Christian peace.
"The Prince of Peace." Before considering what is the peace which is distinctively Christian, it may be well to remark:
1. That the first, incidental result of the coming of Christ is not peace, but discord (see Matthew 10:34-36). The first consequence of the introduction or the revival of Christian truth is persecution. For this the Christian faith is not responsible; it is due to the fact that error is so blind, bigotry so pitiless, sin so cruel.
2. That everything is not gained for Christ when a superficial smoothness has been secured. It will take much more than a cessation of "war," a dismantling of forts and a disbanding of troops, to arrive at the peace which is of Christ. It is a Christian poet who writes—
"I love no peace which is not fellowship,
And which includes not mercy;
I would have, Rather, the raking of the guns across
The world."
Better, in Christ's name and in his cause, the stern and even the sanguinary struggle which seeks to establish righteousness than the hollow peace which is satisfied with slavery, serfdom, or servility.
3. That the peace which the Messiah came to bring was not that of the conquering sword, but the prevailing Spirit; that which is won, not on the battle-field, but in the depths of the human heart—first in the heart of the Son of man himself, and then in the souls of all the children of men. Of this spiritual rest which the Prince of Peace imparts, we may say that it includes—
I. PEACE WITH GOD. Sin separates between us and our Divine Father; it produces condemnation on his part, dread on our part; it ends in an unnatural and deplorable alienation. In Christ is mercy, restoration, peace. "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God," etc. (Romans 5:1; see Romans 8:1).
II. INWARD REST. Sin is the great disturber, the constant troubler of the human heart. It is the source of all disorder, and therefore of all distress. It casts down that which should be uppermost—conscience, reason, holy aspiration, etc.; it enthrones that which should be in subjection—passion, self, temporal interests, etc. The Prince, of Peace secures to the human soul its right condition; he restores the true order; he redresses, re-establishes, revolutionizes; he "makes all things new" within. And when the spiritual nature is thus reset, all its powers taking their proper place and discharging their rightful functions, there is a "great calm" within; they who repair to the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, have "rest unto their souls" (Matthew 11:28-30).
III. SOCIAL CONCORD. Christian love (John 13:34, John 13:35), Christian magnanimity (Matthew 5:43-48; Romans 12:18-20); Christian reconciliation (Matthew 5:25), Christian generosity (Romans 12:10; Ephesians 5:21; Philippians 2:3), Christian courtesy (1 Peter 3:8; 1 Peter 5:5), Christian patience (1 Thessalonians 5:14),—these are the conditions and the sources of true and abiding peace among men.—C.