Peaceful Sons
The Gospel of Matthew • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
Connection:
Like father, like son—true sons bear the image of their father! A grouchy father typically raises a grouchy son. A happy father typically raises a happy son. A sour father typically raises a sour son. A loving father typically raises a loving son. A generous father typically raises a generous son. A peaceful father typically raises a peaceful son. Like father, like son—true sons bear the image of their father. So it is with God our Father. God is the God of peace—and we are children of God—so therefore, we ought to be children of peace, born and raised from above.
Theme:
Peaceful Sons
Need:
We need to ensure that we know the Prince of Peace, that we have the Spirit of Peace, and are adopted by the God of peace.
Purpose:
To explain what it means to be blessed by Jesus Christ; to describe what it means to be a peacemaker; to comfort the peacemakers in their Gospel sonship; to exhort the saints to walk as peaceful sons; and to warn the wicked whose paths are devoid of peace.
Recap:
Last Sunday we looked at the 6th Beatitude, which is about those who are pure in heart, and how by grace, they shall see God in Christ, face to face. What a blessed hope we have in Jesus. This morning we continue on with the 7th Beatitude. Christ’s disciples not only hunger for God, walk in mercy, and show purity of heart—they also live as peaceful sons, making peace insofar as it depends upon them.
Read Text:
Matt. 5:9 ESV
PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY
(1) Happiness in Christ is for the Peacemakers - v. 9a.
(1) Happiness in Christ is for the Peacemakers - v. 9a.
Matthew 5:9 (ESV)
“Blessed are the peacemakers.
(1) Happiness in Christ is for the Peacemakers - v. 9a.
(1) Happiness in Christ is for the Peacemakers - v. 9a.
Q - What does it mean to be blessed by Jesus Christ?
For our weekly refresher: to be blessed by Jesus Christ is to be joyfully lavished with his saving goodness. This is a blessing that is peculiar to Christians—to those who are repenting and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, for peace with God, and for eternal life. This is not a blessing that is resting on unbelievers; it is a blessing that is resting on true disciples of Jesus Christ. This blessedness is lavished on the people of God by the covenant of grace:
May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
To be blessed is to be one with Christ Jesus—partaking in the life that is in Him—in the grace upon grace that comes through Him—to be an heir of God by grace and through faith. True happiness is found in Jesus Christ and in Him alone! This is Gospel Blessedness. And who are those who are blessed in this way, according to Jesus? Peacemakers… So:
Q - What does it mean to be a true peacemaker?
Notice first of all that its not simply about being peaceful. So some of you might ask: why is that the title of my sermon then? peaceful sons? Well, because it begins there. You must first be peaceful before you can be a peacemaker. But the point of the beatitude is not an inward bliss—a peaceful soul—but rather, a peaceful heart that overflows with peacemaking action. A peacemaker is someone who doesn’t only have a peaceful heart, but who actively seeks to make, guard, and protect true peace in real-life relationships. James refers to this as well:
And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
By those who make peace. You have to make it! But in order to make peace, you have to want it, and to want it you have to be a peaceful man or woman. Thus—a peacemaker is a peaceful Christian who is pursuing peace among others, insofar as it depends upon him. This is the person who Jesus says is truly blessed in the covenant and kingdom of Christ.
Henry: The peace-makers are blessed. They love, and desire, and delight in peace; and study to be quiet. They keep the peace that it be not broken, and recover it when it is broken.
To be a peacemaker is to be Solomon-like—whose name means: man of peace. It is to be restful, quiet, calm, and harmonious. And it is to long for that shalom, that peace, to prevail in all areas of life—in your heart, in your home, in your family, in your workplace, in your church, in your community, in your city, in your province, in your country, and in the world. True Christians are peacemakers—because they are saved by the God of peace, united to the Prince of Peace, and given the Spirit of peace. The peace of the Triune God has gripped them, is transforming them, and will empower them to be peacemakers among men. Is this not what the advent of Jesus Christ was promised to bring?
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
And so what does this look like? It looks like actively seeking to repair breaches in relationships, actively seeking to restore harmony among family members, actively seeking to be friendly with your neighbours who dislike you, actively seeking to use your placement in life to bring civil peace to the city, and praying for the government of Christ and the peace of the Spirit to prevail in the world as the Great Commission goes onward. Blessed are the peacemakers.
Now, to be clear, there is a false notion of peace among many evangelicals today. It goes something like this: peace at all costs. This is not biblical peace. To be at peace in the church you need to be united around the truth, and in agreement with one another—at least on the essentials. The pursuit of peace is never permitted when serious truth is at stake. For example, it is wrong to hold peaceful fellowship with a heretic, someone who is denying the Gospel. We are told to not even greet such a person in the context of the church (2 Jn; 3 Jn).
Watson: We must not so seek peace with others as to wrong truth. ‘Buy the truth and sell it not’ (Proverbs 23:23). Peace must not be bought with the sale of truth. We must not seek the flower of peace if we shall lose the pearl of truth.
Peace is not at all costs. Truth is at all costs. And peace is only possible insofar as it depends upon us, and insofar as we can lock arms around God’s Word. Peace is not neutral—it has a basis—and that basis is the living Word of Truth. The great sin of ancient Israel is resounded by the prophets who cried out: why do you say peace, peace, when there is no peace—for you have rejected the Lord, turned from His Law, and despised his ways. Friends, we must remember that peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. And so we must never divorce peace from truth, especially in the context of the church regarding the matters of first importance in the Christian faith. So let us be peacemakers—but let us never be truth-deniers. And what we find is that as we are walking in this Gospel blessedness, we find true happiness:
Q - Why are the peacemakers happy in the Lord?
Because the God of joy is also the God of peace. You cannot obtain one without the other. Joy is the fruit of godly peace. Happiness is the result when wars cease. The peaceful presence of God brings true joy, feasting, and delight:
Proverbs 12:20 (ESV)
Those who plan peace have joy.
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Oh let us be peaceful Christians—filled with the Peace of the Spirit that surpasses understanding—at peace with God, at peace with Christ’s people, and making peace when opportunity arises—preserving the unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace. And guess what arises? Joy, happiness, and blessedness—as the face of God is shining upon us.
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
But, in order to understand our need to be peacemakers, we need to understand why we need to make peace. So:
Q - Why do we need to actively make and guard peace?
Because the world, the flesh, and the devil are actively seeking to overthrow our peace. The way of folly is the way of disunity, division, and discord among the brethren. This is loved by Satan, but hated by God. There is constant ammunition ready for Satan to fire away, ready for our flesh to crave after.
Whether it’s Gossip, slander, doctrinal error, rejecting authority, failing to deal with sin, or failing to pursue reconciliation when needed—there are so many constant temptations at bay that would easily overthrow the peace and unity of the saints. We need to actively make peace because Satan is seeking to actively wreck it. We cannot give him a foothold—we need to wear the armour of God! We need to have our shoes fitted, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace (Eph. 6). Hear from James, and how he connects division to the demonic:
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
Where there is jealousy gripping church members, where there is selfish ambition in church leaders, where there is prideful boasting among the saints, where there is compromise regarding the truth—where there is disorder and every vile practice—James says that it is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. Satan loves to cheer on and fuel discord among the brethren. Satan loves when letters are written for the purpose of division. But on the contrary, true Christian wisdom is pure and peaceable. Oh brothers let us live in this Gospel peace, living as peacemakers, for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ. Let us walk in true wisdom:
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
And remember, we are told that as we do such things, that the God of peace will be with us, filling us, blessing us, and empowering us in worship and witness. Don’t you desire that? Jesus prayed for it—that we would be one in peace and unity—that God will dwell in our midst—that the house of God would be beautified. We need the furniture of peace as God’s house:
Watson: When the hearts of Christians are a spiritual house, adorned with the furniture of peace, then they are fit for the Prince of peace to inhabit. But when this pleasant furniture is lacking and filled with strife and debate, Christ will not own it for his house, nor will he grace it with his presence. Who will dwell in an house which is smoky and all on fire?
Let us remember that the presence of God comes in peace, as Christians live as peacemakers. So let us heed this call, walk as peaceful saints, and make peace where it needs to be kept:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
(1) Happiness in Christ is for the Peacemakers - v. 9a.
So let’s fight for peace, that our swords might be put to rest—and let’s maintain that peace through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Peacemakers are happily blessed by God. True disciples are men and women of peace. But Jesus also promises a wonderful gift to such disciples. So secondly this morning:
(2) Peacemakers in Christ are the Sons of God - v. 9b.
(2) Peacemakers in Christ are the Sons of God - v. 9b.
Matthew 5:9 (ESV)
“For they shall be called sons of God.
(2) Peacemakers in Christ are the Sons of God - v. 9b.
(2) Peacemakers in Christ are the Sons of God - v. 9b.
Q - What are the peacemakers promised in the Lord?
Oh brothers and sisters, if you are a peacemaker, if you a Christian indeed, then take heart! God is your portion forevermore.
Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of peace.
Henry: They shall be called the children of God; it will be an evidence to themselves that they are so; God will own them as such, and herein they will resemble him. He is the God of peace; the Son of God is the Prince of peace; the Spirit of adoption is a Spirit of peace.
Those who are walking in this Gospel peacefulness and peacemaking—are promised that they will be visibly declared to be the sons of God on the last day. They will be vindicated. They will be justified. They will be revealed—the liberty and glory of the sons of God will shine like the sun on the last day. For this fullness we await:
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Brothers and sisters; peacemakers in the Lord—God has promised your full and final redemption, your full and final privileges of adoption, your full and final salvation on the last day. In that resurrection morning, the sons of God will rise to enter eternal life. You will be called sons of God—for God is not ashamed to be called your God, and to call you his people.
The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
We who are the children of God now, sealed by the Spirit of peace, will be declared before all the world to see on that last day—that we belonged to Jesus Christ, as sons and daughters of the living God. Only peacemakers are sons now, and will be shown to be sons then. So:
Q - Why do peacemakers share in Gospel sonship?
Becuase the Son of God is the Prince of Peace—and they are one with him:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
We who belong to Jesus Christ—share in every spiritual blessing that is in Him. His kingdom of grace in us, transforms us into peaceful sons of God. Peacemakers are sons of God—because they are one with Jesus Christ. We are co-heirs with the Prince of Peace—and we bear the image of our Father who is in heaven.
Spurgeon: Men are struck by their likeness to their Father. Hereby is our sonship known to ourselves and others. Men of peace are the children of the God of peace, and their Father’s blessing rests on them.
So, if this is who Jesus describes as his true disciples, as those blessed by God, who are promised eternal sonship—then how can we know that we are in this category of people?
Q - What is evidence of a peaceful son of God?
Quite simply, we just need to ask—what does the image of God restored to us in Christ, look like?
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
Watson: Nine signs of divine sonship: (1) tenderness of heart, (2) likeness to God, (3) the presence of the Spirit of adoption, (4) zeal for God, (5) heavenly minded, (6) love for God’s family, (7) delight in God’s presence, (8) submission to the Father’s will, (9) desire to make others the children of God.
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
If we are looking to the Prince of Peace in faith, repenting of our peace-less hearts, and seeking to walk as peacemakers—in the fear of the Lord, and the comfort of the Spirit—then you can know even today, right now, that you are a son of God, and that you will be owned by the Father before all to see on the last day! Hear the promise of your status, brothers and sisters:
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.
Oh saints, look to the Son of God—and if the Spirit of Christ and of Peace is in you—if the Spirit of adoption is interceding in your heart—then cry out to the Father, rest in your sonship, and hope in your eternal sonship to be declared at the end of history! If you are a child of God—God will speak peace to you on the day of judgment:
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
It was said by JI Packer, that if you wanted to see what a man thought of Christianity, then you should ask him what he thought of God being his Father. Truly this is the glory of the sons of God—that God is our Father, and that we have all the benefits of being his children. So:
Q - What are the benefits of the sons of God?
for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
Watson: Twelve high privileges of God’s children: (1) God is full of tender love and affection towards us, (2) God bears with our infirmities, (3) God accepts our imperfect love, (4) God provides for his children, (5) God shields off danger from his children, (6) God reveals wonderful things to his children, (7) God gives us boldness in prayer, (8) God grants us a state of freedom, (9) God makes us heirs to precious promises, (10) God gives us his blessing, (11) God works all things for our good, and (12) God keeps us from perishing.
If you have the Spirit of Adoption, then you have full and rich and free access to your Father who loves you dearly. The chief means being prayer—God is our portion, saints!—and he gives us his ear and his heart in time of trouble:
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Let us cry out, Abba, Father! And dwell at his feet, for what true father does not delight to help his children and grant them good and bountiful gifts of grace? And at the throne of grace it all come back around—for it is there that we find the strength we need to be peacemakers. It is there that we remember that Jesus is our peace, who made peace by the blood of his Cross, and who promises the Spirit of peace as we seek the Father in prayer. So, as sons of God—let us imitate the peace of our Father who is in heaven—and seek him in prayer that we might be the peacemakers he calls us to be. So:
Q - How can we live as peaceful sons of God?
Let us publish peace by proclaiming the Good News:
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
Let us sincerely run after peace, with hearts longing for it’s fruit:
Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
And may we live in that peace together as the church of Christ:
Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Isn’t it such a wonderful thing, as we walk in the peace of God? The fellowship and harmony and unity of the church is a glorious and precious thing in the sight of God. I think we need to move our refreshments downstairs becuase we have too many peacemakers after a Sunday-morning service! We must preserve this peace by not slandering or harboring up evil thoughts in our hearts—we must not tear down what God is building up—may God keep us steadfast in this Gospel peace. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God!
Q - But what happens to those who are peace-less and wicked?
“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
no one who treads on them knows peace.
There is only false and temporary peace for the wicked, for those who stir up division and hate the unity of God’s people, for those whose hearts overflow with discord and fighting. Their end is death, wrath, fury, and hell. Those who are peace-less don’t have peace with God; and if they stay as they are, they never will. But they can, through repentance and faith, and turning to the God of peace for life, forgiveness, and salvation in Jesus Christ. How so? How can this be? How can the peace-less find peace with God and peace with God’s people?
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, 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 the hostility.
Come to Jesus, the Prince of Peace, repent of your divided heart, find peace with God now, find new life in the Spirit of peace—become a disciple of Christ—and rest in the promise of eternal peace as a son of God when Jesus returns.
(2) Peacemakers in Christ are the Sons of God - v. 9b.
And so hear now our conclusion for this morning—you who are peacemakers through the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
(C) Peaceful Christians are Blessed by Christ as true Sons of God.
(C) Peaceful Christians are Blessed by Christ as true Sons of God.
Like Father, like Son. In order to be a peacemaker you need to deny yourself, look to Jesus, and follow Him day by day. Bearing the image of the man of peace. How?
MLJ: You finish with self, and then you begin to follow Jesus Christ. You realize what he did for you in order that you might enjoy that blessed peace of God, and you begin to desire that everybody else should have it. So, forgetting self, and humbling self, you follow in His steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judges righteously.’ That is it. God give us grace to see this blessed, glorious truth, and make us reflections and reproducers of the Prince of Peace, and truly children of the God of peace.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
(C) Peaceful Christians are Blessed by Christ as true Sons of God.
(C) Peaceful Christians are Blessed by Christ as true Sons of God.
Amen? Let’s pray.
Discussion Questions:
(1) How does the 3rd (Meek) Beatitude relate to the 7th (Peacemakers)? Why are they necessarily connected?
(2) Why are peacemakers truly happy as disciples of Jesus Christ? What makes this pursuit of peace a joyful thing?
(3) Why are peacemakers promised to be called the sons of God? Are we not already sons of God? What is this about?
(4) What are some of the benefits and privileges of being a son/daughter of the living God of peace?
(5) What are some practical ways in which we can live as peaceful sons of God here at Calvary and beyond? Any ideas or examples?
