Principles of Peace (Part 3)

Respect for the Word

The principles which make for peace among brethren all seem to be intertwined with one another. Respect for the Word is the third principle required to maintain a positive, peaceful atmosphere. When this attitude is present, brethren will not feel like the church belongs to them, and they will try to walk in humility rather than allowing themselves to be lifted up with pride. These two attributes were discussed in previous articles.

To introduce this component of peace, it will be helpful to review a Biblical illustration of this point as it relates to the Rechabites, who are set forth as an example for God’s people in Jeremiah 35. This section of Scriptures begins with God sending Jeremiah to “the house of the Rechabites” (35:2). His instructions began with bringing them into the house of the Lord and giving them wine to drink, which the prophet did (35:2-4). Then he set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, bidding them to drink of it (35:5).

They refused. And they explained why. Their ancestor, Jonadab, the son of Rechab, had commanded them: ‘You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons, forever.” This patriarch of the family also told them not to build a house, sow seed, or plant a vineyard. They were to dwell in tents instead (35:7). And they had obeyed his voice. The men, their wives, their sons, and their daughters had all kept themselves from wine. Neither had they built houses or established vineyards (35:8-9). They had “obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab” their father had commanded them (35:10). Thus, to keep Jonadab’s commandment, they rejected drinking wine.

So, what was the point of Jeremiah trying to get them to drink wine? The purpose of the test was for God to make a point to His people. The Rechabites obeyed completely the word of Jonadab; they kept it faithfully (35:14). But Jonadab was not the Lord; he was just a man. His commandments were not the Law of God, Who had never prohibited His people from building houses, living in them permanently, or planting vineyards. We do not know the reason that Jonadab had commanded the Rechabites to live this way, but he had—and they obeyed him.

Now, who is greater—God or man? Obviously, the answer is God. If men can be totally committed to the word of a man (on subjective matters), then they ought to be that much more dedicated to keeping the Word of God, whose Word far transcends man’s—right? But alas! it had not worked out that way. God had risen early in the morning and sent His prophets to encourage obedience on the part of His people, but they had not obeyed Him (35:15).

The sons of Rechab obeyed their earthly father, Jonadab, but the sons of Israel had not obeyed their heavenly Father. Therefore, God would bring upon Judah all the doom he had promised. However, in the forthcoming destruction of Jerusalem, Jonadab and the Rechabites would be spared (“not lack a man to stand before Me”) because they had kept the commands of their father (35:18-19).

Has anything changed?

Is it not still the case that people show more obedience to human beings than to God? No doubt, one could find a veritable plethora of examples, but one comes from the autobiography of Howard Cosell, titled simply, Cosell. This illustration does not involve the obedience of earthly family members to a parent or grandparent; it involves football and the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi. Lombardi won three consecutive championships in 1966 (the NFC Championship), 1967 (Super Bowl I), and 1968 (Super Bowl II)—something only achieved by an earlier coach at Green Bay—Curly Lambeau (for whom the stadium is named) in 1929, 1930, and 1931.

Cosell was visiting with Paul Hornung in his room before a game. During his 104-game career, Hornung played the position of halfback with the Packers from 1957 to 1966. Due to an injury, he did not play in Super Bowl I in January of 1967. During his career, he scored 50 rushing touchdowns and caught 12 more. Hornung offered Cosell a ride over to the stadium, which he accepted. However, shortly thereafter Quarterback Bart Starr came by to say that Lombardi wanted all the players on the bus in five minutes. Hornung got up to join the others. Howard protested that he had offered him a ride, to which Hornung responded:

Didn’t you listen? The coach wants everyone in the bus in five minutes. I’ll be in the bus. If he says everyone walks to practice, I walk. If he says everyone runs to practice, I run. If he says everyone swims the Fox River to practice, I swim the…river” (106).

What is the best term for this attitude? Loyalty? Submission? Trust? Obedience? If the players were all as committed as Hornung, they showed a high level of commitment. Is that how Christians behave toward Jesus? Do we have implicit trust in Him? Are we obedient in all areas of life, such as apparel, speech, example, and evangelism? Are we as prepared to be soldiers as football players are to do battle on the field? Have we prepared and equipped ourselves for our work (Eph. 6:10-17)?

How many are more loyal to their employer than to the Lord Who can provide a job? How many have more commitment to a school band or sports team than to the One Who gives them their abilities? How many exhibit more dedication to secular education than to their spiritual development? Yes, we have many modern-day Rechabites—those who will make earthly things a priority while failing to listen to the messages that God gives them through His Word.

Relevance

Now how does the respect for God’s Word relate to peace? If Christians have a commitment to reverencing the truth, then abiding in it will be more important than insisting on one’s personal preferences. Our humility will help us see that it is God’s will that we must honor. This recognition of Divine authority did not prevail in the first century. We know because the authority of the apostles was challenged by those who did not even have the respect that we give to men.

We have already seen that the authority of the Apostle John was opposed (3 John 9-11). But Diotrephes was not the only one who rejected the teachings of John. John also provided other clues that reveal this disrespectful disposition. How about what the aged apostle wrote in 1 John 2:19? “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” Again, these words imply that John’s teachings, as well as his authenticity as an apostle, were under assault.

He adds later: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). Every false teacher, in one manner or another, is lifted up with pride and dissatisfied with the truth the apostles of the Lord taught; therefore, they devise their own doctrines. “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ, does not have God…” (2 John 9).

Peter experienced the same problems of rebellion that John did. Although Peter was occasionally rebuked for his impulsiveness as a younger man, he was, nevertheless, the one who enlightened men on Pentecost as to the terms of entrance to the kingdom. The keys to that door involved repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of one’s sins. One might think that all Christians would feel a sense of reverence and obligation to Peter, who served His Lord for so many years, but, no, his commands (which came from Christ) were also disobeyed.

He found that some within the church took delight in leading others astray. They taught those who had escaped the corruption in the world to return to it again (2 Peter 1:4; 2:18-22). Ignoring the purity that the gospel brings to the lives of new Christians, the false prophets in this group secretly brought in destructive heresies (2 Peter 2:1). Notice that they “despise authority,” are presumptuous and self-willed, and speak evil of things they do not understand (2 Peter 2:10, 12).

Paul also met with resistance. He defends his apostleship in 2 Corinthians 10-13. That such a thing ought to be necessary—in a congregation he had himself personally established—is nearly unimaginable. Apparently, what he had written in his first letter had not held up. “If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship” (1 Cor. 9:2). Nevertheless Paul (and therefore, the Word of God) became disrespected.

Sadly, he warned even the elders at Ephesus, where he spent the better part of three years laboring in the gospel and teaching constantly, that men would enter their congregation, not sparing the flock (Acts 20:29). Men lacking humility would teach error and undermine all the good work that Paul had done. Men with no respect for the Word of Truth and the fact that the church belongs to Jesus, would arise from even among the elders to draw away disciples after themselves (v. 30). How could anyone actually converted to Jesus do such a thing?

Are Christians not astounded at the behavior of Diotrephes—taking issue with an apostle of the Lord? But consider what Paul faced that must have prompted him to write these words—for brethren “not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, whether by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come” (2 Thess. 2:2, emph. GWS). Who would dare write a letter to the church in Thessalonica and pretend to be the Apostle Paul? Further, this usurper contradicted Paul’s teaching concerning the second coming of Jesus—saying that it had already occurred and that they missed it. (Some are still teaching this error.)

If the authority of John, and Peter, and Paul could be denied in the first century, is it any marvel that theologians, pastors, priests, and rabbis should disagree with them today? Can we not expect the same heretics (wolves) to be loitering about the Lord’s flock today to steal whatever sheep they can? The situation is exactly as Peter described it: “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies…” (2 Peter 2:1, emph. GWS).

Solution

All of these facts may leave one in a state of depression, but the problems described above need not exist. Oh, they will be found in some places—but not all—especially if we are all vigilant. Those who make it a priority to walk humbly before the Lord will not generally by motivated by pride. If they are and realize it, they will immediately repent. They will not act as though the church belongs to them and that their way is the only way. And they will respect the Word of God, holding fast to the truth.

Some congregations do function the way God designed them; members do have consideration for one another, and they are committed to spiritual growth in Christ (2 Peter 1:5-11; Heb. 5:12, Matt. 28:18-20).