Christians and Guns
Is it OK for a person to defend themselves, to arm themselves , or even to take a life?
I am often asked, “Is it OK for a Christian to defend themselves, even if it means fighting, or arming themselves, or even using deadly force?” Didn’t Jesus say, ‘He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword’? To both of these questions I must answer a resounding, yes!
The Bible is filled with all sorts of information, about the correct attitude toward self defense and aggressive behavior.
Old Testament
From the very beginning we see the uses and abuses of aggression and justice. God includes in His record a number of embarrassments for both sides on the issue, as He usually does. God says that Cain was wrong for taking his brother’s life, then tells Noah to take the life of those who take the life of a man, In Ester we are told that a decree is sent out to destroy the Jews, and the king is helpless to defend them. Then another decree is sent out that the Jews are to arm and defend themselves, to the point of obliterating their foes. In other situations God uses nations to judge other nations, and then turns around and sends others to obliterate them because they were unjust. Others like David are told that they have lived too bloody a life to build the Temple, but also he is said to be a “man after God’s own heart’, while Moses, the meekest of all men, kills a man with his bear hands. The 10 Commandments are often quoted to say it is never OK to take a mans life because the word “kill” is used it the 6th. Commandment, which seems contrary to many other commands of God. Why? Newer translations rightly translate the word “murder. Now that makes sense, and helps very much to understand so much of the OT. Is God then saying that there is a right time to take a life and a wrong time, as in Ecclesiastics when it says, ‘a time to kill and a time to heal’? Lets keep looking.
New Testament
Is the NT God somehow a different God from that of the OT? Some believe so, but is that true? To find outlets look at Jesus words, after all, He is the very center of history and scripture for the Christian; and also at Paul the apostle, who wrote at least 13 books of the NT. The dagger and the sword, in NT times, was not used for spanking a child, but for delivering a death blow as a weapon and these were about as close as you could get to the hand gun and the rifle in our day. We must keep this in mind while examining these, words’.
Jesus
Here we are going to find that Jesus gives us the simple word on the matter and straightens this out once and for all, right? Not so fast. Just because Jesus is often quoted as a complete pacifist, especially by those who favor a ‘nonviolent’ lifestyle, or at least a ban on guns, does not necessarily make it so. Here we find Jesus also making some pretty heavy statements. He says things about ‘turning the other cheek’, and ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. Then He makes a statement like, ‘Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.’
Isn’t that also opposite of what the angels announced at His birth? “And on earth peace, good will toward men”. J. B. Phillips translates it, “Peace upon earth among men of goodwill!” That means something very different, doesn’t it? And so the story goes; it seems to be a matter of perspective. Next we see Jesus in the Temple, pretty upset with the way this whole religious twisting is going, and shows a side of the God-man unknown to us to this point. Or is it? Jesus said if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. Hmmm.... In the OT we have seen the Father pretty upset, and doing some very strong reckoning, haven’t we? Jesus is so often quoted in the “Great Commission”, as sending His disciples out to reach the world. But the careful student will see many times before, that Jesus had given the details of how to actually GO, in Luke 9, 10 and 22. In 9, He sends out the 12. In 10, He sends out the 70. In 22, He prepares His disciples for facing a world on a mission without Him. Here He reflects on the first two commissions, and then says, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one”. The garment was the outer cloak and was used for dressing up, for traveling, for staying warm in the winter and often for a covering at night with which to sleep. An absolute necessity in that part of the world in those days. It seems that carrying a sword was very important to Jesus. His disciples respond that they have two, and He says at this point, “It is enough”. In the four accounts at the betrayal in the garden, Jesus never once tells the disciples not to use a sword, or to throw it away, or to disarm. In the incident in Luke at the cut of the guard’s ear, He says, “Permit even this”, and simply says on two occasions, “return the sword to the sheath”.
In another account He says He could call for angels, but never does He scold His followers and belittle them. In the famous quote we started with He says, “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword”. What did He mean by that? In all of the same texts, He says, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?” Robbers and thieves lived by swords, and the law, or those who are armed “with swords and clubs” will take care of them. They will “die by the sword”. As you remember, John the Baptist didn’t live by the sword, but he died by the sword. When Jesus said to turn the cheek, did He mean to let everybody beat on you for any cause? In Matt. 5:38,39, Jesus says that the Jews are practicing “an eye for an eye”, but that is not the way for a disciple to behave; here they are to turn the other cheek. Jesus is referring to the Levitical Law given by Moses to the nation in Lev.. 24:19-20, to be carried out by the Levites, or those whom He had placed in authority. It was their responsibility as representatives of the government, according to the law, to exact restitution. It was not to be exacted by private citizens, as violent vigilantes. We are then to let the law handle legal matters. Enough, lets move on.
Apostle Paul
Now lets turn to Paul the apostle. Paul, is another in scripture, who, is often quoted as a pacifist. In Romans chapter 12 we have one of those classic statements of “peace at all cost”. Verse 17 says, “Repay no one evil for evil”, and just when you think it is settled, in verse 18, he says, “If it is possible. . Live peaceably with all men”. So now there is a condition, and to top it all ot inverse 19, he says, “do not avenge yourselves”. Wheu…where is it going to end.... In the next chapter, a couple of verses away, he puts it in perspective. Verses 1-3 says, that God has instituted the government, and that we are to abide by the laws of the government. In verse 4, he makes some very remarkable statements. In speaking of the ruler, police and soldier, Paul calls them each God’s minister to you for good”. He goes on to say that “. . he does not bear the sword in vain”, and finally that he is God’s minister again, “an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil”. In verse 6, he again says, “for they are God’s ministers”, and ends verse 7 with a statement that we are to give them, “honor to whom honor” is due. The point here is that the opinion of Paul, is that the sword is not an instrument of disdain, but of honor, and that those who are sent forth by the governing authorities with permission or authority to use the sword in the defense of peace, against those who are lawless, are also honorable. Luke, in speaking of Paul, and his run in with Roman law, also points out in Acts 23:29; 25:11,25; 26:31, that they both agree that there is behavior worthy of death, of which of course, Paul is not guilty. We need always bear in mind, that God is always the God of Justice, and He is always against lawlessness. That is to say that whatever authority is in place, it is put there by God, and it is put there for the keeping of the peace. Many will tell you that they believe that God has given us a free America, and that it is our duty to defend the Constitution, to vote and even to fight in the time of war; but will back down when you share with them that the Bill of Rights suggest that the people be armed to protect the Constitution and the peace of the homeland. Yet it is a fact of both the present and of history, that an armed citizenry is the best defense of a peace loving country. Is it more holy to fight for peace in a foreign land than at home, or in a time of war, than in a time of maintaining the peace? That’s much like the man who would be a foreign missionary, yet at home is unable to lead anyone to Christ \\That is the difference between a Christian armed by his country at war to bring peace, or a Christian armed by his country at home to maintain peace? Cars are much more deadly and dangerous than guns, but most who would not own a gun, own and drive one. Some have even killed with them, and still drive. THINK CHRISTIAN. What do you say?
Pastor Norm Cook, Th.D
