What The Bible Says About Being A Peacemaker

Last updated on: March 19, 2018 at 5:00 am by Jack Wellman

What The Bible Says About Being A Peacemaker 2018-03-16T10:39:06-05:00 Jack Wellman

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We are called to live in peace with everyone, as much as we can, so what does the Bible say about a peacemaker? What is one and how can we be one?

Making Peace

No one can truly be at peace until they’ve made peace with God, so there’ll be no peace of God until you’re at peace with God. The Apostle Paul writes that “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1), so you must make peace with God through Jesus Christ or you will never have the peace of God and will never be at peace with God, but God highly values peacemakers, and He has a lot to say about them. Even the psalmist wrote, “Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace” (Psalm 37:37), so “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Rom 12:18). This is why we must “pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Rom 14:9). Not only should we “Turn away from evil and do good, [we should] seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:14). Besides, it’s in our own best interests to be a peacemaker since “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt 5:9).

The Peace of God

We know that we are at peace with God after repenting and placing our trust in Christ. This allows the peace of God to settle, deep down into our hearts, and in this way, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7), and this peace will allow you to “love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35). The world is anything but peaceful, but the peace we receive from God is not dependent upon circumstances. Jesus told His disciples, who were troubled that He was going away, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). When we have faith, we trust, and when we trust, we have peace…a peace the world doesn’t understand, nor can they have without Christ.

King of Peace

There will be no peace on this earth until the King of Peace comes to reign over us, and that time is coming. Whether that’s soon or not, we don’t know. We do know it will happen. In the meantime, Christians should “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls and security within your towers” (Psalm 122:6-7)! In time, peace will finally be on all the earth and we can say, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest” (Luke 19:38). Until then, the psalmist writes, “In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more” (Psalm 27:7)! You’ve probably heard Jesus say, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt 5:5), but this is not a new idea because in the Old Testament, the psalmist wrote, “But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace” (Psalm 37:11), but for today, there will be no peace; at least in the way the world thinks of it. Nations may be at peace with one another but war can break out at any moment, however the peace that Jesus gives not only surpasses human understanding, it is a peace that is supernatural. It isn’t like having peace about something. That can come and go, but the peace of God comes and stays, and abides with us forever, so let us “hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly” (Psalm 85:8), and “May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace” (Psalm 29:11)!

Peacemakers

I think we’ve all probably been peacemakers before without even realizing it. When we try to diffuse an argument between two people, we’re being a peacemaker. When we try to seek a compromise between to fractional parties, we’re being a peacemaker. When we’re trying to break up two children from fighting, we’re being peacemakers. I’ve done that at a few board meetings before without even knowing it. We had an issue at one library board meeting but I quickly decided to not make it personal. I thought, “Let’s present the problem and put it in the middle of the table, and have both sides reach out to compromise on something that they can both agree on.” If we can get them to agree on some things, then maybe we can get them to agree on reaching a middle ground in order to reach a peaceful solution. All sides might not totally agree, but that doesn’t they have to be disagreeable with one another. It’s one thing to have differing opinions, but it’s another to dig in our heels in and not give an inch. Doing so may lead to an impasse…and that leads to no solution at all. What it will do is create a lot of friction between people, but no solution. There might be lots of heat, but little light. If we can make the issue the central focus and not the parties, we can tackle the problem more easily and rationally. We need to attack the problem and not each other! Peacemakers can often see the middle ground more easily and more objectively than those who are positioning from different sides.

Conclusion

If we have made peace with God through Jesus Christ, we have the peace of God and are now at peace with God, which is why, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Psalm 16:7). This is one of the reasons why Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who seek peace between two or more people who don’t agree on something, and why He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt 5:9). God looks favorably upon the peacemakers of the world, and so in honor of that, I hope you’ll seek peace…pursue peace, but most importantly, that you are at peace with God, and that peace only comes through Jesus Christ. There is simply no other way to have the peace of God and to be at peace with God (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Peacemakers are indispensable in today’s world. We need as many peacemakers as we can get; at work, in the family, and just about anywhere you go, so we hope you will be a peacemaker. If you are, blessed are you!

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is a writer at Christian Quotes and also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

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