I threw this idea that people seek the church as this place of peace. This is not a bad thing. The church should be a place of peace. But how should this kind of peace be described and expected as one becomes a part of the church? I mean Jesus said in John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage." This word he uses for peace here is found 92 times in the New Testament and can range in meaning from a state of national tranquility, being without war or conflict, or the "the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is" (Barclay-Newman).
I can assume that Jesus was definitely alluding to the latter meaning more than the first. The Jews were anticipating a national Messiah to rescue them from their enemies and create a reestablishment of the nation of Israel as a world powerhouse. Yet Jesus uses this same word of peace when he said, "do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword" (Matt. 10:34). Jesus was not planning on using the sword to bring peace to the earth for the nation of Israel. There was to be no mistake. Jesus was not here to bring peace to the earth. But why did He later said that He was giving peace to "you?" Connect the two and He was saying that He was bringing a sword that would bring peace to man's soul!
This sword and peace connection is also found in Hebrews. Chapters 3 and 4 in Hebrews talk a lot about this "rest" or better translated as "resting place," this place of peace. It is up to individuals to diligently seek this resting place through faith in God's message. Those who are slack in seeking this resting place may find themselves short of arriving at the resting place because of their lack of obedience to hear God's message. Right in the midst of this passage is this well known verse: "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). Finding the true resting place only happens as we use the word of God to convict us of our sin and seek God's way of righteousness. True peace only exists in God's resting place. Sin and God cannot co-exist. Sin has left us short of the glory of God, short of finding rest from our work, short of living in this resting place we expect to find in the church.
The Psalmist agrees when he said, "There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin" (Ps. 38:3).
So what am I saying about this peace that we are seeking to have? Peace is not the absence of conflict, it is the absense of sin, through which happens as we fight with our sinful desires and thoughts of the heart with God's double-edged sword of His Word.
So don't be upset with preachers who "make" you feel guilty. You may just be and if you don't like dealing with it, don't be surprised when you keep falling short of coming to God's resting place.
Posts
