Good News for the Peacemakers

We all know what it is like to not be at peace. We all know what turmoil is like. One of the longest nights is the night when you lie in bed knowing there is turmoil in a relationship, between you and another, between two loved ones, and not being able to make a difference in that situation.

We have just lost 13 soldiers in Afghanistan because of a lack of peace. Every political and military upheaval like this is a result of a lack of peace. Every shot fired, every missile launched, every tactic planned, every life taken, really, comes from a lack of peace.

It is interesting, because humanity did not start that way. In the initial state, there was peace. There was a lack of hostility, a lack of enmity. In the beginning there was quietness, and rest, and confidence, hope. As God created the world and the first humans, Adam and Eve, there was a dwelling of harmony - human harmony, animal harmony, harmony with the vegetation and crops, harmony in relationship, harmony in work and recreation, and mostly, harmony with God.

It didn’t take long, however, for that harmony and stability to be lost. Everything changes following the first disobedience. Everything changed.

Genesis 3:6–19 ESV

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Now consider the changes that were made here, consider the turmoil that ensued.

First, there was a change from freedom and openness to fear and hiding. For the first time, Adam and Eve had shame in their beings that caused them to hide from their creator. For the first time, there was something that had caused a rift between human beings and God.

Also, for the first time, there was a rift between Adam and Eve. Before this, they apparently dwelt together in harmony. But now, there is a blame-game happening. Something is wrong now, and Adam looks at his wife and says, “it is her fault!” In stead of a togetherness, there is a wedge driven in. A wedge of guilt, a wedge of shame, a wedge of distrust or disunity.

In another way, for the first time, human beings were met with the concept of an enemy. Before this, they had nothing to be afraid of in terms of harming them. But now they realize, from the interaction with the Serpent, that there are things to be afraid of. There are those who would seek their harm, those who would seek their trouble.

There was, in another sense, the realization of personal lack of peace, as well. For Eve, there would be a sorrow and pain in childbearing. There would be a propensity toward strife in her relationship to her husband. For Adam, the ground he worked day in and day out would now be cursed. Every day would be a battle. The joy of productivity would be hard-fought, a continuous battle until he returned to the dust.

In a grander sense, we also see the revealing and foretelling of the ultimate lack of peace, and that is in God’s pronouncement to the serpent. Enmity between the serpent and the woman. Between his seed and her seed. There would be a fighting, a clashing of powers as it were. This fighting and clashing is typical of every fight and clash, but they ultimately point to the ultimate fight and clash of righteousness and evil.

The seed of the woman would eventually crush the head of the serpent. The enemy will be ultimately destroyed, but until then, peace is a fight. And isn’t that ironic? That we have to fight for peace?

Do you see what sin has done? Do you see what hostility, enmity, strife, difficulty, cursedness that sin has brought into the world? This lack of wholeness, completeness, and harmony effects every fiber of our lives - every molecule is somehow upset by lack of peace.

But God is a peacemaking God. He is intent on making the wrong right, and He does so in spectacular fashion in the Gospel. Jesus, that ultimate Seed of the Woman, came to provide peace in his atoning death. The whole Bible sets a stage for the ultimate Peacemaker to step into the scene. And we are called, in a much smaller but true sense, to follow in his steps.

God’s revelation in the Bible is a story of His peacemaking. As peacemakers, we reflect our Heavenly Father who is the ultimate Peacemaker.

What is True Peace?

We often think of peace in terms of quietness or comfort. We say, when we are sitting by the ocean, or walking in the forest, that it is peaceful. But is quietness and comfort true peace?

Peace is a major Theme in the Old and New Testaments. In Hebrew, the word is Shalom. You’ve probably heard that word before. It is used to speak of personal peace, relational peace, family peace, community peace, and international peace.

Shalom is used as a greeting or salutation by Jewish people around the world to this day. Go to a community populated largely by Jewish People and you will hear that word used scores of times in a single day.

Definition-ally, Shalom means Completeness, wholeness, welfare, and contentment. In other words, that all is right and good in relationship, in existence. Not just quietness and comfort. You see, you can temporarily avoid difficult things to gain quietness and comfort, but is that true peace?

If you read the end of Exodus 21-22, you will see laws about making restitution. If you cause something to happen and life is lost, you are to make restitution. If something is lost or stolen, restitution is to be made. Read those passages - the translation “shall repay” or “make restitution” or “make restoration” is used over and over again in these situations. Interestingly, the literal reading of it is to “make Shalam” which is exactly where the word “shalom” comes from.

So there is a sense in which wishing “shalom” is wishing for “shalam.” In other words, wishing for peace is wishing for things to be made right. Wishing for restoration to happen. Wishing for the offence to be cleared - the air to be cleared. Consciences clear, relationships free and open.

Just think of the Garden scene again - Adam and Eve went from perfect innocence, harmony, and unity to hiding and being afraid, casting blame on the other, and fearing there Creator in a punitive sense. Something had gone terrible wrong, there was a wrench thrown in the gears of human flourishing, completeness, and soundness.

We could put it this way simply. Sin brings lack of peace. It brings lack of peace internally, it brings lack of peace relationally, it brings lack of peace in community, it brings lack of peace internationally, but mostly, it brings lack of peace with God. To God from God’s friend to His enemy is the definition of lack of peace. That is the ultimate hostility. To be God’s enemy is to have picked the wrong fight, as it were.

There is no true peace without knowledge of and right standing with God.

Colossians 1:18–22 ESV

And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

Paul here is underscoring the grand work of God in the Gospel, which is reconciliation. This is the way of “Shalom” as it were. There can be no wholeness, soundness, or flourishing apart from this kind of restoration.

Notice what it said about us as humans before this occurs. We are alienated, hostile in mind, and doing evil deeds. Sin brings lack of peace. If we are looking for peace, and sin is what brings lack of peace, then we want to know where sin comes from - where it really comes to bear. And it comes to bear exactly in the point that it makes us enemies of God. That ultimate hostility causes every other hostility. Even for those of us who have been made new, been redeemed in Christ, we still fight the old man which has that propensity toward enmity with God.

So what is true peace? True peace is firstly Godward. It is the peace, the “shalom” that God affords in the Gospel. It is the reconciliation of man to God by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That is where our ultimate enmity lies, and that is where our ultimate need of restoration lies. It is Godward. In our birth-condition, there is an emptiness, a disunity, a discontentment, and ultimately a sinfulness that is a rift - really a gulf - between us and our Creator, but God in His goodness and mercy has made a way for that to be removed.

Speaking of the former division of Jew and Gentile, Paul speaks of Christ’s peacemaking as breaking down even the human hostility there.

Ephesians 2:13–16 ESV

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.

So Godward peace leads us to relational peace with others as well. To put it another way, if we desire peace in relationships, we must first establish whether we have peace with God. Are we partakers of the peace afforded in the Gospel? God is the ultimate peacemaker who brings completeness, wholeness, soundness, and flourishing where there was division, hostility, strife. He brings it to us, and he also commands us to spread it around as well. Which leads to our second question.

What does being a “Peacemaker” look like?

This is the only place in the whole Bible where this word “peacemaker” is used.

The word really hearkens back to Shalam, the root word for Shalom, in “making things right.” Reconciling, restoring.

In other words, it is “making peace” rather than “keeping the peace.” What do I mean by that? Well let me give you a personal example. I don’t like conflict or disunity. I like peaceableness, comfort, relative quietness, and lack of contention. I would say that is my natural disposition. And you might say, “well, that is good!” But it isn’t always good.

You see, in my own life I know the difference between peacemaking and peacekeeping. Peacekeeping often ignores a problem, avoids an issue, defers a discussion, pushes the contention down the road. Peacekeeping, really, is procrastination.

In my life, it means, if I know something is wrong and needs to be made right, then I will naturally avoid it, push it off, defer it, because I want to avoid contention and discomfort in a relationship. If there is something wrong in my marriage, I am naturally inclined to ignoring it and not dealing with it. If I see someone struggling with something, I am naturally inclined to overlook it and pretend I didn’t see it. If i hear the brakes squealing on my truck, I’m naturally inclined to turning the radio up so I don’t hear it.

That is not peacemaking, that is peacekeeping. Peacekeeping avoids what is wrong in order to keep semblance of right, but peacemaking hits what is wrong head on in order to make what is wrong right again. We could ask this question - would we rather have a facade of peace with contention boiling constantly under the surface, or would we rather have true peace - wrongs made right - even if it costs a few uncomfortable conversations?

Here’s another example. If you are a parent and you have two brawling children, either physically or verbally, the immediate solution is to separate them. Now, I know from personal experience that there would be a semblance of peace if you just kept those children separated at all times in all places, but would there be peace? What about in adulthood? Do you tend to plan engagements, make shifts in schedules, cancel plans, and jump through hoops in order to avoid having two people see each other? Is that peacemaking? It may be peacekeeping, it may lead to a semblance of peace, but is it peacekeeping?

Now, think of what God has done. I, personally, am thankful that God has not taken the role of “peacekeeper,” but rather the role of “peacemaker.” That is, in stead of ignoring the cancer of sin, He has acted to make it right. In stead of avoiding the awkward situation of man’s hostility toward Him, he dove headlong into it with a remedy - a costly remedy, yes, but a remedy.

Peacemaking is often costly - it cost the life of the Son of God in the ultimate scenario, but it is worth it. Restoration to wholeness and right relationship is far superior to putting on false pretense of “peace.”

God desires peace among people. And He desires us to be peacemakers. We will see this passage again in several weeks, but think of these words that Jesus spoke.

Matthew 5:23–24 ESV

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Think of the weight of those words to the devout Jewish man in those days. Jesus says it is better to be reconciled to a brother, it is better to make peace, than to offer a sacrifice to God while there is hostility in a relationship. God desires peace, He desires restoration, He desires right relationships.

Do you have someone you are avoiding because of past hurt or difficulty? Do you stay away from them, do you avoid them in the grocery store, do you look the other way when they catch your eye? Is that peace? It may be quietness, it may be comfort, but it is not peace. The Kingdom way is peacemaking, not peacekeeping.

Galatians 6:1–2 ESV

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Paul here is speaking of restoration. Peacemaking is restoration, and restoration is often costly. But peacemaking pays a price. It pays the price of sacrifice of time, energy, emotional energy. When we see a situation that is, for lack of better words, “unpeaceful” because of transgression or unrighteousness, do we seek to sweep it under the rug, wish we hadn’t known about it, avoid it like the plague, or do we seek to restore?

Restoration and peacemaking can be summed up in a sense by Paul’s words there, “bearing one another’s burdens.” Christ is the ultimate burden-bearer. He bore our sin and shame, he took on our temptations and sorrows, and he carried them to victory over death. We, too, are called to bear burdens, make restoration, and make peace because of the peace we have been afforded in Him.

Something else practical. Peacemaking is not “speaking your piece.” Sometimes we want to use our words to make someone feel the weight of their offence. We have been talking about this in our Anger study on Tuesday Nights. We can use our words as a form of revenge. We can use our words as a form of atonement or repayment of wrong. But that is not what we are called to.

Peacemaking goes along with the other beatitudes, namely meekness and mercy.

Meekness is not seeking our own, not seeking revenge, and peacemaking is the outworking of that. Rather than seeking revenge, we seek restoration.

Mercy is displaying love and grace in a situation. Mercy is reaching out, helping when there is something wrong. Peacemaking is mercifulness in situations where what is “wrong” is hurtful, offensive, and hostile.

Romans 12:14–19 ESV

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Peacemaking never involves seeking revenge. Peacemaking never involves repaying evil with more evil. Peacemaking never involves cursing someone who hurt us. Peacemaking never involves pride and anger. Peacemaking seeks restoration. If someone slaps you and you slap them back, there may be a repayment there, but there is no restoration. There is no restoration. If we sin against a Holy God and He strikes us dead, there is repayment there. There is justice there, but that is not the kind of Restoration that God displays in the cross of Christ.

We’ve said that the display of the Cross, the peacemaking of Christ, is the ultimate peacemaking. And we can extend that peacemaking as well. Yes, we can seek peace in relationships, we can even seek peace in the world, but we extend God’s peacemaking the best when we proclaim the Gospel, for the Gospel restores people to right standing with God.

James 5:19–20 ESV

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

What is the Good News for the Peacemakers?

The Good News for Peacemakers is that we are not alone in this - in doing so, we reflect and show our sonship with God.

The fact that we can be called sons of God is a miracle of the Gospel.

John 1:12–13 ESV

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

We are “born again” as sons and daughters of God by God’s sovereign power and will. We are sons of God first by nature, that is the new nature, the new creation afforded in the Gospel. And we are shown to be and “called” sons of God when we reflect our Father.

God, our Father, is the peacemaker. He is the restorer. Yes, He is Just and full of Wrath, but He has made a way - as John wrote, for as many as received Him, to be called the sons of God.

Think of that - if it is part of God’s very nature to make enemies into sons, then when we seek to bring restoration between enemies, we reflect that nature and character in a unique and powerful way.

Peacemaking may not be the natural way - we might rather keep peace by ignoring difficulties. Peacemaking may not be the comfortable way - restoration is often costly and difficult. But peacemaking is the Blessed way. For in peacemaking, we reflect our heavenly Father, and we shall be called the sons and Daughters of the peacemaking God.