“Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness  — without it no one will see the Lord. Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:14-15 CSB

We now understand that suffering and discipline are essential to our walk with God. Without chastisement, we are not considered children of God (if you do not like that statement, go take it up with the person who wrote the Bible). Now the author moves us on to understand more about how we as Christians and as a community should behave. One of the easiest ways to pursue peace with everyone is to do what Jesus taught; look to serve others, for the greatest is the one who did as He did (washing the disciples’ feet). When you are actively looking to serve other people, it means you are putting their best interests first. Putting others before you means you will freely sacrifice your rights for others to gain. How does this look in today’s world? Simple examples are letting your yes be yes, and your no is no (just like Jesus teaches), serving other people food and drink before yourself, cleaning up other people’s mess, asking people if there are ways you can help them and then doing it. Putting other people first is simple when you think about it; it is just setting yourself at someone else’s service or being their servant (Jesus tells us that the greatest is to be the one who is a servant). When you understand the Scriptures, pursuing peace with everyone is not to be friends with people who choose corruption. It is to act in a servant-like heart amongst everyone and especially those who are unified through Christ.

If you are to pursue peace at all costs with everyone despite people choosing to disobey the clear word of the Lord, you are then ignoring the next portion, “and holiness”. People in today’s world pursue peace at the cost of holiness. The majority of the church today has forgotten what holiness is or looks like in the effort of chasing “gen z” or for the sake of unifying as one body. But, we must remember what Jesus said, you can not serve two Lords, you either serve God or you serve money, you can not drink from two cups, or Christ or the world. Or what is said in proverbs, unless two agree, they can not walk. As someone trying to walk the narrow path, you can not forsake holiness by attaching to those who chose the world, for the Bible says you then can not walk together, so either no progress will be made, or one of you will change. When you look at the condition of the American church, the change goes towards the ways of the world, not the ways of Adonai.

This corruption that so quickly infiltrates is why the author moves on to say, “Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many.”. When people choose to unify with people not striving for holiness, it causes trouble that defiles the church body.  It is your walk, your relationship, and your salvation with God. You have free will in everything that you do. The addictions of the flesh no longer bind you when you plead the Blood that was spilt for you. You choose who you unify with, and you decide what behaviours are accepted within your community. The belief that you have no choice is a chain sent from the devil to put you back into bondage. If you do not see the holiness, the Bible tells you about, then leave. The only thing keeping you there is a fear of the unknown, which is total reliance and dependence upon Jesus. Trust me when I say this when you have absolutely nothing left is when Jesus turns up with everything He has for you. But you must make the right choices, always putting Him and His way before your way and the way of the world.

Today strive for holiness and peace within yourself and then within your family and then your church.