Berlin Immanuel Church gathered on Sunday, 18 February, continuing in series on the Beatitudes with Matthew 5:9. Those who received Christ, who believe in his name, and became children of God through faith (John 1:12, Gal 3:26), and they will recognized as such through their peacemaking. God is the God of peace (Psalm 85:8, Rom 16:20) – he both loves peace and makes peace. God is invested in a particular kind of peace – the peace between himself and man. Because of sin, the relationship between the creator and the man was shattered, we became enemies who forsaken God, children who offended their father. But through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he brings peace between himself and man, and between man and man, he reconciled all things by the blood of the lamb – Col 1:20.

Those who have been reconciled and become the sons of God through Christ we also given the ministry of peacemaking, and were committed the message of reconciliation, to appeal to those who have not been yet been reconciled – 2 Cor 5:18-20. Because Father is a peacemaker, his sons will be peacemakers as well; we have become sons so that we may be like the Father (Matthew 5:43-45), carrying his likeness and doing the work of peacemaking alongside with him. But the peace of God is not a peace for its own sake, its not simply a truce, a commitment to non-fighting. God’s peace is based on purity, holiness (Matthew 5:8) and because it doesn’t compromise the truth it is often persecuted (Matthew 5:10). And so we must proclaim the peace of Gospel which says we are sinners and must repent and return to God by faith in Christ Jesus, and live peaceably with all as far as it depends on us (Rom 12:18).