Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 1-213 (Sermon)

WHEN IS IT RIGHT TO FIGHT? (Part 3 of 4)

by Rod Benson

Romans 12:17-13:7

John Dear writes, “In 1998 I traveled with a delegation of North American Christians to a remote village in El Salvador in response to an invitation to stand in solidarity with the suffering people. We journeyed on rocky roads, over hills, through rivers and into the barren countryside.

“As we turned the corner into the small, country village, we gasped at the sight of hundreds of Salvadoran soldiers and US military advisers milling about everywhere. A fleet of ten helicopters rested in a nearby field.

“The villagers greeted us and asked us to stay only for a short while; they feared for their lives from the occupying military forces. But they appreciated our solidarity. They told us that our visit demonstrated to the Salvadoran military that North Americans were watching its every move.

“During our visit one of the mothers handed me her child to hold. At that moment all the violence of the world suddenly became very clear to me. The child’s dirty, eyes were glazed over and covered with flies and his stomach was extended beyond belief.

“As I held that dying, malnourished child, I looked over a few feet away to see Salvadoran soldiers loading all the villagers’ sacks of grain onto their trucks and helicopters.

“These villagers were literally starving, yet the soldiers, who threatened to kill them, were taking the little food they had. This scene summed up in a flash all the violence of our world.”(1)

When is it right to fight? A Christian is a citizen of this world and of the world to come (Php 3:20; 1:27). We possess dual allegiances. When these are in conflict, which one takes precedence? Do I follow conscience or country? Scripture or state? Christ or Caesar?

Does Scripture have anything to say about the slogan, “My country – right or wrong?” What does the Bible teach about civil war, or resisting unjust governments, or supporting revolutionary militia? Is the Vietnam War or the present international “war against terrorism” justified on biblical grounds? These and many related questions ought to concern followers of Jesus.

Even as Christians, our attitude toward war is less often shaped by biblical principles than by our family history, our parents’ views, our sense of national pride or patriotism, our sense of debt or duty to our country, or (sadly) a desire to engage in military combat to fuel egotism or gain personal status or glory.

How we think about war is closely linked to our view of politics, whether certain teachings of Jesus were limited or absolute in their application to Christians today, and our perspective on whether a Christian may use force to bring about just changes.

The Old and New Testaments teach us how to live as followers of Jesus Christ, including our responsibilities to the state, and to our fellow citizens, and to people in general.

I believe the Bible does not emphatically endorse pacifism or activism in relation to war, but it has much to say on the way in which a follower of Jesus should practice their pacifism or activism.

I believe both options are valid for Christians. Our world needs people who say no to killing and destruction, and who model a lifestyle of peace and harmony and nonviolence.

Yet our world also needs people who are willing to fight evil people and institutions, and defend human rights and individual liberty – even when it requires taking life.

But you may ask, “Does the Bible permit a Christian to use state- sanctioned force – including lethal force – to bring about justice and peace?”

One of the Ten Commandments declares “you shall not murder” (Ex 20:13); but Gen 9:6 arguably gives clear justification for state- sanctioned murder.

In Lk 3:14 John the Baptist advises some soldiers who have accepted his teaching. He does not instruct them to lay down their weapons or leave their posts. He counsels them to avoid corruption and misuse of their power.

In Mt 10:34 Jesus says, “Do not suppose I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Yet, as we observed in Mt 26:47-52, Peter uses a sword to wound an opponent who is trying to arrest Jesus, and Jesus (in a famous saying) orders Peter to put his sword away.

In Romans 12:17-21 Paul clearly teaches that a Christian should not repay evil for evil, should live at peace with everyone, and when confronted by an enemy should offer him food and drink. Yet the next seven verses (13:1-7) provide the strongest biblical support for the submission of the individual citizen to the government of the day.

This for me is the most important biblical teaching on my relations with the state and my responsibility to the state. Romans 12:14-21 virtually mirrors the essential teaching of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7), and offers clear yet qualified guidelines for Christians in interpersonal relationships.

Nicholson, a political cartoonist for The Sydney Morning Herald, published a revealing and chastening cartoon on September 15, 2001, four days after the tragic US terrorist attacks.

The captions to his four frames read: “We’re clever enough to fly people all over the world, to trade commodities and money all around the globe, to show live news by satellite or talk to anyone anywhere by cellular phone, but we’re not clever enough to get people to talk to their neighbours.”(2)

The global community has a long way to go before we begin even to glimpse the kind of society that Jesus envisaged, or the kind of community he founded.

But Paul, echoing the teaching of Jesus, has more to say. Verse 17 rejects vindictive or retaliatory action. Verse 18 recognises the imperative of maintaining peace in all relationships while acknowledging that this will not always be possible.

Peace at any price is, in my view, an unjust proposition. Verse 19 seems to say, “Leave the fighting to God.”

Verse 20 gives examples of Christ-like actions toward an enemy: don’t kill or incarcerate them – give them food and drink instead. Treat them in a humane and neighbourly manner. Verse 21 summarises the Christian moral vision: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (cf Rom 5:5).

Then in 13:1 comes a surprise. Rather than submitting to peace, Paul advocates submitting to “the governing authorities.” Is this a contradiction of the ethical teaching of chapter 12? I do not believe so.

Here Paul teaches that the state is a God-ordained institution (vv 1-2). He has established government (not a particular regime or government of a particular political party) to promote and preserve order in human society.

The state possesses legitimate power and uses it against its opponents (v 3). The state “does not bear the sword for nothing” (v 4). God uses governments as his agents of wrath against those who do evil.

I interpret the term “sword” here as both the rule of law and the power to execute evil people – although I strongly oppose capital punishment on theological and ethical grounds.

So Christians obey government because God establishes it, and the state is entitled to punish non-compliance. But there is more. My conscience, enlightened by word and Spirit, teaches me to do what is right (v 5b).

This passage, then, teaches selective activism and challenges pacifism. Christians have a higher motive than others for obeying the state; and a stronger reason than most for disobeying the state when disobedience becomes necessary (e.g. Ac 5:29).

Conscience is a precious but a painful gift. As I have suggested in earlier sermons, the just-war approach to Christian involvement in military conflict seems to me the best biblically sustainable and ethically defensible option for Christians today.

Therefore I will approach individual military conflicts in which my government is embroiled with the question, “Is this war a just war?”

Recognising that the first casualty in war is truth, I will diligently seek and analyse news and current affairs information from a variety of sources. If I conclude that this conflict demonstrably abrogates just-war principles, I am bound to withdraw my support (disobeying the state if necessary) and accept the consequences.

Unfortunately, while many states allow conscientious objection to active duties on unqualified religious grounds (e.g. “all war is wrong”), they do not always accept conscientious objection on a selective basis (e.g. “this war is wrong”).

Like John Dear in El Salvador, let us continue to be repulsed by injustice and violence; let us read Scripture and shape our lives – our ethics – by its teaching; and let us do all in our power, all that Scripture requires and all that conscience demands, to pursue justice, righteousness and peace in our world.

That is part of what it means to follow Jesus.

1) John Dear, The God of Peace: Toward a Theology of Nonviolence (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1994) 5. (2) The Sydney Morning Herald, September 15-16, 2001

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Sermon 427, Blakehurst Baptist Church, Sydney, Australia, on Sunday November 11, 2001.

Copyright (c) 2001 Rod Benson. Reproduction in any form is permitted only with full copyright notice intact. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: New International Version (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980).

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