Chapter Thirteen: Peace
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Peace
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
ROMANS 12:18
Untold millions of dollars are spent annually in search of peace. Every year thousands of people seeking personal or family peace flock to professional counselors. Diplomats fly around the world pursuing peace between nations. Our court systems are jammed with cases arising from a breakdown of peace between individuals or corporations.
Christians are not exempt from this turmoil of a sinful world. We, too, experience the anxiety of disquieting circumstances and the anguish of broken relationships.
But peace should be a hallmark of the godly person, first because it is a Godlike trait: God is called the God of peace several times in the New Testament. He took the initiative to establish peace with rebellious men, and He is the author of both personal peace as well as peace among men. Peace should be part of our character also because God has promised us His peace, because He has commanded us to let peace rule in our lives and relationships, and because peace is a fruit of the Spirit and therefore an evidence of His working in our lives.
A close look at Scripture reveals that peace is actually threefold:
These are not three parallel but unrelated types of peace; rather, they are three different expressions of one peace —the peace that God gives, which is called the fruit of the Spirit. These different facets complement and reinforce one another, producing an overall character trait. Each aspect has unique characteristics that contribute in varying ways to the life of a man or woman of peace.
PEACE WITH GOD
The basis of our peace with God is our justification by faith in Jesus Christ. Scripture says, “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). This is the point at which all peace begins. We cannot have peace within or peace with other people until we first have peace with God.
Prior to our salvation, because we were born in sin, our relationship to God was characterized by alienation and enmity (see Colossians 1:21). We were objects of His wrath, in a state of rebellion against Him. Even though the religious stupor in which we lived and the particular circumstances that surrounded us may have given us a false sense of peace, in reality we were “like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud,” because, as God has said, “there is no peace for the wicked” (Isaiah 57:20-21).
Upon entering a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, however, all this changes. Instead of being opposed to us, God is now for us. Instead of leaving us to the mercy of circumstances, He promises to work in all of them for our good (see Romans 8:28). Proverbs 16 tells us that He even promises to make our enemies live at peace with us.
Peace with God, then, is the foundation of peace within ourselves and peace with other people. This foundation does not guarantee, of course, that these other aspects of peace occur automatically. We must pursue what makes for peace, both within and without, in dependence upon the Holy Spirit, realizing that the fruit of peace is His fruit, not ours.
PERSONAL PEACE
One of the petty offenses for which we arrest people is disturbing the peace. Even though a Christian has experienced peace with God, there are certain “disturbers of the peace” that keep him from experiencing the peace of God. Like the noisy or quarrelsome offenses against society, these disturbers are often petty in nature. The more calamitous events in our lives usually force us to turn to the Lord with all our hearts, and, in so doing, we experience His grace and peace. But the more ordinary adversities of life rob us of peace because we have a tendency to try to deal with these events ourselves. We worry, fret, and scheme over distressing circumstances, and we envy or resent other people who appear to get a better deal in life or who mistreat us in some way.
As Jesus finished talking to His disciples on the evening of His betrayal, He concluded with these words: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). In this assurance of peace, Jesus made two promises.
His first promise was that we will have trouble in the world. The same circumstances that rob us of our joy also rob us of our peace. The common denominator of all these circumstances is uncertainty. A loved one is ill, and the diagnosis is uncertain. Or our car breaks down while on a trip; will we have enough money to pay for repairs and perhaps extra meals and lodging? How will we get to our destination in time? Our luggage fails to arrive with us on an airline flight. Will we ever see it again? What will we do until it is returned to us? These and countless other circumstances continue to prove that Jesus was indeed correct when He promised us that we will have trouble in the world.
But the second promise that Jesus made was just as correct. He has overcome the world. Ephesians 1:22 tells us that “God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be the head over everything for the church”; that is, Jesus has been appointed head over everything on behalf of the church. He has power over all the universe, and He exercises it on our behalf and for our good. In Matthew 10:29-31, Jesus tells us that not even a sparrow can fall to the ground apart from the will of our Father. And even the very hairs of our head are all numbered. No detail is too small or minute that it escapes the Father’s eye and attention. And now Jesus in His ascended glory exercises that same watchful care on our behalf.
So why do we worry? Because we do not believe. We are not really convinced that the same Jesus who can keep a sparrow in the air knows where our lost luggage is, or how we are going to pay that auto repair bill, or how we can get to our destination on time. Or if we believe that He can deliver us through our difficulties, we doubt if He will. We let Satan sow seeds of doubt in our minds about His love and care for us.
Two passages of Scripture will prove most helpful to us in coming to Him to find peace. The first is Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The great antidote to anxiety is to come to God in prayer. We are to pray about everything. Nothing is too big for Him to handle, and nothing is too small to escape His attention.
Paul also declares that we are to come to God with thanksgiving. We should thank Him for His past faithfulness in delivering us from troubles (remembrance of past mercies is a great stimulus to present faith). We should thank Him for the fact that He is in control of every single circumstance of our lives and that nothing can touch us that He does not allow. We should thank Him that in His infinite wisdom He is able to work in this circumstance for our good and that because of His love, He would not have allowed it if it were not for our good. Finally, we can thank Him that He will not allow us to be tempted (either a seduction to evil or a trial of our faith; both ideas are included in the Word) beyond what we can bear (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).
The result promised to us when we come to God in prayer with thanksgiving is not deliverance but the peace of God. One of the reasons we don’t find this peace is because all too often we will not settle for anything other than deliverance from the trouble. But God, through Paul, promises us peace —a peace that is unexplainable. It transcends all understanding. And, says Paul, it will guard our hearts and minds against the anxiety to which you and I are so prone.
Now, if you are like me, you are probably thinking, That all sounds very nice, and I agree with you intellectually right now. But when I am in the midst of a trying situation, I really don’t experience that peace. What’s wrong?
I suggest two steps to take when in this kind of dilemma. First, examine your motives —you may want deliverance instead of peace. Are you looking for the wrong answer? Second, look to the Holy Spirit to bring you that peace. Remember, peace is the fruit of the Spirit. It is His work to produce peace within you. Your responsibility is to come in prayer, asking for the peace and looking to Him for it.
I doubt that any Christian is more vulnerable to worry and fretfulness than I am. I sympathize with others who are also prone to anxiety. I am well aware that it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can experience His peace. But God tells us in His Word that His peace is available, and we must not be content until we experience it. We must persevere in prayer until He answers.
In addition to Philippians 4:6-7, a second passage of Scripture that can help us deal with anxiety is 1 Peter 5:7-9: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” In the next verse, Peter tells us to be alert to the Devil, who prowls around looking for someone to devour. One of the many ways in which the Devil tries to devour us is related to the meaning of his name. The Greek word for devil means “accuser,” or “slanderer.” As the prince of slanderers, he accuses man before God, but he also slanders God to man. One of the thoughts that often enters our minds when we are undergoing some trial is, If God really loved me, He would not have allowed this to happen to me. Or, If God loved me, He would provide a way out of this trying situation.
Such thoughts come from the Devil; failure to recognize this origin causes two problems. First, we assume those thoughts originate within our own hearts, so we add a sense of guilt for thinking harsh thoughts about God to our already anxious minds. Now we have both anxiety and guilt to contend with, compounding our problem. Second, we fight the wrong battle. Instead of resisting the Devil, we try to deal with our own wicked hearts. Although there are plenty of times when we do have to deal with our own wicked hearts, this is not one of them; this is a time to resist the Devil. We have a very clear command, coupled with a promise: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
This is the Bible’s solution to a lack of peace within ourselves: Take our anxieties to God in thankful prayer, and resist the Devil when he slanders God to us. Only when we have experienced peace with God, through bringing our anxieties to Him, are we able to deal with the third aspect of peace: peace with other people. Inner conflict and turmoil often result in conflict with others, so we must achieve inner peace to effectively pursue peace with others.
PEACE WITH MEN
When Paul listed peace as one of nine traits of the fruit of the Spirit, he was probably thinking primarily of peace with other people. He had already warned the Galatians against “biting and devouring each other” (5:15). And in his list of the acts of the sinful nature, immediately preceding his list of the fruit of the Spirit, those actions totally opposite to peace are predominant: hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy. As he began to list traits of godly character the Galatians needed to keep foremost in mind, peace with one another must have been near the top of his list.
The importance of this aspect of peace is amply evident from major references to it in the New Testament. Here are just a few:
Blessed are the peacemakers. (Matthew 5:9)
As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18)
Make every effort to do what leads to peace. (Romans 14:19)
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. (Colossians 3:15)
Make every effort to live in peace with all men. (Hebrews 12:14)
Whoever would love life and see good days . . . must seek peace and pursue it. (1 Peter 3:10-11)
Three times in these references we are exhorted to “make every effort” toward, or “pursue,” peace. The Greek word used here also means “persecute,” conveying the idea of intense effort or vigilance in tracking down something in order to harass and torment. In a positive sense, it means single-minded pursuit —to leave no stone unturned in our efforts, to lay ourselves out and to humble ourselves, if need be, in order to achieve the goal of peace with others.
The pursuit of peace does not include an easygoing, peace-at-any-price kind of attitude; it does not include capitulating to wrong or injustice just for the sake of maintaining appearances. That kind of behavior often leads instead to strife within ourselves. The conflicts disturbing our peace with others must be courageously but graciously faced and dealt with. Pursuing peace does not mean running away from the causes of discord.
Let’s consider some practical, biblical steps we can take to pursue peace in conflicts with other believers:
First, We must remember that we are fellow members of the same body. Paul says, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). Further on in the same chapter, he says that the goal is “so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other” (verse 25). It is incredible that different parts of the same body could be at war among themselves! I am convinced there would be much less disharmony and conflict among believers if we constantly kept in mind that we are members of the same body.
Paul puts it even more strongly in Romans 12:5: “Each member belongs to all the others.” Not only are we members of the same body but we belong to one another. That person with whom you have difficulty maintaining peace belongs to you, and you belong to him. What a contradiction to the unity of the body when there is discord among its members.
Not only must we remember that we are fellow members of one body, We must also keep in mind that it is Christ’s body of which we are members. It is His glory —and the honor of His church —that is at stake in our relationships with one another. Few things are as dishonoring to the cause of Christ as Christians quarreling among themselves. Yet we expel people from our fellowship for adultery, while we tolerate discord between ourselves and other believers. We have failed to understand and obey the biblical imperative to “make every effort to do what leads to peace.”
Third, We must recognize that the cause of discord often lies wholly or partly with us. We must seek a genuine spirit of humility about our own responsibility rather than entirely blaming the other person. On occasion, I have been an observer to discord between believers in which both parties wholly blamed the other for the conflict. Neither was willing to accept any responsibility for a misunderstanding.
As we pursue peace, we must be prepared to face up to and acknowledge to the other party any wrong attitude, action, or words on our part.
Finally, We must take the initiative to restore peace. Jesus taught that it makes no difference whether you have wronged your brother or he has wronged you. Either way, you are always responsible to initiate efforts toward peace (see Matthew 5:23-24; 18:15). If we are serious about intently pursuing peace, we won’t be concerned about which of us is the offending party. We will have one goal: to restore peace in a godly manner. Unresolved conflict between believers is sin and must be treated as such; otherwise, it will spread throughout the body like cancer until it requires radical spiritual surgery. Far better to deal with it when it is easily contained.
There may be times, however, when you have pursued peace to no avail. The Bible recognizes that possibility (see Romans 12:18), but be sure you have done all you can to restore peace.
The “going to your brother” of Matthew 5 and 18 relates to conflict among believers; pursuing peace with unbelievers requires a somewhat different approach. Obviously, we are not members of one body. We do not share the work of the Holy Spirit in enabling us to restore peace. How, then, should we handle conflict with unbelievers?
First, If we have offended an unbeliever, it is our responsibility to take steps to restore peace. Sometimes this is more humbling than going to a believer to acknowledge a wrong; the unbeliever is not as apt to respond in a gracious and forgiving manner. But humbling or not, we must do this if we are to maintain a Christian testimony.
What should we do, however, when the unbeliever wrongs us? When there is no common bond, no fellowship to be restored, no mutual presence of the Holy Spirit to aid in restoration, then we tend to think in terms of revenge —if not in action, at least in our thoughts.
I believe that Romans 12:17-21 provides the answer. As we look at this passage we see that first, We are to do everything we possibly can to maintain peace, as far as it depends on us.
Second, We are in no way to seek revenge. We are not to repay evil for evil; we are to leave the matter of justice in the hands of God. So often when we have been wronged, or think we have been wronged, we imagine getting even with the other person. We don’t intend to take revenge, but we actually do it in our minds. Such an attitude is clearly contrary to Scripture. Verse 19 says that it is God’s prerogative to mete out justice; His judgment alone is always according to the truth. He alone knows all the facts and all the motives behind them.
As we are willing to leave justice with God, we have His assurance that He will repay. God is a God of infinite justice; no wrong inflicted on us ever goes unnoticed by Him. Although we may never be aware of the repayment, we do have God’s promise of it.
Of course, our goal with regard to an offending unbeliever should not be a desire for revenge, either God’s revenge or ours. The purpose of God’s assurance of justice here is not to satisfy our own sense of justice but to remove it as a consideration from our minds. God in effect is saying, “Don’t concern yourself with justice. Leave that to Me. You concern yourself with something else: winning over the offending unbeliever.” We can win him over, or at least make an effort to do so, by repaying evil with good. However we may understand the expression “Heap burning coals on his head” (verse 20), it seems clear that our intent should be to win him over.
Because peace is a fruit of the Spirit, we are dependent upon the Spirit’s work in our lives to produce the desire and means to pursue peace. But we are also responsible to use the means He has given us and take all practical steps to attain both peace within and peace with others.
Commit to memory such passages of Scripture as Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Peter 5:7, Romans 12:18, and any others you find especially helpful. Begin to meditate upon them and ask the Holy Spirit to bring them to your mind on the next occasion in which you especially need to follow their teaching. Remember that practicing godliness involves spiritual exercise —meditating upon and applying God’s Word under the direction of our teacher, the Holy Spirit.