The Eternal Patriot

"I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." - Nathan Hale

The world would have you believe that there is nothing more noble than patriotism.  It's the ultimate selfless act to be of service to your nation.  However, as Christians, we are not of the world and so there are a few things worth considering before enlisting in military service.  Military life can put a strain on your ability to serve the Lord by interfering with church attendance and sufficient time for bible study.  But today I'd like to talk about one thing in particular that, for many, is completely glossed over.  Military life can put you in a position in which you will have to kill.  Can a Christian kill in battle without committing murder?

Murder?


The bible makes a distinction between murder and killing in battle.  The ancient Jews often went to war at the Lord's command and, as happens in battle, many deaths occurred.  As these deaths were the result of action that the Lord commanded we know that killing a fellow human does not always fall under the definition of murder.  However, the key point to remember here is that the Lord commanded these battles.

Numbers 33:50-53 (NASB)
Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying,
"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places; and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.

In a typical battle in which random country goes to battle against other random country, this is not due to a command of the Lord.  Therefore, whether or not the act of killing is murder or not must be decided through other reasoning.

The bible does not explicitly give approval for self defense, but it's certainly eluded to...


Luke 22:36 (NASB)
And He said to them, "But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one."

Here the Lord is discussing when his followers will go into the world and preach.  We know that if self defense were not acceptable that Jesus would not have encouraged the purchasing of one.

So we've established that taking a life can be acceptable under certain circumstances.  So if a soldier were sent out to battle during World War II, for example, because he was drafted, he could defend himself from the enemy without guilt.  But if the soldier opted for moments of personal vengeance or the killing of prisoners then it is likely that murder has entered into his heart.  In fact, it is my opinion that two soldiers in a squad could both fire into the same group of enemies, but receive different judgments for their behaviors.  One soldier may have acted in defense while another may have committed murder.  It depends on the heart of the individual.  In this example, the innocent soldier was drafted.  He did not want to be fighting in the first place but he was there to protect his fellow men and himself.  The guilty soldier, meanwhile, joined up with the express intention to kill as many of the enemy as possible.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that every soldier that volunteered for service during World War II is a murderer and all innocent soldiers were drafted.  I believe it would be a righteous thing, given the dire circumstances of World War II, to want to defend your country and its people from an enemy that was so obviously evil.  Again, it depends on the heart of the individual.  I merely wish to point out that killing in a battle during a war does not mean murder cannot exist.

This world is full of much darkness and even for the Christian a time might come to take up arms against his fellow man.  However, we must always remember that this is to be a last resort.  If we were slapped on the face the Lord would rather us turn the other cheek than to seek retribution.  Likewise, death cannot always be justified in a time of war.

Though eventually the time for war will come.

Ecclesiastes 3:8 (NASB)
A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.

Belief vs. Practice

There can often be a huge difference between what a church believes and what a church practices.  Many will agree, for example, that love is paramount.  We must show love to all.  However, many will not follow the Lord’s teaching on love, but the world’s teaching.  For the world, love means “I will accept you.”  For the Lord, love means “I will help you.”  It is important that we adhere to what God wants for us in our worship and not what we want for ourselves.  Otherwise the whole process can become empty and even a detriment to our own spiritual growth.

1 Corinthians 11:17-18  (NASB)
But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.
For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it.

Now my writing here isn’t about divisions in church, a grave thing that must be avoided at all costs, but I did want to demonstrate the concept that the act of “going to church” isn’t enough.  You must find a church that practices sound doctrine and whose members strive for what God intended for the church.  We can assemble for the worse.  Say you approach a elder or deacon of a church and you ask them to compose a list of how they know the church they manage is Christ centered and theologically sound... you’ll no doubt get many pleasant bullet points (we love each other, we believe in Christ’s sacrifice, etc) but will there be substance?  Will there be sound practices to corroborate these sound teachings?

The church is made up of men and women, all fallible human beings corrupted by sin.  Therefore, though many may try hard to follow God’s Word, they can fail.  They can give into the world’s twist on what the right doctrine or theology is on any given subject.  People will go against what the Lord specifically says because they have decided that their way is the more loving way.  They may not deliberately choose to think of it that way, but their actions speak louder than words.  Say, for example, there is a church that does not believe in the necessity of water baptism.  They might dismiss it because they feel it limits the opportunity for salvation.  It makes it harder to attain, perhaps.  But their sound teaching, that through Christ one must be redeemed, is lacking in the substance of water baptism... an act that Christ commanded.

Matthew 7:15-20 (NASB)
"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
"You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
"So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
"A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
"Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
"So then, you will know them by their fruits.

According to scripture, we will know who teaches what is right by their fruits or good works.  A preacher who roams the country on tour, taking all the money from offerings to buy a big house is probably not someone bearing good fruit.  It is not my job to tell you how to judge someone’s fruits, but perhaps that can give you a perspective.

But how can we know what qualifies as good or bad fruit?  If mankind is corrupted by sin, if no one is perfect, then how can I trust myself to follow appropriate teaching?  This is why we have the written Word: the bible.  It is our guide to discern these matters.  The bible lays an example for us to examine the words of those who teach us.

Acts 17:11 (NASB)
Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

Churches will agree on many things.  Various denominations will say, “Yes, Christ is the Son of God.”  They’ll emphasize the importance of love and prayer.  They’ll say there is one God and He created the heavens and the earth.  These are all true things.  But how does this church actually behave?  How does it manage itself?

The only way to really understand if the church in question is sound is by observing it in the light of the scriptures.  Too many denominations agree on who Christ is but ignore what He says.  They’ll highlight His miracles and ignore His commandment for water baptism, for example.  This comes to a matter of picking and choosing.  We must follow the entire Word or none of it.  We must adhere to its teachings and heed its examples.

But in addition to the my emphasis on following the bible’s teachings let us not forget the importance of prayer.  If you ask for help from the Lord in discerning these matters logically and soundly, then He will help you.

Matthew 7:7-8 (NASB)
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

Blind Faith

It is the argument of the common atheist, agnostic, etc, that the religious dismiss the need for evidence because of “faith.” That is to say, you can believe in something without evidence and that is what faith is. However, this is wholly incorrect. Faith is not to be blind. In fact, the bible expressly speaks against this notion.

1 Peter 3:15 (NASB) 
...but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence...

I don’t blame atheists for assuming that we rely on blind faith, though, because many who claim to be Christians do cling to blind faith as if it were the only option. “I just have faith,” seems to be the number one answer from a religious individual who doesn’t know what else to say. But truly, we can know what we believe.

Let us look at the actual definition for faith as given by the Word...


Hebrews 11:1 (NASB)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
The keywords here are “assurance” and “conviction.” We are to actually know the things we believe. And how should we believe something? On the basis of evidence.

Consider also this passage...


Romans 14:1-3 (NASB)
Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.

The context of this passage regards a matter that isn’t important, namely, what a person eats. People were being judged left and right in the first century because of what they ate, whether it was because they were following Jewish dietary restriction that no longer applied, eating meat that was sacrificed to idols, or abstaining from meat altogether. In Acts we know that the Lord has made all things clean to eat, but right now I want to focus on how the word faith is used.

In this passage, the one who is weak in faith is the one who is abstaining from all meat. The person who is strong in faith does not abstain. The clear difference between them is knowledge. The one who is stronger is referred to as the one who "has faith that they may eat all things...” So then, we know that his faith is stronger because of his knowledge of this truth. It is not stronger simply because, which is what blind faith would entail.


Blind Faith -> faith is strong or weak based on a person’s willingness to stick to their convictions
True Faith -> faith is strong or weak based on a person’s knowledge of the truth

Even the Word is testament to this fact.

John 20:31 (NASB)
...but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

Christians were given a reason to believe. They do not believe solely because an “invisible figure in the sky commanded them to.” They believe on the basis of knowledge. On the basis of evidence.