In Times of Peace

​Acts 9:31 ~ “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”
 
It is good for the church to live in a state of peace. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Sometimes it does depend on us, holding fast to the peace of Christ and living in society for the betterment of those around us. Sometimes, the church has no effect upon the state of peace that it will experience. The rampaging hatred of Saul of Tarsus gave evidence to this. Acts 9:1-2 testifies to his violence against the church, “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” And yet the LORD Jesus would bring the gospel to light for this man and save his soul. Once that was done, the key agent against the disciples of Jesus became the advocate for the gospel and apostle of the LORD.
 
Once the principal instrument against the church was converted to Christ, the current climate softened for the believers and they experienced a time of peace. We look to our text for today and read, “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up.” This was more than a localized experience for this peace occurred in all the regions of Israel (Judea, Galilee and Samaria). Though Saul, as a new believer in Christ, faced his own persecution and death threats (see Acts 9:23-30), the vitriol against the entire church had subsided. It is true that hardship and persecution strengthens the church, but the LORD will also use these times of peace for the building up of the body of Christ. And what a sigh of relief must have come over the churches of the region when this peace arrived.
 
Let us borrow a principle from Colossians 4:5, “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.” It is important for the church to make the best use of the times of peace that are experienced. It should never be a time for the church to lounge in repose and become soft and unconcerned. If God has granted to us a season of peace, let us make the most of it. If we can freely gather, and do not have to congregate in fear of persecution, we ought to find ourselves often in fellowship. If the Word of God is openly proclaimed and taught and not banned and burned by the world, let us do all we can to use this time to easily learn and grow in the knowledge and application of Scripture. These times of peace are not always ours to enjoy so when they come, let us use them wisely, which is the second half of our text today.
 
We read in the second part of the text, “And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.” In times of peace, it is not the time for any believer to walk carelessly in their Christian faith. In fact, there is a greater need for us to walk in the fear of the LORD when we are experiencing a time of peace. In such times, it is an easy thing to grow thoughtless about our relationship with God. Consider the warning of Deuteronomy 8:13-14, “When your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Becoming comfortable in this world can lead to an apathetic condition in the soul.
 
So, let us do as the text expresses and walk in the fear of the LORD, understanding that God is sovereign over all things, whether times of peace or pressure. And, in knowing the fear of God, we discover that we also have the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Our journey forward ought to be with those two conditions as part of our daily experience—the fear of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. When both of those qualities become the order of our lives, then we will also see that the church is multiplied. Why? Simply this: those who know us will discover through us the very salvation that God has given to us—even in times of peace.
 
It is good for the church to live in times of peace. Let us make the most of it when it comes.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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