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Blessed are

th

Peacemakers

Wayne Rogers

Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church

McDonough Stockbridge Conyers Covington

Monticello Ga.

I t is impossible

to

do

justice

to

this beatitude

or any

beatitude in

one

hour.

In attempting to do

so I'm reminded of the story of

the

man who was

sentenced

to

99 years in prison. He was 76 years

old at

the

time.

lIe said to the

judge, "But

your

Honor, I will never be able to do it alL" "Never

mind," the judge said,

"just

do

as

much as you

can." So, I am going to do as much as I can

First,

Peacemakers are

messed - "Blessed" are

the peacema kers. Second, The Peacemakers

messing

-

"They shall be called Sons

of God."

Third, Peacemakers are a Blessing; they "make-

peace." They proclaim the

gospel of

peace,

Romans 10:15, ''And how shall they

preach unless

they

are

sent? s

it

is written: 'How beautiful

are the

feet of

those

who

preach the

gospel of

peace, \\Tho

bring

glad

tidings

of good things

"

(Isa. 52:7). Ephesians 6:15, "having

shod your

feet

with

the

preparation of

the

gospel of peace;"

Peacemakers pursue, promote, and practice

Biblical peacemaking. \Ve are called to peace,

1

Corinthians

7:15,

God

has caned

us to peace.

We are

to

seek

and

pursue

peace,

1 Peter 3:11,

"Let him turn

away

from evil and do

good;

Let

him

seek peace

and pursue it;" Hebrews 12:14,

"Pursue peace with all people, and holiness,

without which no one

will see

the

Lord:" 'Ve

are

to

strive for peace with

all

men, Romans

12:18, if

it

is possible,

as much as depends

on you, live

peaceably

with

all

men."

The

ounsel

cd halcecl

8/12/2019 2008 Issue 5-6 - Blessed Are the Peacemakers - Counsel of Chalcedon

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L Peacemakers are Blessed.

The

Greek word, makarios,

blessed,

is

sometimes

translated happy.

That is totally

inadequate.

Even

divinely

happy"

isn't sufficient.

A Blessed is that

rich

covenant

promise God

announced

to

Abraham

in

Gen. 12:1-3

and

continued in

17:lf, in

which

God had said that He

would

bless

Abraham

and his seed and

through him

all

nations

would be

blessed.

Matthew

proclaims that

this Jesus

is

the Christ, the

son

of David,

the

son of Abraham,

Mat. 1:1,

17

John and Jesus both

announce

that the

kingdom of

heaven as

at

hand,

Mat. 3:2, 4:17,

23.

Jesus, as the Christ, has

come

to inaugurate the blessings

of

the covenant promises.

B

Jesus, like Moses, went up

on

a mountain, Mat. 5:1ff,

and

there he began to expound

the

true

meaning of

the

law

and

covenant

life.

The beatitudes

are the

pronOlmcement

of the

blessings of God parallel to the

covenant

blessings of Deut. 27-28.

t

is against

this background

and

in this

context that Jesus

announces

the

blessings of God's

covenant promises and declares

those who

are

the objects and

recipients of

the

blessings of

the covenant in the beatitudes.

t is

the poor in spirit, those

who mourn,

those

who

are

meek, those who

hunger

and

thirst after righteousness, the

merciful, the

pure in

heart,

the

peacemakers

who are

blessed

with

the realization and

participation in

the

realization

of God's covenant promises.

This

was a

shock to

the

leaders

of the Jews of that day. They

thought they would

inherit the

blessi ngs of the covenant

because

they were the

seed,

the children

l\ aking

the Nations Christ s

Disc iples

of Abraham. John

addressed this

in Mat. 3:7-10, Do not think to

say

'we have

Abraham as our

father.'

Jesus doesn't say

Blessed

are

the

Jews,

or even "Blessed

are those

who keep the

law, but

blessed are the peacemakers.

The Jewish leaders of

that

day

were not

peacemakers. They

should

have

been peacemakers,

desiring and pursuing peace, and

longing

for

the peaceable kingdom

of

Isaiah

11. The

God

of

Abraham,

whose seed they

were, was a

God

of

peace.

He instituted

the peace

offerings in the OT

in

Exodus

and

Leviticus.

He

commanded

his

people

to

seek peace and

pursue it in the covenant: Psalm

34:14, Jer. 29:4-7. His

covenant

is

described in terms

of

peace:

Num.

25:12, Isa. 54:10, EzelL 34:25,

37:26, Mal. 2:5. Ultimately, the

lvlessiah is

the Prince

of

Peace,

Isa. 9, and

comes

to

establish

peace in the earth,

11:6-9.

Thus,

at his birth, the message is

one

of peace, Luke 1:79, 2:14, 29.

The leaders of the people were

not

for

peace,

however;

they

stirred

up

strife and pursued

private and

personal

revenge.

They should

have

considered

what God had done

to

make

peace with

them in the costly

peace offerings of the OT

and

that

the Lord had foretold a future

of peace

among all nations,

Isa.

9:6-7, 11:10. But, they regarded

the Gentiles

with

hitter

contempt

and hatred. They looked for a

Messiah who

would

completely

destroy or subject

the

Gentiles to

the

chosen

people

of God.

They

stirred

up

civil

commotions

and

seditions against

the

Romans;

they

aided and shielded Barabbas

and

the likes of

him

in

their

seditions and murders. They

were

not prepared to be

Jesus'

disciples and

enter Ilis kingdom.

II.

The

Peacemakers'

Blessing - They shall be

called

"Sons of God.

ThiS, too,

would have

been a

shock

to the leaders of

the

Jews

of

that

day. By being the seed of

Abraham, they

were

the

"sons

of God, Ex. 4:22-23. Thus, they

would

expect the

Messiah,

the

Christ, to say

"Blessed

is the

seed

of Abraham, for they are the sons

of

God.

But that

is not

what Jesus

says;

Jesus

says

peacemakers

are called "sons of God. Jesus

is getting to

the

heart of the

covenant

life

which God desired

and

required and which

He, as

the

Christ,

had

come to

accomplish.

They are called "Sons of God.

\Vhat

is

the

Significance of

being

called

a

"son

of

God"? Some

translations have "children

of

God.

The Greek word here,

however, is

not

ta

teIma,

"the

children,"

but whioi, sons. The

difference in Greek

is

slight

but

Significant,

says

D A. Carson.

"Then the article

is omitted

in

Greek,

the emphasis is on kind or

quality. A

"child

of

someone

states

that there is a filial relationship

with someone as

a

parent.

"Son

of, however,

implies being

a

part:'lker

of the character

of.

One

could

have a filial relationship

with

a person as a

child

but

in

reality be

a

"son

of a dog in

character. Both expressions

refer

to some sort of filial

relationship,

but "son of puts the

emphasis

on

character more than

position.

The point

is

that

to

be called

a

"Son of God" not only

implies

a

relationship with God

but

partaking of

the

character of God.

God is a

Peacemaker

Romans

15:33, Now the

God

of peace

[be] with you all. Philippians 4:9,

"The things which you learned

and received

and

heard

and saw

in me, these

do, and the God of

8/12/2019 2008 Issue 5-6 - Blessed Are the Peacemakers - Counsel of Chalcedon

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lessed

are the Peacemakers

peace

will

be

with

you. Hebrews

13:20, Now

may the God

of

peace

who brought

up

our Lord

Jesus from the

dead,

that great

Shepherd

of

the

sheep,

through

the

blood

of

the

everlasting

covenant.

Romans

16:20, "The

God of peace

will crush

Satan

under your feet shortly. God is

a

God

of peace

and

to be a "son

of God" means that you af a

peacemaker, you

partake of

the

character of God

your

Father.

D. A. Carson states,

"The

peacemaker's reward,

then,

is

that

he

will be called

a

son

of

God.

He

reflects

his

heavenly

Father's wonderful peacemaking

character ... t is part

and parcel

of being a son of God. The

Sermon on the

Mount,

Baker

Book House Co.,

1982,

Pp. 26-27.

III.

The Peacemaker

is a BleSSing;

He is a

"Peace-maker." The

Greek

word for peacemaker is a

combination

of eirene, peace,

plus

the

verb

poleo,

to

make. He

is a

maker of

peace.

A peacemaker is

not just someone who is at peace,

desires peace,

is

peaceful, but

a peace-maker. John Wycliffe

translated this

word

"peaceable

men."

William

Tyndale

later

translated

it "the maintainers of

peace."

Both of

these miss the

poinL

Peace is something that

needs

to

be made. The ancient

Greek

writers

Plutarch

and

Xenopon both used

the

word for

ambassadors commissioned to

negotiate peace with alienated

parties,

a task

which

required

effort and labor. A

peacemaker

proclaims, pursues, promotes,

practices, and holds forth

the

gospel

promise

of

peace.

A. PEACE

(eirene

in

Greek),

SHALOM

in

Hebrew):

1.

Peace was the standard

grceting which

God taught

his people to

use.

Luke

24:36, Now as they

said

these things, Jesus Himself

stood

in

the

midst of

them,

and

said to them, "Peace to

you.

Nearly all

the

NT.

epistles

begin or end with a salutation

or benediction

of

peace.

Romans

1:7, To al l

who

are in

Rome, beloved of God,

called

[to be] saints: Grace to you and

peace

from God our

Father and

the

Lord

Jesus Christ. (NKJV)

Romans

15:13, Now

may the

God

of

hope

fill you

with

all

joy

and

peace

in

b.elieving, that

you

may

abound

in

hope

by the

power

of

the

Holy

Spirit.

(NKJV)

2.

The

Definition of Peace:

a. Peace is a

personal

inner

condition

- a tranquil

state

of soul.

Jesus said

My peace

I leave

with

you.

Peace is

a condition of

the

heart.

b. Peace is

a

condition between

two or more parties in which

there is

harmony,

unity, a

lack

of friction.

Psalm

120:7,

"I

fam

for] peace; But when I speak,

they

[are] for war. (NKJV)

The

opposite of peace is

warfare,

hostility,

animosity:

MaL 10:34-36:

'Think

not that I am

come

to send

peace on earth:

I

came not

to

send

peace,

but a sword. For I am

come

to set a man at

variance against

his father,

and the

daughter

against

her mother, and the

daughter

in

law against

her

mother

in law. And a man's foes [shall be]

those

of

his

own household."

c. Peace is

the Hebrew word

"Shalom."

Shalom is

that rich

word

that

goes beyond

inner

peace

or the absence

of

conflict

with

others; it conveys the

idea

of

wholeness,

health,

well-being.

This

peace is

not merely inner

peace, the absence

of war, the

cessation of hostilities between

nations,

but positively,

wholeness,

all

that

constitutes

well-being.

The

New Bible Dictionary

captures

the

full

meaning

of

the

word

shalom:

"The biblical

concept

of

peace

is

one in which

God's

authority and power

over

his

created order

are seen to

dominate

his relations with

his world, including both the

material and the human spheres.

In the OT

peace

results from

a person subjecting himself

or

herself appropriately

to

God

..or to God's emissary,

the

promised

Davidic king.

(1). God's Salvation,

Redemption, Covenant, and

Kingdom have peace as their goal.

Numbers

25:12, "Therefore

say, 'Behold, I give

to

him

My covenant

of

peace'"

The Messianic

hope

was of an

age of

peace

(Is. 2:2-4; 11:1-9;

J lg. 2:7-9),

or

of the

advent

of

the

Prince

of peace (Is. 9:6f.;

compare

Jer. 33:15f.; Ezk. 34:23ff.; Micah

5:5; Zeeh. 9:9f.). Isaiah foretells

the coming

of a redeemer

who

will

embody peace and bring it to the

people;

this

will

be the climax

of

Israel's history and the

solution

to

their present

difficulties, Is. 9:4-7

and 11:1-9.

The Lord promised

a

future

of

peace to

His people,

universal

peace

as

a

result

of

the

shoot from

the

branch of David.

Isaiah 52:7, How beautiful

upon thc mountains are the

feet

of

him who brings

good news,

V ho proclaims peace, \Vho brings

glad

tidings of

good

[things,] Who

proclaims salvation, \\Tho

says

to

Zion, 'Your

God reigns "l

(NKJV)

The ounsel ql Ghalcodo

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Isaiah

54:10,

"'For the

mountains

shall depart and the

hills

be removed,

but My kindness

shall

not depart from

you,

nor

shall My

covenant

of peace

be

removed,' says the LORD,

who

has

mercy

on you. (NKJV)

Zechariah 9:9-10, Rejoice

greatly, 0 daughter of Zion; shout,

o

daughter of Jerusalem: behold,

thy King

cometh

unto

thee:

he [is]

just,

and

having

salvation; lowly,

and riding upon a donkey, and

upon a colt, the foal of a donkey.

And I will cut off the chariot

from Ephraim, and the horse

from Jerusalem, and

the

battle

how shall

be

cut

off: and lIe

shall

speak peace

unto

the heathen:

and

His dominion {shall be] from sea

[even] to

sea,

and from the

river

[even] to

the

ends of the

earth."

In contrast

to the

peace

which

the

Messiah

will

initiate,

the

wicked

wi111{now no peace.

The last

27 chapters of

Isaiah,

Chapters 40-66, arc

divided

into

three divisions of 9

chapters

each.

In

these chapters

we

read

some

of the great pronouncements and

promises

of

peace.

Each

of

those

3

divisions

of 9 chapters each end

with the fact that

there

is no

peace

for the Wicked, 48:22, 57:21, 66:24.

(2).

Jesus

Christ is

the

Prince

of Peace.

(a).

At

his birth, peace

was

mlliounced. John the Baptist

went before the Lord to give the

knowledge of

salvation

to His

people, by the remission

of sins,

Luke

1:77,

'To givc light to

those

who sit in darkness and the

shadow of death,

To

gUide

our feet

into the way of peace," Luke 1:79

A

heavenly host joined

to

angel who announced the

birth

of Christ

the Lord in the

City of

DaVid, praising God and saying,

Nlaking the

Nations

Christ s

Disciples

Luke 2:14 "Glory to God

in the

highest, and on earth peace,

goodwill toward

men "

(NKJV)

(b). In Christ

peace

has corne

(Luke 1:79; 2:14, 29f.). Jesus

Christ is

the Prince

of

Peace,

Isa. 9:6-7. By Him

it

is

bestowed,

Mark. 5:34; Luke 7:50.

True, Jesus said that He did

not

come to bring peace

but

a

sword, to

set

a man against his

father, Mat. 10:34-37. What lIe

meant was that conflict

would

be the inevitable effect

of His

coming because

He

does

not

come to appease or to pursue

peace at any

cost.

In that sense,

the

effect would

be

to

separate

families,

but peace

would

be

the

ultimate

result of His coming.

(c).

At

Ilis

resurrection,

peace

was

pronounced.

John

20:19, 21, 26.

B The Disciples of

Jesus

have

peace

with God and

are

callcd

to be peacemakers. They are

called

to

peace with

God,

Rom.

5:1, Col. 1:20 through Jesus

Christ. Jesus

pronounced

the

blessing

of peace upon

those

who

followed and believed in I-lim

as the

Christ,

the

Son

of

God,

John 20:19, 21, 26. This

was

the

fulfillment

of

the

great Aaronic

blessing

of

Num.

6:24-26, "The

Lord

bless you and keep you; The

Lord make

His

face

shine upon

you,

And be

gracious

to you; The

Lord lift up His

countenance

upon you, And give

you

peace."

Only

when

one has

peace

with

God can

inward

peace can follow

, (Phil. 4:7), unhindered by the

world's strife (In. 14:27; 16:33).

They arc

called to proclaim thc

Messianic

peace of God

through

Christ, Isa. 52:7, to pursue

and to strive

for peace

with all

men, to live peaceably with all,

Blessed are the

Peacemakers

and to practice peacemaking:

I Cor. 7:15,1

Peter

3:11, IIeb.

12:14, Rom. 12:18, Mat. 5:8.

1 His disciples

are

its messengers,

Luke

10:51.,

Acts

10:36.

2. Peace is a prominent

theme

in Paul's epistles:

His

salutation

was

grace

and

peace

or

grace,

mercy, and peace,

Rom.

1:7,1

Cor.

1:3, 2

Cor.

1:2,

GaL

1:3, Eph. 1:2, Phil. 1:2, Col. 1:2,1

Thess.

1:1, 2

Thess.

1:2,1 Tim. 1:2,

2 Tim. 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 3.

IIe taught that Christ came

to make

peace between

God

and

men,

men and

men,

Col. 1:20,

Eph.

2:15, 2 Cor. 13:11,

Eph.

6:23.

Peace

is

a

fruit

of the

Spirit,

Gal. 5:22. The peace of God will

"guard your

hearts,"

Phil. 4:6-7.

Christians

are to

let the "peace

of God rule in your hearts,"

CoL 3:15. Paul prays that the

"God of hope and peace will

fill you

with joy

and peace,"

Rom. 15:13,33. "The God of

peace

will

crush Satan under

your

feet shortly, 16:20

3.

Peter's, John's, and Jude's

epistles

all pray for and

pronounce

peace:

1

Peter

1:2, 5:14, 2

Peter

1:2,2 John

3,3

John 14.

C.

HOWTOBEA

PEACEMAKER:

1. A

peacemaker

proclaims

the gospel of peace, Isa. 52:7.

Peace and

appeasement

are not

synonymous. It is not peace at

any

price.

To

proclaim

peace

when there is

no

peace is to

be a false prophet, Jer. 6:14.

Peacemakers proclaim the

necessity

of

peace and

the way

of peace through Christ alone:

Continued on

age

47

8/12/2019 2008 Issue 5-6 - Blessed Are the Peacemakers - Counsel of Chalcedon

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8

Blessed are the

Peacemakers

a. You

can either

be a

peace-

breaker,

a peace-faker,

or

a

peace-

maker. How do

you

respond to conflict? Flight or

Fight?

Retreat or

Attack?

b. A Biblical Definition of

Conflict: Conflict is a difference in

opinion or

purpose that

frustrates

someone's ,goals

or

desires. A conflict does not

have to

be

about

sin,

Mat. 18;

it

may simply

be

a

preference

or desire

that

people have

which

conflict with

one another

(The Peacemaker, Ken Sande,

Baker Books, pg 29fl.).

c. How to View Conflict:

ou should change the

way you view conflict:

(1). Conf lict is an opportunity

to glorify God, 1 Cor. 10:31.

(2). Conflict is an opportunity

to serve others, Luke 6:27-28.

(3). Conllict is an

opportunity to grow in

grace

yourself, Rom. 8:28-29.

d.

The

4 G's of Peacemaking:

(1). Glorify God, 1 Cor.

10:31: How can I please and

honor God

n

this

situation?

(2). Get

the

log

out

of

your own eye, Mat. 7:5. How

have I contributed to

or

created this

situation?

(3).

Gently

restore, GaL 6:1.

How can 1 help the other person

to see how they have created or

contributed to this conflic(?

(4). Go

and

be reconciled,

Mat. 18:15-20.

d.

Practice

biblical Confession

and Forgiveness:

(1).

The Beven

"N's of Confession:

Address everyone involved (All

those

whom you have affected.

Avoid the words if,

but,

and maybe (Do not try to

excuse

your

wrongs)

Admit

specifically (Both

attitudes and actions)

Acknowledge the hurt (Express

sorrow

for

hurting

someone)

Accept

the consequences

(Such as malting restitution)

f n ~ ~

Writer, Speaker, Teacher

FIN ING HOP

www.inamanlypainter.com

Ina@inamanlypainter cam

Alter your

behavior

(Change

your attitudes and actions)

Ask

for forgiveness

See Matthew 7:3-5; 1

John

1:8-9; Proverbs 28:13.

(2). The Four

Promises

of Forgiveness:

I will not dwell on

this incident.

I will not bring

up this incident

again

and use it

against you.

I will

not talk

to

others

about this incident.

I will not let this incident stand

between

us or

hinder our personal

relationship.

Peace on earth Peace

be to the Brethren

The

Counsel

qf

Cha/ced