Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Let's define for you this condition, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. And after we define that condition, then we will describe for you some of the characteristics or the consequences, detail for you the characteristics, and then give you your course of action for this week. First of all, the condition.

Let's look at the origin of peace, the obstacles to peace, and then the opportunity for peace. To understand peace, we must understand the source of peace. Six times in the New Testament, God is called the God of peace. The Old Testament name for God in Judges 6-24 is Jehovah Shalom, meaning the Lord is our peace. In Ephesians 2-14, we understand that Jesus Christ is our peacemaker. It says that he himself is our peace. Jesus Christ made peace for us by his sacrificial death on the cross. Isaiah 9-6 calls him the prince of peace.

At his birth, the angels announced peace on earth, good will toward men. But I find it very ironic that the city of peace would not know the prince of peace when he arrived. But you see, that's how misconstrued they were. They really believed that peace dealt with their outward circumstances, that because they were under such turmoil by the Roman government, they needed a white knight to come in and destroy that government, set up their kingdom, and then they would have peace. But God says, that's not what peace is all about.

Peace has nothing to do with your circumstances. And yet, don't we think that that's what gives us peace? If everything is okay at home, if everything is okay at work, if everything is okay in my neighborhood, if everything is okay in my family, then there's peace that's there. If somehow we're just able to not deal with issues and kind of just slide by, then there'll be a semblance of peace in the home. It reminds me of the man who had been married for 50 years. And the newscaster came to him and said, man, it must be great to be married for 50 years.

Tell me, what was the key to the bliss of your marriage during those 50 years? The man responded, well, the wife and I had this agreement when we first got married.

It went like this. When she was bothered about something, she'd just tell me and she'd get it off her chest. And if I was mad at her about something, I was able to take a long walk. I suppose you could attribute our happy marriage to the fact that I have largely led an outdoor life. There's happiness in our marriage because when there's a problem, I take a long walk. When I come back, she has forgotten what we squabbled about and we just get on with life. Somehow if we change the circumstances, somehow if we change the environment, there will be peace.

But Jesus Christ says that he is our peace. What are the obstacles to peace? If God is the God of peace and God is holy and God is just and God is true, then the obstacles to peace are sin and falsehood. They are man's depravity and man's dishonesty. Those are the obstacles to peace. Isaiah 48, 22 says that there is no peace for the wicked. You read Mark 7, verses 20-23, it speaks about those things that come out of the heart of man. Those are the things which defile a man. Because man is depraved, because man is wicked at his innermost being, there is no peace.

Thirdly, the opportunity for peace. Turn with me to the book of Colossians. The book of Colossians, chapter 1. It says this in verse number 20, or verse number 19. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross, through Him. The opportunity for peace comes through the blood of Jesus Christ. And so peace is not the absence of something, it is the presence of someone, the presence of Jesus Christ.

You see, when you look at salvation, you can summarize salvation in five words. You can summarize it by looking at the word justification, by looking at the word redemption, forgiveness, sonship, and reconciliation. That identifies or sums up the salvation experience. Justification, according to Romans 8.33, has the sinner standing before God accused. And as he stands before God accused, God declares him righteous. That's justification. When you look at the word redemption, according to Romans 6, verses 18 to 22, here the sinner stands before God as a slave.

Yet God grants him freedom, because God buys him back. When you look at the word forgiveness, according to Ephesians 1, verses 7 and Ephesians 4.32, the sinner stands before God as a debtor.

There is a debt so great he cannot pay. So God paid the debt, therefore grants him forgiveness. When you look at the word sonship, or when you look at the word adoption, the sinner stands before God as a stranger.

And what God does on his behalf is make him a son. And then when you look at the word reconciliation, you have man standing before God as an enemy.

And therefore, God then makes him his friend and grants him peace, that he might adopt him as his son. And what Jesus Christ did for us, as we stood before him as an enemy, God makes us his friend, because Jesus Christ sacrificed on the cross for our sins. The opportunity for peace is available to all men, which leads us to our second main point, describing the consequences.

The Bible says, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. Notice two things.

First of all, our title. The peacemaker is one who is called the son of God. That's a tremendous title. I can remember growing up, and my dad was not a very popular man, but he was known throughout the city in which we lived. People knew my father. And I counted it a great honor to be called his son. This is my dad. He is my father. I am his son. And that caused me great honor to be called his son. But to be called a son of God, that holds tremendous weight. It's a word that deals with dignity and honor.

It's a privileged position. We are actually called the sons of God. Can you imagine that? We are one time his enemy. We are one time strangers to him. We are one time having a debt so great we could not pay. And God adopts us as his sons, calls us his friends, and makes us his children. We are the sons of God. That's the title we have been given. Blessed are the peacemakers for they and they only are the sons of God. Meaning that those who go around making peace and preaching the gospel of peace are the true sons of God.

Over back in Colossians chapter 3, it speaks of our testimony. That's the second point. Not only called the sons of God, but we have a testimony in society. And that testimony is the fact that we are peacemakers. Do you have that testimony? Are you known in your workplace? Are you known in your area of ministry because you are a peacemaker? That's the testimony that we have. It says over in Colossians chapter 3, verse number 10, these words, And have put on the new self, who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him.

A renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised. God says, look, we have the image of God in our lives.

And because we have the image of God in our lives, because he was a peacemaker, we too then are peacemakers. And so we live a life that seeks to make peace. Are you known as a peacemaker? Or are you known as a troublemaker? When people see you coming, do they know that you have one thing on your mind? And that is to make peace? Point number three, detailing the characteristics.

How do you know a peacemaker? Four ways. Number one, they've experienced peace. Romans 5 once says that having been justified by faith, we have what? Peace with God. Those who have peace with God, experience the peace of God. Let me ask you a question.

Do you have peace in your life today? If you don't have peace in your life, you've got to ask yourself the question, do you know the God of peace? Who gives you peace? Jesus said in John 14 verse number 27, peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world gives, give I unto you, but my peace I give unto you. The peace I'm giving to you is totally different than the world has to give. And what kind of peace is that? It's the kind of peace that caused the Lord Jesus to be able to sleep in a boat when there was a storm.

It was the kind of peace that caused Christ to stand before those people who mocked him and spit upon him and not retaliate in return. That's the kind of peace that Jesus Christ had. He says that peace I give unto you. In Acts 7, Stephen had that peace as they stoned him. And he prayed that God would not hold this sin to their charge. Peter had that peace in Acts 12. When he knew that James had been beheaded, he would fall asleep in prison knowing that God, the God of peace, was in control. And it does us no good to preach the gospel of peace and live a life of turmoil, does it?

People say, well, what kind of peace is that? I don't need that kind of peace. And so God says, look, I've given you my peace, the kind of peace that has been tried and tested amidst the most difficult circumstances I have given to you.

And I want you to be able to live that peace out. A real true peacemaker has experienced the peace of God. Thou hast kept him in perfect peace, Isaiah said, whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusts in thee. You see, I'm convinced that most people don't experience peace with God on a normal day because they have not trusted in God for that day. But number two, a peacemaker not only expresses, or excuse me, experiences peace, but he expresses peace.

Turn with me over to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12, verse number 18 says this. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Over in Romans chapter 14, it says this. So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Let me ask you a question.

If you've experienced peace, do you express peace to your brother? Paul says, look, as far as it depends upon you, as far as you can tell, with everything that you have, are you living at peace with all men? Only you can answer that. And as we go on in the Beatitudes, Christ is going to specifically deal with that. Look at Romans chapter 5, or excuse me, Matthew chapter 5, verse number 43.

I'm at this point in my study. And I was going through this afternoon. It goes like this. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say to you, love your enemy, and pray for those who persecute you, in order that you may be what? Sons of your Father who is in heaven. Are you that way? Do you do whatever you can to live in peace with your fellow man? Do you love those who are your enemies? Do you pray for those who persecute you and abuse you? How do you deal with those people who can't stand you?

Matthew 21. Christ says that you have heard. Matthew 5, verse number 21, excuse me. You have heard that the ancients were told, you shall not commit murder, and whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court. But I say to you, everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court. And whoever shall say to his brother, Rakah, shall be guilty before the supreme court. And whoever shall say, you fool, shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way.

First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Make friends quickly with your opponent at law, while you are with him on the way, in order that your opponent may not deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. The point being, if you're coming to worship me, and you have not sought peace with your brother, if you have not sought to be reconciled to your brother, leave your gift at the altar. Don't offer worship to me. Go, seek reconciliation.

Do as much as you can to live at peace with all men. That's what a peacemaker does. He expresses peace in his life to those who oppose him. And thirdly, he extends peace.

He extends peace to the unbeliever. Acts 10.36 says that the purpose of the church is to preach the gospel of peace through Jesus Christ our Lord. And fourthly, a true peacemaker will encounter pain. A true peacemaker will encounter pain. Why? Because peace always costs. That's why. We go around trying to tell people, look, you've got to give your life to Jesus Christ, man. You've got to understand that he died for your sins, and you can't continue in your sin. And you begin to confront a brother who lives in sin, right?

If a brother's living in sin, you as a peacemaker have got to go to him and say, look, there's not peace between you and God. I want to help you make peace. And when you confront your brother on a sin, he's not going to like that too much, unless God has already gone before you and prepared his heart. Peace costs. A peacemaker never compromises just to bring about peace. A peacemaker says, well, you know, there's going to be peace at any price here. It's going to be okay. It's never right for the believer to offer peace without the expense of honesty.

You've got to deal with issues. You've got to be able to confront issues. Therefore, to be a real, true peacemaker, you're going to have to encounter pain. And people don't want to encounter pain, do they? They don't want to experience any kind of difficulty, any kind of discomfort in their life. And God says, look, it's going to happen.

Jesus said in Matthew 10, 34, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Now, figure that. The ultimate peacemaker did not come to bring peace, but a what? A sword. Now, how do you reconcile that in your mind? How do you bring these two things together? Here is the Prince of Peace, who came to bestow peace on a world that had no peace, but who said, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. The answer? He knew that there would be strife before there was ever peace. Conflict needed to be resolved.

And so, as he came as the ultimate Prince of Peace to confront sin, he was criticized, he was cursed, he was condemned, and he was crucified. And he is the greatest peacemaker that ever lived. And if you're going to live his life, you, too, will encounter pain. It was Vance Hadner who said these words, Let it not be forgotten that a twice-born and spirit-filled Christian is always a contradiction to this old world. He crosses it at every point. From the day that he was born again, until he passes on to be with the Lord, he pulls against the current of a world forever, going the other way.

If he allows it, men will tone him down, steal the joy of his salvation, reduce him to the dreary level of the average. Most church folk dislike having their Laodicean complacency, upset by those who insist on walking by faith and not by sights. Let me ask you a question.

Are you at peace with the world, or are you at peace with God? You can't have both. He was a friend of the world, James says, is an enemy of God. A faith that draws peace from heaven finds life on earth a continual struggle. Do you find life on earth that way? Or do you find life on earth kind of fun, kind of easygoing? A truly born-again Christian does not see life on earth as satisfying. He sees it as a struggle. Because you see, he seeks to bring peace to a world that has no peace. And therefore, there is conflict.

So where do we go from here? As we determine my course, let me give you just four suggestions in closing.

Number one, love the maker of peace. Love the maker of peace. Do you love God? Do you love the peace that he gives? John 16, 33, Jesus said, these things I have spoken unto you that you might have peace. Do you love the maker of peace? Number two, leave the menace to peace.

Leave the menace to peace. That is, everything that opposes peace, you got to leave behind. Dishonesty, depravity, anything that opposes God's peace, you got to leave behind. It says over in Proverbs 28, verse number 25, He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife. You see, the greatest menace to peace is my selfishness, is my pride. You see, I really want my own way, and I'm going to fight to get my own way. I'm going to do all I can to make sure that my rights are upheld in every relationship that I have, and nobody's going to come between that.

But you know what, that's a menace to peace. That hinders peace. It doesn't help peace. You got to leave that behind. What did Paul say? I am crucified with Christ. You got to die to self over and over again. Love the maker of peace. Leave the menace to peace. Labor, number three, to make peace.

Paul would say in Colossians 3, 15, Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. Let the peace of Christ be the umpire in your heart. Over in Philippians chapter 4, verse 7, Paul says these words, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And finally, brethren, whatever is true and honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things, the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things, and the God of peace shall be with you.

You gotta labor to make peace. Why? Because Satan doesn't want you thinking on the good things, the true things, the pure things, the holy things. It takes work. You gotta ask yourself the question, are you committed to making peace? And lastly, you need to live as a messenger of peace. You need to live as a messenger of peace. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse number 18, Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us a ministry of reconciliation. Namely, that God who was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Do you live as a messenger of peace? God has committed to us that ministry of reconciliation, bringing God and man together. How do you live your life? If you want to be a peacemaker, you need to live as a messenger of peace. It was St. Francis who recorded these words, Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hate, may I bring love. Where offense, may I bring pardon. And may I bring unison in place of discord. That should be our prayer as we live as messengers of peace. But let me leave you with this one final thought.

Peacemakers will not have peace in the world. Jesus makes this very clear in the 8th Beatitude when he speaks of persecution. Those who are peacemakers are those who will be persecuted.