Peacemakers
09/01/2024
Peace doesn't make the news nearly as much as conflict. The war in Ukraine has been going on for over two and a half years now. The horrific attack on Israel happened almost a full year ago, and the fighting continues with 104 hostages still being held with many presumed dead.
In our own country, it was just seven weeks ago that the assassination attempt of former President Trump occurred. Politically and socially speaking, our nation can't currently be described as 'peaceful'. Our world could certainly use more peace.
Jesus spoke about ‘peacemakers’ in His sermon on the mount. I’d like to jump back and look again at our ongoing series on the Beatitudes from Matthew 5:1-9 (NIV)...
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, (2) and he began to teach them, saying: (3) "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (4) Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (5) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.(6) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (7) Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (8) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (9) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."
If we think about this in context, I’m sure Jesus must have again frustrated His audience a bit. Remember - He was speaking to a Jewish crowd who was hoping to overthrow the current oppressive Roman government - and Jesus is telling them they should be peacemakers. The Romans weren't just going to step aside at the request of a group of ‘peace-makers’.
Jesus, however, was asking them to take personal responsibility for making peace in each of their own lives and relationships. Corporate peace - national peace- begins with personal peace.
Haddon Robinson, a preacher, wrote, “No peace will exist between nations until peace reigns in each country. And no country will have peace until peace dwells with the people. And no people will have peace until they surrender to the Prince of peace.”
Truly following Jesus is the way to real, lasting peace. But, before we focus on being a ‘peace maker’, I'd like to focus on the opposite of that…
I. Trouble makers
Many Churches always seem to have plenty of troublemakers. Fortunately, Deep River has never had any troublemakers! We've never had those kinds of personalities who always seem to jump to conclusions about others’ intentions or start rumors or gossip. So this doesn't really apply to us - so let's just move on to our conclusion so we can go home...
But, just in case one happens to visit sometime in the future, maybe we should see what scripture has to say about that. Yes I'm joking, but let's be very careful if we start thinking, 'Yeah, so and so needs to hear this!' ALL of us - ALL of us need to hear this if we are ever going to truly become the people that Jesus desires we become. - All of us. It says this in Proverbs 26:21 (NIV)...
As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
Here the term used is ‘quarrelsome man’ but the phrase literally means, “man of evil, or a plague” – that's not overly complimentary. A person who causes fights, who causes trouble, is the exact opposite of what Jesus calls His followers to be. But, if we’re brutally honest we’d have to admit that on our bad days, sometimes in our relationships – the troublemaker is US.
I’ve often said I end up causing a lot of my own problems. Many years back - in an Elder's meeting, I was frustrated and impatient, and I lost my temper. I raised my voice in anger at a fellow Elder, Joe VanScoyk. Afterwards I stewed on it, and the next day Larry took me out to lunch and said, "What was that last night...? That wasn't like you..." I admitted I was out of line and I needed to apologize to Joe.
And when I did, Joe rightly could have started with, 'Young man, why would you speak to me, your brother in Christ like that...?' But he didn't, he graciously accepted my apology and never mentioned it to me again. Joe understood what a peacemaker was about much more than I. Yes, even the preacher does stupid things sometimes.
There are times when we are the cause of division; of fighting. And we can see just how seriously Solomon, the wisest man in scripture, felt about people like that in Proverbs 22:10-11 (NIV)...
Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended. (11) He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend.
Now, fortunately for people like me there are also some things called grace and forgiveness. But I think the big issue for most 'troublemakers' can be seen in verse 11 in that phrase, ‘whose speech is gracious’. A lot of times our speech is anything but gracious. In my experience, most fights seem to start with words.
Last week we talked about being ‘pure in heart’. Our words reveal what’s in our hearts - and if our hearts aren’t pure, that leads to our words causing dissention. All of the attitudes that Jesus is trying to teach us build on one another. They take the focus off of ‘self’ and focus us on the needs of others. So in order to avoid being a trouble maker, we need to learn to keep a tight rein on our words.
Ephesians 4:29-32 (NIV)
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (31) Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. (32) Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
So, the encouragement is to be very careful with our words to avoid being troublemakers. Trouble makers are not peacemakers - but there's also a difference between a peacemaker and a…
II. Peace keeper
History has shown that most peace keeping efforts have had only mixed results and by and large have failed. I’ve read that over the 3,100 years of recorded world history, the world has only been at peace about 8% of that time and over 8,000 treaties have been made and broken. World War One was supposed to be ‘The war to end all wars’. Peace is not something that can simply be imposed from the outside.
Preacher John MacArthur wrote, “A truce just says you don’t shoot for awhile. Peace comes when the truth is known, the issue is settled, and the parties embrace each other.”
And here's something important to wrestle with - just keeping the peace at all cost may require too high a sacrifice. Let me explain.
I read about a preacher who did just that - he backed down for the sake of peace - but it was the wrong decision. He went to a close friend whose life was taking 'a very bad turn', and he asked him to have lunch so they could talk. He said to his friend, “I’m not trying to run your life, but I am concerned about the direction it’s taking”. He said that his friend got so angry with his intrusion that he just about jumped over the table and punched him.
So, he backed off and for the sake of keeping the peace said, “Sorry, I’ll never mention it again.” And he kept his mouth shut, and his friend ended up making some devastating choices. He went on to say that years later he ran into this man again, and he had to say to him, “I failed you. I should have said, ‘Hit me if you have to, but I’m going to stay on your case because I care about your future.”
Simply keeping the peace in our relationships at all cost can have very destructive consequences. I don't enjoy confrontation - but there will be times, when, for the sake of others - we may have to risk 'upsetting the apple cart'.
I'm not talking about going out and looking for trouble or going around judging people - but caring enough to ask hard questions and speak bold truths. - Caring enough to lovingly, and graciously take a stand for God's Truth. Not in a condescending or 'holier than thou' way - but in a way that demonstrates a genuine concern for someone who is living in clear opposition to God's revealed Will.
And doing so will put a strain on that relationship and may even risk that relationship entirely. - But, keeping silent when a person's eternity hangs in the balance, simply because we don't want to risk breaking the peace - that's too high a price. Keeping the peace is a very good thing and should be pursued in most situations, but deep truth spoken out of genuine love is more important than a shallow peace.
Real peace, lasting peace is not simply the absence of conflict or of strong convictions. Sometimes there are absolutes on which there can be no compromise - that will bring conflict. Look at Jesus’ words to His disciples in Matthew 10:34 (NIV)...
Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Jesus understood that the Truth – that He is The Son of God, The Way to Heaven – God’s truth in scripture would bring conflict with those who reject it. There will be times when we have to speak the truth, in love, and understand that it may break the peace. Keeping the peace at all cost may require us to sacrifice or bury the truth - and that’s too high a price to pay when eternity is at stake.
There's a difference between being a peace maker and simply a peace keeper. And there's also a huge difference between a peace maker and a peace lover. Meaning, it’s one thing to love peace - it’s another thing to really work at making peace. The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)...
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
The encouragement is to work at peace without sacrificing holiness. It’s nice to long for peace and to love peace, but it will take sacrifice and hard work to be what we are called to be, a...
III. Peace maker
A peacemaker is one who takes a personal responsibility and is actively, vigorously working towards making a genuine, lasting peace in their relationships even if it takes hardship, self sacrifice or even conflict to get there. Paul instructed the Christians in Rome…
Romans 12:17-18 (NIV)
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. (18) If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
That’s a pretty tall order. But as I've always said, following Jesus is not easy – you will be extremely blessed, but it’s not easy. We have to understand that peace has a price.
If you want to be a peacemaker; if you really want to work towards true peace in your home, in your marriage, at work, in your friendships and even in your church – there is always a price. It may cost you your pride. It may cost you your 'self centeredness'. It will cost you your selfishness and it will cost you time and effort. Peace always has a price.
It's a fact – we are all different and we will have conflicts at times. We won’t always see things the same way. We won’t always agree on everything - that goes for people in the Church and absolutely for those outside of the Church. BUT - peace-makers are motivated by love – Christ’s love. If there's any other motivation behind what you are doing or saying then you are not acting as a peacemaker. Peace has a price and we see the greatest price paid in the person of Jesus, Himself.
Ephesians 2:13-16 (NIV)
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. (14) For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, (15) by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, (16) and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
In order to bring peace in ourselves and between mankind and God, the most violent conflict had to take place first – God in the flesh, the Creator of the universe came down from Heaven in the person of Jesus and was killed on a cross. That conflict had to occur in order to pay the price for our sin and to make a way for us to have peace with God.
Peace has a price, and a peacemaker also understands that peace demands surrender. Jesus gave Himself willingly to cover our sins. Should we expect to pay any lesser price when we seek peace? Being a peacemaker demands that we submit ourselves to God’s will even at the expense of our own rights.
So What?
Based on this beatitude - "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” - I have some work to do... I can make all sorts of excuses as to why I don’t have to be a peacemaker, why the other person needs to be the peacemaker. But if I want to be called a 'son of God' - if I want God's blessing - I need to become a peacemaker.
Trust me - I understand - in some situations, there are times when my instinct is to go off half cocked and fire away - because they deserve it! But because of sin in my life - I deserve God's wrath. And that's when I'm grateful that Jesus paid my price and called me to a very different life of peace. My way leads to death - Jesus' way leads to life and blessings!
I was having lunch with my dad a few years back. At the time we were joking about how much Josie looked like her mom. I said, “I wonder what Winston will look like when he’s older.” My dad replied, “He’ll look like you.” “Dad, you do remember that he’s adopted right? He's completely my son but we don't have the same genes.” Dad said, “He’ll grow up to learn your values. He’ll learn to imitate you and how you act. You’ll teach him about God and how to treat other people – he’ll look like you.”
Knowing my natural bent - left to my own desires - that certainly puts a challenge on me. I don't want him to look and act like me - I want him to be better. I want all my children to look like Jesus!
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” When we stop being troublemakers and learn to move beyond just being peace keepers; when we submit our will to God’s will and learn to be real peacemakers – people will look at us and think, “Wow. So that’s what Jesus is like.” When we give up ourselves and serve our Father completely, then we will be called sons of God.