“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9)
The Colt Single Action Army revolver was developed by Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company in 1872. This revolver was the standard-issue sidearm of the U.S. Army for nearly two decades. Also called the “Six-Shooter,” it became the iconic gun of the Wild West, wielded by cowboys, sheriffs, and outlaws alike.
In 1874, a major arms dealer in Cincinnati, Ohio, marketed the Colt revolver by nicknaming it “The Peacemaker.” In 1852, Samuel Colt, founder of Colt’s Manufacturing Company, had written, “The good people of this world are very far from being satisfied with each other, and my arms are the best peacemakers.”
When Jesus said in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” He was not referring to using a revolver to force others to be at peace with us. Rather, Jesus is the Peacemaker who showed by His own example how we should be peacemakers.
First, we will examine what it means to be a war-maker. Second, we will see how Jesus was a peacemaker. Third, we will consider how the Bible calls us to be peacemakers who follow Jesus’ example. Fourth, we will conclude with some practical tips about how to make peace.
Before we begin, let’s define war and peace. We will consider war as not just armed conflict between nations, but any state of hostility, conflict, or enmity. In the New Testament, peace often echoes the meaning of the Old Testament Hebrew word for peace, which is shalom. Shalom means security, soundness, and wholeness. It can mean the absence of hostility, fear, or pain. It can also mean inner peace, a calmness even in troubling circumstances.
1. War-Makers
Cain was the first to make war against another man. In Genesis 4, Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord. The Lord accepted Abel and his offering, but not Cain and his offering. When Cain saw this, he became very angry. Why? Because he wanted to be better than his brother. Cain made war against his brother and killed him.
James 4:1 asks, “What causes wars and fightings among you?” James’ answer is “your lusts.” This word lusts refers to a selfish desire for pleasures that one believes will make him happy. Cain wanted superiority over Abel. King Ahab wanted Naboth’s vineyard. Nebuchadnezzar wanted glory. From these sorts of lusts come all wars, whether between nations, neighbors, or husband and wife.
Genesis 4 was a direct result of Genesis 3. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve started the war-making by warring against God (though with less violence than Cain used against Abel). Adam and Eve wanted what they believed God was withholding from them. They believed the Devil’s lie that they could be like gods if only they ate the forbidden fruit. And so they rebelled against God’s command and ate.
Ever since Cain, people have been warring against each other. Men eye what others have, lust for it, and take it—by force if necessary. Men catch other men trying to take what is theirs, and resist them—by force if necessary. World history has been a long trail of bloodshed.
Ever since Adam, men have been at war with God. People have rejected God’s rule, saying, “I’ll be my own god; I’ll do it my way.” We have all done that. We have decided how we are going to live. We have decided the rules we are going to live by. We have said no when God said yes, and yes when God said no. We have made war against Him by refusing our Creator His rightful place.
2. The Peacemaker
God’s answer to man’s wars is Christ, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). When Christ comes to earth the second time, He will establish a kingdom of peace over the whole world. Isaiah 2:4 says, “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
So complete will be the peace of Christ’s kingdom that there will be no need to keep weapons (just in case they’re needed) or even to know how to use them! The menacing weapons of war will be turned into farming tools.
Someday Christ will reign on earth and establish the peace described in this prophecy. But before there could be such peace on earth, God needed first to make peace between Himself and sinful men. Before dealing with Cain’s war against man, the Lord needed to deal with Adam’s war against God.
Isaiah had another prophecy concerning the Messiah. He said, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).
In response to our rebellion against God, we might expect that God would take up arms and force us to submit to His rule over us. (After all, that is what we would do.) But instead, Isaiah says, “And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Astonishing! What does it mean?
It would have been just for Christ to destroy those who warred against Him. But He did not. Instead, He took our rebellion upon Himself. He died on the cross for us when we should have died. He paid the price of our redemption, a price that was rightfully ours to pay. And having paid the price, Christ invites us to accept the offer of peace with God.
First Peter 3:18 describes the work of Christ that makes peace between God and us, saying, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.” Christ suffered in order to bring us to God, that is, to make peace between God and us. Romans 5:10 says, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (For further study, see Romans 5:8; 1 John 3:16; Luke 22:19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Ephesians 2:13-17.)
Note that Christ did not die for us when we were friendly toward Him. He died for us when we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Christ died for us when we were still at war with Him. He died to make peace with His enemies.
3. Following the Peacemaker
Could it be that following our Peacemaker means that we also are called to make peace, not by making our enemies pay, but by extending to them the same love that we have received from Christ? Does the radical way that Christ made peace on the cross with His enemies have any bearing on how we are to make peace with our enemies?
Christ chose to suffer unjustly for us. Does that mean that we ought to lay down our instruments of war even if our cause is just? If the answer is yes, being a Christian won’t always be easy. We might prefer the attitude of the autocratic Russian czar, Nicholas I, who supposedly said, “To forgive is Christ’s business. My business is to rule and to punish.”
What does the Bible say? First Peter 2:21 says, “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” The word example (hupogrammos) in this verse comes from the education of Greek schoolboys. William Barclay, in his New Testament Wordbook, notes that the teacher “wrote at the top of the tablet a line of writing which the boy had to copy. That line was the hupogrammos, the pattern which the boy must follow.” Thus, Peter uses Christ’s example to teach us to respond patiently when we suffer unjustly at the hands of others.
We who are recipients of Christ’s peacemaking activity are called to be imitators of Christ’s peacemaking activity.
However, Jesus is more than just a pattern to imitate. Christ actually dwells in those who trust in Him (John 15:4). Believers can say, “Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Therefore, being like Christ is who Christians are. When the world looks at Christians, they should see a reflection of Christ on His way to the cross (Luke 9:23).
Paul wrote, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). Paul said that although Christ was equal with God, He laid aside His rights and submitted to death on the cross. We are to have the same kind of self-sacrificing mindset!
We may ask, Isn’t it fair to make sure those who wrong us get what they deserve? Shouldn’t we defend our rights against all attackers? Again, we must ask, What does the Bible say? Romans 12:19 says, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” The words avenge and vengeance (in this verse) and revenger (in Romans 13:4) all come from the same Greek word family (ekdikeo) that means “to vindicate one’s right, do one justice” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon). The word refers to lawful justice, not a vindictive personal vendetta.
These verses in Romans 12 and 13 teach that justice (vengeance) belongs to God and to state authorities (whom God has ordained). We are to abandon taking justice into our own hands. Instead, we entrust justice to God who “judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23).
So, rather than exacting justice upon our enemies, we are to show love to our enemies. Romans 12:20 says, “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink.” In other words, show kindness to your enemy by generously meeting his needs. Be a peacemaker by meeting acts of war with acts of love. Being a peacemaker denies our enemies the power to make us hate them.
As Romans 12:20 shows, being a peacemaker does not mean that we passively ignore our enemies. Jesus said that we are to actively love our enemies by blessing them, doing good to them, and praying for them (Matthew 5:44). Loving our enemies means treating them as objects of God’s love, not demonizing them.
We find one of the most radical descriptions of what it means to be a Christian peacemaker in 1 Corinthians 6:1-8. In this passage, the apostle Paul rebukes the Corinthian believers because they were suing one another in a law court. When a believer goes to court against another believer, he has already been utterly defeated because he has become a war-maker rather than a peacemaker.
Paul asks rhetorically, “Why not rather be treated unfairly? Why not rather be robbed?” Paul’s questions imply that he expected the believers to know that following Jesus means that it is better to suffer loss than to use the force of law to war against a brother. That is a call to an astonishing level of peacemaking.
We can respectfully ask that our rights be honored. We should do all we can to find equitable solutions to our conflicts. But if the other party will not yield and no other peaceable resolution remains open to us, we must resolve to take up our cross and follow Jesus.
The cross is the defining moment in God’s plan of redemption. As a consequence, the cross becomes the defining characteristic of followers of Jesus (Luke 14:27). Christ died for His enemies. Christ loved His enemies. Christ sought to make peace, not by taking vengeance on His enemies—though that would have been just and though Christ had the power to do so—but by sacrificing His own rights for His enemies. So should we.
We live now in a time of God’s grace. God’s mercy holds back judgment on sinners. In this age of grace, Christians are called to show grace by loving their enemies. This is God’s will. When God so decrees, judgment will come. It is God’s prerogative to decide when judgment comes, not ours. Now we live under the cross. Now we live as sheep among wolves. Now we live as those who have beaten their swords into plowshares. We do this even though the world still wields the sword. Someday God’s peace will be universal. For now, God’s peace is lived out by those who have taken up their cross and followed Jesus.
Isn’t law and order necessary for peace in society? Yes, God has given the sword to government authorities (Romans 13:1-4). It is good and right that the state should use its powers to punish evildoers. But those powers do not tend to the salvation of souls. Rather, they tend to the restraint and punishment of crime. Those who are peacemakers work to share the message of Jesus with the world. The sword does not do that.
4. Living as Peacemakers
There are many examples of conflict among Christians in the New Testament:
- The twelve disciples were noted for their ability to quarrel (Luke 22:24).
- The Greek-speaking believers grumbled against the Hebrew-speaking believers (Acts 6:1).
- Paul and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement (Acts 15:39).
- The church at Corinth was divided into factions (1 Corinthians 1:11).
- And two Christian women at Philippi did not see eye to eye (Philippians 4:2).
Aren’t Christians supposed to be peacemakers? Why was there so much conflict in the church? Often, it is harder to get along with friends nearby than enemies far away. These examples of early Christian quarrels do not prove that peace is impossible. They demonstrate that peacemakers will have plenty of employment opportunities. Consider some practical advice about being a peacemaker.
a. Act first
Christ died for us when we were still His enemies. He did not wait until we were remorseful for our rebellion against God. He did not wait until we came to Him begging for peace. God made the first overture of peace by sending His Son when we were still at war against Him.
To be peacemakers, we need to take the first step toward making peace with others. When someone wrongs us, it may be easier to give them a cold shoulder. This is not the way of a peacemaker. This is not the way Christ dealt with us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
We can take the first step toward peace by returning good for evil, blessing for cursing, and love for hate (Matthew 5:38-48). When believers wrong us, we can take the first step by following the instructions Christ gave in Matthew 18:15-17. Christ’s first directive is “go.” Go to your brother or sister who has wronged you. Be the one to take the first step.
b. Don’t be passive
The word make in the compound word peacemaker means that we are to take action. Being a peacemaker means talking through our differences and addressing wrongdoing. Ignoring conflicts does not make them go away. When wrongdoing is buried, it eventually erupts as a volcano.
Too often, leaders passively “keep the peace” by doing nothing. They are paralyzed by the fear that if they speak truth into a situation, the result will be open hostility. Strong, godly leaders are willing to step into a situation to confront wrongdoing and speak God’s truth.
c. Don’t compromise truth
Christ did not make peace by changing the definition of sin or lowering God’s perfect standard of holiness. Christ makes peace by showing us our sin and calling us to repent of it.
Likewise, we cannot compromise God’s Word in order to make peace. Jesus warned that sometimes following Him will cause division (Matthew 10:34). We are not following the way of Christ if we try to make peace by accepting false doctrine or by failing to reprove sin. If someone rejects the truth, we may have to separate from them (Romans 16:17).
d. Be humble
Many times, controversies over “truth” end up being a power struggle between two proud people. Proverbs 13:10 says, “Only by pride cometh contention.” A debate can devolve into a campaign to prove the other person wrong. Instead, the two parties should humbly talk until they understand each other, and then work toward a constructive resolution.
Living as a peacemaker flows out of a heart that is at peace with God. Our peacemaking is a testimony to the world of what Jesus has done for us. We can be peacemakers in many little ways every week. We can respond with patience when someone cuts us off. We can show kindness to those who are rude. We can bless those who snub us.
Leonard Verduin, in The Reformers and Their Stepchildren (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964, p. 64), described some groups of Bible-believing Christians in the 1500s known as the Stäbler (a German word that means “staff-carriers”). These Christians were called “staff-carriers” because they refused to carry a sword; instead, they carried a harmless staff. In some places, this practice became so widespread that persecutors of these Christians immediately suspected that anyone carrying a stick might be one of the Stäbler.
The Stäbler were Christians who had chosen not to use instruments of war against their fellow man. They were an army of peacemakers who had exchanged their swords for a pilgrim’s staff so that they could carry the message of peace to a world at war. The world still needs the message of peace. People still need to hear that they can have peace with God by confessing their sins to God, believing in Jesus Christ, and taking up their cross and following Him.
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