The Sermon on the Mount

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

The word “peacemaker” is an accurate translation. Since no one can make the inward covenant peace in another, the concept here must be about external peace. Believers should be known for promoting peace between individuals as well as community peace as a whole. It is obvious to see that the power to do so is limited, however when believers exhibit a lifestyle of outward peace it can be used by the Spirit to draw men to the Prince of Peace. It is baffling how the western body of Christ has embraced all kinds of violence, usually under the guise of patriotism and nationalism.
Violence is man’s way to exert power and to protect the ownership of material things. It is counter to the gospel message and the character of Christ as well as the entire tone of the New Testament. And the only way a believer can justify violence is to blur the line between the Old Testament and the New Testament. That compromises the teachings and the example set forth by the Master Himself. We are to be a people of peace who serve the Prince of Peace and who preach a gospel that offers eternal peace between a rebellious race and their Creator.
God reserves revenge unto Himself, and He calls us to a life that is remarkable in its rejection of violence and revenge. If we as believers join in with the world’s view of violence, then what difference is there between us? The “just war” concept is nothing more than providing a platform for advocating violence whenever we deem it “just”. It is easy to advocate peace when there is no war, but to be a peacemaker when war exists is a difficult road to travel and usually results in castigation from believer and unbeliever alike.
One of the aspects of the early believers were that many refused to enter the military of their particular country and they were mocked and persecuted accordingly. Being a peacemaker will not always win you accolades. It will many times elicit criticism and attacks from every corner. Violence is a lucrative industry, and war lines the pockets of many a business man. And when the term “win” is used as it applies to a war it profoundly misrepresents the misery, heartache, and death that war leaves in its wake. No one wins in a war, it only seems that way in the natural and the nationalistic mind.
But God’s children should be known by a different standard. If believers join hands and hearts in supporting violence of any kind, then who can be identified as children of God? Jesus teaches that God’s offspring should be peacemakers. Well, what does that mean? Does it just mean arbitrating a family argument, or resolving a parking space dispute, or something on that level? Or is there a more profound and culturally remarkable manifestation of being a peacemaker that because of its uniqueness within a culture of violence stands in stark relief against that backdrop? Being a peacemaker goes much deeper than bringing warring parties to a truce. Being a peacemaker that identifies one as a child of the living God means taking a humble stand against all kinds of violence.
Aggression is at odds with the thrust and message of the gospel, as well as the volitional death of God the Son. The entire New testament is filled with an attitude of “turn the other cheek” and “do good to your enemies”. Violence cannot be parsed out with respect to the whims and purposes of each individual, and believing followers of the Lord Jesus must be known for their rejection of violence and promotion of peace that is on a much higher dimension than intervening in sibling squabbles . That in and of itself does not equate to eternal redemption, but perhaps it can be salt and light which can draw sinners to the Savior.
When the lives and views of believers are much the same as unbelievers, especially when it concerns issues as significant as violence and death, then it marginalizes the gospel and the kingdom of God. In effect it makes our lives and beliefs unremarkable within a culture of darkness, and makes our lives conform to the views and practices of fallen man, rather than being a brilliant reflection of the divine redemptive will. Many are those who promote peace that are motivated by the unpleasantness of war and the fear of losing a level of enjoyment of personal happiness in the material lifestyle. But that is not what Christ is suggesting.
We cannot be satisfied with a motivation based solely upon reason and the disruption of personal pleasure. Our views must be principles that are not only based upon the words and teachings of the New Testament, but are the direct revelations and substance of those words. Our views are not extrapolations of those teachings, but they are those teachings themselves. We are to be peacemakers because He commanded us to be so, and in the final analysis our outward peacemaking is a three dimensional model of the eternal peace that was made and offered at Calvary.
We are made children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. No amount of good works, including peacemaking, can accomplish that or even add to it. The peace that was forged between God and man at Golgotha is made a personal reality by simple faith alone. His redemptive labor needs no enhancement and is received as complete, even though we grow in its knowledge. But one way in which we can bear the moniker a “child of God” is by being a peacemaker. I have often referred to myself as a pacifist, however I believe I am going to change that to “peacemaker” since that verbiage is more reflective of the teachings of Christ. Pacifist means a rejection of violence, but being a peacemaker not only rejects violence but promotes peace.
The lion will one day lay down with the lamb, and the swords will be turned into plowshares. But until that day, we as believers in the Person who will bring that to pass, must be living prophetic images of a coming kingdom ruled by an Eternal King. We are by faith the children of that coming King.