Matthew 5:9....

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” ()

There is a true biblical connection between v9 and v8 of last week.

A connection between the pureness of heart and peaceableness of spirit.

Peace as the absence of strife, war or bloodshed, so often sought by humanity at any cost, is far removed from the focus of the biblical teaching.

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving...” ()

The biblical concept of peace is one in which God’s authority and power over his created order are

"Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.” ()

seen to dominate his relations with his world, including both the material and the human spheres.

In the OT, peace results from a person subjecting himself or herself appropriately to God

(this subjection is often signified by sacrifice)

or to God’s emissary, the promised Davidic king.

In the NT, which extends and modifies the OT imagery,

the language of treaties between warring parties is used to speak of the way in which God relates to humans;

he demands that strife be overcome through the sacrificial death of Christ.

And in relation to our text, those that have peace with God are peacemakers!

Jesus isn’t referring to peace-keepers but to peace-makers,

people who end hostilities and bring the quarrelsome together.

but those who actively overcome evil with good.

We’re not talking about appeasers, but those who actively overcome evil with good.

This person may be known as one who ends hostilities.

Before a person can become a peace maker, they must first have peace with God.

Porter, S. E. (2000). Peace. In T. D. Alexander & B. S. Rosner (Eds.), New dictionary of biblical theology (electronic ed., p. 682). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Before there was ever peace, there was war!

There was a war with your conscience! You tried to quiet it, but it just kept pricking at you!

To some their conscience was like a ghost that would haunt you day and night!

Telling you,

“You know that this sin will lead you to hell!”

“This is the pathway to destruction!”

To those on the downward path, they know that it is not an easy one;

it is hedged up and ditched down,

and there are many bars and gates and chains on the road;

but they climb over them, determined to ruin their own souls.

Oh! there was a war between you and your conscience.

There was a war between you and God’s Law.

The commands of God were against you!

The first command marched towards you and said,

“You are cursed! You deny ME! You have other god’s beside ME & you yield to those sinful desires!”

There are those this morning, with all 10 of the 10 Commandments pointed at them like 10 mighty cannons!

What will sinners do when the law becomes a terror to them,

when the trumpet of the archangel blasts and

the angels shall tear them out of their graves,

the angel shall tear them out of their graves,

and the eyes of God shall burn their way into their guilty souls?

and the eyes of God shall burn their way into their guilty souls?

When the great books of God shall be opened and all their sin and shame shall be published!

When the great books of God shall be opened and all their sin and shame shall be published!

No sinner will be able to stand against the Law on that day!

What about the One that

gave you your conscience?

He gave you the law so that you would see your need for Him?

The One that

created you

fed you,

you had forgotten and neglected Him.

you had used the strength He gave you to stand against Him!

Instead of serving the One that put the clothes on your back, you were actually a slave to His greatest enemy, the devil!

But then something happened! You heard and believed the gospel!

God declared you righteous and then (and only then) did you have peace with God!

"Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. "We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” ()

This is where I want to start with this text this morning. Let’s...

DESCRIBE the peacemaker!

The text says that he’s “blessed”. Those whom God blesses, are blessed and those whom God curses are cursed!

has a most comprehensive layout of our blessings...

Chosen and loved in Christ before the world was made.

Predestined to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ all because of the good pleasure of His will!

He lavished His grace upon us in the Beloved One!

We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace!

This is the description of the peacemaker, he’s blessed!

He’s also a child of God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” ()

They’re called sons of God.

We become this by adoption and grace. Peacemaking is the sweet evidence of the work of the peaceful Spirit within.

As a child of God, they have the likeness to their Father who is in heaven.

God is peaceful, patient, and tender, full of lovingkindness, pity, and compassion!

So is the peacemaker! "Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children,” ()

His dearly loved children imitate Him!

He is one of the children of the Highest, who does good both to the unthankful and to the evil, just like his Father!

So, peacemakers are blessed children of God, that are called! "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” ()

Each member of the Trinity — The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit all contribute to the salvation of sinners.

The Father, before the foundation of the world, marked out those who were to be saved and

gave them to the Son to be His people.

At the appointed time the Son came into the world and secured their redemption.

But these two great acts—the Father’s choosing and redemption through the Son—do not complete the work of salvation,

because included in God’s plan for recovering lost sinners is

the renewing work of the Holy Spirit

by which the benefits of Christ’s obedience and death are applied to people.

The gospel invitation extends a call to salvation to every one who hears its message.

It invites all men without distinction to drink freely of the water of life and live.

It promises salvation to all who repent and believe.

Steele, D. N., Thomas, C. C., & Nicole, R. (1963). The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended and Documented (p. 48). Philadelphia, PA: The Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Co.

But this outward general call, extended to everyone alike, will not bring sinners to Christ.

Why? Because men are by nature

dead in sin and are under its power.

They are of themselves unable and unwilling to forsake their evil ways and to turn to Christ for mercy. Consequently, the unregenerate will not respond to the gospel call to repentance and faith. No amount of external threatenings or promises will cause blind, deaf, dead, rebellious sinners to bow before Christ as Lord and to look to Him alone for salvation. Such an act of faith and submission is contrary to the lost man’s nature.

They are of themselves unable and unwilling to forsake their evil ways and to turn to Christ for mercy.

Consequently, the unregenerate will not respond to the gospel call to repentance and faith.

No amount of external threatenings or promises will cause

blind,

deaf,

dead,

rebellious sinners

to bow before Christ as Lord and to look to Him alone for salvation.

Such an act of faith and submission is contrary to the lost man’s nature.

Therefore, the Holy Spirit, in order to bring God’s elect to salvation,

extends to them a special inward call in addition to the outward call contained in the gospel message.

It’s through this

Steele, D. N., Thomas, C. C., & Nicole, R. (1963). The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended and Documented (p. 48). Philadelphia, PA: The Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Co.

Let’s DECLARE the peacemaker!

Let’s DISPATCH the peacemaker!