Several words are translated 

Reconciliationg1259. διαλλάσσω diallassō
To change someone’s mind.
To renew a friendship.

g2643. καταλλαγή katallagē
Atonement & Reconciliation
At-One-Ment
It means essentially reconciliation… In current usage, the phrase ‘to atone for’ means the undertaking of a course of action designed to undo the consequences of a wrong act with a view to the restoration of the relationship broken by the wrong act.
—Cambridge University Press

It may help to think of it as….Atonement being the action that results in reconciliation.  

Either way, they both relate to a repair of a broken relationship.  Things being torn apart, but then being made “At-One”.

Romans 5:6-11
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:16-20
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

-God reconciled us to himself.  It was God that repaired the relationship.
-God doesn’t count our trespasses against us.
-And when he did he not only repaired the relationship, he gave us the “ministry of reconciliation”.
-AND SO we should be ambassadors for Christ. 
-God makes his appeal to the world THROUGH US.

How can we make that appeal?

How can we take the message of reconciliation to the world?

Someone mentioned in a previous class that part of the problem we face when studying these this topic is that we just can’t relate to God’s character.  For example, when God completely forgives us we have a hard time relating to that because it’s so hard for us to truly forgive each other.

The idea of “making peace” is another aspect of what was accomplished at the cross that we have a hard time relating to.

Colossians 1:19-20
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

eirēnopoieō—To be a peacemaker
This word is only found once in the Bible, but a derivative of it is found in Matthew 5:9.

Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

The Greek word translated “peacemakers” in Matthew 5 is only found once in the Bible.
eirēnopoios—Someone who makes peace

Both of these words are only used once in the New Testament, but we can see how they’re connected.  If we’re going to let the Bible be a commentary on itself, we can see what kind of peace Christ made and use that as a guide to see what kind of peace we should make if we desire to be called the “sons of God”.

We can start in Colossians 1 where we see that WE are the reason Christ needed to make peace with us, not because of some sort of mutual disagreement.

Colossians 1:19-23
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.  And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Romans 5:6-11
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

The peace that Christ made, emptying himself of His own desires and giving Himself up so that we could have a peaceful relationship with Him….

We’re called to make peace in the same way.

Phillipians 2:3-8
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 

The peace that we’re called to make is the same type of peace that Christ made.  When Christ died on the cross He gave himself up to cleanse us of our sin and rebellion.  Christ didn’t seek justice, Christ sought peace at the cost of His own life.

And that leads us to the conflict of the gospel and our society today.

Because today, in America in 2016, we have RIGHTS.

We have a system of laws that tell everyone exactly what they can and can’t do, what happens to us when we do the things we shouldn’t and what happens to other people when they infringe on our rights.

That notion, the idea that there are things that are right and wrong and that we should all get exactly what we “deserve”, what we have a “right” to, has distorted our view of Matthew 5.

Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Quote from Georgetown Mayor Dale Ross….
“‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ is true in Georgetown because we absolutely love our first responders. They always put our citizens first and they deliver that service and safety at the highest levels. They need our support in a very vocal way.”

The notion that many today have of “peacemakers” is that people who make peace are the people who make us safe.  And that, I believe, may be a very uniquely American point of view.

God created all men, but Sam Colt made them all equal.

The SAA was adopted as the official sidearm of the United States Army in 1872 and is known as “The Gun That Won The West”.  It’s also known as “The Peacemaker”.

We’ve made peace synonymous with safety and justice, and nothing could be further from the truth.

But Eric, those signs were supporting law enforcement and quoting the Bible, how could there be anything wrong with that?

It’s really not supporting the police, it’s romanticizing what they do….likely because we don’t want to think about what their real job is.

Romans 13:1-4
Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

When a police officer is called to make people safe or to facilitate justice, he’s absolutely doing God’s work here on Earth.  He’s an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

But no more a servant of God, carrying out God’s work here on Earth than those who adopt children or who take widows into their homes.

James 1:27
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

No more so than a Christian who decides to remain single so that they can devote more attention to God’s Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 7:32-35
I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

And no more so than a young Christian who decides to devote their studies to the interpretation and translation of God’s word, rather than a more lucrative career.

John 21:15-17
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

So don’t get me wrong, I believe that those who are carrying God’s wrath to the wrongdoer are doing a good thing, just like many other Christians are doing.

But make no mistake about it….They’re not peacemakers. 

Because peace by force isn’t peace at all.

When a police officer catches a bank robber, does he set the robber free and repay the stolen money out of his own pocket?

When a police officer goes to court to testify against a murderer, does he give the damning testimony and then offer up his own life so the murderer can go free?

OF COURSE NOT.

But THAT is “Making Peace”.

But that’s what Christ did on the cross.  He paid our debt of sin that we could never afford to pay.  He died the death that we deserve, so that we could one day live with Him in Heaven.

This popular notion that peace can be found through force, by asserting our rights and seeking justice, is a lie.

How do we get this message out to the world?  How do we start correcting this misconception society has about peace?

We can let the world see Christ’s example of peacemaking in us.  We can suffer wrong without complaining.  We can stop demanding our “rights” and seek to meet the needs of others before ourselves.  We can take on the role of a servant, washing the feet of those people who would betray us.

And THEN, through that example, we can lead people to the sacrifice of Christ.