Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
shall be called the
children of
God (Matthew 5:9).
You would never know it by what you see in the lives
of some people who call themselves “Christians,” but Christianity is a
religion of peace. The history of the denominational Christian church
has not been a history of peace. We not only have had the Crusades, but
we have had wars between different Christian denominations. All of this
is in diametric opposition to what Jesus taught and what the New
Testament tells us Christianity is about. Aggression and war are a
function of selfishness, a basic philosophy of “survival of the
fittest,” and the antitheses of what Christianity stands for. A careful
study of the New Testament not only teaches that we should be at peace
with one another, but it tells us how to go about doing that. These
principles apply whether we are talking about getting along with the
world at large, our mate, or people we work with. Let us look at some
of these principles which allow us to “be called the children of God.”
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since
as members of one body you were called to peace” (Colossians 3:15,
NIV). Are you a lover or a fighter? How do you drive your
car — peacefully sharing the road, or on the borderline of road rage?
When people hear your voice on the phone, what happens to their blood
pressure? Do you strive to bring a solution to every problem, or do you
enjoy being an agitator? In my school teaching days a group of us
teachers used to eat lunch together. I always enjoyed throwing out a
controversial statement, and then watch as the group would polarize and
argue about the subject I brought up. It finally got to the point where
one teacher stopped eating with us because, in her words, it was giving
her an ulcer. This was certainly not “letting peace rule within my
heart.”
Christians are to be people who treasure and value
peace. We are not to be people who treasure and value divisive issues
and controversy. We are told to “contend for the faith”(Jude 3), but it
was Jesus, our example, who brought compassion, service, and
understanding to the table — not open warfare. The great preacher and
author Ira North used to say, “No one wants to hear the gospel from an
angry, crabby old man or woman.” We are to bring joy and love and
understanding to those around us. We have good news and peace to bring
to a world full of bad news and strife.
“For indeed we were brought into one body by
baptism, in the one Spirit whether we are Jews or Greeks, whether
slaves or free men, and that one Holy Spirit was poured out for all of
us to drink.” (1 
Corinthians
12:13, NEB). “There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor
female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). One of
the major causes of war and strife in the world has always been the
attempts of one group of people to claim superiority over another
group. At any given moment there is violence somewhere on the planet
because one racial or ethnic group feels the need to assert itself over
another group.
Christianity is a unity faith. Many people who claim
to be Christians have had a hard time comprehending this, but one
cannot read the New Testament and not see that God has broken down all
racial and ethnic barriers and made everyone equal. This is closely
related to our previous point, because it is very difficult to have
peace when one person claims to be superior to another or to have
special favor with God. Paul battled this problem in his day with the
controversy over Jewish traditions versus Gentile traditions. We are
even more fragmented today because people have not accepted what God
says about the fact that we are all equal in His sight. There will
never be peace until everyone accepts that principle.
“Then pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor
and to God what belongs to God” (Matthew 22:21, TCNT). Give diligence
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3).
“If you can, so far as it depends upon you, live at peace with all the
world.” (Romans 12:18, Weymouth). Let us follow after the things which
make for peace and the things which belong to the upbuilding of each
other (Romans
14:19). The whole 14th
chapter of the
book of Romans
deals with how to handle differences of opinion. Paul talks about
people who have beliefs about food and what should and should not be
eaten. He then talks about special days and the observance of one day
as more holy than another. In verse 21 he says that it is better not to
eat or drink or do anything that causes someone else stumble.
I have heard it said that Christians are divided
over everything people can be divided over and a few things they cannot
be divided over. I believe that the statement has some merit. The most
fundamental things which the Bible teaches are difficult to miss. We
tend to have problems concerning things that really do not matter all
that much. False teachers, as described in the New Testament, were not
people who misunderstood a passage of Scripture, or who had a belief
that was not carefully thought out. False teachers were people who were
evil and deceptive and totally denied Jesus as the Son of God. (See 2
John 7; 1 John
2:18 –19; 2 Peter 2:1.)
One
of
the characteristics of
such people is that they agitate and cause discord and division (Romans
16:17; 1
Corinthians 3:3).
We may disagree about many things, but if we are
people who value what God has taught us, we will work for peace, learn
to tolerate differing opinions, and place a very high premium on not
allowing division to occur.0
“Euodius and Syntache I beg you by name to make up
your differences as Christians should” (Philippians 4:2, Phillips). The
word which God has sent to the sons of Israel by telling them the good
news of peace through Jesus Christ (Acts 10:36).
Since
we
stand
justified
as
a
result
of
faith let us enjoy the peace we have through
Jesus Christ, our Lord (Romans 5:1).
The
followers
of Jesus Christ will
learn how to bring peace to those around them. Christians have been
reconciled to God, and because of that reconciliation should recognize
how important the process is. Have you ever had a break-up with a
boyfriend or girlfriend and then made up with them? Was that not a
joyful thing? If someone helped that happen, did you not feel a special
thankfulness to that person?
As Christians, our primary job is to help people
reconcile with God. That is what the message of the gospel of Jesus
Christ is all about. It is done by helping people see what God has done
to allow reconciliation to happen, and what they need to do to make it
happen. God does not force himself on anyone, and Christians as
ministers of reconciliation cannot force people to reconcile with God.
Our secondary goal is to bring people into reconciliation with one
another. Paul emphasized this in his message to Euodias and Syntyche,
and there are many biblical examples of Christians who were brought
together by other Christians or by the Church as a whole.
One of the greatest tragedies of the Church in the
past 100 years has been that it has been typified by conflict,
division, and abuse, rather than peace, reconciliation, and love. Satan
will do everything possible to keep the attitudes and conflict of the
past 100 years going. With God’s help we can change that and we will do
that one step at a time, in our families, or congregations, our towns,
our nation, and our world. The ultimate reconciliation is sure, and
peace will happen.
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Does God Exist?, JulAug10.
