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There is a
difference between "suffering for the sake of the Gospel" vs.
"yielding to violence in our community or home".
History of Arms & Defense
The vast majority of violence in
this nation is criminal (or terrorist) in nature and not in any
way associated with suffering for the sake of the Gospel.
Turning the other cheek is about not retaliating for an insult
or minor offense, not about letting rapists ravage daughters and
wives or terrorists blowing up restaurants and churches.
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Beating
Swords Into Plowshares
I have
heard this phrase "turn swords into plowshares" all of
my life, and most of the time I have heard it from
pacifist Christians who advocate that it is the
objective of Christianity to eliminate war and need of
defense in THIS life, prior to the return of the Lord.
But this notion of giving up arms and everyone living
at peace is from the prophet Isaiah who clearly stated
it would only occur "In the last days" when the Lord
Himself has come to reign on the earth.
It is a
noble idea that a world of harmony exist, but it is
foolishness to believe that man will achieve it prior
to "the last days" for scripture CLEARLY indicates
that will not happen before "the last days". Yes, we
should walk in the light of the Lord at all times, but
until the enemies of our God have been completely
subdued and eradicated, nation will still takes up
arms against nation, and violent people will still
perpetrate evil upon the law-abiding, peace-desiring
public.
Consider
the full text of Isaiah...
This is what Isaiah son of
Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last
days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be
established as the highest of the mountains; it will
be exalted above the hills, and all nations will
stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come,
let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the
temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his
ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law
will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and
will settle disputes for many peoples. They will
beat their swords into plowshares and their spears
into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword
against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light
of the Lord. -- Isaiah 2:1-5
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Being always ready for defense
of the people of God and of one's own household does not mean
taking a position of seeking confrontation. In fact, we avoid
confrontation as much as possible, seeking to live at peace with
all around us as much as is possible, but sometimes it is not
possible because those around us will not allow us to live in
peace.
The pacifist view has
unfortunately become widespread in the body of Christ. Pacifism
ignores scriptures that demonstrate caring for and defending
family, friends, neighbors, and even nations. We have a lengthy
example in scripture:
Nehemiah 4:16-23
From that day on, half of my men did
the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and
armor. The officers supported all the people of Judah, who were
rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried the loads worked
with one hand and held a weapon with the other. Each of the
builders had his sword strapped around his waist while he was
building, and the trumpeter was beside me. Then I said to the
nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “The work is
enormous and spread out, and we are separated far from one
another along the wall. Wherever you hear the trumpet sound,
rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!” So we continued
the work, while half of the men were holding spears from
daybreak until the stars came out. At that time, I also said to
the people, “Let everyone and his servant spend the night inside
Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by
day.” And I, my brothers, my men, and the guards with me never
took off our clothes. Each carried his weapon, even when
washing. (HCSB)
There are many other examples
throughout scripture of defense of family, neighbors, and
country. Even in the New Testament, statements often viewed as
undergirding pacifism often actually are about our heart and
attitude, not about our action.
We are often told to "resist
evil" and yet have come to accept the pacifist's interpretation
because of statements about not "returning evil to an evildoer".
Am I returning evil to an evildoer by refusing to allow the
evildoer to do his evil to my wife or daughter? The distinction
is between defense vs. retaliation. The distinction is between
stopping the threat vs. going further to kill after the threat
was stopped.
Sometimes the only way to stop
the threat is to kill, but that is not retaliation, that is
defense... resisting evil. How should the Christian feel about
killing in defense of one's life? The wisdom of Solomon is
perhaps valuable here: "For everything there is a time... a time
to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to
build." Ecclesiastes 3:3.
Have we sinned if our defense,
without retaliation in our heart, results in killing? No.
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