"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." (Mat 10:34)
Thus said the Lord. Read it as if He had said, "I did not come to reconcile truth and lie, wisdom and stupidity, good and evil, justice and violence, bestiality and humanity, God and mammon; but I came to bring a sword so that I may cut and separate one from the other, so they do not mingle"
What will you cut with O Lord? With the sword of truth, or with the sword of God's word, which is the same thing. For the truth is God's word and God's word is the truth.
Apostle Paul advises, "Take ye up the spiritual sword which is the word of God"[1]. Saint John saw in a vision "The Son of Man between two candlestands"[2] – "and from His mouth proceeded a double edged sword."[3] What can the sword that proceeds from the mouth be if not the word of God, the word of truth? That is the sword that Jesus Christ brought on to the earth. That sword is unto salvation of the word[4], not unto the reconciling of good with evil, – then, now, and forever.
Saint Nicolai Velimirovich, Missionary Letters, Part 1, Letter 9, "To a Blacksmith about the meaning of Christ's words, "I came not to bring peace but a sword"
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The sword of the Word is being ignored by many in our world, who lie when they call themselves Christians. Some of these are those among so called Orthodox Christians, who, in lockstep with the world and its fashions and obsessions, espouse and practice the same morality as any other common person.
Things that the Apostle tells us that we should not speak of, under the pretence of (the list is long, the following is only a partial list), so called "inclusiveness", "love", "diversity", etc. I have even seen Orthodox Christians ignore clear Scripture about sexual morality (both involving sexuality according to nature, and especially involving that which the Scripture says is not according to nature), either because they are addicted to sexual sin, or because they are addicted to a listening to the intellectual sophism of this age.
Those outside the church may deny that Christ descended into Hell (since they do not believe in Hell, or that demons exist), or that He is truly God and Man, or seventy times seven other dogmas that do not set well with their modern, supposedly enlightened mentality. Any Orthodox priest knows that false opinions also prevail among lukewarm, barely practicing Orthodox Christians.
Do not be afraid to believe the truth! Most people are, you know. They believe in a part of the truth, but the parts that are embarrassing for them to admit to among their friends and peers, or are just plain too hard to do or even try to do, they reject. Those people have thrown down the sword and will be annihilated by the enemy.
We have recently witnessed the President say out loud what everybody knew that he believed in and was a champion of – unbridled legal acceptance and promotion of sexual immorality. Here is a clear, modern opinion that you must apply the sword of truth to. Do not be fooled into thinking that you can contradict the Word of God because of Modern science, learning, laws and opinions. and remain in the Truth. This is not possible.
To apply the Sword of truth to our lives is to consciously submit our will, which includes our opinions, priorities, actions and words, to the truth. We may still sin because of weakness, but we can be healed of such things through repentance and God's grace. We will not be healed if we do not have the courage to speak the truth and attempt to do it.
Priest Seraphim Holland 2012 St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, McKinney, Texas
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[1] Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
[2] Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
[3] Rev 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
[4] Of course, since "salvation of the Word", is, by the power of the Word, learning of and following the Word of God, who is Jesus Christ.