Beckett: Blessed Are the Peacemakers

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Just as one cannot live a pure life without having been made pure by Christ first, so we cannot live peaceful lives without first receiving the peace of God through Jesus Christ. How does this happen? With Abraham as our paradigm, the all-noble Paul quotes from Scripture, “‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'” (Romans 4:3; cf. Genesis 15:6). Abraham is our paradigm because “the words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Therefore,” Paul continues, “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (4:23-5:1).

How do we receive the peace of God? By faith—by believing and confessing with the mouth that God raised Jesus from the dead (10:9-10). This is the entire purpose of preaching, for as Paul continues, “‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? …So, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ” (10:13-15a, 17).

Just like Abraham, by hearing and believing the promises of God—that Christ died and rose again for you, that He is ascended at the right hand of God the Father, and He is coming again to judge the living and the dead to bring you into life everlasting—you are justified, that is, made right with God, when you believe and confess this with your mouth, which you hear through preaching. By being made right with God, you are made a son of God, “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith” (Galatians 3:26).

Therefore, now that we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, we “Strive for peace with everyone” (Hebrews 12:14). “A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:18). The way of Christendom is not outrage, hostility, and division, but, simply put, peace. Paul is most urgent about this, “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26).

Outraged that people are living in the activities of Satan rather than the righteousness of God, we do not speak to them with God’s peace but with the devil’s discord. How backwards! And then we wonder why there is a mass exodus from our pews. We scare them away! Let us, then, repent of our unrighteous anger and beseech the Lord to teach us His lovingkindness and longsuffering patience, that they themselves may repent and Christ be glorified.