Every Christian should greatly desire to be chosen and named “children of God,” or “sons of God.” In fact, John 1:12-13 shows that for those who receive Christ, being a child of God is a gift from Him. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the churches in Galatia teaches his listeners that Christians are not naturally born into a close personal relationship with God, but instead they are adopted as children (or sons) of God (Galatians 4:4-7). This is fantastic news, because it means faithful Christians are heirs to God’s promises of help in this life and ultimately a home in Heaven (Hebrews 4:16; John 14:2-3).
In His famous Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus Christ gives us additional insight into becoming a son of God. Matthew 4:23-25 records that Jesus had been preaching the gospel of the kingdom and performing a great number of amazing miracles, healing every kind of sickness and disease and casting out demons as well. Understandably, great crowds were coming to Him from all over Palestine and, per Matthew 5:1, He sat down on a mountain and His disciples came to Him. Jesus then began teaching them, initially giving nine “Blessed are” statements which many know as The Beatitudes. It is important to understand the actual meaning of the word “blessed” in this context. When Jesus says, “Blessed are”, He means someone who God looks with favor upon, and this is not a lightly used phrase; it is a big deal when God casts His favor upon someone.
Now observe Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Previously, we have seen the benefits of being sons of God, so this verse is significant because it helps us see how we must act to be children of God. We need to be “peacemakers,” meaning a person who creates harmonious relationships between 2 or more parties. I used to think that if I didn’t participate in conflict or make a situation worse, I was being peaceful and therefore a peacemaker. But that isn’t true, I was not making peace, I was observing and doing nothing. Being a peacemaker is not a passive activity, it requires action to “make” peace happen.
So, who do we need to be peacemakers with? First and most important, we need to make peace with God. How can we be peacemakers unless we are personally at peace? In Acts chapter 2, the apostle Peter gave a masterful sermon to those who had crucified Jesus, convicting them of their sin. In verse 37 we can see their desperate need to be at peace with God when they asked, “Men, brothers, what should we do?” Peter answered perfectly in verse 38, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” These people understood by the teaching of Peter that they needed to make peace with God to receive salvation. The first act of a peacemaker must be to get right with God, and to humbly submit to the apostles’ teaching on how to do that.
To be peacemakers, Mark 9:50 reveals that disciples of Jesus Christ must be at peace with one another. If we are honest, we know brethren are frequently not at peace with one another; we need to consider that this goes directly against a command from Christ Himself. Further, Romans 12:18 teaches Christians that as far as it depends on us, we are to be at peace with all men. I have seen the “as far as it depends on us” part taken way too far and used as a crutch to either do nothing or even behave in an un-Christlike way. When we stand before God on judgment day, will we be able to truthfully say we did everything possible to be at peace with our fellow man?
How can we be peacemakers then? The Bible shows us many fine examples, none better than our Lord and King, Jesus Christ. Isaiah 9:6 mentions that Jesus would be called “Prince of peace,” and He certainly made peace by reconciling people and God when He shed His blood on the cross (Colossians 1:19-20). We obviously cannot be a perfect sacrifice for sin like Jesus was, but we can follow His example and be a peacemaker by making sacrifices.
We need to sacrifice our worldly lives to make peace with God and live our lives for Him (Romans 6:4). We need to consider what we can sacrifice to make peace with other Christians. Are we being selfish and obstinate, or are we looking around and seeing what our brethren need and providing it? When we see a conflict brewing, we can either do nothing and watch it unfold, or we can do our best to make peace happen. The same is true with our fellow man. There is clearly a lot of negativity happening in the world, but do we as Christians just sit by passively, shaking our heads, lamenting what is happening? There is a better way, we need to think carefully about what is going on around us and determine to make things better. Consider what we can do or say to de-escalate a situation, to provide a solution, or to redirect people in a peaceful way away from conflict and toward peace.
Being a child of God is a gift, and through Jesus, a right. Being a child of God is conditional and comes with requirements regarding how we are to live this life (Matthew 7:21-23). To be a child of God, we need to be peacemakers, and Jesus showed us the way.
If you would like to study or talk about this, or any other Bible subject, please feel free to call or text me anytime.
Jeff S. Mullen
Minister, Blanco Hills Church
Blancohillschurch.com
830-554-0701