Sermon: June 15, 2008

"The Fruit of the Spirit is...Peace"

(scripture references are clickable)

Romans 5:1-11

Ephesians 2:11-22

We’re continuing in our sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit, the nine virtues, the nine types of behavior that make up our new and abundant life lived out in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Already, we have seen that this includes agape love – an unconquerable, unselfish love, a love that chooses to put the other’s needs first no matter what.  Last week, thanks to our wonderful Clerk of Session, we also saw that this new life is a life of joy – a delight and trust in the Lord, even in the midst of suffering, in good times and in bad.  And today, we’ll look at the third virtue that makes up the Fruit of the Spirit:  peace.  The Fruit of the Spirit is peace. 

And like with love and joy, we must spend some time defining that word “peace”, as it is used in so many ways today.  In English, we generally define peace negatively, or by what it is not.  Peace for us is often merely the absence of conflict.  So, if I’m not beating you over the head with a stick, I can legitimately say that I’m at peace with you.  This is how we can say that the USA and USSR were always at peace, when in reality, that was far from true.  We also use peace in a very subjective way, referring to an emotional inner peace which in many ways is nothing more than a warm feeling.  If I hear a nice song, get a hug and have a cat jump up into my lap, then I’m at peace and I feel good. 

That’s all well and good, but it’s far from the Biblical definition of peace.  In the Old Testament, the word used for peace is shalom, which means “completeness, soundness and well-being”.[1]  This peace extends to all areas of life:  material, physical and spiritual.  Peace, in other words, is the good life; to be at peace means to have a life that is full, right and good.  Consequently, to be at peace with someone means more than just not being at war with them; it means having a full, complete, sound relationship with them, a relationship that seeks what is good and right with them.  This is a fuller definition of what peace is, and as you can see, there is a lot that goes into having peace.  In the Old Testament, peace is usually linked with truth and with righteousness.  Consider our call to worship, which tells us that “righteousness and peace kiss each other” (Psalm 85:10, NIV).  Similarly, in the New Testament, peace (eirene, from which we get the name “Irene”) is usually linked with grace and righteousness. 

And if we stop to think about that, it should make sense, for the enemy of peace is sin.  Why are we not at peace with God?  Because we sin and rebel against Him!  We refuse to do things His way, instead desiring to be our own gods.  Therefore, we are not at peace with ourselves, for we are not living as we should live, as God created us to live.  And furthermore, that means that we are not at peace with each other, again because we sin, because we insist on what is good for us and bad for others.  All that robs us of peace.  Because we rob ourselves of righteousness, truth and grace, we don’t live in peace.  And one of the things we all desperately want is peace, right?

We see the effects of this most graphically spelled out in the plans for the Old Testament Temple.  You may have seen pictures of this in your study Bibles sometime.  The Temple itself was laid out in a series of courtyards, with the actual Holy Place, the place where God was said to dwell, in the center.  Your access and closeness to God’s presence was determined by how far inward you could go.  The innermost court was the Court of the Priests; only male members of the priestly families of the tribe of Levi were allowed this close to the Holy Place.  Next came the Court of Israel; that was as far as Jewish men were allowed to go.  Even further out came the Court of the Women, where Jewish women had to stay.  These three courts, however, were all on the same level; after this, one traveled down five steps to a five-foot stone barricade, which went around the Temple enclosure.  James Boice describes this best:  “Then, after another level space, there were fourteen more steps that descended to the Court of the Gentiles . . . a wall dividing Jews from Gentiles was marked at intervals by stone inscriptions stating that no foreigner was permitted to enter the Jewish enclosures upon penalty of death”.[2] 

But that divide was not as great as the divide found between God and humanity in the Temple:  “Within the temple, separating the Holy Place (which any regularly assigned priest could enter) from the Holy of Holies (which only the high priest could enter, and that only once a year after first making a sacrifice for himself and his family) there was the great veil.  It was a curtain about six inches thick, the purpose of which was to seal off the inner temple.  In that portion of the temple was the sacred Ark of the Covenant, above which, in the space between the wings of the cherubim mounted on its cover, God was understood to dwell symbolically”.[3]  That’s the great problem, friends.  We are separated from God and from each other because of our sins.  Because we lack grace, because we lack truth, because we lack righteousness, we therefore lack peace.  The architecture of the Temple graphically spelled this out.  Not only were the people divided, but no one could get close to God; there was always a dividing wall, a barrier. 

But . . . listen to the Good News Paul gives us:  “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ . . .” (Romans 5:1, NIV).  Did you hear that?  We have peace with God!  Remember, friends, as Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday, that great heavy curtain that cut off the Holy of Holies was torn in two.  Because of the work of Jesus Christ, all those dividing walls between us and God have been broken down.  Not only that, but through the power of His Holy Spirit, He is working that we might have that full, sound, abundant relationship with Him, that we might have His shalom.  We do nothing to accomplish that – it is all the work of God Himself.  God specifically sent His Son just for this purpose; He came as our “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6, NIV).  And that’s why all the Old Testament prophesies of the coming Christ fairly throb with peace.  Consider the following:  “See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice . . . Justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the fertile field.  The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.  My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.” (Isaiah 32:1, 16-18, NIV). 

Not only that, but Paul tells us that the work of Jesus Christ, that our life in the Spirit also breaks down barriers between us, that we can have peace with each other, as well.  That’s good news!  Listen to what he says:  “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility . . . He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.  For through Him, we both have access to the Father by one Spirit” (Ephesians 2:13-14, 17-18, NIV).  Where there used to be a great wall in the Temple, separating Jew and Gentile, men and women, now that wall has been broken down by Jesus Christ.  The two have been made into one body, built up together in a full and sound relationship in Him.  The world may tell us that we are separate and different; the world may divide us up by race, gender, social status, age and any other number of categories.  But here in the Church, we are One, and Jesus Christ is our peace, our fullness, our soundness, our good life in the Spirit.  And friends, that peace is powerful enough to break down any barriers, any hostility, any anger, anything which would keep us separate!

It’s hard to believe, I know – but it’s the message given to us all throughout Scripture.  In the Holy Spirit and through the work of Jesus Christ, we can have peace with God, peace with ourselves and peace with each other.  We can have full, sound, vital relationships which bless and fulfill.  It is possible!  It’s not a hopeless dream.  But, my friends, like with the other virtues we’ve been looking at, peace is something that we must practice.  God doesn’t just wave a magic wand over us, sprinkle some fairy dust in our hair, and poof! we’re at peace.  No, we have to live this out.  We have to be peacemakers.  Paul tells us later in his letter to the Ephesians:  “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2-3, NIV, emphasis added).  Similarly, he tells the Roman believers “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone . . . Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:17-18, 21, NIV, emphasis added).  Oh, my friends, that’s hard!  But, the good news is, in the Holy spirit, we can learn, we can grow and we can become agents of Christ’s peace in this broken and sinful world. 

Is that something you want in your own life?  Are you willing to take the steps necessary to become a peacemaker?  It’s possible, my friends!  We all have the Holy Spirit in our lives through faith, through baptism, as a great gift of God.  And remember what Jesus said about peacemakers:  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9, NIV).  So let us therefore exercise the fruit of the Spirit, the peace that is ours through the Lord Jesus Christ.  Let us seek it, nurture it and promote it.  For the Spirit, we have been called to bear much fruit for the good of Christ’s Kingdom.  To Him alone be the glory!