If we have no hunger for the word of God, and when we try to feed upon it, it is like ashes in our mouths, we are in trouble. If we can find more joy in an obscene Netflix series than a time of prayer and Bible reading, something is seriously amiss with our spiritual condition.

Many people think they have peace with God. Instead, their inner peace flows from a deceptive heart. There is a peace that passes all understanding, and it is one of the most blessed aspects of the Christian life. The foundation of this peace is the cross of Jesus, where our sins find forgiveness, and the wrath of God is satisfied. The moment we trust in the atoning work of Christ, we are at peace with God objectively. From there, that truth begins to give us peace subjectively as God sheds his love abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).

The problem is many people believe they are at peace with God, but because of their sins, they are still at enmity with him. Though they experience no distress at the thought of God, it is not the peace of Christ they are experiencing. Scripture tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Here are six telltale signs of a deceptive inner peace.

1. Peace Without Joy in Jesus

If you find yourself at peace about your spiritual state before the Lord, but there is no joy in Christ Jesus, you are experiencing the ease of a deceitful heart. Jesus is the only source of peace with God. Our enmity with God is the result of our sinfulness, and only Jesus and his work on the cross can save us. Jesus is the only source of peace with God, and if we think we have peace but do not rejoice in him, we are deceiving ourselves.

2. Trusting in our Own Merit

We do not have peace with God when we think God approves of us because of our character or good deeds. This confidence in our goodness is a sure sign that we are experiencing the calm of a spiritually dead soul. Even if we claim the merits of the blood of Jesus but believe our justification in Christ is a mixture of his death and our works, scripture says we are lost.

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