The Peacemakers

By Ferrell Griswold

Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" (Matt. 5:9). That is part of the Beatitudes with which the Lord Jesus begins His Sermon on the Mount. In them, we have the description of born again believers. This blessed portion of God's Word does not tell us how to be saved, but what the marks of those who are saved are. A mark of the child of God, this verse says, is that he is a peacemaker! He is one that lives in peace with all men as far as it lies in him to do so, as well as to promote peace among others.

Some have tried to say that this does not have reference to believers today, but only to the Jews in the future. I am sure that if God requires this of any of His people as a characteristic, He requires it of all His people at all times. Future peace will not depend on the people of the Lord, but upon the personal coming of Christ Himself to subdue His enemies. God's children are peacemakers now! They will be peacemakers all their lives.

Christ only. When we speak of the Christian as being a peacemaker we do not mean that he makes peace between God and the sinner, for the work of reconciliation is through the work of Christ alone. He alone can make peace between the sinner and God. He alone has been appointed by the Father for the work of satisfaction. God's justice will not be satisfied by anything that you or I may do, but by the blood of Jesus Christ.

We read in Ephesians 2:13-17:

But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
You see, the Lord Jesus is our peace. He made peace. And as the effectual messenger of God to actually apply the peace of God to the sinner's heart, He preaches peace to us as well.

Enemies of God. That there is the need of peacemakers in the world implies that the world by nature does not have peace. The natural man does not have peace with God, because this peace is a divine gift from the Father on the ground of the obedience and death of Jesus Christ. And the natural man does not have peace with one another, or there would be no need of this characteristic among born again believers.

Man by nature is an enemy to God, setting himself up as a rebel within His world. He hates Christ and manifests this hatred by his attitude towards the children of God. If he persists in this enmity, he will die a rebel and stranger to God's grace and mercy. It is only through the death of Christ and the effectual work of the Spirit that he can be reconciled to the Father.

This work of reconciliation comes by the Holy Spirit stripping the sinner of his boasted power and self-sufficiency, self-righteousness, and rebellion. He imparts to him life, repentance, and faith whereby he falls at the feet of Christ Jesus pleading mercy and grace, lest he perish from the sight of God.

In Romans 5:6-8,10 we read,

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for usFor if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
In Titus 3:3 we read, "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another."

Here we see that we are by nature "hateful, and hating one another". The natural man is not only at enmity with God, but with his fellow men. And here is where the Christian as a peacemaker comes in.

Special disposition. The peacemaker himself is to live at peace with men, having a disposition of lovingness and loving those about him. This desire after peace with others is the mark of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. To have this peace sometimes means that the Christian will have to turn the other cheek, go the second mile, and give up his own personal will in matters. It means that he will and must exercise meekness and give over personal rights in many matters, and not be motivated by the self-love principle.

Romans 12:18 says, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." This teaches that with some men it is impossible to live in peace, but that we are to do all within our power to do so. It means that the offense will not be on our part, but in the determination of the other not to have peace. In the general context of Romans 12 we find guidelines that will aid in living in peace with all men as far as possible:

Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not (v. 14).

Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men (v.17)

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good (vv. 19-21).

Biblical principle. In James 3:17 we have a rule whereby this work is governed. It serves as a caution against the peacemaker the world would like you to be. The world would have you to live in peace by disowning the doctrines that are so offensive to the flesh. This is not the peacemaker spoken of in the Scripture before us at this time. The Lord does not say that the peacemaker will have an easy time free from misunderstanding, but the very opposite. He who is born of God's Spirit is one that is misunderstood, hated, persecuted, misrepresented, and lied about.

The peacemaker is to live in peace by not taking issue with these, but to bear them in meekness. You are to stand for the truth of God's Word if it costs you every comfort in the world. James 3:17 reads:

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Note, this wisdom of God is first pure, and then peaceable. This is the same principle laid down in the Beatitudes. The preceding Beatitude is "Blessed are the pure in heart." The child of God is faithful and pure in heart and lives in peace as far as possible in conformity with this. Our peaceableness is never to be a compact with sin, or an alliance with that which is evil. We must set our faces like flint against everything that is contrary to God and His holiness.

Ambassadors. In our work as peacemaker we can also carry on a ministry for God toward man in the proclamation of the good news of peace in Jesus Christ for sinners. We can warn men to flee from the wrath to come and be reconciled to God through Christ. Romans 10:15 says, "And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"

And II Cor. 5:20,21: "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

In closing, let me just say a few words about the last half of the verse: "for they shall be called the children of God." This is a decisive proof that these Beatitudes contemplate not the moral virtues of the natural man, but rather the spiritual graces of the regenerate. To be made a child of God is to be renewed in His image and likeness: to be called so is to be esteemed and regarded as such. The Lord Himself is 'the God of peace' and where this holy disposition is manifested by His people He owns them as His children.  Furthermore holy peacemakers are recognized as children of God by their spiritual brethren. Have you received this grace of the Spirit, so that you sincerely desire and endeavor to live at peace with all men? Then that is an evidence you are a child of God, a pledge of your adoption. Labour to maintain it. Ultimately, God will make it manifest to all the universe that we are His children. o

The late Rev. Ferrell Griswold was the pastor of Clairmont Reformed Baptist Church, Birmingham, AL 35208.

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