| This subject is one
that stirs many emotions, prejudices, and will even stir anger in the hearts
of some at the writer. It is not unusual at all, for one who takes the
Biblical position that servants of the Prince of Peace (while living in a violent and non-peaceable world), cannot in following Him take part in the violence of war, (regardless of whom it is against) to be branded as cowards, unpatriotic or even traitors. I only ask that you consider the thoughts offered in this article with a honest and open mind and a prayerful heart, for it is plain from scripture, that one day "we must stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give and account for the deeds done in the body". II Cor. 5:10 It is just as plain that while the atoning blood of Jesus forgives our sins, that we, who claim to be His are to imitate His life. The New Testament distinguishes between two uses of the word "justification". One is by grace through faith, the other rests upon the holiness or sanctification (differentness) that is firmly established in the soul of the believer as Christ works within them. Therefore, Paul says, "when we were his enemies, we were brought back to God by the death of his Son, what blessings he must have for us now that we are his friends, and he is living within us! Rom. 5:10 L. B. The one who changes the lives of believers stated while upon this earth the following: "I am not an earthly king. If I were then my followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my kingdom is not of this world. " John 18:36 N.L.T.
I fear that many dear brothers and sisters have adopted the spirit of this world and are more than ready to fight for some earthly kingdom. Satan has so pervaded the minds of Gods' people that war is glorified as a great, patriotic, honorable thing. It is thought honorable to kill, maim and destroy our fellow men for who Jesus died! Prior to this, on another occasion, Jesus said
to his disciples, "Don't resist an evil person". HOW CAN FOLLOWERS OF THE PRINCE OF PEACE POSSIBLY FOLLOW THIS INJUNCTION BY MAKING OR SUPPORTING WAR? But one says, "Oh, this means if it is a personal attack you can't resist". It would be interesting to hear the propagators of this exegesis explain how you can practice selective resistance to evil persons. Is this really what Jesus said or is this what some one said that he said? The aforementioned exegesis says it but it took a few hundred years for the disciples to understand that this is what Jesus was saying. According to this "logic" I could defend your family but not my own! If this kind of garbage was music the ones putting it out would be a whole symphony. Could it be that Satan has deluded us so long in this regard that we now find it impossible to obey? It is argued, and rightly so, that we must obey our government based upon the teachings of Rom. 13 but is Paul teaching blind, mindless obedience? Remember, who the government was at this time. It was the Roman government with Nero at its' head. This government, within a short time after Paul penned these words was persecuting and putting his brethren to the sword, the fire and the cross just like they did the master. Are we saying then that Christians could have participated in these acts just to "obey the government"? I think not; "By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another". We must remember that Jesus teaches
us to "give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar" and that our first allegiance
is to another king and another kingdom that is "not of this world". Indeed,
a kingdom of peace! When "Caesar" requires something of us that is contrary
to the plain teaching of our king, we must as the early disciples say, "Is
it right in Gods' eyes for us to obey you rather than God?" Some would argue that we are not personally responsible for the actions that we might take as a part of the military since we are acting under the auspices of the government and not upon our own initiative. This sounds suspiciously like the same alibi used in the garden by Adam and Eve in trying to say that they had no control over the situation. Isn't it great that there always seems to be someone we can blame our disobedience to God on? This argument, if it rates that term, would say that the Germans who slaughtered over six million Jews and systematically murdered millions of Gypsies and Slavic peoples actually did nothing wrong, in as much as they were acting not personally but as a part of their government who had given them orders to do these horrible deeds. Makes one wonder why many of them were tried as "war criminals". This logic would also have to say the soldiers of Saddam Hussein do no wrong when they kill the Kurdish or Iranian people, nor that any act of genocide is wrong as long as it is under orders of the civil government of whatever country the Christian finds himself living. Upon what grounds can Christians possibly defend the slaughter of civilians, who are mostly old people, women, little children, all non-combatants? Who have these done any harm that they should feel the cruelty and barbarism of war? The men of war refer to them as "collateral damage" but God refers to them as people who he "loved so much that he gave his only Son" to die for them and set them free from sin. Jesus tells us who it is that comes to "kill, maim and destroy" and he not sent by God! Is it any wonder that Philip Yancey in his book, "The Jesus I Never Knew", says that in his watching an interview with General Norman Schwarzkopf at the close of the Gulf war, he realized that what was being said was the beatitudes in reverse and that the teachings of Jesus were the diametric opposite of the interviews remarks. the only war a disciple is to participate in is the war for the souls of men and against sin and Satan. The weapons he is to use are not guns, planes, tanks and nukes. Paul says, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world". II Cor. 10:4 N.I.V. A full list of our armor is found in Ephesians 6:11-18 In conclusion, as a fellow disciple I urge you to forget all the "patriotic" poppycock that is being e-mailed, spoken from the pulpit, and printed in the newspapers to brainwash you and lead you away from the ideal set by the master. "Christ, who suffered for you, is your example. Follow in his steps." I Peter 3:21 Do you really believe those steps will lead you to slaughter those who he died for? How can we face Jesus knowing "that inasmuch as you did it to one of these you did it unto me". You will have to decide for yourself the course that you will take in your life. As for me, I will stand opposed to all deliberate taking of human life. It matters not whether it be a child by abortion or whether it is killing a child by some other means such as a plane with a smart bomb, a missile or any of the modern ways of slaughtering Gods' creation. I owe no allegiance to any leader when they tell me to do that which Jesus has told me not to do. Will I pray for the leaders of this country? The answer to that is yes, but no more than the leaders of this world. My prayer for the present group of warmongering politicians in this country and the other countries of the world is that they might come to know a God of love, mercy and "peace on earth, good will towards men". THINK FOR YOURSELF, DEAR BROTHER
AND SISTER! click below on guest book and leave me a message. Praying for you and yours, In His love, Gerald Hadley, Sr
|
