Hebrews 12:14-29 - Pursue Peace

I don’t go to Kings Park much, it is a bit far away, but some time ago when Stephnie and I were there we drove around and noticed that they had made a lot of changes since our previous visit. During our visit, as we checked out some of the changes that had been made, we had the opportunity to go to the War Memorial. I have been to it a number of times, but this was the first time I had ever been to the War Memorial when the chamber underneath, the chamber containing all of the plaques to the fallen in World War I, was actually open. So we decided to go over and have a look.

On the outside they have placed the plaques to all those who lost their lives during the Second World War, and as we looked, we found the name of one of Stephanie's great-uncles, as well as one of the members at Wattle Grove Baptist who gave his life in Malaya. We then went inside to look at the plaques on the inside, and I was overwhelmed when I saw the names of the thousands of West Australians who left these shores during the First War and never came home again.

In some families, not only did one son lose his life, but two, and in some cases even three sons lost their lives fighting for their country.

But alongside those who fell during the First War, there are plaques to Australians who fought and died in Korea, Malaya, Vietnam, and now also in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But even though World War I ended one hundred and eight years ago, and World War II finished eight-one years ago, and Vietnam finished fifty-one years ago, there are still ongoing conflicts throughout the world.

In the one hundred and eight years since the "war to end all wars" ended, the world has seen a lot of war, and the world has seen precious little peace. And this is in spite of the fact that we read in Isaiah 9:6-7:

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Jesus himself said in Matthew 5:9:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Then again in John 14:27:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

We read in John 20:19 that:

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

It is interesting that the very first words that Jesus spoke to his disciples in all of their doubt, fear, and confusion, his first words were words of "peace".

In twelve of Paul's thirteen letters, as well as Peter's two letters, Jude, 2 John, and the Revelation, the author wishes for his readers that "God's peace" would be a reality in their lives.

Therefore, it is little wonder that here, in the middle of Hebrews 12, as our author has just finished his great theological message to them about the greatness of Jesus, and as he is about to, in this last chapter and a half, as he is about to talk to them about what it means to live as a community of believers, his very first words to them are:

Pursue peace with everyone.

The NIV translates this as:

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone.

And that gets to the meaning quite well. For to "pursue" something speaks of a dogged determination to achieve a goal. To find that which is sought after. To gain that prize. To not give up. Or, as the NIV puts it, "to make every effort". This identical phrase, to "make every effort to live in peace",[1] or to "pursue peace", occurs a number of times in the Bible. Peter quoted Psalm 34:14 when he said that a follower of Jesus should:

turn away from evil and do good; let them seek peace and pursue it.[2]

Paul told Timothy to:

Shun youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.[3]

He said to the church in Rome:

Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.[4]

As we read the New Testament, we find that various writers also use a word that means, "to live in peace" with someone.[5]

Jesus said in Mark 9:50b:

be at peace with one another.

While Paul said in Romans 12:18:

If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

And in 2 Corinthians 13:11b:

Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

And finally, in 1 Thessalonians 5:13a Paul says that we are to:

Be at peace among yourselves.

Isn't it interesting that the very first thing that the author of Hebrews tells this group of believers in this final section of his letter, as he begins to explain to them what it means to live as a community of believers, the very first thing that he stresses is the need for "peace" among them as a community of believers.

When our author says this, he doesn't have in mind the Hebrew word, “shalom,”[6] which also has the idea of "wholeness" or "well-being". Instead, when he encourages these believers to "live in peace", he has the idea of "the absence of conflict". The "resolution of conflict". "Reconciliation". The "restoration" of broken relationships.

One thing we notice as we read the book of Hebrews is that this group of believers was a group in conflict. They were in conflict with other Christians, which is seen by their separating themselves from other believers, which is why he tells them in Hebrews 10:25 to:

not neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Don't divide yourselves from other believers. Don't be in conflict with other believers. Instead, "pursue peace" and be reconciled with your fellow believers.

We read as well, particularly in Hebrews 13, that this group of Christians were separating themselves from the leadership of the Christian community in their area. This is why he says in Hebrews 13:7:

Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

And in Hebrews 13:24:

Greet all your leaders and all the saints.

Remember them and greet them, and he says this because this group of Jewish Christians had broken off from their leaders and had rejected their help and their teaching during this time of crisis and spiritual questioning.

He then says in Hebrews 13:17:

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls and will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with sighing—for that would be harmful to you.

It is certain that he only had to say all of this because they were in conflict with the leadership of the church.

• Because they had no "peace" within their community.

• Because they had no peace with those outside of the community.

• Because they had no "peace" with those in the role of spiritual leadership within the church.

Not only that, but because of what was happening in Palestine, and how the Roman army was crushing their fellow Jews, these Jewish Christians had a great deal of internal conflict with and anger at the Roman Empire, and, as we have seen, they were also in conflict with God as they began to reject the Gospel, as they began to turn from the Gospel of Christ back to law and works.

This was a group of believers who were in conflict with everybody, and so the first thing that our author tells them as he seeks to teach them what it means to live in community, he tells them to "pursue peace". "Pursue peace". That is, begin to deal with the conflicts that exist in your lives. Be reconciled with others. Be restored in your relationships with others because you cannot continue to live your lives as you are. Fighting. Bitter. Angry. Suspicious.

Conflict. Unresolved issues. A lack of “peace” will only ever destroy relationships. It will never build them up.

How many marriages have been destroyed because couples did not "pursue peace" with each other, but instead lived their lives in ongoing conflict?

How many parents and children never talk to each other because both parent and child decided that they weren't going to "pursue peace". That they weren't going to seek forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration with the other?

 How many nations, political parties, companies, families, communities and even churches have been torn apart because one group was at loggerheads with another group, and neither group "pursued peace"? So he tells them, first of all, that the absolute necessity for any community of believers, is that those believers "pursue peace" with one another.

But notice everything else that he says here in Hebrews 12:14-15. Firstly he tells them:

Pursue peace with everyone.

Which is pretty inclusive and allows for no exceptions. But he then goes on and says to them:

and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled.

Each of these last three, holiness, not missing out on grace, and not allowing bitterness to control us, each of these three flow quite naturally from that first command, "pursue peace". For how can our lives be filled with holiness, if they are also filled with anger, rage, malice, envy, rejection, fear, suspicion, and division?

After all, as James 3:11 says:

Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water?

How can we experience the full grace of God in our own lives, and how can we share the grace of God with others, if we are so divided from other people that we never speak to them or, if we did, they would never listen. How can we experience the full grace of God if anger, resentment, and hatred rule our lives? How can we experience the peace of God and all that God desires for us if we allow the bitterness of past hurts to dominate and control our lives. Growing, spreading, and controlling all of our thoughts and all of our actions.

This is where his illustration of Esau comes in.

Esau was a man who was in conflict with his brother Jacob, and quite possibly with his mother Rebekah, and this conflict was brought about through the favouritism that Rebekah showed Jacob.

Esau was a man who did not seek "holiness" but who lived a life of selfish pleasure and desire.

Esau was a man who missed God's grace because he chose to live for today rather than to live for God.

Esau was a man who allowed a root of bitterness to absorb him and overwhelm him to the point where he planned to kill his own brother, Jacob, and, if Jacob had not fled, Esau would have killed his brother, and in so doing his bitterness would have defiled not only himself, but his brother, his mother, and his father.

Pursue peace.

I know that I am a bit of an idealist at times, but I am not so naïve that I don't understand that, at times, conflict is inevitable. I mean, Paul himself said in Romans 12:18:

If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

As far as it depends upon you. We can't help what others do, and it is a sad reality that some people are just itching for a fight, and yet, the fight, the argument, the disagreement, the division, the rebellion, the refusal to reconcile and to forgive; none of these should ever be our first choice, or our first option. If they come at all, they should only ever come after we have pursued peace, but our approaches to peace and reconciliation have been rejected, and, of course, they should never come from us, for these things are not the way of Christ.

What is it that Jesus taught us in the Lord's Prayer:

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.[7]

What did the Apostle Paul say in Colossians 3:13?

Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Forgiveness and reconciliation are always to be our response, even if, as Jesus told Peter, even if our brother sins against us seventy-seven times, we still forgive. We still "make peace".

Jesus taught us that no matter "whose fault it is", we are always to take the first step towards this reconciliation, restoration, forgiveness, and peace. Jesus taught us in Matthew 18:15:

If a [brother or sister] sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If they listen to you, you have regained that one.

In other words, if it is his or her fault. If the other person is responsible for causing the hurt, the pain, the suffering, or the division, then go to them. Talk to them. Try to sort it out. Try and bring forgiveness and reconciliation.

What we see as Jesus teaches us is that we are to go first of all in private, then to take a witness, and finally to bring it to the church for a decision. Jesus is teaching us to go and go and go. We seek peace and we pursue it. As much as it depends upon us, we seek to be reconciled and restored to the person who has brought hurt and pain into the lives of others. Even if it is "someone else's fault", "seeking peace", is still our responsibility.

But Jesus also taught us in Matthew 5:23-24:

When you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.

That is, if it is our fault. If we are the person responsible for causing the hurt, the pain, the suffering, the division, then it is our responsibility to go and sort it out, to "pursue peace" with the person who has been hurt by our words or actions.

What I find amazing in the teaching of Jesus is that it is never "their responsibility" to come to me. It is always "my responsibility" to go to them. It is always "my responsibility" to seek peace, so that there might be holiness. So that we all might experience the grace of God in its fullness. So that no bitter root grows up and defiles many.

Again, what I find amazing in the command of Paul to "pursue peace",[8] and the command of Peter to "pursue peace",[9] and the command found in the Psalms to "pursue peace",[10] and the command in Hebrews 12:14 to "pursue peace", what I find amazing in all of this is that these commands were never given to "the other guy". They were always given to me.

As I read the word of God. As I listen to God speaking through his word. As I seek to apply the word of God to my life, this command to "pursue peace", is God speaking to me about how I should live in a community of believers. It is God speaking to me about how I should respond to the world around me. It is God speaking to me about how I should respond to the hurts, struggles, pain, and sorrows of life.

As much as we may like to, we cannot hang on to the hurts and bitterness of the past. We cannot hang on to "what they did to me". We cannot "maintain the rage” and then expect to grow in holiness and Christlikeness. Instead, if we hang on to the hurts, then those hurts, bitterness, and anger will grow up within us like that bitter root, they will destroy our lives, and they will bring hurt to everyone around us.

The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4:31-32:

Put away from you all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and wrangling, and slander, together with all malice.

These are things that are inconsistent with a profession of faith in Jesus. These are things which do not build us up, but which destroy.

Instead we are told to:

be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Or, to sum it up, "pursue peace".

Think of the difference it would have made one hundred and twelve years ago if Austria would have responded to the murder of Archduke Ferdinand, not with threats of violence, unreasonable demands, and then a declaration of war against Serbia, but think of the difference it would have made if they had responded in calmness and peace. Seeking justice for the murder, most certainly, but if they had not sought "revenge".

If they had, there would be no war memorial on the hill at Kings Park with plaques containing the names of thousands of West Australians.

Think about the difference it would have made if they had "pursued peace".

Think what would have happened if the colonial powers, instead of trying to hang on to their colonies, they had instead assured freedom and stable government to those they had governed.

Insurgencies and rebellions would never have happened in many African countries. Indonesia. The Philippines, which the United States gained as the spoils of war from Spain and then refused to give independence to. If the colonial powers had "sought peace", then there would have been no Vietnam war, and who knows what the Middle East would be like now if people had "pursued peace" rather than selfishness and greed.

Think of how much more the Gospel could have impacted the world if individual churches and denominations had not divided and remained bitter enemies over issues that had nothing whatsoever to do with the Gospel? If they had "sought peace" with their brothers and sisters instead of selfishness, pride, and their own way.

In America, the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians all divided into North and South, long before the American Civil War divided the country.

Here in Chidlow, we are a community of believers, and it is inevitable that we will have differences of opinion from time to time. It is even quite possible that, in our differences of opinion over some issue, words will be spoken that are stronger or harsher than we would prefer them to be. It is, perhaps, possible that over some issue or another we will divide into two or more camps. Each with a strongly held opinion. Each with a strongly worded opinion.

The question isn't, "is this going to happen?", because in the history of every church it does happen from time to time. The real question is:

• In the middle of our differences, are we going to "pursue peace"?

• In the middle of our conflict, are we going to pursue holiness?

• In the middle of wanting our own way, are we going to ensure that everyone experiences God’s grace?

• In the middle of the challenge, in our differences of opinion, are we going to ensure that no bitterness takes root that will destroy either an individual believer or the church itself?

The same is true in our marriages, our families, our workplaces, and the communities in which we live. The question is not "will it happen". The real question is, "when it does happen, will we 'pursue peace'"? And so:

Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled.[11]

[1] eivrhnhn diwkete

[2] 1 Peter 3:11

[3] 2 Timothy 2:22

[4] Romans 14:19

[5] eivrhneuw

[6] שָׁלוֹם

[7] Matthew 6:12, 14-15

[8] Romans 14:19

[9] 1 Peter 3:11

[10] Psalm 33:15

[11] Hebrews 12:14-15