Rules of Engagement for Constructive “Fighting” in the Kingdom of God
I would have never likely gotten my foot in the door at Baker Books to publish The Peacemaking Church without the help of my mentor and friend Ken Sande, author of The Peacemaker: a Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict. Founder of Relational Wisdom 360, Ken kindly consented to write the foreword to my book. He kicks off those two pages somewhat tongue-in-cheek: Where two or three come together in Jesus’s name . . . there will soon be conflict. Then he adds, This fact is reflected throughout the New Testament epistles, most of which deal with some kind of conflict in the early church. True enough.
Our Lord’s teaching in the Gospels reflects the same, especially near the close of his Sermon on the Mount. Matthew’s gospel details the good news of Jesus’s first advent from the vantage point of his kingship. Jesus came preaching, The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15). In likely the greatest sermon ever preached, Jesus painted a stunning portrait of the character and lifestyle of true kingdom people—those who’ve repented of their sins and believed on him for salvation. Matthew 7:1-12 tackles how followers of Jesus must engage to fight well for preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace in the local church (Ephesians 4:3).
“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. 6 Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. 7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! 12 So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Here is the main idea to summarize the thrust of our Lord’s instruction:
When sin threatens relational peace, kingdom people engage constructively, not destructively.
Jesus gets immensely practical and stunningly direct here. Offenses will certainly come (Luke 17:1, CSB). We all stumble in many ways (James 3:2). There’s no escaping it. The question is how do we handle things when it hits? What guides the way we engage one another’s brokenness? Jesus insists we kingdom-types engage constructively, not destructively.
Negatively, there are three ways we must not engage—judgmentally, hypocritically, and indiscriminately (vv. 1-6). And positively, there are two ways we must engage—dependently and lovingly (vv. 7-12).
In my next couple of posts, I hope to unpack helpful specifics for each of Jesus’s five rules of engagement for constructive, not destructive “fighting” within the kingdom ranks.
Stay tuned!