Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Becoming Children of God

Matthew 5:9 calls God’s people to be peacemakers, not people who mealy mouth Scripture or tiptoe around truth. The blessing belongs to those who make peace because peacemaking looks like the family resemblance of the children of God. Christians ought to be the easiest people to live with, not because they have no opinions, preferences, or convictions, but because every little matter does not have to become a battle.

Pride stands behind much contention. Pride says, “My way is right. Your way is dumb,” then tries to yell long enough and loud enough to force a surrender. Humility, by contrast, begins the inward work that makes outward peace possible. Proverbs calls it a glory to pass over a transgression, and sometimes letting it go is not weakness at all. The Holy Spirit gives believers an advantage in keeping perspective, keeping calm, and refusing to let a dark heart drive the moment.

The tongue can kindle a fire that lasts far longer than a physical wound. Words can cut up a person and throw the pieces in the trash, while gossip drags another person into a burden that never belonged to them. Restraint gives anger time to come under control, especially in homes, workplaces, and moments of disappointment. Peace requires believers to stop before spouting off and ask God for His heart toward the soul standing in front of them.

Peace also considers others. Romans 12 calls believers to prefer one another, and Philippians 2 calls them to look beyond their own things to the things of others. Truth and principle must never be compromised, but personal preference does not deserve the same battlefield. A person can either insist on always being right or seek to be happy and at peace, because winning an argument while losing a person is no real victory.

Christ Himself sets the pattern. God reconciled enemies to Himself through the death of His Son, and Christ took the form of a servant rather than protecting His reputation. The ministry of reconciliation is not about getting people reconciled to a Christian’s ego. The ministry points sinners toward reconciliation with God. A bitter, combative testimony can shut the door before an unbeliever ever hears the gospel clearly.

Peacemaking visibly testifies to Christ. People notice forgiveness, restraint, kindness, an apology, and a refusal to gossip or retaliate. Difficult people will always exist, like a brick sticking out from a wall, but believers do not have to bruise their shoulders against that brick every day. The child of God lowers the temperature in the room, keeps the door open, and makes Christ’s reconciling grace believable in daily life.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Pride turns disagreement into contention [46:16] Pride makes every difference of opinion feel like a threat that must be defeated. Humility recognizes that many conflicts are not about truth, but about the craving to have things done one particular way. The child of God can lay down personal insistence without laying down biblical conviction. [46:16]
• 2. Restraint protects souls from lasting wounds [50:01] The tongue can leave injuries that remain long after the moment has passed. Restraint is not silence born of fear, but strength governed by the Spirit. Anger can be real without becoming sinful when it is brought under control before words are released. [50:01]
• 3. Peace seeks reconciliation, not personal victory [01:01:49] Victory becomes hollow when an argument wins the point but loses the person. Christ’s reconciliation of sinners shows that love is willing to bear cost for another person’s good. A Christian testimony carries eternal weight when it values another soul more than a personal win. [61:49]
• 4. Kindness keeps the gospel door open [01:14:18] Peace becomes visible when a believer refuses retaliation, offers respect, and admits wrong. An unbeliever may not understand doctrine immediately, but that person understands mercy in a hard moment. Christlike kindness can keep open a door that pride would slam shut.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [40:46] - Blessed Are the Peacemakers
• [43:04] - Christians Should Be Easy to Live With
• [46:16] - Peace Begins With Humility
• [49:24] - Restraint Over the Tongue
• [53:12] - Peace Considers Others
• [57:54] - Preference Builds Trust
• [61:49] - Reconciliation Instead of Victory
• [63:17] - A Testimony Before the Lost
• [68:31] - Peacemaking Reflects God
• [70:18] - The Ministry of Reconciliation
• [73:35] - Lowering the Temperature
• [77:49] - Walking Around the Sticking Brick
• [80:25] - Be a True Representative of Christ

1. According to Matthew 5:9, what name is given to peacemakers, and what does that name show about their relationship to God? [00:42:03]
2. Proverbs 13:10 connects contention with pride. What attitudes and actions commonly show up when pride is driving a disagreement? [00:46:16]
3. What two actions do Romans 12:10 and Philippians 2:3-4 call believers to take toward other people: preferring them and esteeming them better than themselves?
4. In Romans 12:18, what limits and responsibilities are included in the words, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you”? [01:07:48]

1. Does being a peacemaker mean that a believer must never disagree or speak firmly? How can a believer tell the difference between standing for biblical truth and fighting over personal preference? [01:01:49]
2. Proverbs 19:11 says it is a glory to pass over a transgression. What kinds of offenses may be wisely overlooked, and what kinds of situations may need a humble, honest conversation instead? [00:48:20]
3. Christ reconciled sinners to God when they were His enemies. How does that truth shape the way a believer should treat a difficult person, especially when that person may not know Christ? [01:08:59]
4. The ministry of reconciliation is about helping people be reconciled to God, not simply getting them to agree with another person. How does that change the meaning of “winning” in a conflict? [01:10:28]

1. Is there a place at home, work, church, or online where the desire to be right has been stronger than the desire to make peace? What would humility look like in that specific situation? [00:47:01]
2. When anger rises, what words, tones, texts, or posts are most likely to cause lasting damage? What practical pause could help bring that anger under control before speaking? [00:51:52]
3. Is there a hurt, disappointment, or irritating habit that has been carried too long? Would passing over that offense bring peace, or is there a need for a calm conversation to seek healing? [00:48:23]
4. Where could giving another person a preference this week bring peace without compromising truth, conviction, or biblical principle? [00:54:40]
5. Is there someone who has been treated as a problem to defeat rather than an eternal soul to love? What would it look like to keep the door open through kindness, respect, or an apology? [01:05:09]
6. When entering a room, a meeting, or a family conversation, does the usual effect tend to lower the temperature or raise it? What one change in attitude or speech could help bring peace? [01:13:23]
7. Is there a “sticking brick”—a difficult person or repeated irritation—that cannot be changed? How could stepping around that conflict, instead of running into it again, bring peace to others as well? [01:17:49]