I never want my convictions about nonviolence to come across as an insult to those who have served in the military or in law enforcement. My grandfather fought in the Pacific during World War II. In fact, if it wasn’t for his military service, my grandparents likely would have never met and I wouldn’t be alive. So, please understand that this is a personal and sensitive subject for all of us, including me. Please read this in the spirit it is intended—an honest wrestling with Scripture—and not as an affront to those who have served.
(Note: If you have not read the previous posts in the Christian nonviolence series, you might want to do so before you read this article.)
My understanding is that Christians, “Dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners.” I believe we are supposed to see ourselves as “exiles” wherever we live. The Greek word for “exiles” refers to, “staying for a while in a strange or foreign place, sojourning, residing temporarily.” In other words, we are not supposed to belong to the cities, states, and nations in which we live. We are to think of ourselves simply as guests.
As Christians, our “citizenship” is in the Kingdom of God. The New Jerusalem—currently hidden in heaven, waiting to be revealed on the Last Day—is our capital and “hometown.” We are to be representatives of that kingdom and that city. In a sense, we are even called to be warriors, advancing the borders of our King’s rule and reign.
However, it is important to note that Christians are NOT supposed to, “wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” We also are NOT to use weapons “of the flesh,” but weapons with “divine power to destroy strongholds.”
To be clear, the New Testament does NOT claim our battle is both spiritual and carnal. It is not against both human and demonic enemies. Because we are citizens of the heavenly kingdom of God, we have a different battle to fight, against a different enemy, using different weapons. I firmly believe that becoming a Christian means trading one form of combat for another.
That said, earthly governments and lethal force go hand in hand. The rulers and authorities of every nation have been unknowingly coopted by God to carry out his “wrath on the wrongdoer.” Just as God used the pagan empires of Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome to keep sin in check, he continues to use the “sword” of earthly governments in this way.
Read through the prophets of Israel and Judah and you will see how God allows destruction to be punished with destruction, evil with evil, pain with pain. He allows the violence of humanity to punish itself. As we learned from the theologically accurate exploits of Wylie Coyote, when violent people scheme to hurt others, they eventually get caught in their own trap.
“Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.”
Violence ends in violence. It is the very definition of a vicious cycle. Jesus said, “All who take the sword will perish by the sword.” It seems this statement has two important meanings: First, it is just and right for violent and wicked people to be destroyed by the same sort of violence they inflict on others. Second, Jesus is calling Peter (and presumably all of us) to stop participating in this cycle of violence.
Earthly governments are a God-ordained part of the cycle. They inflict the pain and punishment that wrongdoers bring down upon themselves. However, Romans 12 makes it pretty clear to me that Christians are not supposed to participate in that cycle. We are called to “overcome evil with good” by loving our enemies and doing good to those who harm to us. That is the way we “fight” evil…by doing good.
Just as Isaiah said would happen, God has rescued his people out of the vicious cycle of violence. Through his Spirit, he has taught us to turn our weapons into farming tools and “not learn war anymore.”
The first Gentile convert to Christianity was no stranger to military violence. His name was Cornelius and he was a centurion of the Italian Cohort. Cornelius had come to worship the God of Israel. The Lord sent Peter to Cornelius’ house and his entire household became followers of Jesus.
Some people use the story of Cornelius to argue that military service must have been acceptable, because nothing is said of Cornelius resigning his commission. However, it is a logical fallacy (an argument from silence) to claim that if something isn’t recorded it must not have happened. The fact is, we don’t know exactly what happened with Cornelius after he became a Christian. So, Cornelius cannot be used as an argument in favor of Christians in the Roman army.
It is also a bad argument for another reason. If nothing else, Cornelius’ role as a centurion would have required him to participate in, and even lead, pagan worship rituals. One could not be a commanding officer in the Roman army without participating in idolatry. This is one big reason early Christians argued against military service. Tertullian, for instance, mentioned both the violence and the “performances of camp offices.”
“I think we must first inquire whether military service is proper at all for Christians…Shall it be held lawful to make an occupation of the sword, when the Lord proclaims that he who uses the sword shall perish by the sword?…Then how many other offences there are involved in the performances of camp offices, which we must hold to involve a transgression of God’s law, you may see by a slight survey.”
Another question I’ve heard raised is Paul’s dependence on the Roman army when his life was threatened. At one point, Paul was protected by 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, 200 spearmen. However, I do not see this as problematic at all. Paul did not join the army or participate in violence. God simply used Roman violence to answer mob violence. The citizens of God’s kingdom were not part of that cycle.
Let’s get practical for a moment. “If someone was breaking into your house,” I’ve often been asked, “wouldn’t you call the police?” My answer is, yes, absolutely I would call the police. I would call the police because violent criminals belong to the world and the world’s governments use violence to punish and restrain them.
Consider this illustration: If you were a guest in someone’s home and their child started misbehaving, you would expect the parents to restrain and punish that child. If the parents were unaware of the child’s behavior, you might have to call them and say, “Please do something about your child, he’s out of control in here.” I believe the same is true with calling the police. When I have called the police, it is because a worldly person needed worldly authorities to restrain and discipline them. Calling the police is like saying to the world, “Come get your kid!”
I am a guest, stranger, and missionary in the Dallas metroplex, the state of Texas, and the United States of America. I understand that the government entities who administer justice in these areas are trying to do what governments do. Sometimes they do well and sometimes they don’t. However, they carry “the sword,” because violence begets violence. I do not believe it is my role to participate in this violence. I believe I have been rescued by Jesus out of this vicious cycle.
Again, please let me be clear, I do not look down on those who serve in the military or law enforcement. In fact, I hate violence because I love those who are most affected by violence. I hate what it does to people physically, emotionally, and psychologically. I love soldiers and policemen. Both now and in the age to come, I want to see Jesus rescue people from the pain of this vicious cycle. As we all do, I long for the day when Jesus puts an end to all war, violence, and death.
I love you and God loves you,
Wes McAdams
