So I was in Branson, Missouri last week and found myself engulfed in a culture that was a bit different than I’ve grown accustomed to. Quite certain if you were to take a poll most of the people there were “red state” kind of people. It got me thinking about what it means to be a Christian that lives in the states; and thinking subsequently led to writing of course (click here for my post on patriotism and here for my blog on government). I knew that inevitably, I couldn’t approach this monster topic without approaching the issue of war as the military is a major facet of a country and its government. I’ve been excited to tackle it and try to look at it in the scope of the New Testament/ New Covenant theology that I believe the Bible presents. And yet, its obviously a very touchy subject, because the military is something that people give their lives to and in turn are revered for their commitment. With that in mind, I feel like I’m supposed to give a disclaimer and say that these are my personal views and do not necessarily reflect those of Hidden With Christ (as if people care what a non-profit NGO completely unrelated to the military cares about war). And I certainly hope that people would want to help HWC because of the mandates of scripture and the work that we do amongst orphans, not because of the views of one of their missionaries - how’s that for starting with a disclaimer?
So I heard it said not long ago that Branson is Vegas without teeth, or maybe it was dentures, I can’t remember. At any rate, one of this city’s major attractions are its performance shows. My parents have taken a liking to this interesting city tucked away in the Ozarks and wanted to take me and Melissa to their favorite show, Pierce Arrow. It is a variety show and while I don’t typically listen to southern rock, country or gospel music, I was entertained. The show was going well and as it came to its finale, I started feeling a little uncomfortable. The comedian came out and for the first time in the show was being serious. He said that they do shows often and never want to miss a chance to honor the military veterans that come. He asked all those that have served in the military to stand up and I was astounded as I saw what seemed like half the men in the theater rise to their feet. The people then began to give them a huge round of applause and one of the singers came out to begin a very patriotic song. The grand crescendo and finale of the show had every singer as well as the comedian and band singing the song as American flags waved across the TV screen and red, white and blue confetti fell from the ceiling. I was blown away.
There is something that the Lord has put inside of people that drives them to want to live for something bigger than themselves. Many people ignore this and live domicile lifestyles. While others take up a cause that is bigger than themselves. Not all of these causes are worthwhile - I’m sure that you can think of some cause (NRA, PETA, countless world governments, etc.) that you personally disagree with. I believe that this desire for something greater is part of being created in the image of God. God knew that He is bigger than us and to live for Him would require us to have something inside us driving us to such a life. I believe that sometimes that desire becomes misdirected to something other than Christ.
Jesus knew that His Kingdom was the only one that was worth living for; His Kingdom is the only one in which people get it right and live right. Every person in the world ought to follow Jesus and advance the Kingdom of Heaven. There is nothing else worthwhile. Any part of our lives that doesn’t see His glory and His Kingdom as the focus is a waste. We ought to repent and walk in His ways. As a human, I fully realize in my own life that there are aspects, be them desires, thoughts or actions, that are twisted and wrong. Lord have mercy on me.
Jesus talks about this Kingdom of His in John 18:36 as he converses with Pilate before His execution. The first phrase is something that people often hear, its become trendy even. You can’t drive for more than fifteen minutes without seeing a car that has “Not Of This World” on it. But that’s not the end of the verse.
Jesus indeed found Himself in quite the predicament. He was (and still is) the King of a particular kingdom. As you normally see when two kingdoms conflict, they are taking up arms with one another. If the king of one such kingdom were taken captive, what would be operative number one for the subjects of his kingdom? Storm the stronghold by force, kill anyone that gets in the way and get your king back. Jesus was in this exact situation but said something totally different. What His subjects would do was contingent on the fact that His Kingdom is not of this world. The whole verse goes like this “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” As you often get with Jesus’ teaching, His way is totally different from the status quo. Such is the case here. He says that those in His kingdom are not going to fight.
I don’t want to overstate the verse and make a blanket statement over all of Christianity from one particular verse. However it ought to be said that nowhere in the New Testament does one see God tell people to go to war, nor do the leaders of the church get led by the Holy Spirit into war. Furthermore, the apostles do not speak of such action in the epistles. They will use such imagery as the “armor of God“, but its taken as a spiritual metaphor. Because after all, for believers, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
This isn't the flag of Israel, just so you know. Or America, for that matter. Image via WikipediaOne might feel inclined to look at the Old Testament and see the Lord tell the Israelites to go into the Promised Land and expel the unrepentant and wicked nations from before them. Its true that He did just that and was righteous in it. However, that was a part of the Old Covenant. At the time, Israel was God’s Kingdom and it was on earth. No one could claim such a title in this day and age as the New Covenant has brought with it a Kingdom that is not of this world. And the Kingdom’s servants that are in the world span across man-made country lines. Furthermore, to take such a militaristic charge, one must remain consistent and take on the Old Testament law, which Paul teaches we are no longer bound by (Romans 6:14). We are under grace, everyone is under grace.
Sometimes I look at the gospel accounts of Jesus, read some of the things He says, and wonder how did we take that and get to where we are. The members of that singing group are nice Christian men and I see good in what they do. I pray and hope the best for them as my brothers. But it did get me thinking… The same guy that started the patriotic song, earlier in the show shared a part of the gospel message (he left out parts like “die to yourself,” “take up your cross,” “drink My blood” and stuff like that). Although he did share with the crowd that God loves them and sent Jesus, which I thought was good. But I was wondering how a Jewish man hanging on a cross in the Middle East led to a group of American men, covered in rhinestones singing about God blessing their country two thousand years later. I think that our marriage between God, country and military ought to receive the same consideration. How did we get here? But more importantly, is this biblical? Is this right?
I assert that looking at the Bible, especially life in the New Covenant, points to a laying down of arms. I already mentioned some of those reasons why I believe this. And I tell you that the true gospel lived out is far better than what we experience at the moment. The Lord has His purposes and it fulfilled His will to pour out His wrath on His Son, though it seemed counter-intuitive to His followers. Jesus knew this and said that those that are of His kingdom would not fight, but let the will of God take place. As we examine Jesus’ life and try to model our own after Him, we ought to remember that unlike many American Christians, Jesus was not an advocate of governmental militarism, but rather a victim of it.
Not once during Jesus’ ministry did he use violence to get a point across. Not once did He tell His disciples to do so. And even when a disciple tried this tactic in the Garden of Gethsemane, it was followed by a rebuke from Jesus (even coined the “live by the sword, die by the sword” phrase in the process) and then He healed their enemy (Matthew 26:51-52; Luke 22:49-51). I can’t emphasize this enough, and if you disagree please write a comment, but there is nothing in the New Testament that should lead a person to think that war will be helpful in advancing the Kingdom of God. What are the things that Jesus did and the apostles wrote of? Healing, encouraging, praying, loving, speaking truth, edifying, performing miracles, teaching. These are the things that we should focus on.
As Shane Claiborne says, the greatest commandment is love God and the second is like it, love people. I doubt that loving people looks like killing them. Other favorite Claiborne thought on this, if we think that God can’t redeem terrorists, then we ought to throw out half of our New Testament, because Paul was exactly that.
Now I want to turn the corner a little. As you can tell by this point, I don’t merely disagree with war, but I find it to be unbiblical, hence something that followers of Christ shouldn’t engage in. And yet, I am hesitant to say all of this. Why? Because I have friends that are in the military or have been in the military. Because you have friends in the military. Because maybe you’re reading this and you have been or are in the military. These are valuable and precious people that I honor and have love for. I also have a desire for the Word of God and a desire to see His people live lives based on the Word of God.
Let me take a moment to say what’s special about military service men and women. They are preciously and uniquely created by the Father. He has divine purposes for them that lead to His glory. He loves them. He wants them to find their delight in Him. He wants to heal them, mind, body and soul. They have a worth that is neither diminished nor appraised by what they do or don’t do, whether good or bad. He sees their strength (He put it in there Himself) and wants to use them in mighty ways for His kingdom. I honor them for all these things.
I think that we might not believe God in some of these things. For such ungodly beliefs, we need to repent. Jesus said that love changes the world. When we take matters into our own hands and think that killing evil people will lead to good, we are only plunging deeper into the darkness. The truth is, there are evil people in the world. Pick a continent and you’ll find them. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The truth is that more times than not these people need to be removed from positions of power. The problem with taking up arms is that it means we are in charge now and we become their judge, not Jesus. Make no mistake about it, Hitler, Stalin, Polpot, Mao, Saddam, Bin Laden and the rest will be judged and punished for their wrongs. They sealed their own fates. But everyone’s favorite post-modern, lazy Christian verse applies to them as well “judge not that you not be judged” (Matthew 7:1).
So what are we supposed to do then as Christians? Pray. Jesus seems to think that we can move mountains (Mark 11:23), what’s one evil dictator? Do we believe Him? There is this story that I read about in this book by Michael Howard called Intercession. It is one of the best books that I’ve read; it revolutionized my thoughts on life and prayer. He shares about his ministry in Mozambique and the time where the leader of the government was an evil, bloodthirsty man. He was responsible for many deaths and evils in the country. Howard and his fellow Christians, set up a regular meeting where they would be interceding for their government and for this evil man to be removed from his place of power. During a meeting, a Holy Spirit led prayer chant began to be lifted up, louder and louder and louder. They were shouting “Bring it down, bring it down.” The prayer meeting ended and the next day, a friend came to his house and asked if he had heard the news. Apparently the previous night, the government leader was flying back from South Africa and inexplicably the airplane crashed and he was now dead.
Does that blow your mind? It is a crazy story to be sure and its even crazier to think that we have such power when we commit to prayer. And those people weren’t the leader’s judge, but they agreed with God and with the Bible that what he was doing was evil and he needed to be removed. But they didn’t shed his blood.
War and the militaries that engage in it are products of the world, not the Kingdom of God. Am I surprised when nations go to war? No. The prophets speak that it will take place throughout the Bible. That’s what nation-states do and its sad. As the church, we ought to be going before the war to warn people and give them the good news, during the war as blessed peacemakers and after the war to clean up the mess that people did to one another. I don’t hope for war, I don’t like war, I don’t revere or romanticize war and at the same time I do expect it.
Why do I expect war? Because I know that for the time being, creation is still groaning and people still sin. People are still selfish. The best explanation that I find in the Bible for war likens it to personal quarrels. James 4:1-3: “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
I see two reasons for why there is war. Countries go to war because one, they don’t believe God can stop the evil without them taking up arms and two, they’re selfish and want the stuff that other people have. Two reasons people go to war, they want to live for something bigger than themselves and its misdirected or two, they realize that there are many benefits within the American system (education, salary, prestige) that they can obtain through the military.
Is war a good thing? No. Does war happen? Of course. Should Christians serve in violent ways (I wouldn’t include roles like medics or clerics) within the military? Biblically, I would say no. Can God redeem systems? Yes. Can God redeem people? Emphatically yes, he in fact is in the business of it. That’s why He is my hope for my family and the nations.
So I heard it said not long ago that Branson is Vegas without teeth, or maybe it was dentures, I can’t remember. At any rate, one of this city’s major attractions are its performance shows. My parents have taken a liking to this interesting city tucked away in the Ozarks and wanted to take me and Melissa to their favorite show, Pierce Arrow. It is a variety show and while I don’t typically listen to southern rock, country or gospel music, I was entertained. The show was going well and as it came to its finale, I started feeling a little uncomfortable. The comedian came out and for the first time in the show was being serious. He said that they do shows often and never want to miss a chance to honor the military veterans that come. He asked all those that have served in the military to stand up and I was astounded as I saw what seemed like half the men in the theater rise to their feet. The people then began to give them a huge round of applause and one of the singers came out to begin a very patriotic song. The grand crescendo and finale of the show had every singer as well as the comedian and band singing the song as American flags waved across the TV screen and red, white and blue confetti fell from the ceiling. I was blown away.
There is something that the Lord has put inside of people that drives them to want to live for something bigger than themselves. Many people ignore this and live domicile lifestyles. While others take up a cause that is bigger than themselves. Not all of these causes are worthwhile - I’m sure that you can think of some cause (NRA, PETA, countless world governments, etc.) that you personally disagree with. I believe that this desire for something greater is part of being created in the image of God. God knew that He is bigger than us and to live for Him would require us to have something inside us driving us to such a life. I believe that sometimes that desire becomes misdirected to something other than Christ.
Jesus knew that His Kingdom was the only one that was worth living for; His Kingdom is the only one in which people get it right and live right. Every person in the world ought to follow Jesus and advance the Kingdom of Heaven. There is nothing else worthwhile. Any part of our lives that doesn’t see His glory and His Kingdom as the focus is a waste. We ought to repent and walk in His ways. As a human, I fully realize in my own life that there are aspects, be them desires, thoughts or actions, that are twisted and wrong. Lord have mercy on me.
Jesus talks about this Kingdom of His in John 18:36 as he converses with Pilate before His execution. The first phrase is something that people often hear, its become trendy even. You can’t drive for more than fifteen minutes without seeing a car that has “Not Of This World” on it. But that’s not the end of the verse.
Jesus indeed found Himself in quite the predicament. He was (and still is) the King of a particular kingdom. As you normally see when two kingdoms conflict, they are taking up arms with one another. If the king of one such kingdom were taken captive, what would be operative number one for the subjects of his kingdom? Storm the stronghold by force, kill anyone that gets in the way and get your king back. Jesus was in this exact situation but said something totally different. What His subjects would do was contingent on the fact that His Kingdom is not of this world. The whole verse goes like this “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” As you often get with Jesus’ teaching, His way is totally different from the status quo. Such is the case here. He says that those in His kingdom are not going to fight.
I don’t want to overstate the verse and make a blanket statement over all of Christianity from one particular verse. However it ought to be said that nowhere in the New Testament does one see God tell people to go to war, nor do the leaders of the church get led by the Holy Spirit into war. Furthermore, the apostles do not speak of such action in the epistles. They will use such imagery as the “armor of God“, but its taken as a spiritual metaphor. Because after all, for believers, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
This isn't the flag of Israel, just so you know. Or America, for that matter. Image via WikipediaSometimes I look at the gospel accounts of Jesus, read some of the things He says, and wonder how did we take that and get to where we are. The members of that singing group are nice Christian men and I see good in what they do. I pray and hope the best for them as my brothers. But it did get me thinking… The same guy that started the patriotic song, earlier in the show shared a part of the gospel message (he left out parts like “die to yourself,” “take up your cross,” “drink My blood” and stuff like that). Although he did share with the crowd that God loves them and sent Jesus, which I thought was good. But I was wondering how a Jewish man hanging on a cross in the Middle East led to a group of American men, covered in rhinestones singing about God blessing their country two thousand years later. I think that our marriage between God, country and military ought to receive the same consideration. How did we get here? But more importantly, is this biblical? Is this right?
I assert that looking at the Bible, especially life in the New Covenant, points to a laying down of arms. I already mentioned some of those reasons why I believe this. And I tell you that the true gospel lived out is far better than what we experience at the moment. The Lord has His purposes and it fulfilled His will to pour out His wrath on His Son, though it seemed counter-intuitive to His followers. Jesus knew this and said that those that are of His kingdom would not fight, but let the will of God take place. As we examine Jesus’ life and try to model our own after Him, we ought to remember that unlike many American Christians, Jesus was not an advocate of governmental militarism, but rather a victim of it.
Not once during Jesus’ ministry did he use violence to get a point across. Not once did He tell His disciples to do so. And even when a disciple tried this tactic in the Garden of Gethsemane, it was followed by a rebuke from Jesus (even coined the “live by the sword, die by the sword” phrase in the process) and then He healed their enemy (Matthew 26:51-52; Luke 22:49-51). I can’t emphasize this enough, and if you disagree please write a comment, but there is nothing in the New Testament that should lead a person to think that war will be helpful in advancing the Kingdom of God. What are the things that Jesus did and the apostles wrote of? Healing, encouraging, praying, loving, speaking truth, edifying, performing miracles, teaching. These are the things that we should focus on.
As Shane Claiborne says, the greatest commandment is love God and the second is like it, love people. I doubt that loving people looks like killing them. Other favorite Claiborne thought on this, if we think that God can’t redeem terrorists, then we ought to throw out half of our New Testament, because Paul was exactly that.
Now I want to turn the corner a little. As you can tell by this point, I don’t merely disagree with war, but I find it to be unbiblical, hence something that followers of Christ shouldn’t engage in. And yet, I am hesitant to say all of this. Why? Because I have friends that are in the military or have been in the military. Because you have friends in the military. Because maybe you’re reading this and you have been or are in the military. These are valuable and precious people that I honor and have love for. I also have a desire for the Word of God and a desire to see His people live lives based on the Word of God.
Let me take a moment to say what’s special about military service men and women. They are preciously and uniquely created by the Father. He has divine purposes for them that lead to His glory. He loves them. He wants them to find their delight in Him. He wants to heal them, mind, body and soul. They have a worth that is neither diminished nor appraised by what they do or don’t do, whether good or bad. He sees their strength (He put it in there Himself) and wants to use them in mighty ways for His kingdom. I honor them for all these things.
I think that we might not believe God in some of these things. For such ungodly beliefs, we need to repent. Jesus said that love changes the world. When we take matters into our own hands and think that killing evil people will lead to good, we are only plunging deeper into the darkness. The truth is, there are evil people in the world. Pick a continent and you’ll find them. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The truth is that more times than not these people need to be removed from positions of power. The problem with taking up arms is that it means we are in charge now and we become their judge, not Jesus. Make no mistake about it, Hitler, Stalin, Polpot, Mao, Saddam, Bin Laden and the rest will be judged and punished for their wrongs. They sealed their own fates. But everyone’s favorite post-modern, lazy Christian verse applies to them as well “judge not that you not be judged” (Matthew 7:1).
So what are we supposed to do then as Christians? Pray. Jesus seems to think that we can move mountains (Mark 11:23), what’s one evil dictator? Do we believe Him? There is this story that I read about in this book by Michael Howard called Intercession. It is one of the best books that I’ve read; it revolutionized my thoughts on life and prayer. He shares about his ministry in Mozambique and the time where the leader of the government was an evil, bloodthirsty man. He was responsible for many deaths and evils in the country. Howard and his fellow Christians, set up a regular meeting where they would be interceding for their government and for this evil man to be removed from his place of power. During a meeting, a Holy Spirit led prayer chant began to be lifted up, louder and louder and louder. They were shouting “Bring it down, bring it down.” The prayer meeting ended and the next day, a friend came to his house and asked if he had heard the news. Apparently the previous night, the government leader was flying back from South Africa and inexplicably the airplane crashed and he was now dead.
Does that blow your mind? It is a crazy story to be sure and its even crazier to think that we have such power when we commit to prayer. And those people weren’t the leader’s judge, but they agreed with God and with the Bible that what he was doing was evil and he needed to be removed. But they didn’t shed his blood.
War and the militaries that engage in it are products of the world, not the Kingdom of God. Am I surprised when nations go to war? No. The prophets speak that it will take place throughout the Bible. That’s what nation-states do and its sad. As the church, we ought to be going before the war to warn people and give them the good news, during the war as blessed peacemakers and after the war to clean up the mess that people did to one another. I don’t hope for war, I don’t like war, I don’t revere or romanticize war and at the same time I do expect it.
Why do I expect war? Because I know that for the time being, creation is still groaning and people still sin. People are still selfish. The best explanation that I find in the Bible for war likens it to personal quarrels. James 4:1-3: “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
I see two reasons for why there is war. Countries go to war because one, they don’t believe God can stop the evil without them taking up arms and two, they’re selfish and want the stuff that other people have. Two reasons people go to war, they want to live for something bigger than themselves and its misdirected or two, they realize that there are many benefits within the American system (education, salary, prestige) that they can obtain through the military.
Is war a good thing? No. Does war happen? Of course. Should Christians serve in violent ways (I wouldn’t include roles like medics or clerics) within the military? Biblically, I would say no. Can God redeem systems? Yes. Can God redeem people? Emphatically yes, he in fact is in the business of it. That’s why He is my hope for my family and the nations.
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