“Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:” (Psalm 144:1)
From Abraham, who God called to become the father of many nations, to David, a man after His own heart, the nation of Israel as a people have for much of history been a people of war, many times with the Almighty going before them to kill their enemies.
But there is nowhere in the Scriptures that proclaims that all those who have been born-again are to band together and go out to destroy the heathen, the wicked, there is no “army of God” in this respect.
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” (Matt. 5:44)
I have a question for you today, one that you must determine within your own heart that defines the difference between murder and killing.
If you knew that a small village of Christians was going to be attacked next week with the intention of the attackers to kill every one there, what would you do? The enemy is approaching, they cannot be stopped, they will not be swayed in their minds, they will murder everyone in the village when they get there, the ruling authorities in the nation they live in are not going to offer any assistance, in fact, they may be the ones initiating it. It is up to you to do something, what will you do?
“But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.” (Matt. 24:43)
There are God-fearing, Christ-centered organizations on this planet whose soul intent is to assist those who have been displaced by those who have already committed these evil acts against our brothers and sisters in Christ, and they are loved deeply by our Father in heaven, we pray for them who go to those who have been the recipients of this evil, as well as offering them financial assistance when we can. But if the goodman knew and did not arm himself against those evil people, has he committed a fault in the eyes of the Lord?
Here is the question that you must answer in light of the knowledge that those wicked people are coming to kill your brothers and sisters in Christ, should we send weapons of protection along with Bibles, the Word of God, as well to them?
You cannot move all those people in that village to a safe place, there is no escape from what is approaching, are we remiss in our duties if we do not help them in any way possible?
Does loving our enemies mean watching them murder people when we could have done something?
Are we to be proactive or reactive?
I offer you an analogy here, but no answer. The evil man breaks into your house, he is going to kill your wife and child, will you call the police and hope they get there before he does, will you speak calmly to this rabid beast in human flesh, pray for him, pray that the Lord will miraculously intercede, or will you get your weapon and kill him?
“But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” (1st Tim. 5:8)
Did you think that meant only the needs of the flesh and Spiritual direction for your family?
Are we not part of the family of God?
There is no organized army of born-again believers trained in the art of war, sent out across the planet to defend and protect our brothers and sisters in Christ, but are we only to react after the fact, after nearly all those in that village are dead, and then assisting those who survived the best we can?
There is no encapsulating answer here, not all will agree on what we should do, and there are numerous verses in the Word of God that can truthfully be applied to both sides of the question.
The question up for debate is this, what should the goodman do?
