Christ First Forum

by **LdyinChrist** » 12 Nov 2009, 20:39

Happy Are the Peacemakers
Matthew 5:9

INTRODUCTION
John MacArthur

The theme of peace dominates the Bible. It begins with peace in the Garden of Eden and it ends with peace in eternity. The course of history could be charted based on the theme of peace. There was peace on earth before the Fall. When man sinned, peace was interrupted. At the cross peace became a reality again-- Christ became our peace (Eph. 2:14). Today there can be peace in the hearts of those who know Him. In the future Jesus will come again and His title will be "the Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6). He will establish a kingdom of peace that will lead into an eternal age of peace.

The Bible refers to peace many times. God is tremendously concerned about it--in fact He is called "the God of peace" (Rom. 15:33; Phil. 4:9). There is no real peace now--the fall of the angels and man brought disobedience and opposition to God. Peace is possible only when all parties want it according to a mutual standard.

A. The Regenerate Are to Bring Peace

In Matthew 5:9 our Lord says, "Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the sons of God." God has called Christians to bring back the peace that was forfeited as a result of sin. God's peacemakers will achieve more than Nobel Peace Prize winners because the peace they offer is eternal--a real and lasting peace.

Matthew 5:9 refers to a unique group of peacemakers. Our Lord was not referring to politicians, statesmen, diplomats, arbitrators, kings, presidents, or Nobel Prize winners. Nor was He referring to organizations like the League of Nations or the United Nations, or a council of churches. Worldly peacemakers have a dismal failure record--God's peacemaker's are different.

B. The Unregenerate Are Unable to Bring Peace
The nations, political groups, organizations, and homes of this world do not have true peace. There is no real peace anywhere because there is no peace in the hearts of men.

I remember someone saying that Washington D. C. has so many peace monuments because they build one after every war! Peace treaties have a history of being broken. It's been said that peace is that glorious brief moment in history when everyone stops to reload. After World War II the United Nations was brought into existence to promote world peace. But since its inception in 1945 there has not been a single day of global peace on the earth. The world has been continually filled with one upheaval after another. The goal of the United Nations is to have succeeding generations free from the scourge of war. But that has been proved to be a pipe dream.

Some historians say the United States of America has had two generations of peace--from 1815 to 1846 and from 1865 to 1898. But those two periods were bathed in the blood of Indians. We have never truly known a generation of peace in the history of America.

Mankind is incapable of peace. Every relationship is fragile. In our day more people have been identified with mental and emotional illnesses than ever before. The family is disintegrating and our educational systems are breaking down. People participate in marches, sit-ins, rallies, protests, and demonstrations without end. All because man has no peace within himself. And the world man lives in is a projection of himself--it is riddled with chaos. We've never needed peacemakers more. Matthew 5:9 affirms that through Christ God will bless those who are true peacemakers.

LESSON
I. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF PEACE?

A. The Definition of True Peace

1. What it is

Some people think peace is the absence of conflict. But peace is more than that--there is no strife in a cemetery but that's not a model of peace. God sees peace not as the absence of conflict but the presence of righteousness. Righteousness will bring about right relationships. Peace is not just stopping a war. It's the impartation of righteousness that brings two parties together in love. The Hebrew word Shalom (peace), when said to a friend, didn't mean, "May you have no conflicts." It meant, "I desire for you all the righteousness and good God can give." God's peacemakers don't just stop wars--they replace what causes of war with the righteousness of God.
2. What it isn't

There is a difference between a truce and peace. A truce is when people put down their guns and don't shoot for awhile. True peace is when conflict is resolved and the parties to it become friends. Some think peace happens the instant the war stops. But that doesn't resolve the conflict unless the underlying issues are dealt with. Otherwise cessation of open hostility only brings about a cold war, which is still a war. That may result in a state worse than if the fighting had continued. A conflict driven underground can smolder and slowly destroy both sides. Two people who are at war with each other shouldn't be separated so they can't see each other. Rather, the cause of their conflict needs to be resolved so that they can come together in love. Biblical peace never evades issues--it isn't peace at any price. The peace of the Bible conquers the problem and builds bridges between people. That may involve struggle, pain, and anguish, but real peace is the result.

B. The Purity Accompanying True Peace

James 3:17 says, "The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable." God's wisdom attains peace through purity.

Peace is never established at the expense of righteousness. Two people will never accept peace until they accept that their bitterness and hatred is wrong, and they humble themselves before God and make things right. Hebrews 12:14 says, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness." Peace and holiness are inextricably interlinked--they can't be divorced from each other. Psalm 85:10 says, "Righteousness and peace have kissed each other." True peace is always accompanied by righteousness and purity.

C. The Conflicts from Bringing True Peace
We all want to avoid needless strife, whether in our family, place of business, or any other situation. But if we avoid conflict to the point of sacrificing truth, we are compromising our principles. We won't have true peace but a truce, in which everyone will merely reload.

1. Matthew 10:34--Our Lord said, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword." That sounds like the opposite of Matthew 5:9. But what Jesus meant is He did not come to bring peace at any price. He knew there would be strife before there could be peace--conflict needed to be resolved. Being a peacemaker in this world is difficult because it requires bringing the truth to a world that loves falsehood. That causes strife. That's why people often get upset at the gospel message before they accept its truth and embrace it. When Christians bring the message of peace, the sword of purity must fall first.

2. Jude 3--"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." Christians are to be contentious about some things. A true peacemaker does not say, "I don't ever want to offend someone who isn't a believer." Peace can't be made that way because a lack of righteousness is the issue non-believers must face. Conflict will come when people are convicted by the truth of the gospel, but it will be resolved when they put their faith in Jesus Christ. A peacemaker must not abandon biblical principles. He knows it's better to offend people with the truth so they can eventually experience real peace. Christians aren't peacemakers in the sense that they never cause strife. They are peacemakers in that they offer true peace to those whom they confront.

3. Luke 12:51-53--Our Lord again said, "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division; for from henceforth there shall be five in one house, divided; three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." He knew that when people come to Him there would be conflict.

True peace comes only when the truth reigns. There will be people who come up to you and say, "You are so narrow in your beliefs. You need to be more ecumenical and set aside the things we disagree on. We should discuss only what we agree on."

But Christ never pronounced a blessing on apostates. Whenever He met someone who was in error He pointed out the person's error. He knew true peace would come only as people responded correctly to the truth. You can't avoid disagreeing with someone about a central truth in God's Word and be called a peacemaker. You might establish a truce by doing that but you won't be helping that person to make peace with God.

Biblical peacemakers are not quiet, easygoing people who want to make no waves and have no sense of righteousness. Some who appear to be peacemakers are that way because they have no convictions. A Biblical peacemaker will not preserve the status quo at the expense of truth. He will not accept something that is wrong so that things can be "peaceful." Biblical peacemakers seek to resolve a problem with the truth by bringing to bear the righteousness of God.

II. WHAT IS THE MENACE TO PEACE?
A. How Peace Is Menaced

Since the essence of peace is righteousness and truth, the menace to peace is sin and falsehood. There is no peace in this world because those things currently dominate.

1. Jeremiah 17:9--"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked."

2. Isaiah 48:22--"There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked" (cf. Isa. 57:21).

3. Jeremiah 8:11--"They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace." Many people talk about peace but never experience it because they ignore their sin.

4. Mark 7:20-23--"That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."

Man is internally defiled. He will never produce peace on his own because it is a result of holiness, righteousness, and purity. That's why James 3:18 says, "The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by them that make peace." A person can't have real peace until he bears righteous fruit. If two people are fighting it's because of sin; eliminate the sin and the fight will end. Mere separation accomplishes nothing. A person at war with God needs to have the sin that stands between him and God removed. Then the two will be reconciled.

Peacemakers make peace by sowing righteousness. That's why the wisdom of God "is first pure, then peaceable" (James 3:17). The only peacemakers in the world who accomplish anything are those who bring men to submit to God's truth. Diplomats, statesmen, ambassadors, presidents, and kings who have tried to bring peace in other ways have always failed.
Prerequisites for Peacemakers

You can't be a peacemaker until the first six Beatitudes characterize your life. That means you must start with the attitude of a beggar in your approach to God because of your sin (Matt. 5:3). Next you must mourn over your sinfulness (Matt. 5:4). That will produce meekness toward God in the light of His sovereignty and holiness (Matt. 5:5). As a result you will hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt. 5:6), and God will extend to you His mercy (Matt. 5:7). When you've received His mercy you become pure in heart (Matt. 5:8). Only the pure in heart can be peacemakers (Matt. 5:9). But when you become a peacemaker the world won't accept you. That's why Matthew 5:10 says, "Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake." Peacemakers are always trying to bring about righteous solutions to problems. But the world reacts negatively to a peace based on righteousness because it doesn't want to deal with the reality of sin.

Only when we deal with sin can true peace ever exist. You won't have peace in your life if you have a problem with purity. If you have righteousness you will have peace. If your marriage and your home are characterized by righteousness you will enjoy peace in both. Righteousness produces peace with God, others, and yourself. That's why the Beatitudes characterize the lives of all biblical believers.

Man can search the world over for peace--going from counselor to counselor, gathering at summits, writing treaties, flitting from one religion to another--but he will never find it apart from God and His righteousness. That's because peace isn't based on circumstances. Man can't find peace because of his innate sinfulness--no matter how good his circumstances, they are irrelevant to his obtaining peace. His uncontrolled lusts rob him of peace. If mankind is feverish it's not because of the temperature on the outside but because of his own boiling blood on the inside.

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Study+Guide+Chapter/2204

by **Remnant** » 12 Nov 2009, 22:56

Libby, Great post!
John McArthur and I preach a lot alike. Expository preaching and teaching!

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