Hebrews 12:14
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Admittedly, there are passages of Scripture that, simply stated, slap us right up side the face. We know they are there, yet we speak of them very infrequently. We steer clear of them if possible, but the fact is they are there and they command our attention every bit as much as more often cited passages. Hebrews 12:14, to me, is one such passage.
A Christian’s business is not to make war in any way. Many confuse the fact that Christian’s are engaged in spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:10-17; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6) with the ongoing investment in the war process. This is most unfortunate because we tend to transpose current societal states of affairs and approaches upon spiritual states of affairs, and then begin fighting spiritual battles with worldly means.
Jesus, “the way, truth and life” (John 14:6) came to show a better way. In his book, The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Way that Jesus is the Way, Eugene Peterson states, “Jesus is an alternative to the dominant ways of the world, not a supplement to them.” This couldn’t be more true. Jesus was legitimately bucking His culture, a hard sell to be sure, and yet it was with the intent of establishing a Way that will sustain God’s people for the long haul. God’s people will need it, for life is riddled with obstacles, distractions and disruptions.
The Jesus Way was a way of peace. Why? Because He had sealed the victory. His death, burial and resurrection secured it (1 Corinthians 15:50-58). The devil is defeated. He knows it. There’s nothing he can do about it, except try to bring as many people down with him. Isn’t this the message of Revelation? Consequently, this is why Jesus was tempted in the fashion He was by Satan (Matthew 4:1ff). Satan knew there was no way around the defeat, so he sought to throw Jesus off His Way. He offers Him “the kingdoms of the world” through an easier means other than the cross. I think He did so because he was resigned to defeat. Jesus’ Way of Life would not be thwarted by Satan, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, or by anyone else for that matter. Inevitably, Satan hits us the same way.
The war in which we are engaged is personal. You and Satan are going at it. Satan and I are going at it. He is a sniper looking to take us out. He is the one who plants bombs in our lives, hoping we step on one of his many destructive land mines.
So many have become Satan’s casualties and don’t even realize it. So our battle iss’t with them. Paul emphatically states such. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12), but rather our fight is with “rulers…authorities…cosmic powers…spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places (emphasis mine).” The unfortunate thing is that people, Satan’s casualties, are caught up in the chaos. So the Christ-like imperative is to make peace not war with them. This doesn’t mean we ignore sin and error. It means we, with the mindset and heart of Jesus, “save others by snatching them out of the fire” (Jude 23). But we do so and people striving for peace, not agitating war! This, unquestionably, is the Hebrews writer’s point in Hebrews 12:14. Whence did it come? Could it be anyone but Jesus (cf. Matthew 5:9)?
We do this, in part, by way of respect, treating people with dignity. Peter tells of the need to “Honor everyone” (1 Peter 2:17). Paul encourages to “Outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10). When we resort to the often undignified tactics of war, it is impossible to treat people with dignity, respect and honor.
Our job is to strive to make peace with all of humanity. It is not to ridicule, belittle, denigrate and slander. Such doesn’t reflect the mind of Christ. With Christ as our model, let us strive to make peace. Let’s speak truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Let them be won to Christ with grace, kindness and love!
