In Matteus 5:9, dit is geskryf, that blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. God has called His children to be peacemakers on earth. Just like Jesus was a Peacemaker and came to earth to bring peace. God’s people looked forward to the promise of God and the coming of their Messiah. Egter, their expectation of their Messiah didn’t meet reality. Because the peace, which Jesus brought on earth wasn’t the peace as the world defines peace. Daarom, many people didn’t acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah and rejected Jesus. What happened then still happens today. Because many Christians have a wrong idea of the peace of God. What does it mean to be peacemakers of God on earth.
The peacemakers of the world
Although God has called His children to be peacemakers, many Christians are peacemakers of the world instead of peacemakers of God. They walk after the flesh and want to be liked and accepted by others and are afraid of verwerping. Therefore they are permissive and use flattering words to live in harmony with everyone.
They focus on Valse Eenheid. Therefore they look for joint similarities and build bridges. And so they compromise, change the words of God, defile God’s words with lies, and allow the works of the darkness, which oppose the wil van God.
They approve all behavior and make friendships with the world. Hoe? By tolerating and accepting sin, pagan religions and filosofieë, valse leerstellings, ens., and allowing them in the church.
The world considers them loving, vreedsaam, and warm people. Mense, who do good (humanitarian) werk, whereby everything revolves around the love for people.
They consider them true Christians, who are open to other people’s views on life, and lifestyles and accept their works, and be tolerant and willing to compromise.
The world considers them as true peacemakers on earth, but does God share this view?
Because God didn’t call His people to be peacemakers of the world and establish worldly peace on earth by compromising the gospel and making peace with the world (duisternis). But God called His people to be peacemakers of God and His Kingdom.
Jesus Christ the Peacemaker
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings good tidings, that publishes peace; that brings good tidings of good, that publishes salvation; wat vir Sion sê, Thy God reigns (Jesaja 52:7)
God sent His Son Jesus Christ to the earth to be the Peacemaker of God. As discussed in a previous article ‘Watter soort vrede het Jesus op aarde gebring?’, Jesus brought everything on earth, except harmony, Eenheid, ens.
Jesus didn’t belong to the kingdom of the world and didn’t represent this kingdom. But Jesus belonged to the Kingdom of God and represented the Kingdom of God.
Therefore Jesus didn’t speak the words of the world, but the words of God.
Jesus preached and brought peace by preaching and bringing the Kingdom of God to the people of God. He called the people of God to repentance and put away sin. He taught them the truth of God and His will. Jesus revealed God’s Kingdom, cast out devils, and healed the sick.
Jesus became the Substitute for fallen man. Through His work of redemption, He reconciled man back to God by abolishing in His flesh the enmity between fallen man and God.
Jesus restored the relationship between man and God en die position of fallen man. Daarom, the peace between God and man was restored in Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit is the Peacemaker
The Holy Spirit testifies of Jesus Christ and is just like Jesus a Peacemaker. When the apostles and followers of Jesus were wedergebore en die Heilige Gees ontvang het, they became sons of God and were appointed on earth as peacemakers of God. They were called to bring peace between (geval het) man and God.
They went out in the Naam van Jesus in His authority and the power of the Holy Spirit and represented, gepreek het, and brought the Kingdom of God to the people (both Jews and Gentiles).
Net soos Jesus, they preached the gospel of truth and spoke the words of God.
They called the people to repentance and remove their sin. They baptized them, taught them, duiwels uitgedryf, laid hands on the sick, spoke in new tongues, ens. (Matteus 28:19-20, Merk 16:15-18, Lukas 24:47)
Jesus Christ lived in them by the Holy Spirit. This Christ was the One they preached to the people. They admonished and instructed every man in every wisdom, so that they would present every man perfect (spiritually mature) in Christ Jesus.
Egter, this wasn’t always easy. The believers were constantly laboring to the point of exhaustion, engaging in a contest in which they were controlled by His energy which operated in them in power (Kolossense 1:28-29).
They were spiritual people. The believers knew, that by faith in Jesus Christ and through regeneration in Him, they had become enemies of the devil and his kingdom of darkness (die wereld).
They didn’t wrestle against people (Vlees en bloed). But they wrestled against the evil powers of darkness, who worked in the flesh and in the people around them. These demonic powers did everything they could to stop them from preaching the truth of God and bringing the Kingdom of God to the people on earth.
What is the value of the cross of Christ and His blood?
But they loved God and Jesus above all and were full of the Spirit. They only had one purpose in life and that was to preach the gospel and reach as many people as possible and reconcile them with God through the cross of Christ and His blood and establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
Their lives show us, how precious the cross and the blood of Jesus were to them and what it meant to them.
They had found the truth and the life in Christ Jesus and were reconciled with God. Therefore they didn’t compromise with the world (die donkerte).
Because compromising with the world would mean that they would compromise with the devil and bow to the devil, who is a liar, 'n dief, a misleader, a destroyer, and above all an enemy of God.
By compromising they would deny Jesus Christ and make His work of redemption on the cross and the truth powerless and of no effect.
They had laid down their own lives. They had given up their freedom in the world for the freedom of God in Jesus Christ. As gevolg daarvan, they were able to bear the rejections, persecutions, and sufferings in the flesh and many of them died as martyrs for the Name of Jesus.
The sons of God are peacemakers
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God (Matteus 5:9)
Vrede vir julle: as my Father hath sent Me, stuur ek jou ook (John 20:21)
Net soos Jesus, the apostles and followers of Jesus Christ, who are mentioned in the New Testament and became sons of God, you have become a son of God through regeneration in Jesus Christ. As a son of God (dit geld vir beide mans en wyfies), you are called and appointed to be a peacemaker of God and His Kingdom on earth.
You are not called and appointed to compromise with the world and establish worldly peace. But you are appointed to bring peace between (geval het) man and God, deur die waarheid van God te verkondig, the cross of Christ, en Sy bloed, calling the people to repentance and the removal of sin, casting out demons, and healing the sick.
Everyone makes their own choices and decides to believe in Jesus and volg Jesus of nie.
No one can force another person to make that choice. You can’t force a sinner to believe in Jesus Christ and to follow Him.
You are not called to force people. But you are called to preach the gospel. You’re called to preach the truth of God and to call the people to repentance and confront them with the works of the flesh (sonde).
If they listen and give head to your call and repent, then a soul will be saved from the power of the devil and (Ewige) dood. If they don’t want to listen, then that’s their choice.
The peacemakers of God are not silent but speak the truth of God
But you may never be silent and keep your mouth shut about the truth of God and/or endorse sin by changing the words of God into lies to approve sin. If you do that, you will be considered complicit by God and will be held accountable for their blood. Because by keeping your mouth shut and not preaching the truth of God, baie mense sal verlore gaan.
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher And how shall they preach, except they Word sent? soos dit geskryf is, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Here, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romeine 10:14-17)
the peacemakers of God bring peace and walk in the peace of God
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace (James 3:18)
Wanneer jy wedergebore is in Christus, you shall have peace with God and His peace shall be in you. You have been made righteous in Christ by His blood and His Holy Spirit abides in you. Daarom Jesus Christ is in you. He will not leave you, nor forsake you. He will always be with you and be in you (O. John 17:18-26, Kolossense 1:27).
When you stay in Him and He in you, you shall walk in peace and bear the fruit of peace and righteousness.
In the authority of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit you shall be a peacemaker of God on earth, deur die waarheid van God te verkondig, reconciling man back to God, and making them whole.
‘Wees die sout van die aarde’
