What a peaceful world we live in. No war, no crime, everyone just getting along, cooperating in everything we do. Oh wait, wrong planet.
As of a couple weeks ago depending on who you talk to, there are anywhere between 35 and 60 wars going on at present in our world. More people died in wars in the 20th century than any other on record. This doesn’t include the political uprisings that are going on like we have been witnessing in Egypt and Tunisia, and now Libya.
Worldwide murder rates are currently at about 1 in ten thousand people with Canada at about 1 in every one hundred thousand, Winnipeg having the highest rate in Canada.
Humans are so good at making peace aren’t we? All the conferences, summits, treaties are working so effectively because we have all the answers. The United Nations have practically wiped war off the face of the earth. Glory to man.
The world’s way of creating peace is to take a stream that is poisoning people because there’s a rotten carcass upstream, and simply dump chlorine into the water rather than removing the carcass.
If we have learned anything from the other beatitudes so far it’s that the problem is a problem in the heart of man. If we don’t address that, there will never be peace. Human lust, greed, pride, jealousy, self-centeredness, those are the causes of violence and conflict. It’s a sin issue, a theological issue, and it will never be solved by politics or even religion for that matter.
The only thing that will ever solve the problem is a world full of poor spirited, grieving, meek, righteous, merciful people with pure hearts. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth, not through power or violence, and they will also be the only ones who make put their desires aside enough to make real peace rather than violence and dissension.
I. What is a Peacemaker?
It’s assumed in the Bible that every Christian is a peacemaker. The Greek word is really to “bring harmony” or to join or make one again. When we look at Jesus’ words we see that there’s a little confusion here though. The first thing we hear Jesus say about peace in Matthew is that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Wait a minute here!
He uses exactly the same word when he says I have not come to bring peace, as when he says in John, “peace I leave with you my peace I give to you”. So what’s the deal?
If we look at the passage about not bringing peace but a sword, the context is in sending his apostles out into the world, and the persecution they will come across. He is not talking about peace in terms of world peace and lack of war, but he is preparing us all for the fact that because of him and the Gospel, people will be at odds about him.
People will either be for Jesus, or against him, and therefore it will separate even those in families because of having faith in him.
The other peace he mentions giving us in John is not external at all, but internal peace or rest in the midst of this persecution. This makes perfect sense if we read the next beatitudes which are about persecution. So that maybe makes sense, but what about his followers being peacemakers, what does that mean?
The interpretation that makes most sense to me is that we will be peacemakers in that we will promote peace between fallen man and God. That is ultimately the only peace that matters. We can’t bring inner peace to people, only Jesus can provide that. We won’t even be able to bring world peace. Jesus is clear that that will never happen until he comes again. So the only reasonable alternative is that we will bring peace between people and God through our obedience to the great commission and living as he commands. A person truly at peace with God will be peaceful with other people. Peaceful hearts will bring external peace.
So the practical aspect of his followers being peacemakers really means that we are never to be people that intentionally disrupt peace except by exposing Christ. But it’s also not about appeasing everybody so that we seek peace at any cost. If peacemakers have an “anything goes” rule and there are no guidelines, we’ll have much worse chaos and violence than we have now. That’s why God gave us the Law. Jesus prayed for unity, but he also prayed that people might be “kept from evil and in truth”.
Here are a few other ways we can bring peace into the world, or at least avoid bringing conflict into the world.
1. Be slow to speak. Do you know James has a wonderful summary of the beatitudes and this one in particular, read in James chapters 1 and 3 for more about this?
2. Be centered in the Gospel. When you face difficult situations, you must not only be slow to speak, you must think. Put it in the context of the Gospel. What are the implications of my actions in this situation for me, for others, for the Kingdom of God?
Just by doing that you’re already becoming a peacemaker. What is the outcome that would best fit with God’s will? And don’t just react on your emotions.
3. Be Positive about our enemies. We are to go out of our way to see beyond the junk in a person, God does. See the influence of Satan, the powers and principalities that are the true enemies, have mercy on those who hurt you, take initiative to reconcile even if the other person is at fault. We have to face the fact that Jesus wants us to be peacemakers and to love our enemies, no exceptions.
4. Be selfless. Of course this covers everything. A child of God becoming more like Jesus is less and less concerned with themselves and more and more concerned with others.
So we get an idea of what a biblical peacemaker is, now: II. What is Peace?
Reconciliation is the vital word here. Reconciliation with God first, then with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and then with the world at large. We should first of all never be a source of conflict. If our mentioning Jesus causes conflict then it’s him, not us. We should never be ashamed of talking about him even if it causes some discomfort in others, but we should not be the cause of conflict by our own selfish actions or words.
Reconcile is a verb, so as we have progressed in our spiritual development through these beatitudes, our character is changing and we really start to get out there, and become Active peacemakers, with our goal becoming the reconciliation of all people to God and each other. We desire peace and we act on that desire.
Is this not exactly what the mission of Jesus was, to bring peace or reconciliation between man and God, and instructions for man to live peacefully with each other? Jesus is called the Prince of Peace and look how God is described in Hebrews 13:20, “the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus”.
God is a God of peace. “But how can you say that when we see all the people he killed in the Old Testament, and all the people he plans to throw into hell in the New Testament?”
Because he is not an appeasing God who can sacrifice holiness to keep the peace. He is a God of active peacemaking. Not one of those deaths in the Old Testament were necessary if man had simply followed His ways as their creator and friend from the beginning. Not one person has to go to hell if they choose to follow Christ to heaven.
The deaths are natural consequences of our human sin and rebellion, but in God’s active role as peacemaker, he did the unthinkable by sending his son to make peace with us through His atoning blood. How many of us would allow ourselves or our children to be killed without a fight, if we knew it would bring peace between someone else and God? That’s what he did.
“For he himself is our peace, who has made us both (Gentile and Jew) one, and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility …, 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 hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.” (Eph 2:14-17).
Peace in the Bible means “joined in unity”. It’s more than just the white knuckled absence of conflict through self-control or denial of problems. You’ll see this theme of peace being unity in the body of Christ in almost all the epistles; I’ve some listed in your bulletin.
But nowhere is it put better than in Ephesians 4:1-3: “As a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called (see how there’s the assumption that we are literally God’s willing prisoners, called to live for him?), with all humility and gentleness (there’s meekness again), with patience, bearing with another in love, make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
A little later in Eph 4 and 5, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, only build up with your words. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you along with all malice (basically most of the causes of conflict). Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Make every effort, as far as it depends on you. These are active commands that we need to take seriously. We cannot live in disunity and anger and bitterness, and still be called children of God, it is our very love for each other that Jesus says defines us as his disciples, children of God.
This applies to Jew and Gentile but it also applies to Mennonite and Baptist, Methodist and Pentecostal, and obviously then to each of our brothers and sisters in the church. Unresolved conflict and dissension in a church is absolutely opposed to the will of God, and is a sign of people living without the Spirit.
If there’s not peace in the churches, in families, and between the churches, we’re hooped because our witness is ruined, and it clearly shows we have not advanced through many if any of the other beatitudes. And if that’s the case we better not go outside trying to bring people into our little kingdom, because they’ll be entering something other than the body of Christ until we get things straight.
People are looking for answers to life, and if we don’t look like we have the answers, they are probably not going to look to the church or Christ for them.
We have to be peacemakers, we can’t be anything else if we have progressed through the sanctifying process these beatitudes refer to. And then and only then will we be acknowledged as, or called children of God. This is important, the blessing doesn’t say “they will become children of God”, if we have gotten this far along in our sanctification we already are.
But we will not be owned, or acknowledged, or called Children of God by the world or even by our Father. As one writer said, “When humanity is brought before the bar of divine judgment those who are truly the sons of God will be certified in public for all to see.”
God cannot associate himself with us if we are not living like His children because he is Holy and that would tarnish his name. He will not allow us to shame him by peddling ourselves as children of God when we are disobedient to him, hindering peace, and want nothing to do with him. We’re still his adopted children but we are disowned children until we come back to him in repentance like the prodigal. And we may have to do this often.
The text purposely reads “Sons of God”. But this includes both men and women now having the legal inheritance rights of sons in first century Roman law. Jesus was the only begotten son of God because God was actually his father through the Holy Spirit. However, “If the spirit of God dwells in you, male or female, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His spirit.
So then, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh, but to put to death the deeds of the body. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry ABBA Father! The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom 8:11-17).
And, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him (implying it will grow), and he cannot keep sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are children of God, and who are children of the devil: whoever does not practise righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” (1Jn 3:9-10)
We are given full equal family status with Jesus as any adopted child gets, if the Spirit of God lives in us, and if we live by that Spirit. The suffering is just a given if we are living like Christ.
Oh my friends I wish we could stop and meditate on these passages for the rest of the day. By this it is evident who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Do you know who he’s writing to? Churches! …So from this we see that peace is also the Reduction of Sin.
God is saying that in every church there are children of God and children of the devil, and how are they discerned? By whether they practice righteousness, whether they love their brothers and sisters, and whether they are peacemakers. Does anyone here want to be called a child of the devil? If you don’t desire to be a peacemaker, you are not living like a child of God.
As we go back to Romans 12 where we started this whole series, the apostle Paul says “so far as it depends on you (we can’t control other people), live peaceably with all, never avenge yourself, and if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty give him something to drink”.
Do you think if Mubarak would have given the Egyptian people the simple freedom they deserve, the protests would have ended sooner or never even happened? If I was walking through the Vietnam Jungle during that war and I offered a scared wounded enemy soldier some of my food and water rather than a gunshot, he might think differently about me as an enemy, might listen to what I have to say?
We need to ask ourselves right here, right now. When I look at my heart and my actions in this life, how I treat others, especially my so-called enemies, using John’s and Paul’s and Jesus’ criteria, regardless of what I profess, would I be classified as a child of God or a child of the Devil?
Ouch! But that is what these beatitudes are meant to do. Cause us to painfully and relentlessly search ourselves so that we hunger for God and become desperate for changed hearts. This is very serious stuff if you believe. If you don’t you can walk out of here today, go have your lunch and not give it another thought.
We have to ask ourselves, if I have been a Christian for any amount of time, and there is no fruit, if there is a lack of peace in my relationships, if I can’t look at these beatitudes and see at least some ongoing progress through them since my profession of faith, what’s wrong?
Is it at all possible that I accepted Christ into my heart as a buddy who loves me, without truly understanding who I am as a sinner, what the consequences of that is, and why I need Jesus, not just as a buddy, but as a saviour, and Lord, who purchased me on the cross to make me something he could use to further his kingdom?
When I professed my faith, did I also give him my life, and commit to doing all I can to be obedient to his revealed will and commands? This, not solely because of our own doing, but because the Holy Spirit began to dwell in us and sanctify us. If that’s not happening what does it mean? Either you are quenching the Spirit, or the Spirit isn’t in you. Both of those are not good.
Do you carry resentment, anger, bitterness in your heart? Not do you ever get mad, everyone will at times, but do you carry these things around with you on an ongoing basis? Do they affect how you live, how you relate to other people, how you trust, how you love? Do you still carry the wounds of your childhood?
We must lay those things at Jesus feet and fill our minds and hearts with the Word of God, the Bible. Do you hunger for the Bible? If not, you don’t hunger for God, because that is where he is revealed on every single page. That is where the Holy Spirit will lead you, where amoung other things, you will receive “training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work”.
Peace then becomes the Reaction of purity, the more pure and filled we become, the more peace is evident in and around us.
Jesus always made sure that those who were thinking about following him knew the cost. And I’m afraid that many believers didn’t count the cost, and now are trapped in wanting to be followers of Christ, but not prepared or willing to go through the reality of what that means. There are millions of stuck, stagnant Christians who love Jesus, and like the rich young ruler, truly desire to follow Him, but can’t make themselves say goodbye to their old natures and worldly desires, and are sad about it.
Unfortunately that makes us lukewarm at best, and hypocrites at worse. Both are detestable to Christ. And what causes this is a simple lack of faith. We hold onto the old because we are not certain enough about God’s promises if we commit to full obedience, to truly living by the Spirit. We don’t believe enough. That has been the human problem since the beginning, and it will always be the problem until Christ comes again.
Why is there no peace in the world? Very, very simple. Because people put themselves, their churches, their religion, their countries, their interests before others, and most importantly before God. If all humans were pure in heart and single-mindedly obeyed God’s instructions there would be peace. But as we will see next week, if we are going to be real peacemakers, we need to prepare for persecution of some sort.
God has been saying since the book of Genesis, “you foolish people, I walked with you and talked with you and you didn’t listen, you didn’t want me around. Sure you want my blessings and power, but do you want me and the things that I will ask of you? I have now sent my son to save you and given you the written blueprints for successful human life, and you don’t listen. What more do you want me to do?”
In my heart of hearts, when I’m not battling my old self, I don’t care about my popularity as a pastor, how many people are coming to our church. Ultimately I care about whether your soul and mine will spend eternity with God or apart from Him.
And I think if there is an unspoken message that permeates all of Scripture, it is this: If you want to live with God after this life, start living with Him in this life. You can’t have one without the other.
Am I at peace with God? If I had an interview with him today, how nervous would I be about whether he is going to approve of me or not? Would I go into that interview with confidence?
Thank God in his grace, he is patient and loving, and wants all people to be his children so that they may see him and inherit the kingdom he is preparing. We can rest in that, but we shouldn’t rest on that. Just like being a member of any family there are duties attached to that privilege. If we are members of that family, let’s be members of that family and experience the fullness that Holy family has to offer.
Please take a good look at your action plan today and next week before communion I am going to ask some of you to share about it so please be prepared for that.
