Bavinck on a False Peace That Must Be Broken

“There is therefore a true, but also a false, unreal and counterfeit love. Likewise there is a good peace for which we must strive and seek to maintain with all men, but there is also a false, sinful peace which should be broken. If with lies and injustice— by way of concession and for the sake of peace—we make a treaty or quietly permit what is wrong, then we are being spineless and denying truth and virtue. Over against such false peace (cf. Jeremiah 6:14) Jesus placed the claim that he had come to cast fire upon the earth (Luke 12:49). There are powers in this world with which we can never live on peaceful terms. There are truths and rights, spiritual possessions and invisible treasures for which we must be willing to sacrifice everything—peace, quiet, respectability and reputation, yea even love for our family and our own life. Conditions in this incomprehensible world may be so serious and complicated that love itself may compel us to break peace and engage in battle. Prophets such as Jeremiah would much rather have remained silent and spent their days in peace and tranquility, but they could not, nor were they allowed to. They spoke because they believed and they struggled against their nation because they loved it. By his great love for God and man Jesus himself was moved to resist all evil forces even unto death.”

— Herman Bavinck, “The Problem of War”, reprinted in Banner of Truth magazine (July-August 1977) pages 46-53