness: "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6)." This is a warning not to put any confidence in the flesh, or any supposed good works. There aren't any. It says "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."

Because there is none righteous, the law cannot help. The law was never given as a means of either gaining or maintaining salvation. It can only condemn (Romans 5:20). The law functions to show sin, not to save. The law is like a mirror or an MRI. It reveals the disease but offers no cure. As the apostle declares, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). "And all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 KJV). The problem is universal; the Remedy must be from God alone.

Here then is the Good News of the Gospel of the LORD Jesus Christ. God the Father ordained an elect number of sinners from before the foundation of the world, and purposed that His Son should come in the fulness of the time, to work out that Righteousness necessary for God the Father to declare righteous each one that the He gave His Son to redeem (Galatians 4:4-5). It is by that singular work of Righteousness that Peace has been established between God the Father and those elect sinners for whom the Son died. Therefore, Peace is not by something we perform but something accomplished by the Mediator. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:16). Faith to believe is the gift of God to look to Christ alone and His obedience unto death as the only Righteousness that God the Father accepts, and that He imputed to the account of His elect once for all, upon completion of His death on the cross. The righteousness by which God is satisfied is the Righteousness of Another—not ours but His. "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). Freely—without cost laid upon the sinner, fully borne by the Redeemer.

Because that work of Righteousness is complete and judicially accepted, its effect is quietness and assurance forever. The conscience that once cried "guilty" now rests because the legal requirement is fulfilled. The Judge Whose wrath must be satisfied was satisfied in the death of the LORD Jesus Christ. The sinner, being found in the Savior, is declared righteous; the work is done, the peace is real, and the assurance is lasting.

This is the Gospel’s Wisdom: Righteousness imputed, not produced. Trusting Christ alone is not trust in your faith, but trust in The Faithful One—Christ—Whose obedience and Sacrifice are accounted to His people. To seek peace by our own doing is to chase a mirage. To receive peace by His finished work is to stand on the solid Rock. Christ’s work alone is all our Righteousness before God. If you are the LORD’s, rejoice that the work of Righteousness has been accomplished for you and that its effect is your quietness and assurance forever.

In the end, the LORD's Word through Isaiah, His prophet, stands sure: “The work of righteousness shall be peace.” All our restless striving finds its answer only in the righteousness God imputed in Christ. His finished work brings peace with God, quiets the conscience, and yields a heart established in Christ and His finished work alone. This peace does not rise from circumstance, but from the Prince of Peace Who reigns in the soul. As His righteousness bears fruit in us, it produces that “quietness and assurance forever,” anchoring our hope in His unchanging Grace. Thus, true peace is not achieved—but received from Him Who is our Righteousness.