Sermon - A Peaceful Life

A Peaceful Life

TEXT: Romans 8:1-11

Οὐδὲν ἄρα νῦν κατάκριμα τοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. 2 ὁ γὰρ νόμος τοῦ πνεύματος τῆς ζωῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἠλευθέρωσέν σε ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ τοῦ θανάτου. 3 τὸ γὰρ ἀδύνατον τοῦ νόμου ἐν ᾧ ἠσθένει διὰ τῆς σαρκός, ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ υἱὸν πέμψας ἐν ὁμοιώματι σαρκὸς ἁμαρτίας καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας κατέκρινεν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐν τῇ σαρκί, 4 ἵνα τὸ δικαίωμα τοῦ νόμου πληρωθῇ ἐν ἡμῖν τοῖς μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦσιν ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα. 5 οἱ γὰρ κατὰ σάρκα ὄντες τὰ τῆς σαρκὸς φρονοῦσιν, οἱ δὲ κατὰ πνεῦμα τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος. 6 τὸ γὰρ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς θάνατος, τὸ δὲ φρόνημα τοῦ πνεύματος ζωὴ καὶ εἰρήνη· 7 διότι τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς ἔχθρα εἰς θεόν, τῷ γὰρ νόμῳ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐχ ὑποτάσσεται, οὐδὲ γὰρ δύναται· 8 οἱ δὲ ἐν σαρκὶ ὄντες θεῷ ἀρέσαι οὐ δύνανται. 9 ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐκ ἐστὲ ἐν σαρκὶ ἀλλὰ ἐν πνεύματι, εἴπερ πνεῦμα θεοῦ οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν. εἰ δέ τις πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ οὐκ ἔχει, οὗτος οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῦ. 10 εἰ δὲ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν, τὸ μὲν σῶμα νεκρὸν διὰ ἁμαρτίαν τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζωὴ διὰ δικαιοσύνην. 11 εἰ δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἐγείραντος τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐκ νεκρῶν οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν, ὁ ἐγείρας Χριστὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν ζῳοποιήσει καὶ τὰ θνητὰ σώματα ὑμῶν διὰ τοῦ ἐνοικοῦντος αὐτοῦ πνεύματος ἐν ὑμῖν.[1]

Therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus set you free from the law of sin and death. For what was impossible for the law because it was weak because of the flesh, God sent his own Son in likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin condemned sin in the flesh, so that the decree of the law might be fulfilled by us who are not circumcised according to flesh but according to spirit. For those who are according to flesh think about things of the flesh, but those according to spirit things of the spirit. For the thinking of the flesh is death, but the thinking of the spirit life and peace; because the thinking of the flesh is hostility toward God, for it is not obedient to the law of God, for it is not able. Those who are in the flesh are not able to please God. But you are not in flesh but in spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this one is not his. If Christ is in you, on the one hand the body is dead because of sin but on the other hand the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will make alive even your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

I have known many peaceable people in my life. I am convinced that most of us fit into this category. We feel peaceful and maintain peace with others as long as the struggle does not inconvenience or cost us too much. As long as other people keep their hands to themselves and tread lightly upon my deeply and dearly held opinion and convictions peace will rule the day. But take something from me that I hold dear, whether thing or thought, and I will be sure that I will receive my due recompense, even if it is just to express my frustration over the whole thing. It will then take a while for peace to return, but it will, eventually. Peaceable people normally have peace, but it is a peace that is easily shaken or stirred.

I have known some peaceful people in my life. They seem always at peace with themselves and with others. Now I am not so naïve as to think that they never experience times of anxiety; that would make them other than human. Life on earth produces anxiety from time to time in every person. Even Christ our Savior, the most peaceful person ever, experienced anxiety – his struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane, for example. But his life as a whole was exemplified by peace. So it has been with some I have met during my lifetime. They truly live by the biblical principle that everything belongs to God and every gift is given to them for the benefit of others. They hold far more tightly to God and God’s gifts of loving grace than to any person, place or thing. Hold tightly to things, even to people, and you can be sure that you will rarely have peace in your life. It might be possible that you will be peaceable but not peaceful.

I have known very few peacemaking people in my life. These are the people who are able to deal with conflict in such a way that they maintain peaceful relationships with other people even in the midst of conflict. They understand that their relationship with God is dependent upon their relationship with other people. They forgive, not because they are afraid that God won’t forgive them if they don’t. They forgive, not because of some sense of obligation as a Christian. They forgive out of an abundance of God’s loving grace that abides deep within them. They understand that they have offended others, especially God, received forgiveness, and want to share that forgiveness with others.

The word “peacemaker” only occurs once in the New Testament, Matthew 5:9. The word “peacemaking” only occurs once in the New Testament, Colossians 1:20. But the word “peace” occurs 92 times in the New Testament, 10 times in the book of Romans, illustrating that it is one of the more important concepts in Paul’s mind as he writes to the Romans. Another derivative of the word “peace” is found in Romans 12:18, which says, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”[2] So we might say that the concept of peace is explicitly stated eleven times in the book of Romans, and a person certainly cannot live peaceably with everyone unless that person is also a peacemaker. I remember someone saying that we are nowhere commanded to be peacemakers. Rather scripture assumes that if we are in Christ we will be peacemakers. But here in Romans we find commands like Romans 12:18 where peacemaking is at least implied.

We live in a culture that treasures people who get things done; people who have influence to such an extent that other people follow them and accomplish great things. If a person gets things done then that person can get away with far more than a person who gets fewer things done. It is as though their expertise in one area makes up for deficiency in another. But this is not an option as a Christian. We are called by the Prince of Peace to be his ministers of peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers” is a phrase that should clue us into what our God-given mission entails.

We won’t always be successful in living peaceably with everyone, but that failure should never be due to our lack of forgiveness or aggression, whether active or passive. The failure to live peaceably should not even be due to our rights under the law. Just because it is legal doesn’t mean that it leads to peace. Just because there is no law against loud mufflers doesn’t mean that I should put loud pipes on my car or bike. The same applies to anything else that we might be inclined to do knowing it will irritate other people. The actively aggressive person will do it even though they discuss it with the other person and find out that it will definitely irritate them. The passive aggressive person won’t even bother to discuss it with the other person but will do what they want. That’s what the flesh does. That’s fleshly thinking rather than Spirit thinking. If Christ is within us we won’t act aggressively toward another person. When Paul tells us we are no longer under the law that means that we can’t appeal to the law just to irritate someone else. We should live in accordance with the Holy Spirit who guides us in the way of peace.

The salvation that is in Jesus Christ is not limited to the forgiveness of sins; it is also able to overcome sin's dominion in our daily lives. Charles Wesley stated this truth quite well in a line of his famous hymn "O, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing": "He breaks the power of canceled sin, He sets the prisoner free; His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood availed for me." You see, it is quite possible to have sin canceled (forgiven), yet still be subject to its power over our lives. But Jesus' salvation life, which pervades our hearts, is intended to go beyond simply forgiving sins to breaking sin's power in our daily lives.[3]

When Paul talks about “flesh” he is not talking about the human body, as though it is inherently evil. The human body can become a temple of the Holy Spirit. When Paul talks about “flesh” he is talking about human inclinations, desires, needs, way of thinking, aim of the will in so far as they are separated from the Spirit.[4]

Human nature has two sides in relation to God. On the one hand it is weak and succumbs to sin, from which it cannot free itself. On the other hand it also wants to get right with God, and it attempts to do so by actions that are outward and rest on human effort instead of trusting solely in the work of Christ. The close connection between this attempt at justification and the flesh is to be seen in Paul's comment that "no flesh will be justified by the works of the law."[5]

C. S. Lewis writes that "the goal towards which [God] is beginning to guide you is absolute perfection; and no power in the whole universe, except you yourself, can prevent Him from taking you to that goal."[6] But as we submit to God’s cleansing and empowering Spirit God leads us in the way of peace. This, in turn, results in a peaceful and peacemaking life.

----

[1]Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger and Allen Wikgren, The Greek New Testament, electronic ed. of the 4th ed. (Federal Republic of Germany: United Bible Societies, 1993, c1979), Romans 8:1-11.

[2]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Romans 12:18.

[3]Richard J. Foster, “Salvation is for Life,” Theology Today (61, 2004), 302.

[4]Paul Tillich, The Shaking of the Foundations, Chapter 16, “The Witness of the Spirit to the Spirit,” (http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=378&C=81).

[5]Marshall, 399.

[6]C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Macmillan, 1952), 160.