Dearly Beloved,

The church should be the most peaceful place on earth; it’s where the Prince of Peace is supposed to have His way. But disturbers of the peace are sure to come. Like a teenager who throws a house party when his parents are away and the cops get called because the music is too loud and someone just jumped off the roof into the pool, a “disturber of the peace” can break the peace that ordinarily exists and make the most peaceful place on earth look more like a frat house. Our Prince of Peace gave us a special chapter to prevent such shenanigans from happening.

Matthew 18 is the only chapter in all four Gospels wherein the local “church” is mentioned by name. Just 53 verses prior to Matthew 18:17, where the local church is mentioned twice, Jesus uses the word “church” in reference to the universal church (Matthew 16:18). These three references are the only ones we have. Matthew 18:17 is the only verse in the Gospels that directly addresses the local “church” by name. There must be something special about Matthew 18:17 and its surrounding context. I would contend that the Prince of Peace put Matthew 18 where it is, being intentionally anachronistic (ahead of its time), to give it a prominent place. Jesus speaks about the local church before it was built, so that we would hold the keys to peace before we even need them, and we would always have them.

Here are the 4 keys to peace in the local church that Christ gave us:

  1. Humility. The first key to peace in any local church is humility. Matthew 18 begins with the disciples wanting to be regarded as the greatest. Pride is the root sin in the heart of every disturber of the peace. Ambition takes over and the disturber tries to elevate their own position or influence. Jesus answered this problem by calling for a little child to be set upon His knee; He told the disciples to become like the child. “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4).
  2. Love. The second key to peace in any local church is love. The child in Matthew 18:2-14 is analogous not only to the children of the church but to all disciples regardless of their age. Christ concludes the passage with an illustration: A man with a hundred sheep notices that one is missing, so he moves heaven and earth to find that sheep and bring it back into the fold. The peace of the church is disturbed when people are regarded as numbers and no one cares when one here or another one there wanders off. Truly caring about people preserves the peace.
  3. Honor. The third key to peace in any local church is honor. “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone” (Matthew 18:15). Preserving the honor and dignity of someone who may or may not deserve that preservation is distinctly Christian. By speaking in private, “between you and him alone,” the reputations of both parties are protected. The peace of the church is disturbed when Christians start talking to each other about issues they have with another, rather than going to the person, “between you and him alone.” Jesus does provide further steps for resolution if the first step fails, but going one-on-one to the person with whom there is a grievance, and absolutely refusing to gossip about that person in any way, will preserve relationships and peace in the church.
  4. Forgiveness. The final key to peace in the local church that Jesus gives us in Matthew 18 is forgiveness. Christians have to be expert forgivers. Jesus says the level of forgiveness He expects could exceed seven times per person to perhaps seventy-seven times! The implication is that it could be more. The reason for such a radically forgiving heart is the amount of sin that each of us have been forgiven by God. The parable of the debtor whom the King forgave but who turned around and refused forgiveness to someone else—who owed a lesser debt—concludes Matthew 18. This lack of forgiveness angered the righteous King who had modeled the way of forgiveness. Think about how much our King has forgiven us! When we are all quick to forgive, peace in the Church is as natural as a river’s constant flow.

I thank God that Cornerstone has been experiencing peace like a river for a long time now. It is because the Lord is keeping us humble, loving, honoring of one another, and forgiving.

If anyone holds a grievance with me or with any brother or sister in Christ, then go to that person, “between you and him alone.” For my part, I have no grievance to bring. If I felt wronged by anyone in the past, I want them to know: I forgive you.

I’ve been working my way through Matthew, and yesterday I came to chapter 18. It occurred to me that the keys to lasting peace in any local church are all right there in that prophetic chapter. It is prophetic because Jesus speaks ahead of time about the “church,” which was yet to be born. Today, on this side of Pentecost, we are gathered in local churches, and we have the keys to peace: humility, love, honor, and forgiveness. Let’s each take inventory of ourselves to make sure that we are practicing these four things, lest any of us become a disturber of the peace.

Satan is the chief disturber of the peace. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you” (Romans 16:20).

With Love in Christ,

Pastor Jeff