The word for peace in the old covenant scriptures is shalom. It literally means "wholeness." It is the original used in Joshua 8:30, 31. "Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal. As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is commanded in the book of the Law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron; and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings." The stones were shalom, because they were unhewn. They remained whole as in their natural state.
It was used in Nehemiah 6:15 where the wall was completed. "So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days." To finish means to make whole. In the Septuagint Version shalom is often rendered soteria, salvation which means "to restore to wholeness." The terms saved and made whole are used interchangeably in the new covenant scriptures. "And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace" (Luke 7:50). "And he said unto her, "Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace" (Luke 8:48).
Sin has shattered the personality. It has fragmented man. It is as if a beautiful vase had been struck with a rock or other foreign object and left in pieces. Then someone comes and with the eye and hand of a master craftsman puts the pieces together again and restores the vase to its former state. The vase cannot save itself. It has to be saved. It is dependent upon a power from without. The intimate relationship between peace and salvation is important to any proper understanding of our trust in God.
In the revelation of God peace seldom is used to describe what happens with the cessation of hostilities or the signing of a truce. It is not mere absence of war. It's lack is characterized by a breakdown of personal relationships with Jesus. "For I am come 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." These are strong ties by nature. Anything which disrupts them must also be powerful. One of the proofs of the magnetic power of Jesus is his effect upon the natural ties of the flesh. He transcends all such. "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."
Peace is the restoration of those broken relationships through Jesus. Just as the relationships of life break down because of attitudes toward Jesus so they are restored by an attitude toward Him. "There is no peace, saith the Lord unto the wicked" (Isa. 48:22). His very coming was announced by "a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace toward men of goodwill." He said, "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
Peter declared to the household of Cornelius that "the word of God was sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all)" (Acts 10:36). Our peace is not a written agreement. It is not a signed document. It is not a creedal statement. It is not a book of ethical precepts or legal commandments. It is a person, a divine person who came to share the lot of us all. "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us" (Eph. 2:14). He did not demand that the circumcised become uncircumcised. He did not demand that the uncircumcised become circumcised. He simply removed the wall between--so making peace!
Jesus is the great wall-wrecker between men. Just as he removed what seemed to be an insuperable wall between Jew and Gentile, so he labors to remove every wall between the believers today. As he used the cross then, so he uses it now. It was by the cross that he reconciled two divergent peoples unto God in one body. It is by the same instrument that he effects the same thing in our day. As men cease to emphasize their opinions and interpretations and exalt the cross of Jesus they see their differences disappear. No one can exalt an opinion or a man unless he denigrates Jesus, or places him in an inferior role.
Those who were sometimes afar off were made nigh by the blood of Christ. It was not by adoption of a rite which had no relevance in Christ. At the same time the blood made us near it wiped out everything which alienated and made us afar off. It purged away our alienation. We became fitly framed together. We were builded together. It is that togetherness we are to keep in the bond of peace. To break it up would nullify the work of the cross. It would count the blood of the covenant wherewith we were sanctified an unholy thing.
Peace within begins with our justification. And justification means to declare one sinless and to treat him thus. It does not mean that he is sinless, for no man could ever qualify. But God, by His abundant grace, can reckon us as such, and do so freely, for the scripture says "we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). And the ground of our justification is faith, absolute unresolved trust in the merit of His blood. This is "the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all who believe" (Rom. 3:22).
One can never know that absolute and perfect peace within as long as he has a conscience laden with guilt. With remorse for his past sins gnawing away at him, internally, with constant uneasiness as to whether he has been forgiven, with the fear of death before his eyes, he will not only chastise himself within, but will lash out at others about him. He will be of all men most miserable. He will isolate himself from his best friends and make enemies of those who love him. All of the troubles, all of the aches and pains for the body of Christ have been caused by those who did not believe they were justified, and who try to project their guilt toward others.
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Man is aware of the fact that he is a sinner. As such, he is drawn by the lusts of the flesh. He fulfills all the desires of the flesh and of the mind. He is a child of wrath. He is an enemy of God and alienated from Him. In this frightful state God, who is rich in mercy and filled with great love, lets down a rope which man can grasp, and he is raised up from an otherwise hopeless condition. He must be reconciled to God, and the death of His Son makes this possible. By faith in that tremendous act of history, the most momentous thing which has ever occurred in the annals of this world, man is restored to a proper relationship with God.
He becomes a part of the new humanity. He is a new creation. Old things pass away. All things become new. He is at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He stands in the grace of God. He rejoices in the hope of the glory of God. And everything falls into proper perspective. Tribulations, patience, experience, hope. He is dead to the past in Christ. He lives only in Jesus. He has no time for anger, wrath and malice. Hatred is foreign to his new way of existence. He is delivered from plotting the downfall of others.
The word eirene, the Greek word for peace, occurs in every book of the new covenant scriptures except 1 John. In every instance but one, in the Authorized Version it is rendered by "peace." It signifies that state of harmonious relationship attained by acceptance of the grace of God. It is active, not static. It is aggressive, not latent. It is from God, who is frequently called the God of peace. It is from Christ who is called the Lord of peace (2 Thess. 3:16). To be in perfect peace is to be whole and complete. It is to be saved, in the very fulness of that term.
The religious world is in turmoil. Believers in the Lord Jesus are fractured into hundreds of warring camps. The partisans in these splinter groups are often filled with bitterness and hatred. They have carried over into the Kingdom their previous dispositions. "For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by men and hating one another" (Titus 3:3). They are acting as if the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior had never appeared, and as if He had never saved us. All of this is contrary to the will of the Father. It is opposed to the prayer of Jesus. But the condition exists and it is useless to deny it. What should be the attitude of one who deeply loves the Christ and his fellowmen, as respects the problem of disunity and strife?
It would seem that his course is clearly outlined in the new covenant scriptures. First, he must recognize the party spirit for what it is. It is a work of the flesh. It will debar one who practices it from inheritance in the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19). This will eliminate the possibility of mistaking a desire for unity for mere ambition to build up a party. Secondly, he must actively engage in the attempt to promote peace. He must be a peacemaker if he would be called a son of God (Matt. 5:9). He cannot be indifferent, unconcerned or unmoved by the rents in the body of the Christ. He dare not withdraw into the castle and snap and snarl at those who are actively engaged in trying to do something. He must seek to promote harmony or forfeit his right to be called a son of God.
In the third place he must recognize that peace is not an accident. Unity is not a chance happening. Peace must be sought and pursued (1 Peter 3:11). It is a fruit of the Spirit which is reaped by those who sow the seed (James 3:18). Not only must peace be planted, but it must be tended. It must be fertilized. It must be cultivated and nourished. It must be aimed at. It cannot be hit upon by those who wave their weapon aimlessly and pull the trigger. "Aim at righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart." A state of division exists. It is contrary to God's will. We are charged with bringing about unity. Unity is the result of purposeful planning. It is never accidental. It follows then that true children of God must have a definite, positive approach to this problem, and they must be working on it.
We must not think we can be saved by maintaining the status quo. If a man is struck by an automobile in front of my house, I cannot shrug it off by saying that none of my immediate family are hurt, therefore, it is no concern of mine; nor can I be justified by criticizing the methods of help used by my neighbors. So it is while the body of Christ lies bleeding and broken. I cannot excuse myself by saying it does not affect my congregation or group, nor will I be justified by sitting in an ivory tower complaining that the bandages and remedies applied by others are inadequate and useless. What am I doing to bring peace to this troubled world. I must face this question some day. I want to face it now. It is not a question for the "sweet bye and bye." It is a question for the "now and now." Peace will reign in the world to come. But will it reign in this present evil world?
Peace must be waged! Some men wage war and endure hardship, privation and suffering to attain their objectives. Yet war is hell, according to one of the great generals of the past. By the same token peace is heaven. What am I willing to sacrifice as a soldier for peace, with a part of my uniform the footgear of the preparation of the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15)? Can I slog along across No Man's Land, wading through mud and gore, seeking my objective? Or will I stay in General Headquarters and play it safe? The soldier for peace must make himself vulnerable.
Can I continue the campaign if others mistake my motives, seek to undermine the strategy of peace, misrepresent what I say, and hate me for not hating others? Can I endure it to be called a rebel, a heretic and a traitor? These are all terms in the vocabulary of the factionalist. Can I endure the long hours of study, the absence from loved ones, and the constant pressure? That all depends upon whether the Cause in which I have enlisted is a passing fancy, a shimmering delusion, or a real and consuming passion.
If I am dedicated to the Christ, crucified to the world and sanctified by the Spirit, then "None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself." The disunity, bitterness, party spirit and division which exist today have come from the seeds of animosity and hatred, planted in fertile soil by our forefathers. They separated from one another in their anger and fed the growing atmosphere of distrust by their stubbornness. Shall we continue to walk in the same weary rut like a blind horse on a treadmill? Will we bequeath to our children and grandchildren a granary stored with the seed of distrust and malice? If peace is a fruit it cannot be gathered until men prepare the soil and sow the seed. Shall I not leave a heritage of working for peace? Shall I not show them the gate leading to blessing, rather than to death?
How can peace be waged? Perhaps we have practiced disunity so long we do not know how to plead for unity. I will venture to state a few convictions which I feel must be a part of the strategy for peace. Peace must be waged in love. "If there is . . . any incentive of love . . . complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind" (Phil 2:1, 2). Love is the incentive to unity and not vice versa. We do not love each other because we are of the same mind; we come to be of the same mind because we love each other. It is not unity which promotes love, but love which promotes unity. "If you love those who love you, what reward have you?" (Matt. 5:46). I must begin, continue and finish in love.
It is inconceivable that I would mistreat, abuse, or take unfair advantage of someone whom I love. Therefore if one differs with me upon matters relating to the service of God, I must make a difference between the person and what he advocates. Jesus died for him. He may not have died for what he argues. It will help me to realize that he is sincere about what he says although I may deem it to be in error. He cannot say anything else if he really believes it. I cannot suggest unity based upon the sacrifice of honestly-held conviction. I can receive him while mentally rejecting what he assumes is correct.
I must listen to what he says, weighing it carefully and dispassionately, always acceding to what is truth, and then, in kindness, reasoning with him, on points of disagreement. It is quite sectarian to imagine that he is wrong upon everything because he is mistaken about some things. My first task should be to see where we can agree, rather than to ferret out areas of disagreement. We can stand together upon anything that both of us conceive of as truth. And from that we can reason toward greater agreement upon other matters.
Under no circumstance must I sacrifice principle in order to have the good will of men. However, I must distinguish between those things that are basic and essential to a relationship unto God and those matters which are incidental. "It is my prayer that your love may be more and more accompanied by clear knowledge and keen perception, for testing things that differ, so that you may be men of transparent character" (Phil. 1:9, 10. Weymouth). Love accompanied by clear knowledge and keen perception. What a trio of excellencies! To be willing to talk together, to exchange views in love, to treat each other as equals, does not imply an acceptance of all the varied viewpoints at once--or ever!
All truth is equally true but it is not all of equal importance. It is true that the scriptures teach that Methuselah was 969 years old when he died. And I believe that. But it is not nearly so important as the fact that Jesus died for my sins. It is a fact that after the Supper Jesus and the eleven sang a song and went out to the Mount of Olives, but that does not strike a responsive chord in my heart as does the account of what transpired in the Garden of Gethsemane. I have known men to get so intense in debating about the way in which the supper was served that they never got around to its real purpose.
Any strategy of unity for those who have been estranged must begin with association. It cannot begin anywhere else. If a married couple have gotten on each other's nerves until the wife has had to leave, they will never be together again until they begin to meet. So long as they stay aloof and nurture their hatred they will grow farther apart. The same thing holds true in the realm of religion. If there has come a formal break it can never be repaired until the two sides begin to associate together.
We do not shoot men full of peace nor bombard them with unity! Peace and unity come as a result of patient striving in love, of long years of fruitful discussion and contact, of mutual understanding arrived at through long periods of prayer and study together. Unity can never be secured by two persons or groups who draw their rigid battle lines, and seek only to replenish their own supply of ammunition from God's arsenal so they may blast each other into submission. Such a course makes for wresting the scriptures, creating arguments where God has made none, public debates with their rabid followings, and the drawing away in sadness of those hungry souls who ask for bread and are given a stone, who ask a fish and are given a serpent.
Fair treatment of those who differ with us, a recognition of brotherhood in Jesus of all immersed penitent believers--these do not mean endorsement of error, compromise with false concepts, nor acceptance of interpretations that we believe to be wrong. They rather constitute only the foundation upon which we all may explore our major problems, and from such contacts as are established build a better and brighter prospect for tomorrow.
It is only those who have an inner fear that they lack truth who shrink back from contact and withdraw into the confines of partisan citadels. Let us feel a sense of compassion for those who dare not face the battle, but let those who possess the vision and courage not be daunted, but press the battle for peace. "For God hath called us to peace."