Today we are beginning a new sermon series I’ve entitled “The Middle East Crisis.” I know that is a rather broad topic, but I chose that title because I wasn’t exactly sure what topics God wanted me to cover underneath this broad banner. So, I believe we will be covering a wide variety of these topics in the upcoming weeks. Today and next week, we’ll be looking at our own country’s involvement in the Middle East and our connections with Israel. Then we will look at the Middle East Crisis from the Bible’s perspective, historically and prophetically.
This morning, however, I want to revisit a teaching I gave a year and a half ago. It was a controversial subject then, and I believe it has become an even more controversial subject today. It is the subject of war. War is a very relevant topic considering the position our nation is presently in. And for Christians the subject of war is often confusing because the Bible appears to have contradictory passages about how we should respond to aggression. So this morning’s topic is “A Time for War: A Biblical Perspective on War.”
How can anyone justify war from a Christian perspective? Isn’t one of the Ten Commandments “thou shalt not kill”? (Ex. 20:13). Doesn’t the Sermon on the Mount include the words, “blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God?” What about Jesus being called the “Prince of Peace”? And doesn’t Jesus command non-violence when he said, “Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also”? (Mt. 5:39)
With all these calls for peace in the Bible, can war ever be necessary or pleasing to God? Can Christians in good faith and conscience ever take part in war without violating their beliefs? These are some of the tough questions we’re going to try to answer this morning.
The war against terrorism has caused Christians from all backgrounds and denominations to grapple with the question, “Can war ever be just, or right in the eyes of a Holy God?” Massive anti-war rallies have happened in cities throughout the world, rallies that contain many Christians. Big name movie stars and athletes, the liberal media as well as liberal Congressmen and women are calling for our troops to be returned home now. During one rally a participant was asked to explain why he opposes the war. His answer was, “War is murder. It’s as simple as that.”
But I’m here to tell you this morning that it’s NOT as simple as that. The teaching of Scripture is much more complex.
Just as there are numerous references to peace in the Bible, there are numerous references to God-ordained war. Many of the heroes of our faith were warriors. Joshua, Gideon, Samson, Caleb, Deborah, Jonathon, and Saul. King David was a warrior king. He fought numerous battles and killed thousands in combat, yet he was not considered a murderer. In fact, he was called a man after God’s own heart.
You are probably familiar with these words of King Solomon from Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verses 1-8. Listen to them once again. Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 8, “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: [2] A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; [3] A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; [4] A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; [5] A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; [6] A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; [7] A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; [8] A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.”
Throughout the Old Testament, on many occasions, God directed the people of Israel to go to war, especially when they crossed into the Promised Land. God instructed them to completely remove the people of that land. Sometimes He commanded them to totally wipe them out, not to even leave women and children alive. We have a hard time accepting the fact that God gave the Israelites these instructions.
I. What Makes a War Just or Righteous?
So, why would God give them instructions for war? What makes war justified or righteous in the eyes of a holy God? Let’s look at some qualifications that must be met for a war to be considered justified.
A. Initiated By the Proper Authorities
First, for a war to be considered just, it must be initiated by the proper authorities. These would be lawful governments or groups as opposed to an angry mob or a terrorist organization.
There are two important passage in the book of Romans that can help us determine who these proper authorities are.
Romans 12:17 - 19 (NKJV) “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. [18] If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. [19] Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
In this passage we read that we, as individuals have no authority to avenge evil. We are commanded to live peaceably with everyone as much as it is possible and as much as it depends on us. The Apostle Paul in this passage is talking about our personal relationships with others, such as family, co-workers, friends, etc. So individuals are not given the right to wage war. We are to do our best to live peaceably with others.
But sometimes peace is not up to us. It takes both parties working and wanting peace for true peace to be possible. And sometimes, like in the case of friction between countries or larger groups, God has given us another direction.
Let’s see what the Bible has to say in Romans 13:1-5 (NKJV). “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. [2] Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. [3]For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. [4] For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. [5] Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.
There’s a lot of information packed into those verses, and I recommend that when you have the time you re-read and study them carefully in light of what we are going to cover this morning.
According to this passage, God has given lawful governments the authority to punish evildoers with death. (That’s what that phrase “bear the sword” is referring to.) In fact, these governments are called God’s ministers, servants, or representatives, depending on which Bible translation you use. And God has given them the authority to “bear the sword” or in other words to execute criminals and to wage war.
They likewise have the authority and responsibility to enlist and train certain of their citizens (such as police and military personnel) to use deadly force, if necessary, to preserve peace and to maintain an orderly society.
In the days after Hurricane Katrina we saw what happened in New Orleans when there was an absence of this kind of authority. Anarchy and chaos and man’s sinful nature took over. There was looting, raping, vandalism, murder and more because there was no God-given authority (such as the police) present to keep the peace.
Governments, usually mentioned in the Bible as kings or rulers, have a God-sanctioned role in avenging evil. Therefore, as God’s agents on earth, governments or other lawful authorities alone have the right to declare war.
A just war is NEVER a vigilante crusade or a terrorist attack, but a response to evil by those whom God has authorized to act on our behalf.
B. Waged For Just or Righteous Reasons
Secondly, to be a considered a just war, the war must be waged for just reasons. A just war is never waged simply in order to conquer, plunder, or politically or religiously oppress the enemy. Let’s discuss some of these righteous reasons for waging war.
1. To Defend Freedom
The first reason for war would be to defend freedoms. Throughout the book of Judges, God called the Israelites to go to war against the Midianites and the Philistines. Why? Because these nations were trying to conquer Israel. God was calling them to defend themselves and to preserve the freedoms that He had given them.
The birth of our own nation involved war. The freedom our ancestors deeply felt was theirs didn’t happen without a war. We are here today, sitting in this church, enjoying the freedom to worship in the manner we choose because men and women have given their lives in past wars, defending these freedoms.
2. To Defend Innocent People
Another reason for war would be to defend innocent people. King Solomon gave this advice in
Proverbs 21:15 (TMSG) “Good people celebrate when justice triumphs, but for the workers of evil it’s a bad day.” Circle or highlight that word “justice.” You see Christians should be interested in more than just peace. We should also be concerned about justice. Peace without justice has a name. It is called appeasement. The God we serve is not only a God of peace; He is also the God of justice.
Listen to what God has to say in Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?”
There are times when war must be fought to defend the innocent. Real peace cannot happen without justice. John Stewart Mills said, “A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares about more than his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free.”
3. To Stop the Spread of Evil
Another reason for war is to stop the spread of evil. Throughout Scripture the church is commanded to be on the offensive against evil. Wherever evil is found, we, the church, are to be present doing all we can to stop it from advancing. In fact, we are to be battering down the very gates of hell. But somewhere along the line, we got the notion that we are to step aside and let evil just ‘run its course.’
The Holy Spirit will give us the power and the courage to confront evil in all its forms. Whether the evil is in the church or in the world, we have been given the authority and power to resist it…and win. One of the primary purposes of the church is to stop the spread of evil, even at the cost of human lives. If we do not stop the spread of evil, many innocent lives will be lost and the kingdom of God will suffer.
There are three facts about human life. 1) We live in a fallen world. 2) Every person has sinned. 3) Wherever there is sin, people hurt one another.
There has to be laws to stop those who are evil. If the laws and resolutions are not kept, then evil will continue to flourish. You may say, “Doesn’t the Sixth Commandment say, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’?” No, it doesn’t. In the original Hebrew, it says, “Thou shall not murder.” There is a difference between killing and murdering. Many times God commanded capital punishment for those who broke the law. And sometimes capital punishment involves war.
C. Discrimination and Proportionality
Last, for a war to be considered a just war it must be fought with discrimination and proportionality. Those are two big words that basically mean that you fight your enemy and not innocent civilians. And that you use the tactics and the amount of force that are in proportion to your objective. You don’t kill a fly with a jackhammer. You don’t level a city to kill one enemy soldier. As Christians we need to do all things (even waging war) in a way that ALL PEOPLE can see that we are honorable.
William Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury during the Second World War said, “We Christians in war are called to the hardest task of all – to fight without hatred, to resist without bitterness, and in the end if God so grants it, triumph without vindictiveness.”
II. Is the War on Terror a Just War?
So this brings us to the big question. Is the war that America is currently engaged in (the war on terror) a just war in the eyes of God? To try and answer this question let’s look again at what makes a war just and compare it to our present situation.
A. Was It Initiated By the Proper Authorities?
When America decided to enter the war on terror, who made the decision to go to war? Was it a militia or vigilante group with their own agendas that got us there? Was it an individual with a short fuse or self-righteous cause? No.
America went to war under the guidance of our duly elected and God-sanctioned government. The United States government is a lawful government and President Bush, as our commander-in-chief, has the God-given authority to “bear the sword” and use deadly force to protect the people he serves.
You may not personally like President Bush. You may not agree with his decisions. That’s your personal opinion and you have a right to those opinions. However, as we read in Romans 13, the authorities that exist on this earth are appointed by God. Therefore, we can say that the war on terror that we are presently engaged in was initiated by the proper authorities.
B. Was It Waged For Just Reasons?
September 11, 2001 over 3000 American civilians were murdered because a terrorist organization attacked our country. All three reasons we gave as just reasons for waging war could apply to this one event.
1. Defend Freedoms
We entered war to defend our freedoms; our freedom to live peacefully and undisturbed by outside entities. Do you think that if we didn’t retaliate or stand up for ourselves that the terrorists would have just left us alone? Do you think that if we pull our troops out of Iraq or Afghanistan today that the terrorists will then stay overseas and ignore us?
If we don’t fight our enemies on their soil, then we will end up fighting them on our own soil. And if they then should take over and defeat us we would no longer be a people of freedoms. Those same people who are protesting and opposing the war would be permanently silenced by our conquerors should we fail to win the very war they want us to back out of.
2. Defend Innocent People
We entered war to defend our innocent civilians as well as the civilians of the countries of the world that were also being attacked by terrorism. If we didn’t, the terrorists would have considered us and our allies fair game. They would attack and kill us wherever and whenever they wanted to, because there would be no one to stop them.
We also entered war to liberate the people of Iraq. Ask the millions of Iraqis who lived in constant fear of torture, rape, imprisonment, and death if we had a just reason for ousting Saddam Hussein. Did you know that during Saddam’s reign: over 400,000 Iraqi children under the age of 5 died of malnutrition and disease, that chemical agents were used to exterminate as many as 100,000 Kurds, that Saddam had 40 of his own relatives killed and had almost 100,000 prisoners executed and women beheaded?
There are people just recently that are saying it would have been better if we had never gone into Iraq. That things are worse off now than they were before we went in. I’m not so sure the Iraqi people would agree with them, I know I don’t.
3. Stop the Tide of Evil
We entered war to stop the tide of evil. God has regularly used human armies to fight spiritual battles. And although it’s not politically correct to say so, the war on terrorism is a battle between opposing spiritual forces. Islamic terrorists don’t attack us because they want our lands or our wealth or our technology. They attack us because we don’t follow their religion. And their religion tells them that there are only two kinds of people in the world, those who follow their ways and those who are their enemies and must be brought into submission.
C. Finally, Is it Being Fought With Discrimination and Proportionality?
I am not a huge fan of the media in general, but I do think it plays an important role. The fact that the war is constantly viewed by households around the world has gone a long way to ensure that civilians are not being unnecessarily targeted and the amount of force being used is proportionate to the danger our troops are facing.
Now, I’m not saying this is true in every case. Of course we can all think of instances in which this isn’t true. But I’m talking about in general, I believe our military is doing a good job keeping things discriminate and proportionate. We could go in and totally wipe out towns and villages. We could bomb Pakistan and Afghanistan indiscriminately until we were sure that Osama Ben Laden was dead. But we don’t. Because we are aware of and revere the lives of innocents, unlike our enemy.
III. The Christian Response
So, what then should our response as Christians be to the war on terrorism that our country is presently engaged in?
We all have our own opinions as to whether we should be fighting in the first place. We all have opinions on whether we should continue to fight. But we are all basing our opinions on the information we have. And the truth is, we are all getting our information from a highly biased media. We don’t have access to the same information our leaders or our military commanders do.
I don’t like the fact that our troops are in danger and it doesn’t appear that there is an end in sight to this war. But I can’t make judgment calls or second-guess our leaders, because I don’t know everything that they do (and neither am I claiming that we should know). That’s why we have leaders and people in authority over us.
Only God knows everything. So then what is our responsibility as Christians when our country is at war?
A. Pray For Our Leaders
Look at 1 Timothy 2:1 – 2, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, [2] for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”
Our number one priority should be to pray for our leaders and all those who are in authority. Pray that they might have guidance and wisdom from God to properly lead our nation and our troops. Paul even commands us to do this if we want to live a quiet and peaceful life.
B. Obey and Submit To Those In Authority
And there’s another thing we should do – obey and submit to those in authority.
1 Peter 2:13 – 15, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, [14] or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. [15] For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.”
God does not tell us that we have to like the people that rule over us. We don’t have to like President Bush or even agree with him. But God does command us to submit to him and his position of authority over us. Therefore, because our nation is at war and this war is a just and righteous one, we are commanded to participate in it (if we are called to do so) and support it. We do this without violating our Christian beliefs or morals.
God does not delight in war, and neither should we. But because of sin, war is sometimes necessary, especially from God’s point of view.
ILLUSTRATION: Henry Lauder was a comedian who during World War II saw both of his sons drafted in to the army. Both of them died in combat.
After the war was over Henry Lauder was near a nervous breakdown. He went to his doctor, who recommended complete rest and relaxation. So he went to the seashore and walked along the beach. He spent this time reading and meditating and relaxing.
He made a few new friends. One of them was a small boy. One night Henry Lauder and this small boy were walking along the beach as the sun was going down. They listened to the waves, and looked at the scenery around them.
The boy noticed that there were little flags with stars on them hanging in the windows of some of the houses along the beach. He asked Mr. Lauder what that meant. Henry Lauder said, “It means that in every home where there is a flag that that family sent a son to war.”
“But,” said the boy, “some stars and silver and some are gold. What does that mean?”
Lauder said, “Where there is a silver star, it means that the boy came home safely. Where there is a gold star, it means that the boy died in combat.”
They walked a little further and night came upon them. The boy looked up at the first evening star, and he said, “There is a star in God’s sky and it is a gold star! Does it mean that God sent His Son to war?”
Lauder stood for a moment and with a catch in his voice said, “Yes, son. It means that God sent His Son into war – the greatest war that has ever been fought. And yes, the star is gold because God’s Son died in that combat.”
I thank God for freedom and for those who bought and paid for it with their lives in the past, those who are protecting it in the present, and those who will defend it in the future. I encourage you to work for peace while realizing that in the sinful world we live in, we may be called upon to take up the sword to protect, defend, or rescue the innocent in the name of Love – just as our Savior did for us. For, “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13).
Sermon Sources:
Armbrester, Jeff. “A Biblical Perspective on War.”
Bickel, Amy. “Can War Ever Be Just?” 10/2/2005.
Kelsey, Jack, “A Soldier’s Duty.” www.gracethrufaith.com
Lindsey, Hal. “More Than Enough Stupid to Go Around.” 9/16/2006. www.hallindsey.org
Newland, Melvin. “Henry Lauder Illustration”
Shirley, Jerry. “World War Won!”
