Exodus 20:13: \u201cThou shalt not kill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without close study, the Bible\ncan seem to give conflicting instructions on self-defense. There are numerous\npassages that speak of Christians being pacifistic (Proverbs 25:21, 22; Matthew\n5:39; Romans 12:17). And yet there are many passages that talk about war and\nviolence that God approves of, such as David slaying Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Not\nto mention the fact that God commanded the Israelites to completely destroy\neveryone and everything in the Promised Land! So what is the conclusion? Is God\nfor violence or not? Under what circumstances is self-defense appropriate? For the Scriptural answers, we examine:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God\u2019s command not to\nmurder is given to mankind before the law was given to Moses; it is a\nmoral law that was to be obeyed since the beginning of time. The punishment\nthat whoever sheds mans blood there blood will be shed. (Gen.9:6) it was held\nup under the law of Moses (Exod.20:13) and in the New Testament (Rom.13:9).\nMurder is to be considered wrong at all times and all places for all people.\nAll men and women were created in the image of God (Gen.1:27, 9:6), which is a\nmoral quality which comes from God\u2019s nature (Col.3:10; Jm.3:9). In John 8:44\nJesus tells the religious leaders the Devil is their Father and that \u201cHe was a\nmurderer from the beginning.\u201d As the Devil introduced the first lie it\nbegan both spiritual physical death to all mankind. To do senseless killing, is\nfrom a searing of our conscience that is given as the image of God to all, and\nviolates the life that God gave each person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Self protection is\nfound in Ex 22:2-3. If a thief was found to be breaking into a home at night,\nthe homeowner had the right to kill the intruder to protect his family and\nproperty. The exception was if it occurred during the day, if the homeowner\ncould see and judge the intruder’s intentions, and the intruder could see the\nhomeowner was present was going to defend his household; then homeowner could\nnot kill in defense of his household.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ex.21:12-21 God, who\nby his providence gives and maintains life, and by His law protects it. A\nwillful murderer was to be taken even from God\u2019s altar. But God provided cities\nof refuge as an escape to protect those who had this accident occur, as it was\nnot their fault to cause the death of another. It is a different matter when\nsomeone kills another without intent of harm. A willful murder is always to be\npunished with death. To this law there is a reason added. God’s image remains\nupon fallen man, so whoever unjustly kills a man, defaces the image of God. It\nis about the sanctity of life that we all share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Gen.14 Abraham\nrescued lot by a battle when he was forcefully taken. Israel battled against her enemies in Deut.20:1,\n29:7, Joshua 11:15 the battle of Jericho,vs.20,\nJoshua 12. In Numbers 35:17 it explains by having the intention to kill,\nmurderers were to be put to death. In Deut. 16:18-19 they were commanded to\ncast out all their enemies. Killing is different than murder. Murder is\nsenseless and for selfish reasons, while killing is to protect and preserve\nlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Israelites had\nto take possession of the Promised Land by conquest. They engaged themselves in\ncontinued bloody wars with the Canaanite tribes. Except in the case of Jericho and Ai, the war\ndid not become aggressive until after the death of Joshua. Up until then the\nattack was always first made by the Canaanites. Israel was employed by God to sweep\nthem away off the face of the earth. They were relentless enemies. Israel\nalways had a regimented army, they hadCompulsory service in1 Samuel\n14:52, there were Captains of fifties 2 Kings 1:9; Isaiah 3:3, Captains of\nhundreds Numbers 31:14,48; 2 Kings 11:15; 1 Chronicles 28:1; 2 Chronicles 25:5,\nCommander-in-chief 1 Samuel 14:50; 2 Samuel 2:8; 8:16; 17:25; 19:13; 20:23.\nGenerals of corps and divisions Numbers 2:3,31; 1 Chronicles 27:1-22; 2\nChronicles 17:12-19 Captains of thousands Numbers 31:14,48; 1 Samuel 17:18; 1\nChronicles 28:1; 2 Chronicles 25:5. It is for this reason they have survived as\na people even to today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scripture describes\nGod as merciful, filled with grace and God is love, but He is also a God of\njustice, and when necessary He was \u201cThe LORD is a man of war; the LORD is\nHis name\u201d (Exod. 15:3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The principle taught\nin the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:38-42 would seem to imply that\nChristians should not resist an evil person. If you are slapped on one cheek\ngive them the other. But this means not retaliate when insulted or slandered (Romans\n12:17-21). Insults do not threaten a Christian’s personal safety. The idea of\nrendering insult for insult, is not the same as defending oneself against\na mugger or a rapist, or someone that wants to kill you or a loved one. We are\nto preserve life, this is a principle carried over from the Old Testament. In\nfact, Jesus goes further into the matter than making one is guilty by\ncommitting the act, but by hating another in their heart, this is where it\nbegins. The apostle John echoes Jesus\u2019 sermon on the mount, \u201cWhoever hates his\nbrother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding\nin him\u201d (I John 3:15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The use of physical\nforce to protect or defend another is not an alternative but a command. Jesus is known for His teaching on love,\ncompassion, forgiveness, and \u201cnot to return evil for evil\u201d But we find Jesus\nadvising the disciples to buy a sword in Luke 22:36: \u201cBut now if you have a\npurse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak\nand buy one.\u201d Jesus told the disciples to buy a sword, and it is clear that\nJesus advocated the use of a sword for self-defense purposes. Jesus tells the\ndisciples to buy a sword if he has none vs.38 they showed they had two, he said\nthis is enough. So he is not telling them to arm themselves, lest they trust in\nman and not God. The \u201csword\u201d (Greek: maxairan) that is used is a dagger or\nshort sword that was part of the Jews traveler’s equipment for protection\nagainst robbers and wild animals. A plain reading of the passage indicates that\nJesus approved of conditional self-defense. These were small daggers to protect\nsomeone from the criminals they would encounter as they traveled, they were\nused for close combat, for self defense, they were also to use against a wild\nanimal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Jesus was being\narrested Peter stepped forward to protect him and cut off the ear of the\nservant (Malchus) of the high priest. We have Jesus reacting, stating\nthat \u201cwhoever lives by the sword will die by the sword.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some pacifists to\nprove Jesus rejected the use of weapons quote this verse. Here Jesus is\naddressing Peter who previously said he was willing to die with him and instead\ntried to prevent His being arrested. Peter used the sword to accomplish his\ngoal- Jesus\u2019 response — We are not to live by force or violence, Your\nlife is not to be ruled by a response of force, but by love. There was more to\nthis than Peter could see; the will of God. Peter had pulled the sword out to\nprevent him from being arrested . Jesus healed the man\u2019s ear and He had Peter\nput away his sword so he could be arrested, to fulfill God\u2019s plan by his death\n(John 18:11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This does not mean\nthat one is forbidden to use force when confronted with another\u2019s life being\ntaken. If Jesus were a pacifist and opposed the use of weapons, He would\nnot have instructed his disciples to own them. They were not to be heavily\narmed, but sufficiently armed. When Jesus was arrested, he told his disciples\nhe could call on his Father, who would put legions of angels at his disposal to\nprotect and deliver Him. Instead Jesus submitted to the process that would\nbring Him to His purpose in coming to earth. So it is important to see God\u2019s\npurpose at the time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If one believes\nkilling is one and the same as murder, then no one would be allowed to us deadly\nforce, even in defense to save lives. The Bible prohibits murder, but not in\nusing killing against a hostile enemy; neither is the ownership and use of\nweapons prohibited. There were times when it became necessary for Israel\nto fight or go into captivity. The other exception is when God decided to\npunish Israel\nfor their disobedience and told them to go into captivity so they would live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bible teaches\namong many sins murder will keep one from heaven Rev. 21:8 \u201cBut the cowardly,\nunbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and\nall liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and\nbrimstone, which is the second death.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When questioned on\nhow to receive eternal life Jesus responded by saying Luke 18:20 \u201cYou know the\ncommandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’\n‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Ten\nCommandments, God did not say, \u201cYou shall not kill\u201d but, \u201cYou shall not murder\u201d\n(Ex 20:13, Deut 5:17). This specifically refers to premeditated murder and is\nnever used of executing a criminal or slaying an enemy in battle. God would\nthen be contradicting himself when he told them to give just punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *However,\nthe one area in which deadly force is not permitted, is for the defense of\nthe faith. As far as our faith is concerned, we are to turn the other cheek\nand be willing to become martyrs if it is about Christ. Jesus told his\ndisciples they would be killed for their faith and it is no different today. In\nregard to protecting ourselves from crime and our nation from foreign\naggression, force is allowed by both the Old and New Testaments. In the\nOld Testament (Genesis 14), when Abraham’s nephew Lot was kidnapped by\nChedorlaomer, the king of Elam,\nAbraham gathered 318 trained men of his household to rescue Lot.\nEx 17:9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight\nwith Amalek. 1 Samuel 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You\ncome to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in\nthe name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nBible does not teach pacifism; pacifists often misuse verses that apply to the\ndefending of the faith and ignore the context, which has nothing to do with\ndefenses against evildoers and national aggression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stephen did not\nfight back when he was stoned for his testimony about Jesus Acts 6:8-7:60. Men\nfrom one of the synagogues seized Stephen and took him before the Sanhedrin,\nthe religious court, for questioning. Stephen boldly rebuked the religious\nleaders, who became enraged and stoned him to death, he did not resist but\nbecame as Jesus praying that those who did it in ignorance would be forgiven.\nWe are told by Luke, \u201cthere was a great persecution against the church which\nwas at Jerusalem;\u201d and that \u201cthey were all\nscattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.\u201d About two\nthousand Christians, suffered martyrdom from the \u201cpersecution that arose about\nStephen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why we do\nnot fight for Jesus – John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of\nthis world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n God protected Jesus\na number of times by having him flee. The wise men that traveled from the east\nwere asked by Herod to report back to him so he can know where He is and go to\nworship him also Mt.2:7-8,but his intentions were really to kill him. They\ndisobeyed Herod because God warned them by a dream vs.12. In Mt.2:13 God warned\nMary and Joseph to flee to preserve Jesus\u2019 life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Jesus was alive\nhe also did what was necessary to preserve his life so he could complete his\nmission. There was a time to lay His life down, Jesus knew that time was not\nyet. Matthew 12:14-15 The Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus, so he left the area.\nJesus would remove himself from harms way. He taught to flee to save a life\ninstead of fighting. John 7:1 Jesus avoided an area because the Jews there were\nwaiting to take his life. Luke 4:4:28-30 A crowd tried to throw Jesus off a\ncliff, but he walked through the crowd to escape. He did not surrender to the\nmob and allow this to occur. John 7:30 The Jews tried to seize Jesus in the\ntemple courts, but \u201cno one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet\ncome.\u201d In other words, they wanted to and tried, but were unable because He\nescaped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The apostles\nfollowed his example, Paul was let down in a basket to escape those who were\nlooking to kill him. Acts 9:23-25. In Acts 9:29-30 Saul (Paul) debated with the\nGrecian Jews, who then tried to kill him. When the other believers heard of\nthis, they sent him to another area. Acts 14:5-7 there was a plot to mistreat\nand stone Paul and Barnabas, so they fled to another region and continued to\npreach the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 15:30-32 Paul says he was endangered \u201cevery\nhour\u201d and he described this peril as He fought \u201cwild beasts\u201d in Ephesus, those who wanted\nto rip him apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 Timothy 1:8 Paul\nurged Timothy to join him in suffering for the gospel\u2026 the fact is that\nChristians in many countries face these persecutions each day, many are unable\nto escape. Jesus said those who follow would be arrested and beaten for his\nnamesake. He never told them to fight for his kingdom. John 16:2 Believers will\nbe killed for their faith; those who kill them will believe they are justified\nin thinking they are doing God a favor by killing them. On the other hand\nwe are told to deny our self and take up our cross; you can\u2019t kill someone that\nis already considered dead!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rom.13 tells us to\nobey the rule of the land unless they violate our commitment to God. But we\ncannot fall into what others have done by using force back to those who may\nchallenge our faith, then we become like those we are being harmed by. Acts\n5:29 Peter and John refused to cease preaching the Gospel, saying to the Jewish\nSanhedrin it is better to obey God than man. I see that tolerance may soon\nlimit our preaching, because of our trying to be at peace with all we may\nbe hindered to give the Gospel. New laws may be instated for political\ncorrectness. God\u2019s intention is to save peoples souls, this takes priority over\nany religious or political law of the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Revelation 11:3-7\nThe two witnesses destroy anyone who tries to harm them as they minister, but\nthere comes a time when their work is completed and they will be killed, and\nshortly resurrected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Revelation 13 we\nare told not to take the mark of the beast even though no one will be able to\nbuy or sell without it. Here again we have civil disobedience with the ultimate\nprice, for whoever takes the mark will lose their soul, they will have no\nsecond chance. Some may have to fight to get away from taking the mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exodus 20:13: \u201cThou shalt not kill.\u201d Without close study, the Bible can seem to give conflicting instructions on self-defense. There are numerous passages that speak of Christians being pacifistic (Proverbs 25:21, 22; Matthew 5:39; Romans 12:17). And yet there are many passages that talk about war and violence that God approves of, such as David […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[526],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n