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[Note: <\/strong>This MS is available in larger font on our Manuscripts<\/strong> page.]<\/span><\/p>\n Introduction<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The Hebrew word for peace<\/em> is the familiar Jewish word of greeting, shalom <\/em>(or salom<\/em>). In all its various forms it appears well over four hundred times in the Old Testament text. It is a rich word, embracing a broad spectrum of ideas, including completeness, soundness, welfare, safety, security, health, prosperity, quiet, tranquility, contentment, friendship, and absence of war or strife.[1]<\/a> The Greek word eirene <\/em>was chosen by the Septuagint translators to render shalom<\/em> in their Greek version of the Old Testament, thus investing it with the same broad positive qualities. One should therefore not be surprised that in the Greek New Testament, eirene <\/em>\u201chas much the same meaning and usage as shalom<\/em>.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Peace<\/em> is used in reference to Divine-human relationships. \u201cAnd he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto Jehovah\u201d (Exo. 24:5).[3]<\/a> The peace-offerings (mentioned 87 times in the OT) were celebrations of the peaceful relationship between Israel and Jehovah. Israel\u2019s peace with God was but typical of the full peace men can have with God through the Christ: \u201cBeing therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ\u201d (Rom. 5:1). Peace<\/em> is also used in reference to human-human relationships, both between nations and individuals: \u201cAnd there was peace between Israel and the Amorites\u201d (1 Sam 7:14). Such peace is also to be cultivated by God\u2019s people in the Gospel era: \u201cIf it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men\u201d (Rom. 12:18).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Peace<\/em> is also used in reference to one\u2019s surroundings or circumstances. This seems to be the point of Isaiah\u2019s statement: \u201cThou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee\u201d (Isa. 26:3). Luke describes such an atmosphere among the churches in Acts 9:31: \u201cSo the church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace.\u201d One\u2019s personal tranquility of spirit is also described in terms of \u201cpeace.\u201d Thus, David wrote, \u201cGreat peace have they that love thy law; And they have no occasion of stumbling\u201d (Psa. 119:165). The devout servant of Christ enjoys \u201cthe peace of God, which passeth all understanding\u201d (Phi. 4:7). Obviously, context is a major determinant of meaning for these words, but just as obviously, in every case they convey a positive and desirable state of being.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Brief Overview<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The opening scenes of the Bible depict an atmosphere of great peace. After God created the material universe and brought order out of the initial chaos, He then created the various forms of plant and animal life. He crowned His creative work by creating mankind and assessed it all as \u201cvery good\u201d (Gen. 1:31). God placed Adam and Eve in the paradise of Eden, which, apparently, He had especially prepared for them. This was a place of peace in which God communed with them. He was at peace with His creation, i.e., there was perfect fellowship between God and man. So far as we know there was also perfect peace between Adam and Eve at the first.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Then came the wicked serpent with his beguiling deception and temptation. Eve sinned, then Adam, and the perfect peace, that at first existed and could have continued, was shattered so as never to be fully reclaimed on earth. The marvelous primitive peace and order were plunged into gross chaos of another sort. Adam and Eve not only forfeited their sweet fellowship with God but were driven from Eden and given heavy physical penalties as well. Sin not only sundered the peace between God and mankind, but it also set men against each other. Blame and suspicion arose between Adam and Eve. Cain and Abel argued, and Cain murdered his brother. By only the tenth generation from Adam mankind had become so wicked that God could no longer tolerate its existence. Had it not been for righteous Noah mankind would have been completely exterminated by the flood. The world has been a jungle of hatred, malice, crime, spite, cruelty, and war ever since. There is no real peace on this earth\u2014this is the historical record given us in the inspired volume over the four thousand years it covers.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Uninspired history of the past two thousand years continues the same story. World War I, near the beginning of the 20th century, was declared to be the \u201cWar to end all Wars.\u201d When ominous sounds and actions began coming out of Germany twenty years later, the British Prime Minister declared that he and others had conferred with the Nazi Fuhrer and had achieved \u201cpeace in our time.\u201d All of this merely set the stage for World War II, the most destructive and deadly conflict ever. The United Nations, formed on the heels of World War II, was supposed to provide the basis of lasting peace\u2014at least for the prevention of war. Yet, during the decades of its existence world peace has been shattered by numerous additional skirmishes and outright wars.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The sin-caused enmity between God and men is not unrelated to man\u2019s inability to be at peace with his neighbors. In fact, these are twin problems. The farther men fall from the lofty plane for which God created them and to which He calls them through His perfect will, the more they mistreat each other. If all men were at peace with God through obedience to His Word, they would all be at peace with each other. Conversely, the more men desert and\/or rebel against God, the less respect they have for the lives and property of others. The result of all of this is the destruction and prevention of peace.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The Bible is basically a book that tells man how the peace He once had and longs to have with God was destroyed and how, through His grace, man can be at peace with Him once more. It also tells man how to live so as to be at peace with his fellow man, insofar as he is able. The theme of the Bible therefore may be stated as one of two-fold peace\u2014peace with God and peace with one\u2019s fellows. Only when he achieves this two-fold peace can man be at peace with himself.<\/span><\/p>\n The Primacy of Peace With God<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Of the two aspects of peace pertaining to man, peace with God is of primary and foremost importance. Man\u2019s relationship with God is sometimes described as a \u201cvertical\u201d relationship due to God\u2019s downward reach to him and, in necessary and natural response, man\u2019s upward reach to God. God is ever above man, and man can never be on an equal plane with Him. God\u2019s desire to see man restored to a place of peace with Him is the story of redemption and reconciliation. The study of peace between God and man is the study of fellowship and friendship between the two.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Foreseeing the plunge of man into sin as he exercised his free will, before Creation the Godhead formulated a plan whereby He could accept His rebellious creatures (Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9; et al.). Mankind did not have the ability to originate or execute such a plan. It all began in the gracious and merciful heart of God\u2014He is the One who thought, sought, and bought the peace and the possibility of restored fellowship between Himself and man. It should therefore surprise no one that several times Members of the Godhead are associated with the concept of peace. The Father is described as \u201cthe God of Peace\u201d (Rom. 15:33; 16:20; 1 Cor. 14:33; Phi. 4:9; et al.). The Christ was prophetically named, \u201cthe prince of peace\u201d (Isa. 9:6). The Holy Spirit is likewise depicted as a producer of peace (Rom. 8:6; 14:17; Gal. 5:22; et al.).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0As previously stated, in the beginning man was at perfect peace with His Creator. Adam and Eve were created as innocent and pure as infants. God gave them a positive law which forbade the eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17). The penalty for eating of the tree was death\u2014separation from God. When the primal pair ate the fruit, they broke the marvelous fellowship they had enjoyed with God, and their innocence was destroyed. Their act of rebellion, as well as every other instance of disobedience to Divine mandate, is denominated sin<\/em> by inspired writers (1 John 3:4). No mere human being, even the finest of the race, has been able to live perfectly above and apart from sin since that time: \u201cFor all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God\u201d (Rom. 3:23).[4]<\/a> Thus in Adam, peace with God was shattered for all his posterity, and they all came under the same awful penalty of death God laid upon him originally: \u201cFor the wages of sin is death\u201d (Rom. 6:23a).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Adam had hardly forfeited his blissful peace with God before the Divine plan for its restoration began to be announced. Even the earliest hints of God\u2019s plan were grounded in the work of One Person. Seed<\/em> is the Biblical thread which sews together the promises of God through which His fellowship with man might be restored. As God expelled Adam and Eve from Eden, He not only enumerated their<\/strong> grievous penalties. He also addressed the serpent with words that would assure his eventual doom: \u201cI will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel\u201d (Gen. 3:15). For centuries, God\u2019s statement to the serpent has been understood as the first Messianic prophecy. (Ironically, the hope of peace<\/strong> with God is rooted in a prophecy that promises enmity<\/strong> between the \u201cseed of woman\u201d and the serpent\u2019s \u201cseed.\u201d) The prophecy foretells that the old devil, the serpent, Satan would attempt to destroy the promised \u201cseed\u201d of woman, the Christ. He did so when He was a mere infant in Bethlehem. He continued to do so in the terrible temptations in the wilderness, in the relentless opposition of the Jewish leaders, and finally, by crucifying Him. But all this was as but a \u201cbruise\u201d to His heel. In His sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection, He dealt Satan a mortal head wound from which he will never recover: \u201cthat through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil\u201d (Heb. 2:14).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The promises God made to Abraham figure prominently in the peace process between God and man. In the twentieth generation after Adam, Abram (later, renamed Abraham [Gen. 17:5]) was born. God called him to leave his native city of Ur in Chaldea to follow where God would lead him (Gen. 12:1; Acts 7:2\u20134).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0At the time of this call God made several promises to him, which would be repeated and amplified on subsequent occasions (Gen. 12:2\u20133, 7; 13:15\u201316; 15:5, 13\u201318; 17:7\u20138; 18:18; 22:18). Some of the promises pertained to physical elements, including fathering a great nation and being given fame and the land of Canaan for his descendants. However, the last part of the promise relates especially to all mankind and his peace with God: \u201cIn thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed\u201d (Gen. 12:3). God\u2019s promise was later amplified to indicate that the blessing upon all men would be through Abraham\u2019s \u201cseed\u201d: \u201cAnd in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed\u201d (Gen. 22:18). God later made this same promise to Abraham\u2019s son, Isaac (26:4) and to his grandson, Jacob (28:14).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Thus, the \u201cseed\u201d theme appears prominently in these promises. The reader is reminded of the broad definition-range of \u201dpeace\u201d in the Old Testament\u2014its general connotation is a state of great blessing. Hence the \u201cblessing\u201d that God promised through Abraham should at least embrace, if not particularly refer to, the peace and fellowship with God that all men so greatly needed. That peace was not fully available at the time of the promise but was proffered as a future blessing.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Upon first reading God\u2019s promise that through Abraham\u2019s \u201cseed\u201d He would bless all men, one is tempted to understand this promise to refer to the nation which would flow from him. However, when we allow inspired men to apply and interpret Scripture, we learn the true and limited import of God\u2019s ancient Abrahamic promise. Paul specified its meaning as follows: \u201cNow to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ\u201d (Gal. 3:16). In this part of the series of promises God did not have the aggregate of the patriarch\u2019s posterity in view, but only One among the multitude that proceeded from Abraham\u2019s loins\u2014the Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Both Matthew (Mat. 1:1\u20132) and Luke (Luke 3:34) clearly identify the Abrahamic lineage of Jesus, the Christ. Let us remember that He was prophesied under the appellation of \u201dPrince of Peace\u201d (Isa. 9:6). When John the baptizer was born, his father, Zacharias, uttered a remarkable prophecy in which He identified the coming of the Christ with \u201cThe oath which he [God] spake unto Abraham our father\u201d (Luke 1:73) and referred to the Lord as He Who would \u201cguide our feet into the way of peace\u201d (v. 79). At His birth, the angelic host proclaimed to the shepherds, \u201cGlory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased\u201d (Luke 2:14).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Many generations after the time of Abraham, according to His promise, God made of Abraham\u2019s descendants a great nation and gave them the land He had promised. God set David upon the throne of Israel, His chosen nation, and made the following \u201cseed\u201d promise to him through Nathan the prophet: \u201cWhen thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom\u201d (2 Samuel 7:12). The promised kingdom was to be everlasting (vv. 13, 16). While admitting that part of this extended promise to David was in reference to Solomon and was fulfilled by him, the fulness of the promises pointed to One beyond him. This is obvious from the fact that some three centuries after the time of David, Isaiah foretold that the ultimate \u201cseed\u201d of David to be placed on his throne was yet to come.<\/span><\/p>\n For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this. (Isa. 9:7).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0When Gabriel announced to Mary that she would conceive and bear a son, the angel identified Him with the following remarkable words: \u201cHe shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end\u201d (Luke 1:32-33). Notice that in three specifics Gabriel declares Jesus to be the fulfillment of God\u2019s promise to David through Nathan: (1) He would be the son [seed] of David; (2) He would be given David\u2019s throne; (3) His kingdom would be endless. Likewise, this \u201cseed\u201d in God\u2019s promise to David was identified by Peter in his Pentecost sermon as Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified, resurrected Christ of God: \u201c<\/span><\/p>\n Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him [David], that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne; he foreseeing this spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption (Acts 2:30-31).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Peter further declared that this resurrected Son of David\/Son of God had ascended to and had been enthroned at the right hand of God, the Father, thus fulfilling the prophecies of both Nathan and Isaiah.[5]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0When the time came for God to create the promised nation from the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, He gave them His law through Moses. While its basis was the Decalog, it contained hundreds of additional ordinances by which Israel could be in fellowship with God. The law also contained numerous commandments having to do with the relationship of the Israelites to one another and to Gentiles. The law is often depicted as God\u2019s covenant\/ testament with\/to Israel. If they would keep its terms, God promised to bless and protect them, but if not, His curses would be upon them (Deu. 4:40; 7:3; 12:28; 30:15\u201319; et al.). The God-given law was thus God\u2019s instrument of peace and fellowship to His chosen people. However, it was never intended to be His permanent arrangement for reconciliation of man to Himself. Its institutions were only copies and shadows of the permanent, heavenly, final arrangement God had planned for making possible again man\u2019s fellowship with Deity (Heb. 8:5; 10:1). The sacrifices of both the Patriarchal and Mosaic Ages had only the blood of bulls and goats, which cannot take away sin (v. 4). Since there is no remission of sins (necessary to restoration of fellowship with God) without the shedding of blood (9:22), it is made plain that blood more powerful than that of animals must be found to purchase our peace.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWhat then is the law?\u201d (i.e., if the Law of Moses was not God\u2019s ultimate covenant of peace with man, what was its purpose?), Paul asked the Law-struck Galatians (Gal. 3:19a). He answered: \u201cIt was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come<\/strong> to whom the promise hath been made\u201d (v. 19b, emph. DM). Paul is apparently saying here that it was given to provide God\u2019s people a perfect standard of conduct and to convict them of sin in their violation of it. Thus, Paul wrote, \u201cwhere there is no law, neither is there transgression,\u201d and growing up as a Jew under the Law, declares, \u201cI had not known sin, except through the law\u201d (Rom. 4:15; 7:7). From the general teaching of the Bible, it is evident that the Law was also given to keep Abraham\u2019s physical lineage distinct till such a time as He could bring into the world the promised seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gal. 4:4). But notice Paul\u2019s limit of the duration of the law: \u201ctill the seed should come.\u201d The seed is Christ (Gal. 3:16), thus, the law was given only till the Christ, the \u201cPrince of Peace,\u201d should come, Who would bring the final covenant\/Testa- ment of peace.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Jesus of Nazareth was the seed of Abraham and of David according to the flesh, but also the \u201cSon [seed] of the Most High,\u201d having been conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary, not by a human being, but by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:32, 35). He alone was able to live perfectly above sin, never once transgressing or falling short of the will of the Father (John 8:48; Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5; et al.). He alone was thereby qualified to be the sacrifice for sin, by Whose blood the sins of men could be fully taken away. Paul states this fact emphatically: \u201cHim who knew no sin he [God] made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him\u201d (2 Cor. 5:21). He was \u201cmade to be sin\u201d not in the sense of becoming guilty<\/strong> of the sins of men, but of becoming the sufficient sin-offering<\/strong> for our sins where all other offerings failed. Thus, the Hebrews scribe depicted the Christ as the archetype of the high priests and their annual blood offering under the law.<\/span><\/p>\n But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?\u2026 For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us: nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place year by year with blood not his own (Heb. 9:11-14; 24\u201325).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Christ came to make it possible for us human beings to be at peace\u2014in fellowship with\u2014God: \u201cBecause Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit\u201d (1 Pet. 3:18). Through His Son, God reconciled all things unto Himself, and the Son \u201cmade peace through the blood of his cross\u201c (Col. 1:20).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The most important concern to any human being should be how His earthly life, His work, His blood, and His sacrifice may be appropriated and accessed so that one may be at peace with God and one day live with Him forever. Is this peace unconditionally bestowed because of the death of Christ? Is the blessing promised for all nations through the Seed of Abraham something possessed by men universally? The Bible, the \u201cbook of peace,\u201d answers \u201cno\u201d unequivocally!<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Just as Israel of old could have its limited measure of peace with God only upon the condition of compliance with the will of Jehovah, so all among the nations who would have peace with God may have it only conditionally. The only ones who will enter the kingdom of heaven are those who do the Father\u2019s will as revealed through His only begotten Son (Mat. 7:21).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The message of Christ is the \u201cgospel of peace\u201d (Eph. 6:15), i.e., the message by which we learn how to have peace with God. Jesus commissioned His apostles to take the Gospel to all the world and to the whole creation, with the promise that those (and only those) who believe it are immersed in water will be saved, and that disbelievers will be lost (Mark 16:15\u201316). Christ gives salvation only to those who obey Him (2 The. 1:7\u20139; Heb. 5:9).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The only way one can apply the blood of Christ, which alone can take away sins, is to obey the \u201cplan of peace,\u201d consummated in baptism in water, as revealed repeatedly in the Gospel. Baptism not only puts one \u201cinto Christ,\u201d but \u201cinto [the benefits of] His death\u201d (where He shed His cleansing blood [Rom. 6:3]). Hence, baptism is the act in which one receives remission of sins and in which one\u2019s sins are washed away (by Jesus\u2019 blood, not water!) (Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Cor. 5:25\u201327). Baptism is a part of God\u2019s plan of mercy for our salvation (Tit. 3:5). When one is forgiven of one\u2019s sins, no barrier any longer exists between him and his Holy Creator. Fellowship is thus achieved, and God can smile upon the obedient believer in peace.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0As peace with God is attained<\/strong> through compliance with the Gospel, so is it also maintained<\/strong> by continuance therein: \u201cIf we [who have been reconciled to God through Gospel obedience] walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin\u201d (1 John 1:7). The Bible is indeed the book of peace in revealing to men how they may have the peace with God restored that was sundered in Eden. What a glorious, wonderful, and welcome message this is for all sober-minded persons!<\/span><\/p>\n Peace Between Men<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0If the peace between God and man may be described as \u201cvertical\u201d in its direction, the peace that humans may have among themselves may be aptly described as \u201chorizontal.\u201d Only when men achieve peace between themselves and God can they enjoy the fullest peace and fellowship with one another. Biblical spiritual fellowship between \u201cperson a\u201d and \u201cperson b\u201d is possible only when both persons are in fellowship with God. Religious unity, peace, and fellowship are therefore not the result of mere human desire, decision, and declaration regardless of doctrinal differences. These relationships are rather the result of common submission to the will of God. The peace between men which the Bible produces is manifold.<\/span><\/p>\n Peace Between Jews and Gentiles<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 As previously noted, the Gospel is a universal message addressed to all mankind, the blessings of which are accessible to all. Due to its universality, it removes the age-old barrier created by the law of Moses between Jews and Gentiles. They are both brought into one body of reconciliation, the church of Christ:<\/span><\/p>\n For he is our peace, who made both [Jew and Gentile] one, and brake down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of command- ments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace; and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: and he came and preached peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh: for through him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father\u201d (Eph. 2:14\u201318).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Regarding this peace, Paul declared, \u201cThere can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus\u201d (Gal. 3:28).<\/span><\/p>\n Peace with Others Who Have Made Peace with God<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0As with our peace with God, so with our fellowship with other Christians\u2014we first attain peace with others by our common obedience to the Gospel. Then, by continuing in the Gospel of Christ we are obligated (and able) to maintain that peace\/fellowship. The principles that enable brethren to be at peace with one another are numerous and frequently stated in the New Testament. Near the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus declared that those who work at keeping peace (\u201cpeacemakers\u201d) are blessed and are God-like (Mat. 5:9). Jesus taught us to love one another as He loved us (John 13:34). We are to rejoice with them that rejoice and weep with them that weep (Rom. 12:15).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0In matters of option, weaker brethren are not to force their scruples upon stronger brethren, and stronger brethren are not to despise the weaker ones, but all are to \u201cfollow after things which make for peace, and things whereby we may edify one another\u201d (14:1\u20133, 19). In matters of obligation, we must \u201call speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment\u201d (1 Cor. 1:10). We cannot fulfill the law of Christ without doing our best to bear one another\u2019s burdens (Gal. 6:2). Such principles as lowliness, meekness, longsuffering, and forbearance in love are the principles that should guide our diligent efforts to keep the \u201cunity of the Spirit in the bond of peace\u201d (Eph. 4:2\u20133). We must be concerned not only with our own needs and interests, but with those of our brethren, even as our Lord sacrificed Himself to serve the needs of others (Phi. 2:4\u20138). The summation of all these exhortations takes us back to the love that Jesus commanded us to have for one another. Peter, who heard Jesus speak the words recorded in John 13:34, repeated the same idea: \u201cSeeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently\u201d (1 Pet. 1:22).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Many problems exist among the Lord\u2019s people which are related to doctrinal Truth. These break the peace and cause divisions among brethren, but they are necessary if we would be loyal to the Truth. However, many breaches of the peace and divisions in local congregations have nothing to do with doctrinal issues. They rather arise out of utter selfishness, insensitivity, lack of discrimination, lack of temper and tongue control, the determination to rule or ruin, and other such ungodly and wicked attitudes and practices. One would perhaps as well stand before the Lord in the Judgment as an outright atheist as one who divided the body of Christ over such works of the flesh! In a day when there are so many forces arrayed against the Lord\u2019s church, both from without and within, how badly we need to \u201dseek peace and pursue it\u201d (1 Pet. 3:11) so that our efforts to press the claims of and defend the Gospel may not be thereby impeded.<\/span><\/p>\n Peace with Those Who Are Not at Peace with God<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0While we cannot have spiritual fellowship with our fellow men in general, God expects us to live as peaceably as possible with all men: \u201cIf it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men\u201d (Rom. 12:18; cf. Heb. 12:14). The \u201cbook of peace\u201d gives us instructions on how to maintain such peace. The immortal principle commonly called the \u201cGolden Rule,\u201d stated by the Lord in the Sermon on the Mount, is a principle that makes for peaceful relationships: \u201cAll things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets\u201d (Mat. 7:12). Paul states another principle that will promote peace generally: \u201cSo then, as we have opportunity, let us work that which is good toward all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith\u201d (Gal. 6:10). His instructions to the Romans are also aimed at promoting peaceful dealings with people in the world, as indicated by his references to \u201call men\u201d: \u201cRender to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men\u201d (Rom. 12:17). In summary, the message of the Bible, particularly the Gospel, when put into practice, produces peace between and among men. The Bible is the \u201cBook of Peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Peace with Oneself<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0There is another facet of peace that results from hearing and obeying the Gospel: personal and inner peace. This much-desired peace derives from knowing that one is at peace with God and that he is doing his best to live at peace with all men. The result of such a life is a clear and uncondemning conscience, which allows one to possess blissful peace. Jesus promised this sort of peace to His apostles, and, indirectly, to all those who would follow Him:<\/span><\/p>\n Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.\u2026 These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 14:27; 16:33).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0In Romans 8:6, Paul wrote: \u201cFor the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace\u201d (Rom. 8:6). One whose thinking is governed by the words of the Holy Spirit has life and is at peace with God and himself. The summation of the inner peace that belongs to the faithful child of God is Paul\u2019s great statement to the Philippians: \u201cAnd the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus\u201d (Phi. 4:7). Again, it needs to be emphasized that the Bible alone provides the basis for this peace.<\/span><\/p>\n A Paradox Concerning Peace<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Notwithstanding all the emphasis in the Bible on peace, concerning which the foregoing material is but a sampling, the Bible also teaches that peace is not always acceptable to God and in such circumstances should be undesirable to us. As already noted, Jesus was prophetically announced as \u201cPrince of Peace\u201d (Isa. 9:6), and His Word is called the \u201cGospel of peace\u201d (Eph. 6:15). We have seen that generally peace is exalted and urged upon mankind in the Bible. However, this is not all that the Bible says on the subject. The \u201cPrince of Peace\u201d also said the following:<\/span><\/p>\n Think ye that I am come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: for there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. They shall be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother; mother-in-law against her daughter in law, and daughter in law against her mother in law (Luke 12:51-53).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 In a similar passage, Jesus declared:<\/span><\/p>\n Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came 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 they of his own household (Mat. 10:34-36).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0From these passages one must conclude that not all \u201cpeace\u201d is pleasing to God and that not all division is displeasing to Him. One must also conclude that there are some ideals that are more fundamental and necessary than peace, fellowship and unity. While peace with God is the highest and noblest aim of which man is capable, peace among men is not the principal aim of the religion of Christ. Although Jesus is the great uniter of men who will hear and obey His Word, He is also the great divider of men, as some will refuse to hear Him and will strongly oppose those who do. This involves not only strangers and acquaintances, but, as the Lord shows, in some cases the closest of family members.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The Bible most certainly urges peace, but it just as certainly forbids the pursuit of \u201cpeace at any price.\u201d Brethren who are clamoring for \u201cpeace,\u201d \u201cunity,\u201d and \u201cfellowship\u201d with those outside the body of Christ have proved themselves willing to sacrifice Truth, sound doctrine, and the distinctiveness of the blood-purchased church of Christ in the pursuit of their goal. If the Bible forbids us to be at peace even with brethren who forsake the Truth (as it does), much more does it forbid us to have spiritual fellowship with those who are not God\u2019s children. Whoever, as Max Lucado has done, pontificates that all those who call God their Father are his brethren has made shipwreck of the fellowship and peace set forth in the Bible. Those who consort with the denominations in an attitude of acceptance of and participation in their errors, as Rubel Shelly and others have done and continue to do, are establishing a \u201cpeace\u201d that is an abomination to the God of Heaven. Those who declare that such issues as a literal millennial reign of Christ on earth, instrumental music in worship, and the purpose of baptism were not worth severing fellowship over, as Carroll Osborn has done, have erected for themselves an idol of unity at the cost of Truth. This malicious practice is destroying the true peace, unity, and fellowship between God and men, and among men themselves, for which the Lord died. May we always seek peace with others only based on the Truth of God\u2019s Word. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Conclusion<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0The theme of the Bible may be summed up as one of peace involving (1) peace between God and man and (2) peace between men. Men do not have a clue as to the means of attaining or maintaining a peaceful relationship with God apart from God\u2019s revelation of these matters in His Word. The obedience that unites a person with God also causes that person to be at peace with all others who have united with Him and who remain so.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0This obedience is the only means of having true spiritual fellowship with other men. All other claims and declarations regarding peace are <\/span>counterfeit and synthetic and are an affront and insult to the God of Peace and the Prince of Peace. The personal and inner peace for which men universally long is found only in belief in and obedience to the one True and Living God. The specifics of God\u2019s plan of peace that will take men at last to Heaven, the place of eternal and uninterrupted peace, are found only in the Bible, specifically, in the New Testament. Verily, the Bible is the \u201cBook of Peace.\u201d Alas, how few are wise enough to heed its message!<\/span><\/p>\n Endnotes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n [Note: <\/strong>I wrote this MS for and presented a digest of it orally at the Seventeenth Annual Southwest Lectures, hosted by the Southwest Church of Christ, Austin, TX, April 12\u201315, 1998. It was published in the book of the lectures, Be at Peace Among Yourselves,<\/em> ed. Gary Colley (Austin, TX: Southwest Publications, 1998).]<\/span><\/p>\n Attribution:<\/strong> From www.thescripturecache.com<\/em>; Dub McClish, proprietor, curator, and administrator.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Views: 0[Note: This MS is available in larger font on our Manuscripts page.] Introduction The Hebrew word for peace is the familiar Jewish word of greeting, shalom (or salom). In all its various forms it appears well over four hundred times in the Old Testament…<\/p>\n\n
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