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Things Which Make for Peace

by Tim Nichols

There is a progression that leads us from darkness to light. Having escaped the darkness, there is a forward advance into the light. Growth and spiritual development do not end at the dawn between the two. David exhorts us to  “depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it” (Psa. 34:14). Having departed from evil, individually and collectively, let us proceed to grow together and to walk arm-in-arm in pursuing peace and doing good. The fact that so many of our number have retreated into darkness only highlights the importance of nurturing and building up that wonderful unity that remains among the people of God (Psa. 133:1). Peace, harmony, and good will do not just happen. They require effort (Rom. 12:18; 1 Pet. 3:11). Please consider a few suggestions for how we might “follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another” (Rom. 14:19; Eph. 4:3; Heb. 12:14).

Tolerate all that you have the right to tolerate.

Romans 14 obligates us to receive those whose faith is yet weak as long as they do not press their notions to agitation. Forbearance and patient teaching over a long period of time will often correct what might have been disruptive if confronted harshly and quickly. Even regarding matters of obligation there are distinctions that can be made between what some untaught members merely believe and what they press upon others. We must understand that the babe in Christ has much to learn and much to unlearn.

One is not a “false teacher” merely because he or she holds quietly to an unbiblical idea while humbly and sincerely studying the Truth. Some years ago, a new sister in Christ was openly angry with me when I could not yield to some of the ideas that had remained with her after she left denominationalism. She recently told me that she counts me as her best friend. Time, teaching, acceptance, humility on her part, and patience have erased the ideas from her mind that might have become divisive wedges. The church is to be a place where babes can grow. We must tolerate opinions, things merely believed incorrectly, personality quirks, and such like to the very limit of our right to tolerate them if babes are ever to reach maturity in Christ.

Challenge all that you have a duty to challenge.

Hesitation regarding this duty has contributed to disunity in the past. Well-meaning men have wrongly believed that inaction is a virtue regarding matter in which God has given us obligation to act. Every full-blown false doctrine and practice that has divided the church began as a tiny seed in some local congregation. I suspect that many would  have gone no further if they had been lovingly and decisively challenged according to God’s plan (Tit. 3:10).

Similarly, winking at sin (slander, fornication, etc.) when we know it exists only emboldens other weak Christians to feel free to imitate it. The Corinthians were seemingly proud of their tolerance when it should have been their shame (1 Cor. 5). Contain it and dispense with it early, before it grows into a monster. This action is an expression of love for the brethren.

Agree quickly with your adversary.

Disputes will arise that are difficult to understand or explain. Tempers may flare at times. Insults may come our way. We may become guilty of some offense that we can dimly recognize even without giving it a name. Others may be clearer to us. Let us be swift to make things right. Be ready to accept the smallest overtures for reconciliation with your brethren without compromising your Biblical duty (Matt. 5:23-25; Prov. 6:3-5; 25:8). Major wars begin with minor skirmishes. Minor skirmishes are best ended in handshakes.

Forgive all that you have the right to forgive.

A greater wisdom than our own has fashioned the rules, and they are better than those we might have written (Jam. 3:17). If our brother sins against us seventy times seven and repents as many times, we are to forgive him (Matt. 18:21-22; Luke 17:4). Our sense that maybe his repentance is insincere, our concern that he might repeat the act, or other such things do not release us from the obligation to forgive. If we are unforgiving, then we will be unforgiven (Matt. 6:12; Mark 11:25-26). We are to forgive as we have been forgiven (Eph. 4:31-32; Col. 3:13). Kindness cultivates repentance (Rom. 2:4). Although we cannot actually forgive one who is unrepentant, we can and should continue to show charitableness toward that one without compromising Biblical principles.

There is room for genuine compassion for the one who is caught in the Devil’s snare (2 Tim. 2:24-26), even when his sins have caused us personal harm and distress. The milk of human kindness may help to soften a heart that might otherwise refuse to repent. Just as God’s offer to forgive us was made while we were yet impenitent sinners (Rom. 5:8), our offer, yearning, and disposition to forgive should be made as obvious as we can make it. It is always easier for a prodigal to return home when he has a sense that open arms await him.

We have the right (and duty) to forgive the brother who tells us that he has repented. After that brother has repented, our reaffirmation of love for him will serve to insulate him from the devices Satan uses to recapture his freed captives (2 Cor. 2:3-11). In so many ways, love hides a multitude of sins (Jam. 5:20; Prov. 10:12; 1 Pet. 4:8). When it is directed by God’s perfect guidance, love makes for peace.

Be actively interested in the lives of your brethren.

While some “pop psychologists” may overstate the case for the social needs of men (and some brethren seemingly believe that the work of the church is to provide all sorts of equipment and buildings that might facilitate them), it remains true that we need one another. We really do meet one another’s social needs when we live together as God directs. The equipment does not involve big round balls people bounce upon hard floors or little white balls they hit with a stick.

Rather, it involves at lest two real people who are struggling in the real world to live lives that will glorify God. It concerns caring hearts, listening ears, and unpretentious appreciation for the joys, sorrows, and strivings of brethren. It has to do with recognizing the church of Christ as a “body” — not just in the blackboard illustrations, but in real life. The rich provide something needed by the poor that has nothing to do with money, and the poor provide the gift of acceptance for the rich that could not have been purchased with a fortune. The uneducated add something to the lives of the lettered that has to do with what is beyond mere knowledge of facts, and the scholar offers to his brethren what is better than a lecture on some science.

The ground is level at the foot of the cross. We, brethren, are members of a body that is greater than any one of us — or any subset of us. “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Cor. 12:26). This empathy is not automatic, but we really can choose to have “compassion one of another,” to “love as brethren, be pitiful” and “be courteous” (1 Pet. 3:8).

Paul calls upon us to be involved actively in one another’s lives:

Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own deceits (Rom. 12:15-16).

When a brother or sister accomplishes some honorable thing, we can choose to join in and rejoice. When a brother or sister meets with misfortune, we can choose to allow that circumstance to touch our hearts and draw forth sincere sympathy. Obedience to these commands also— and exercise of these principles in the church of our Lord — will certainly be “things which make for peace.”

Encourage every good work and individual.

Hesitation here has possibly contributed to discouragement and disunity in the past. To withhold a hearty pat on the back for the unknown preacher who has just delivered a fine Gospel sermon, out of fear that he might possibly be unworthy of endorsement for some other reason, is to increase the possibility that he will later become unworthy of endorsement. Although events in the past several years have led us to be reasonably suspicious and cautious, they have not given us cause to assume that all unknown brethren are guilty until proven innocent. Qualify your approval if you must, but “withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it in the power of thine hand to do it” (Prov. 3:27; see also Rom. 13:7; Gal. 6:10; Jan. 5:4).

Brethren, we are in this together. Let us be the children of God (Matt. 5:9). Let us, together, “follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Tim. 2:22). May these few suggestions help us to do just that! 

Other Articles by Tim Nichols
Thoughts About the Difference Between Character and Reputation
The Prudent Pause
Decisive Speech or Divisive Silence