This We’ll Defend
CCCAG Sept 14, 2025
Scripture: Matthew 24:9–13; Esther 8:11; Luke 22:36–38; Matthew 24:14)________________________________________
Introduction:
This has been a hard week. Next to where I’m preparing my sermon is a book called The Pentecostal Pastor which tells me I should project calm assurance to people in times of upheaval and crisis.
But that’s not how I really feel. I’m going to be very real with you this morning.
There’s an old quote — some attribute it to William Booth, others to Charles Finney. I actually found it was a famous theologian named Karl Barth — that says: “The effective preacher preaches with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.”
I want to take that advice today, because this week, the news has shaken many of us. It started with a brutal murder of an unarmed female on a train, and then Charlie Kirk, a brother in Christ, a young man leading a movement to call this nation back to truth, was killed in Utah.
Some will call this an assassination. That’s true in political terms—it was the deliberate use of murder to silence his voice.
But in spiritual terms, Charlie Kirk was martyred—killed because his witness for truth confronted darkness.
Since I heard the news, and saw the video- by the way if you haven’t seen it don’t look for it- it’s horrific and gruesome. I looked at it frame by frame and saw that it was an immediately fatal wound, so you don’t want that living in your head and that’s coming from a paramedic and ER nurse who has witnessed that and worse in real life.
Since the murder, I have to confess, I had this quiet, burning rage within me. In the days since then, it’s been like a monster kicking at the doors of it’s cage, and I feel the cage door starting to bend.
I’m not the only one- His death has not only shaken the political world but our culture. People are finally waking up.
One of the questions being asked of pastors in this last week is-
In the face of evil, do Christians have the right to defend ourselves against evil?
Or another way to ask- Can we use violence when violence is used against us.
This is a question that the church has wrestled with since Jesus Christ was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.
On one side, you have the pacifists who say that Christians should lay down and take whatever comes, as if to resist is unspiritual.
Others are calling right now for Christians to arm up and take the fight to those on the extreme left.
Both extremes miss the heart of God’s Word.
So today we’re going to answer this question biblically. What does God’s WORD say about our witness in a world filled with hatred, and now has turned into violence and persecution?
Do we have a right to defend ourselves? And if so, how do we balance that right with our call to love our enemies and proclaim Christ?
Our title today is This We’ll Defend.
That’s not just a sermon title — many of you recognize it’s the official motto of the United States Army. And since many of you in this room have worn that uniform, you know what it means. It means you were willing to defend what is precious — your country, your people, your brothers-in-arms.
But today I want to show you from the Word that as Christians, we also have a call and a duty:
To defend the faith.
To defend the weak.
To defend our families against evil.
And above all, to stand firm until the end.
That’s where we will start today.
Let’s look at what Jesus said about the condition of the world right before HIS return.
Matthew 24:9–13
“Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another. Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
Prayer- to walk the tightrope between defense and our human need for vengeance.
I want to again remind everyone that Jesus told us in advance that those who live in the end times would be challenged.
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1. The World Jesus Foretold (Matthew 24:9–13)
Jesus never sugar-coated the Christian life.
Jesus never said “Follow Me and everything will be comfortable.”
He said the opposite: You will be hated. You will be persecuted. Some of you will be killed.”
We saw the last point on Wednesday.
Friends, we live in the days Jesus described. Persecution isn’t any longer something that happens in China or the Middle East.
It’s here now. We just saw it this week.
Charlie Kirk and Turning Point took a stand against the evil lies being pushed on our younger generation, and as we saw,
Evil will not tolerate being challenged. When truth stands up, evil pushes back.
And again look at what Jesus said would happen:
• Some will fall away. When the heat gets turned up, some who only followed Jesus casually will quit. Paul echoes that in 2nd Thessalonians 2 when he said that the antichrist can’t rise unless the apostacy happens first- that those who were only marginal or weak Christians won’t be able to stand in the heat of persecution and will fall away.
• Some will betray one another. That cuts deep — betrayal isn’t from strangers, it’s from people close to you. Many in our families, mine included, will hate that you stand for Jesus, and betray the family bonds that should bring you together.
• False prophets will rise. They’ll twist Scripture, they’ll preach compromise, they’ll tell people what their itching ears want to hear. We see this throughout some Christian denominations- giving themselves over the enemy to remain “relevant” and popular.
• Lawlessness will multiply. This is the final step toward spiritual anarchy We’ve seen it- Violence, hatred, mob attacks and robbery’s —
• Or, murder on a train, murder at a college campus.
• And then the most chilling line: “The love of many will grow cold.”
Like media staffers cheering and applauding when heard Charlie Kirk was dead. Like countless videos of people celebrating a man shot to death in front of his wife and children.
Only a soulless ghoul can do that. I’m not saying they are beyond redemption, but their spiritual condition is plain to see.
If you refuse to see that, then you are completely asleep spiritually
That’s the danger, church.
That in an age of violence and hatred, we stop loving, we stop caring, we stop standing firm. But Jesus says, “The one who endures to the end will be saved.”
So here’s our first anchor: We are called to endure, not escape.
We don’t run from the world God put us in.
We don’t lash out in hatred like the world does, despite our feelings, despite our offense, or despite everything within us wanting vengeance and justice.
We stand. We witness. We endure.
If you take nothing else out of today’s message- take that. Stand firm in the power of the HOLY SPIRIT, and do NOT fear for greater is HE that is within us then he who is behind this evil.
In the meantime, how do we endure?
Do we let ourselves be slaughtered without resistance?
Or do we defend?
As I said our first duty is to stand firm for Jesus Christ. I could say amen right here and dismiss with that truth.
But many of you are wondering, in the current climate, how do we handle evil when it comes to attack?
There is a central premise that runs through the bible- you do have a right to defend yourself against evil.
Let’s look at what the bible says about a believer’s right to defend themselves and their families.
Turn to the Old Testament book of Esther, chapter 8.
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2. The Precedent of Self-Defense (Esther 8:11)
Let’s set the stage. The Jews are in Exile, living in Persia, under a king who had been manipulated by a man named Haman.
Haman was the descendant of Agag, an Amalekite king- who King Saul spared in 1 Sam 15, despite God telling him to wipe them all out.
Saul disobeyed and spared some of them, leading to an angry rebuke from the Prophet Samuel, and some of Agag’s descendants escaping.
Haman is a descendant of these who escaped. He carries a generational hatred for the Jews. He rises in rank in Persia, and tricks the king into signing a death warrant against all Jews living in Persia to avenge his ancestors, and to carry out Amalak’s ancient plan to wipe out all Jews.
It was legalized genocide. How often have we heard this recently?
But through God’s providence, Queen Esther intervened. Haman was exposed and executed. And then King Xerxes issued a second decree. He didn’t cancel the first — under Persian law, he couldn’t — but he gave the Jews the right to defend themselves.
Turn with me to Esther 8:11:
“The king’s edict gave the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves — to destroy, kill, and annihilate every ethnic and provincial army hostile to them, including women and children, and to take their possessions as spoils.”
In other words, God’s people were authorized to protect their families and communities from those who sought to kill them.
Here’s the principle we need to grasp this morning:
Self-defense is not the same as vengeance.
The Jews weren’t told to start wars. They weren’t given permission to plunder their neighbors. They were told: If someone evil comes against you,
stand and defend.
Church, that principle still stands. God does not forbid His people from defending their lives, their families, or their communities.
What He forbids is murder, aggression, and vengeance.
There’s a difference between being an aggressor and being a defender.
And let me pause to say this: Many of you in this room served in combat zones. You know the difference.
You weren’t sent overseas to murder.
You were sent to protect, to defend, to keep evil from advancing.
You know the weight of burden.
You know the discipline it takes not to misuse force.
That’s the principle God gave Esther’s people.
I know some would say, “But John, that’s the Old Testament- didn’t Jesus say “love your enemies?”
Yes, absolutely Jesus said that and that should be our default.
However, Jesus also recognized that there is irrational evil in this world.
Let’s see what Jesus Himself affirmed centuries later.
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3. Jesus and the Sword (Luke 22:36–38)
Let’s move to Luke 22:36–38.
To put this in perspective- This account is occurring the night that Jesus is to be arrested.
Jesus knows what’s coming. He knows the hostility they will face. And He says:
Luke 22:36–38
“But now, whoever has a money bag should take it, and also a traveling bag. And whoever doesn’t have a sword should sell his robe and buy one.”
A lot of people forget this is in the bible.
This is Jesus talking! The same Jesus who said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” The same Jesus who said, “Turn the other cheek.” The same Jesus who told Peter to put his sword away in the Garden.
So what’s happening here? Was Jesus contradicting Himself? No.
Jesus is simply saying he recognizes that there are evil people in this world, people who have gone so far down the devils path that would suddenly attack or robbers on the road waiting in ambush. That’s why He gave us that permission.
Jesus did not tell His disciples to arm themselves to spread the gospel by force. That’s why he rebuke’s Peter’s attempt to save HIM from
If HE was standing here today, He would remind us- We’re not Islam. We don’t convert at the edge of a sword.
The gospel is preached, not imposed.
This is exactly what Charlie Kirk believed- fight with words, fight with ideas, fight with debate.
Because the alternative to that is the horror we saw this week.
Here is the tension-
We can defend ourselves if physically attacked. But we are not allowed to point weapons at people and say, “Follow Jesus or else”.
Jesus knew that our standing for HIM will make us targets for evil, and evil will try to silence anyone taking a stand for God.
He knew persecution was coming.
He knew robbers and bandits were on the roads.
He knew eventually there would be crazy people on trains.
And most of all, Jesus knew that in the last days, love and conscience would grow cold.
Because of this, Jesus knew evil men would attack.
So He said, “Be ready.”
Let me bring this home. If you are still doubting this truth let me just ask a few questions-
When you lock your door at night, is that a lack of faith?
No. It’s wisdom.
When you buckle your seatbelt, is that a lack of trust in God?
No. It’s stewardship.
In the same way, having the means to protect yourself and your family is not a lack of faith — it’s obedience to Jesus’ command to be wise and ready in an evil age.
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4. The Duty to Stand (Matthew 24:14)
Now let’s connect it back to Matthew 24:14:
“This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
Here’s the balance. We are not called to survive just for survival’s sake. We are not called to fight just to win earthly battles.
We are called to stand so that the gospel will go forth. (repeat)
Charlie Kirk’s described his mission on this earth in this way- “I want to make heaven full.”
Wouldn’t it be incredible that because we chose to live in such a way that so many people come to faith in Jesus Christ that God has to expand heaven?
That gives us our perspective on all of this-
Our endurance, our readiness, even our right to defend ourselves — it’s all in service of one mission: that the nations hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is where so many miss it.
Some Christians think our only duty is to fight, to arm up, to push back.
Others think our only duty is to love, to forgive, to never resist.
But like most things in the bible, the complete truth is in the tension between the two:
We endure persecution faithfully, but we also defend what God has entrusted to us. And in all of it, we keep the gospel central.
“This we’ll defend.”
What is “this”? It’s not just our property.
It’s not just our political freedom.
It’s the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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5. Applications for Today
So what does this mean for us, right now, in a week like this?
1. Don’t be surprised by persecution. Jesus told us it would come. It doesn’t mean God has lost control. It means the end is drawing near.
2. Don’t let your love grow cold. I confess, this is a challenge I faced this week.
3. I even canceled a date night to La Crosse because I didn’t want to come across some leftist singing in victory that Charlie was dead. It took a few days of the Holy Spirit’s prompting and a lot of exercise to rid myself of that.
I encourage you here this morning and those listening by podcast-
Don’t let anger at evil turn into hatred for people.
If you are going to win any battle, you need to identify who the real enemy is-
Evil is our enemy.
People are our mission.
4. Be prepared to defend, but never to attack. There’s a difference between protecting your family and picking a fight. You chose to carry a weapon, be on guard, but never the aggressor.
5. Keep the gospel central. Remember why we endure, why we defend, why we stand — it’s so the world will know Jesus.
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Conclusion: The Altar Call
I’m a major JRR Tolkien fan. I loved the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Series.
In those movies, there is a hobbit named Frodo- a very small person tasked with carrying an evil ring filled with the spirit of an evil being to a volcano to destroy it so that evil being would be destroyed.
In a moment of exhaustion, Frodo says something that many of us feel right now-
“I wish this had not happened in my time.”
His mentor Gandalf answers with wisdom:
“So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. The only choice we are given is how we will use the time that is given to us.”
You can see JRR Tolkien’s Christian background in that answer, because it reflects exactly what the bible is saying to us this morning.
So that’s the question- will you accept that?
Because that is our call in these last days.
That’s our mission.
That’s what we defend.
All rise
I want to ask you:
• Are you enduring, or are you falling away?
• Has your love grown cold, or are you still burning with passion for Christ?
• Are you ready — spiritually and practically — to stand in this evil day?
Because in the end, it won’t be the one who fought the hardest or hid the longest who will be saved.
It will be the one who endured to the end.
Communion
