Romans 12: Live at Peace, If It Is Possible

Introduction

"If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, be at peace with all people." With this verse from Romans 12, the guest preacher of the Chiesa Cristiana Evangelica Battista di Genova (Baptist church of Genoa) opened her message on Sunday, October 25, 2026.

The whole service revolved around peace: a reading of Isaiah 26 on the peace that comes from the Lord, a time with the children about reconciliation, then two texts for the sermon. The first, from the Old Testament, serves as an example: it tells of a moment when there was no peace, but when things took an unexpected turn. The second is Paul's passage in Romans.

The thread of the message is simple: peace is not always possible, but that is no reason to stop seeking it. The part that depends on you remains your responsibility.

Outline of the message

1. With the children: Raca and reconciliation

The time with the children starts from Matthew 5:21-26. Jesus says that whoever says "Raca" to his brother deserves to be judged. In the language of Jesus, Raca meant "stupid".
If you remember, as you bring your offering, that your brother has something against you, leave your offering and first go and be reconciled with him. There is no need to wait long.
To reconcile is to make peace: the one who did wrong says "I'm sorry, I should not have done that", and the other answers "all right, we stay friends". Often, both have something to be forgiven for.
With the children, the church sorted out attitudes. Raising your voice, seeking revenge, throwing a punch or always wanting to be right do not lead to peace. Asking the other how they are, asking forgiveness, staying calm, listening and putting yourself in their place do.
We can start by asking God for forgiveness. He never answers us "stupid", because he wants to be reconciled with us. When we know that we are at peace with God, it becomes a little easier to live at peace with others (Romans 5:1-2).

2. A text where everything could have gone wrong

In 2 Chronicles 28:9-15, there had been a war between two peoples. The army of Israel returns to Samaria with prisoners from Judah: it is a moment of violence and possible revenge.
The prophet Oded goes out to meet the army. The Lord had given Judah into their hand, but they had killed "in a rage which has reached up to heaven", and now they want to enslave their brothers. "But aren't there even with you trespasses of your own against Yahweh your God?"
Some leaders of Ephraim, Azariah, Berechiah, Hezekiah and Amasa, stand up in turn: do not bring these prisoners in here, it would make us even more guilty.
The soldiers release the prisoners and the plunder. These men clothe them, put sandals on their feet, give them food and drink, anoint them, put those who are too weak to walk on donkeys, and bring them back to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brothers.
For the preacher, this text is a reminder "that there is never only one possibility": there are always several ways to choose how to act in a given moment.

3. An exhortation unlike the others

Romans 12:9-21 is full of imperatives: abhor that which is evil, cling to that which is good, rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, do not take revenge, do not be overcome by evil.
These are imperatives "with no ifs and no buts". They concern our decisions and our behavior, which we can control, or at least learn to control little by little.
In the middle of these very precise exhortations, one sentence is different. Paul does not write "live at peace with everyone", but "if it is possible, as much as it depends on you".
Paul knew it, and we know it too: life is complicated, relationships with others are too, and it is not always possible to live at peace with everyone.

4. When difficulty becomes an excuse

The preacher makes an observation about our world: many no longer even consider the possibility of living in peace, whether in daily life or between nations.
When a conflict arises, we immediately move beyond that possibility, in a crescendo: judgment, offenses, aggression, violence, weapons.
"As if the difficulty of finding peace were already a good enough excuse not to seek it."
Paul acknowledges that peace is not always possible, but he does not let that become an alibi for its opposite: conflict, aggression or war.

5. What depends on you

Just before, Paul writes: "Take thought for the things that are honorable in the sight of all men." For peace too, we have a responsibility to get involved.
This responsibility does not disappear because not everything depends on us. You cannot decide how others react, but you can decide your own reactions, actions and words.
Paul does not write it, but it is implied: the criterion for deciding and choosing is always the person of Jesus, the one who committed himself perfectly to doing good in the sight of all.

6. The witness of the Anabaptists

The Reformation festival, on October 31, is approaching. The preacher reads a few lines written by sixteenth-century Anabaptists, a movement with no direct link to today's Baptist churches, but which they count among their evangelical predecessors.
These small communities were convinced that faith and church membership must be the fruit of a free and conscious choice. They practiced believers' baptism rather than the baptism of children.
They suffered a double persecution, from the Catholic Church and from the Protestant reformers, who saw them as rebels drawing people away from the authority of the Reformed church, which was closely tied to the civil authorities.
One of their representatives, Hutter, wrote: "We Anabaptists do not want to molest anyone or harm any of our fellow human beings. […] Rather than steal a single penny from anyone, we would be ready to lose a hundred gold florins. Rather than strike our enemy with the hand, still less with the sword, we would be ready to die."
He added: "We would like the whole world to be like us", that is, to refuse weapons, "and then all war and all injustice would disappear from the earth".
This pacifism was not a winning strategy in the usual sense: the movement was almost exterminated. Yet it contributed to a freer and more pluralistic society, which today allows people to practice their faith freely.

7. Reminding the world that peace is possible

Whoever believes in the God of Jesus Christ, the God of mercy and reconciliation, is called to take the possibility of peace seriously, even when it seems impossible, impractical or doomed to fail.
Other believers did so before us. Paul reminds us that we are responsible for what depends on us. Jesus gives the supreme example of one who works for good and for peace, even through defeats and failures: he brought us peace with God through his death on the cross.
Our task is to remind a world that seems to have forgotten it that peace is possible. This happens through our words, our actions, our relationships and our choices.
"Let us live in peace, if it is possible, but let this 'if it is possible' not become an excuse for us to give up, but rather a promise of what, with God's help and our commitment, can be."
Introducing the prayer, the preacher reads a meditation: Jesus' first glance never falls on a person's sin, but on their poverty and their need. To pray for another is to turn our gaze to their need, and sometimes to our own.

Key takeaways

There is never only one possibility: even in the middle of a conflict, you can choose another way to act.
Paul's "if it is possible" acknowledges that peace does not depend on you alone, but it does not give you permission to stop seeking it.
You do not decide how others react. You decide your words, your actions and your choices, with Jesus as the criterion.
Knowing that you are at peace with God can make it a little easier to live at peace with others.
Believers are called to remind a world that seems to have forgotten it that peace is possible.

Personal application

Who are you in conflict with right now, and have you really considered the possibility of making peace?
In this conflict, what depends on you: a word, an apology, listening, silence?
Which of these attitudes comes to you fastest: raising your voice, wanting to be right, seeking revenge? What would change if you put yourself in the other person's place?
Do you need to ask God's forgiveness for times when you did not know how to live in peace?
How can your words and actions this week remind those around you that peace is still possible?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

Why does Paul write "if it is possible" in Romans 12:18?

In the middle of a series of unconditional imperatives, Paul slips in a different exhortation. He knows that life and relationships are complicated and that it is not always possible to live at peace with everyone. But this "if it is possible" is not an alibi: the part that depends on us remains our responsibility.

What does 2 Chronicles 28:9-15 teach us about peace?

After a war between Israel and Judah, the army returns to Samaria with prisoners. The prophet Oded and some leaders of Ephraim oppose this. The prisoners are clothed, fed, cared for and taken back to Jericho. The text reminds us that there is never only one possibility: we can always choose another way to act.

Why does the sermon cite the Anabaptists?

As the Reformation festival on October 31 approaches, the preacher recalls that these sixteenth-century believers, persecuted both by the Catholic Church and by the reformers, refused to repay evil with evil. Their movement almost disappeared, but they took the possibility of peace seriously, even when it seemed impossible.