"But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it."
INTRODUCTION: As a nation, whenever we are engaged in war, numerous antiwar protestors make their voices heard. Many demonstrators have started carrying signs with the slogan "Who would Jesus bomb?" Joining many of these protestors are religious leaders who state that war is inconsistent with the nature of God and the person of Jesus Christ. One of these protestors, Jim Winkler of the United Methodist Church said, "Nothing I understand about Jesus Christ leads me to believe that support of war and violence are necessary or tolerable actions for Christian people." I believe that as Christians we need to know what God says about war. Didn’t Christ come preaching peace? If so how can war be compatible with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ? Isn’t war a contradiction to the teachings of God’s Word? Let’s turn to God’s Word for the answers.
I. DOES GOD TAKE PLEASURE IN WAR?
A. No one in his or her right mind enjoys or takes pleasure in war.
B. Norman Schwarzkopf, general of the Desert Storm allied forces, was interviewed by Ted Koppel. During the interview General Schwarzkopf , while describing his own understanding and philosophy of warfare said, "I would never want to serve under a general who enjoyed war." He spoke about his heroes from World War II: Omar Bradley, Dwight Eisenhower, and George Marshall. He mentioned a couple of others who he said hated war. He said it made them safe to be generals in a war. - Earl Palmer, "Weighing Others Heavy," Preaching Today, Tape No. 134.
C. Ezekiel 18:32 "For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye."
D. Romans 15:33 "Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen."
E. War is the result of the fallen, sinful natures of man.
F. Leighton Ford – The wars that rage within the world are a reflection of the wars that rage inside people.
G. Sin itself is an act of war and aggression against God.
H. Psalms 7:11 "God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day."
I. Romans 8:7 "...the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."
II. DOES GOD HAVE A PURPOSE FOR WAR?
A. Ecclesiastes 3:1,8 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven… "A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."
B. God is Sovereign and has a purpose in war. There are three purposes for war that can be observed from the Word of God – Defense, Liberation, and Judgment.
C. Defense
1. War is not to be for selfish ambition or aggression. Nor is it for vengeance.
2. Romans 12:18 "If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men."
3. There are times when one must defend his family, and country.
4. Luke 11:21-22 "When a strong man armed keeps his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he takes from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divides his spoils."
5. Numbers 10:9 "And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresses (attacks/ terrorizes) you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies."
6. Leviticus 26:7-8 "And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword."
7. We make war that we may live in peace. – Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
D. Liberation and Emancipation
1. War is an evil thing; but to submit to the dictation of other states is worse… Freedom, if we hold fast to it, will ultimately restore our losses, but submission will mean permanent loss of all that we value. – Thucydides (460-C. 401 B.C.)
2. Genesis 14:14-16 "And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people."
3. Isaiah 1:17 "Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow."
E. Judgment and Punishment
1. Romans 13:1-3 "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resists the power resists the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:"
2. 1 Samuel 15:1-3 "Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass."
3. God often uses war to wake us up to the realities of our rebellion and sin against Him.
4. Isaiah 7:20 "In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard."
III. ISN’T WAR INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS?
A. Antiwar demonstrators, carrying signs saying Who would Jesus bomb, believe that war is inconsistent with the nature and teachings of Jesus Christ
B. But was Jesus a pacifist? A pacifist is someone who believes that it is never right to use force in any situation – from fighting a thoroughly evil man like Hitler right on down to police intervention.- copied
C. The Bible nowhere prohibits war. In the Old Testament we find war and even conquest positively commanded, and although war was raging in the world in the time of Christ and his apostles, still they said not a word of its unlawfulness and immorality. – Henry Wager Halleck (1815-1872)
D. Jesus used force – John 2:13 "And the Jews’ Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: and when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise."
E. Jesus never called soldiers to quit being soldiers. When the Roman centurion came to Him in Matthew 8, Christ commends Him for his faith, grants him the healing of his palsied servant and sends him on his way. Never did he tell the centurion to lay down his arms.
F. Revelation 19:11-13 "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God."
G. Within me there is a force. It says that gentleness, which is not prepared to kill or be killed to destroy the evil that assails life, is not gentleness. It is weakness. It is the weakness of the merely well meaning. It is the suspended goodness of the men of mere good will whose passivity in the face of evil first of all raises the question whether they are men. – Whittaker Chambers
IV. DIDN’T CHRIST COME PREACHING PEACE?
A. At the birth of Christ the angels announced, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:14
B. But in contrast to these words in Luke 12:51 we find Christ saying, "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:"
C. The peace that Jesus Christ came to bring is not the peace at any cost that the world talks about
D. John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
E. In fact the peace with God does brings division. It divides the world into two camps – those who are the children of God and those who are at war with God and are children of Satan.
F. The peace that Jesus came to bring is spiritual peace – peace with God. He did not have social or political peace. He came to bring peace with God!
G. Romans 5:1 "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"
H. True Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God.
CONCLUSION: God does not take pleasure in war. He does allow war to accomplish His purposes. As such war is not inconsistent with His nature or the teachings of Christ. War is a pervasive reality. There is a day coming when all wars will cease and as Micah tells us men will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. That day will occur when the Lamb of God sits upon the throne of David and reigns Supreme. Until then there will be wars and rumors of wars – there will be the absence of social and political peace. However, in spite of the turmoil around you, you can have true peace – the peace that Jesus gives – peace with God! He offers you His peace today through a relationship with Him. Will you accept His offer?
