BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS

Editorial
September/October, 1986
Volume 21, Number 5

A "peacemaker" is one who seeks to bring harmony and reconciliation between those who are estranged. Peacemaking seeks to produce right relationships between persons. God hates those who sow discord and stir up trouble (Proverbs 6:19). Vet every community and every local church and many homes have people who thrive on divisions and conflict and unrest.

Peacemakers are needed in our churches. Holding grudges and evil speaking are common sources of conflict among believers. Busybodies and slanderers and disagreeable persons can cause havoc in a congregation.

Peacemakers are needed in our homes. Quarreling and disagreements and unwillingness to respect God's order of authority, often lead people to treat the worst those who really love them the most -- intimate family members.

Peacemakers are needed among nations. Christians should face the nuclear question squarely, doing all they can to prevent nuclear war. We are to seek to live at peace with all persons (Romans 12:1. Our faith requires that we love God and our neighbors and pray for our enemies.

The greatest need is to carry to people the message of "peace with God" (Romans 5:1). God has promised a destruction worse than a nuclear holocaust for those who are rejecting the atonement provided through faith in Jesus Christ(Matthew 25:41; Romans 5:9). As individuals on a massive international scale come to know Christ -- to that extent, the world will experience a greater or lesser degree of peace.

One who has experienced peace with God should intentionally cultivate the art of peacemaking. Each regenerated individual should strive to bridge gaps and to heal breaches. The article featured in this issue of the BRF WITNESS is written to encourage and to challenge us to keep moving more and more in the direction of developing the craft of peacemaking. The message published here is one unit of study in a Correspondence Course on the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5. See here for ordering information.
--Harold S. Martin
Blessed Are the Peacemakers

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9). What is the meaning of these words for us? How does peacemaking affect our witness for Jesus? In a day when much emphasis is being placed on peace, the Christian needs to most seriously contemplate the meaning of this Beatitude.

1. WHAT IS PEACE?

We must begin with a proper understanding of what is included in this key word. The Greek word for "peace" ("eirene") is a beautiful word, full of meaning. The word is a picture-word, calling to mind specific mental images when heard. The word means tranquility, and is used to describe a boat sailing on a calm sea. It means harmony and describes a song in which all notes and cords blend in perfect agreement. And it conveys the idea of an absence of strife, calling to mind two people walking hand-in-hand along the road. (Our English word "peace" comes to us from the Latin "pax" from which we derive "pact." A pact is a treaty between two parties/governments).

The Hebrew equivalent is the word "shalom." This word is also rich in meaning and was, for the Jew, the common word of greeting. It means all of what the above Greek word means, yet adds another aspect. Not only does shalom convey the negative -- the absence of strife and evil -- but also the positive, the presence of all good things. To wish shalom on another was in essence to say, "I wish for you not only the absence of all that may harm, but also the presence of everything that makes for a person's good."

From the above definitions we see that the word "peace" has to do with the state of harmony, tranquility, and unity as it exists between two parties. However, there are some things that peace does not mean:

a) For some, being at peace is the same as having a truce. A "truce" is "a suspension of fighting especially for a considerable duration by agreement of opposing forces" Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary). During the Vietnam War, a truce was drawn for Christmas Day. For that one day there would be no shooting, even though the sides were not at peace with each other. The hostility still existed; the hatred was still present. This is the difference between a truce and peace. When there is peace, the issues have been dealt with; the hostilities cease; the war is over.

b) For others, pursuing peace means evading the issues. Some see peace as simply ignoring that which causes the hostilities among us -- a sort of sweep-them-under-the-rug-and-hope-they-go-away approach to problem solving. However ignoring reality is not peace. True peace never evades the issues, but rather deals with them, building the right bridges and moving through the pain until harmony is established.

c) For still others, peace is sought at the expense of truth. Peace is paramount and it is "peace at any price." Most persons want to avoid needless strife, but there are times when standing for the truth will stir up strife. Sometimes the way to lasting peace includes addressing issues which will be painful to work through. Truth and righteousness are just as important as peace, and these factors cannot be compromised. For example, Jude wrote his epistle encouraging the believers "to contend for the faith" (verse 3), an

activity which undoubtedly caused some turmoil. Jesus taught that at times faithful discipleship would place a "sword" between loved ones (Matthew 10:34), indicating that following Him could cause strife. And Paul implies that not all strife can be avoided when one is following Christ (Romans 12:1, although we are to do all that we can to live at peace with everyone.

d) And for still others, peace is the essence of the Gospel. The ideal of living at peace with all becomes the thrust of Christianity for certain believers. Peace needs to be seen as a vital part of the Gospel message, but it must be given its rightful place. It is a fruit of the Gospel - a result of experiencing the grace of God (see Romans 5: and Galatians 5:22-23) - not the Gospel itself. Paul outlines for us the essence of the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15: 1-8.

So then, this is peace -- what it is, and what it is not -- but what is a peacemaker?

2. WHO ARE THE PEACEMAKERS?

Notice at the start that the promise of this Beatitude is to the "peacemaker" and not to the "peace lover." Passivity is not the answer; activity is. "Peacemaking" is an action word, implying that the Christian' is to be busy making peace in this world. There are many who love peace and few who work for it. (It should be noted here that we are not condoning a peace activism which ignores other important biblical principles).

The call to peacemaking implies the presence of contention. Indeed the world today is full of conflict and strife. What is the cause of this hostility? In order to know how to go about establishing peace, we need first to know something about why individuals are at odds with themselves.

James says that evil desires within are the source of conflict (James 4:1-2). People are at war with their neighbors because they are not at peace with themselves. And they are not at peace with themselves because they are at war with God. The heart of the peace issue is the spiritual condition of the human soul. Any peacemaking effort which does not take seriously this truth is at best merely a "truce tactic."

If the Scriptures teach that the hostilities which exist in the world are results of the strife between God and His creation, then it is logical to believe that it is this aspect of peace which concerns Jesus in the Beatitude. Also, the nature of the Beatitudes is spiritual and personal, not political and global. In light of this fact, biblical peacemakers have a three-fold agenda:

Blessed are the Peacemakers

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