"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" is a biblical teaching recorded in chapter 12 and verse 14 of Hebrews. This is one of the best known verses of the Bible, and it certainly gives us very important lessons.
The context of the phrase "I followed peace with everyone and sanctification"
The book of Hebrews the writer was writing to Jewish Christians who lived outside of Palestine. These Christians were facing many difficulties and suffering because of their faith. Even, for some of them, martyrdom was a real possibility in the relentless persecution of the 1st century AD.
Then the New Testament writer wrote a letter encouraging these Christians to remain steadfast in Christ Jesus. In the first part of chapter 12 he speaks of divine discipline (Hebrews 12: 1-13). He exhorts his readers to:
In the second part of chapter 12, where the phrase "peace with all men, and holiness" is included, the author teaches his recipients how to live a holy life before God. He indicates how to have a behavior of which the Lord is pleased. Based on that purpose, he also emphasizes the importance of the good relationship and care that Christians should have with each other.
Having understood the context, we see below, a little more about the meaning of the phrase "peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord".
When the writer writes "peace with all men" he literally says "run to peace", "seek peace". The Greek expression used by him implies in the sense of committing all the energy necessary for that goal to be achieved. The commandment in this sentence is what we strive for peace. The term translated "follow" is the Greek word diokete, which conveys the idea of running quickly and with determination in order to capture something, in this case, peace.
Peace is a virtue of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It seems closely related to other virtues mentioned by Paul in Galatians 5:22, especially with love and joy.
In fact, the sequence that the apostle puts on is "love, joy and peace". This order is easily understood, for how can there be joy if there is no love? How can peace be present if joy is lacking?
The word "peace" in this text is the Greek eirene. This is the same word as the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament used to translate the Hebrew Shalom. This Hebrew term has a very broad meaning that expresses a sense of complete well-being.
In the New Testament, in addition to that concept being maintained, the authors also emphasize its spiritual meaning, especially related to the new life, to justice and to the state of tranquility of the soul of those who have the certainty of their salvation through Christ.
This is why this peace has its origin in God. It is one of its communicable attributes, that is, one of its qualities that it shares with us. In other words, we can say that it is through intimate communion with Christ, the Prince of Peace, that we can obtain true peace.
Therefore, despite the context in Hebrews emphasize, especially, the good relationship between Christians, here we can also understand that this "all" with whom we must have peace, covers, in some way, those who are our declared enemies . The condition of "peacemakers" is not limited only to our Christian circle.
The council of peace with everyone really reminds us of what David said in Psalm 34. He writes: "Depart from evil and do what is good, seek peace and be strong to achieve it" (Psalm 34:14). . This same counsel was also cited by the apostle Peter (1 Peter 3:11).
The same application and intensity that the author expressed to exhort about the search for peace, he also used to talk about the need for holiness. The order is to follow peace with everyone and sanctification.
This means that the search for peace is inseparable from the search for sanctification. Therefore, we must pursue peace as much as we should pursue sanctification.
Sanctification is a process that occurs throughout the life of the one who was redeemed. Holiness is not a state of complete perfection that we can achieve in that world, but it is something that will only reach its full fulfillment on the coming day of the wonderful return of our Lord Jesus.
In that world we are still subject to sin, but through sanctification we will mortify our flesh and submit ourselves to the will of God. The goal is that we can become more and more like Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Next, the order is clear: "Follow peace with all men, and holiness."
The writer makes it clear that the result of not following peace with everyone and sanctification is being deprived of contemplating the Lord. Automatically "follow peace with all, and holiness" brings us to the greatest of all privileges. This privilege is none other than seeing God himself! Contemplating the Lord is the only reason for our lives, it is our greatest objective. Everything is explained in the act of being able to see the Lord face to face.
Here it is worth saying that some people mistakenly understand that sanctification is the cause of our salvation. They think that we are only saved because we sanctify ourselves. But in reality sanctification is not the cause, but the effect of our salvation. We sanctify ourselves because we are saved!
In other words, if someone claims to be saved, but their behavior does not reflect the character of Christ and lives a life far from the will of God, where the effective results of sanctification can not be seen, then such a person was never truly saved.
This happens because only the redeemed are fit for sanctification. The same writer of Hebrews emphasizes this by teaching that it is Christ who sanctifies those who are sanctified (Hebrews 2:11).
First of all, the conclusion is really one: without peace and holiness no one will be able to see the Lord. Our God is love, but he is also equally holy and just. None of its attributes is depreciated in favor of others, even though men often think so. They distort the true revelation of God through the Scriptures, in order to believe in a type of god drawn according to their own taste.
But man likes it or not, God is totally love, totally justice and totally holy. This implies a truth that many try to ignore. A holy God can not in any way accept communion with someone who is not holy, and his justice demands that sin be punished.
In other words, it is only possible for someone to have peace with God and be considered righteous before him, if he is reconciled and made holy through the work of Christ.
The prophet Isaiah wrote that even the seraphim who are constantly proclaiming the holiness of God before his throne cover their faces. This reveals how the holy presence of the Lord of hosts is so great.
Therefore, the only possible conclusion according to this truth is: "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord".
