The other day, I came across this booklet by Rick Bereit which is adopted from his book called “In His Service: A Guide to Christian Living in the Military.” This booklet is basically the first two chapters of his book and are titled A World at War and Combat. (I have added a summary of the two chapters at the end of this post.)
I was very impressed with Bereit’s use of scripture and how he handled such a tough and confusing topic. Many Christians that I have come in contact with who see a conflict between Christian faith and military service are too quick to refer to Jesus’ messages of peace, and tend to neglect the rest of the Bible. When we take a look at the Old Testament, it is clear that God uses war and military men for His purpose throughout the history of Israel. Warriors like Joshua, Sampson, and David are blessed by God and raised to positions of authority in order to carry out the will of God. In the New Testament, the first Gentile convert is a soldier (Acts 10), and Jesus uses a Roman military officer as an example of faith greater than any he had seen in Israel (Matthew 8:5-13). Surely, if Jesus and Peter had a problem with Christ followers serving in the military, they would have made it clear by telling these soldiers to leave their professions. However, they did not, and God continues to work through war and our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines today!
Please do not misunderstand me. I do not prefer war, and I do not believe that God prefers war. If I had a choice, I would choose world peace. However, do to our sinful nature and mankind’s continuing rebellion towards God, war will continue to be reality and a strong military presence is our only chance for peace.
I encourage anyone who agrees or disagrees with what I have said to check out the booklet or book I have mentioned above. Rick Bereit will surely give you something to think about and chew on. To give you an idea of the topics he discusses I will list a summary of each chapter in the booklet.
A World at War
- War is a result of man’s rebellion against God.
- War was in heaven first, and now it is on earth. It will continue until God brings it to a close.
- Militaries fight for the goals of their nation.
- A nation’s goals can be good or evil. You should decide if your military’s goals are right or wrong based on your own values.
- The Bible gives examples of how God has used warfare to accomplish His purposes.
- Although they could have, neither Jesus nor John the Baptist said that military service was wrong.
Combat
- The main purpose of the military is combat.
- Combat aims to kill or wound the enemy.
- All warriors must consider that they will have to kill enemy soldiers.
- They also must understand that they may be wounded or killed themselves.
- God promises to be with us wherever we are. He promises to give people who follow Him eternal life.
- He can help you get over your fears, allowing you to confidently perform your duty as a warrior.
Unfortunately modern churchmen have remade Jesus in their own image. They forget that the “peace” Jesus brings is reconciliation with the Father and the chance for reconciliation among men if they follow Jesus. There is the rub. Man must make the decision to follow Jesus. And that decision is divisive. The Gospel lesson in the common lectionary for this Sunday is Luke 12:49-56:
“49“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!’”
Jesus is the Great Divider. Just walk into a room full of people today and declare that Jesus is the only way to salvation. You will very quickly witness the shattering hammer of Truth that will divide the people in that room into three groups…for, against, and indifferent. But that is how Jesus described himself. Therefore, Jesus’ word divides those people into groups that are for, against, and indifferent about Jesus.
The truth of Scripture is that Jesus did come to bring God’s peace to humankind – to reconcile us to himself. But it is not a peace at all costs. It is not simply love and tolerance. In order to bring the peace of God, Jesus had to destroy our false assumptions and our addiction to living our lives in our own way. In order to bring peace, Jesus has to confront us with judgment of our lives and challenge us to make a hard choice – our way or God’s way. Whenever we are confronted with decisions that divide we have the fodder for conflict. Conflict is characteristic of a sinful and fallen world and if God is in our world, he must also be in our conflicts.