SHOULD A CHRISTIAN EVER USE VIOLENCE?

ARGUMENTS AGAINST SELF-DEFENSE REFUTED

- Arguments against self defense refuted:

First what you have to understand is that there is no conflict between the Old Testament
and New Testament. The Bible says in II Tim. 3:16 that "All scripture is given by
inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness" All scripture means all scripture and the Old Testament is
scripture therefore it is profitable for doctrine.
Too many people today dance close to the error of Marcionism and act like the God of the
Old Testament is a different God. If they don't outright say that, they sound like it by the
way they talk about the Old Tesament.
no contradiction in the new testament and no change to the moral laws

What is done away from the OT?

The ceremonial law, the Levitical priesthood and sacrificial system, and the
theocratic laws that were in effect for the nation of Israel. Other than that, sin is still
sin, God is still God.

"[13] And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he
quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

[14] Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary
to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;" - Colossians 2:13,14

- Arguments against self defense with verses that are repeating Old Testament commandments

you can't just read the short summary of the commandment, you need to read the case laws for
the full explanation

For instance:

thou shalt not kill -

People against self-defense will cite the commandment "thou shalt not kill" as if it means under
any circumstances. This is wrong for a few reasons.

First: the commandment is speaking against murder

thou shalt do no murder

"[16] And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I
may have eternal life?

[17] And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God:
but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

[18] He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit
adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness," - Matthew 19:16-18

Jesus was repeating the Old Testament commandment of thou shalt not kill, but he used the
word murder instead. What does the word murder mean?

MURDER - "1. The act of unlawfully killing a human being with premeditated malice, by a
person of sound mind. To constitute murder in law, the person killing another must be of sound
mind or in possession of his reason, and the act must be done with malice prepense,
aforethought or premeditated; but malice may be implied, as well as express." - 1828 Webster's

Murder is premeditated and unlawful killing. It is always connected with hate or malice as it says
here.

"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life
abiding in him." - I John 3:15

Before someone murders physically, they will hate that person in their heart and want them
dead.

Look at how God explains the difference between accidental killing and premeditated murder:

"[9] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

[10] Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the
land of Canaan;

[11] Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee
thither, which killeth any person at unawares.

[12] And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not,
until he stand before the congregation in judgment.

[13] And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge.

[14] Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of
Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge.

[15] These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for
the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.

[16] And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the
murderer shall surely be put to death.

[17] And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a
murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

[18] Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a
murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

[19] The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay
him.

[20] But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die;

[21] Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to
death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth
him.

[22] But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without
laying of wait,

[23] Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he
die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm:

[24] Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according
to these judgments:" - Numbers 35:9-24

Murder is done with hatred and laying in wait(premeditated).

Also, with murder, who does the Bible say the victim is?

"He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent:
his eyes are privily set against the poor." - Psalms 10:8

"They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless." - Psalms 94:6

The innocent, the poor, the widow, the stranger, and the fatherless. It doesn't say anything about
killing those that art guilty such as those that are attempting to take your life.

all the commandments God gave to kill in war

If killing is wrong in all circumstances, why did God command His people to kill in warfare?

Moses commanding the 2 1/2 tribes to go to war and drive out God's enemies and if they don't,
it would be a sin against God:

"[20] And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to
war,

[21] And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his
enemies from before him,
[22] And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless
before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.

[23] But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will
find you out." - Numbers 32:20-23

Samuel commanding Saul to kill all the Amalekites:

"[1] 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.

[2] 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.

[3] 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." - I Samuel 15:1-3

Then when Saul failed to kill everyone including Agag, Samuel killed Agag:

"[32] Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came
unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.

[33] And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless
among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal." - I Samuel
15:32,33

Then we have David who they said "hath slain his ten thousands".

and capital punishment

If killing is wrong in all circumstances, why did God command people to be put to death for
certain sins?

"[9] For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath
cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

[10] And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth
adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

[11] And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of
them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

[12] And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they
have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.

[13] If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an
abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
[14] And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both
he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.

[15] And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.

[16] And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman,
and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." - Leviticus
20:9-16

killing a thief breaking into your house at night is not murder

"[2] If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for
him.

[3] If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full
restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft." - Exodus 22:2,3

We see a few things here.

It was lawful to kill a thief breaking in at night, not a sin.

It was not lawful to kill a thief in the daytime because you could see what he was doing.

This shows that it is lawful to kill someone whose intention is to murder you.

Now you may say, "BUT THAT WAS THE OLD TESTAMENT!!!"

That is true, but what I am illustrating is that people are citing the Old Testament commandment
of "thou shalt not kill" as if it forbids all killing, yet here we have many instances AFTER that
commandment was given of God commanding people to be killed. Just repeating the
commandment "thou shalt not kill" does not support anyone's argument against self-defense. It
shows a complete ignorance of the Bible and the fact that you cannot fully understand a
commandment without the case laws and full context of the whole teaching of scripture.

turn the other cheek

When we read the full context we see:

"[38] Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

[39] But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek,
turn to him the other also.

[40] And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

[41] And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
[42] Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away."
- Matthew 5:38-42

So the command to turn the other cheek is a response to those who teach "an eye for an eye".
What does that mean?

"[22] If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no
mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon
him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

[23] And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,

[24] Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

[25] Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." - Exodus 21:22-25

"as the judges determine". This is a law for civil government. It means the punishment should fit
the crime. So is Jesus now saying this law is now bad? Not at all. Just like many other things Jesus
taught, He was correcting the Pharisees interpretation of the law. The Pharisees had turned this
law into a justification for personal revenge. If someone plucked out their eye, they could go
pluck out their eye. They could pay anyone back for any injustice no matter how small, even a
slap on the cheek.

So far from teaching that you are not allowed to defend yourself or even your family, Jesus was
speaking against taking personal revenge especially for such small things as a slap on the cheek,
being sued for your coat, or being forced to walk a mile by a Roman soldier.

love your enemies - all over old testament like with David and Saul

"[43] Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

[44] 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;

[45] That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise
on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

[46] For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the
same?

[47] And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the
publicans so?

[48] Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." - Matthew 5:43-
48
Jesus is continuing His message here from the previous verses we read about turning the other
cheek with the same point about the Pharisees in mind. He is preaching against personal
revenge and hatred.

What does "love your enemies" mean?

It simply means to treat them Biblically.
You do not have personal hatred and bitterness in your heart towards them. You do not
reward evil for evil. For example, you would not steal something from someone just
because they stole from you. If they came to you and needed something to eat or drink,
you would feed them. It does not mean you have to give them a nice steak. It also doesn't
mean you need to hang out with them and pretend like everything is fine. That is NOT
what the Bible teaches.
In fact the Bible tells us that for us to hate someone, we would have to NOT REBUKE
them for their sin, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise
rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him." - Lev. 19:17
The Bible is showing us how to act Biblically without personal revenge and teaching us
not to stoop down to the same level as our enemies and act like them.

The Pharisees twisted the very next verse, Lev. 19:18 "thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself":
"18] Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but
thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD." - Leviticus 19:18
The Pharisees added to love thy neighbor "and hate thine enemy". That doesn't even
occur in the Old Testament. So Jesus was again correcting their false traditions that they
used to justify hatred and personal revenge of other people.
Also notice it says, "thou shalt not avenge" which is the same as "avenge not yourselves"
we find in Romans 12 which we will read about next.
Once again, the this is in the Old Testament where God commanded Israel to kill many
heathen people and also defend themselves, but personal revenge is spoken against.

Even King David the mighty warrior in the Old Testament who killed many people
exercised this principle when he could have killed King Saul twice, but he let him go
because he left vengeance up to God.

Saul was chasing after David when Saul went into a cave to take a nap/go to the
bathroom. Saul didn't know David and his men were in the cave.While in the cave, David
cut off a piece of Saul's clothing. After Saul left David yelled out to him and told him he
could have killed him, but he didn't. Then Saul responded:

"[17] And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me
good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.

[18] And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as
when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not.

[19] For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD
reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day." - I Samuel 24:17-19

avenge not yourselves, if your enemy hunger feed him - in proverbs

"[17] Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

[18] If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

[19] Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written,
Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

[20] Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou
shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

[21] Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." - Romans 12:17-21

Is this some new teaching never heard of in the Old Testament? Nope:

"[21] If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to
drink:

[22] For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee." - Proverbs
25:17-22

This is the same consistent teaching throughout the Bible we have been looking at.
Commandments against personal revenge, have nothing to do with someone not being able to
defend themselves, family, or other innocent people.

Peter told to put away the sword, those who take the sword will perish by the sword

"[46] Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

[47] And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude
with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.

[48] Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is
he: hold him fast.

[49] And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.

[50] And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands
on Jesus, and took him.

[51] And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his
sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear.

[52] Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the
sword shall perish with the sword.

[53] Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than
twelve legions of angels?

[54] But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

[55] In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with
swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold
on me.

[56] But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the
disciples forsook him, and fled." - Matthew 26:46-56

What was the focus on here? Self defense with a sword or stopping the will of God?

Another perspective from Luke:

"[48] But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?

[49] When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we
smite with the sword?

[50] And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.

[51] And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.

[52] Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which
were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?" - Luke 22:48-51

The implication from Jesus is that the proper defense against a thief is to have a weapons like a
sword.

A third view from John:

"[10] Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off
his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.

[11] Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath
given me, shall I not drink it?" - John 18:10,11

The emphasis is on Peter not stopping Jesus from fulfilling the scriptures, not on him having a
sword. This isn't the first time Peter did that:

"[21] From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto
Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and
be raised again the third day.

[22] Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall
not be unto thee.

[23] But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto
me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." - Matthew
16:21-23

As for the statement, "for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."

Jesus didn't say to Peter, "Why do you have a sword?"

What does it mean?

It can't mean anyone who uses the sword is sinning because the Bible says in Romans:

"[1] 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.

[2] Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist
shall receive to themselves damnation.

[3] 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:

[4] For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for
he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath
upon him that doeth evil." - Romans 13:1-4

So what does it mean?

It means not trusting in the sword to get you out of any situation instead of God. It means not
being so quick to use the sword, as Peter did, and almost got them all killed by attacking the
forces of civil government. It means not using the sword as a tool of person revenge on anyone
you see fit.

We will talk more later about the Biblical view, attitude, and approach of using the sword.

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