Military

The Bible did SAY that God did appointed all rulers ESPECIALLY Egypt and Rome. Even Jesus submitted to the Roman Government. This topic is NOT easy to accept. Romans 13:1-7 (NIV) Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. By reading that and other verses in the Bible. God is the one who began the process of government. Jesus was put to death by non-Israelites (Roman Government). Throughout the New Testament, Jesus did not once rebuked the Roman Government regarding how they run their government. As a citizen of United States and as Christians, (in my opinion) we are to focus on the social, economic, political and military crises which confront our lives require us to reaffirm our view of God as love, and the godly life as the way of peace. To love God is to treat people lovingly. (Leviticus 19:18, I John 3). Christ taught us to love our enemies, instructing us that war, both within and without, is sin and an expression of human failure. (Matthew 5, James 4). As Christians, we can commit ourselves to work more actively for public policies that reduce militarism, war, and political and economic inequities. We must work persistently and faithfully for a more peaceful and equitable world community. This are is about getting involved in our civil responsibility simply by voting and finding ways to help our fellow citizens regardless if they are Christians or not. God governs the world (Isa. 40:22-24), the nations (Isa. 40:15-17), and us (Proverbs 16:9). 2 Timothy 2:4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. Matthew 8:8-10 (Coversation between Jesus and Centurion) The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. Regardless what country (USA, Canada, England) you live in, the question of whether a Christian should join the military is a controversial one in some Christian circles. Should Christians be willing to fight with deadly force to defend their nation and families in a time of war or does God require us to always "turn the other cheek" and be "conscientious objectors."? In the Old Testament of the Bible, God did approve of military system. The Old Testament heroes. It was God’s Holy Spirit that moved Jephthah to go to war (Judges 11:29), and which enabled Samson, armed only with the jawbone of an ass, to kill 1000 Philistines in mortal combat (Judges 15:14-16). Even the prophets of God recognized no divine regulation against killing the enemies of God or Israel. Samuel the prophet personally killed (and even dismembered) King Agag the Amalekite after King Saul had refused to do so (I Samuel 15). The prophet Elijah personally killed 450 prophets of Baal (I Kings 18:20-40)! The New Testament proclaims that David was "a man after God’s own heart" (Acts 13:22), and Psalm 51:11 confirms David had God’s Spirit in him, but David was also a man who killed so many men in combat that one could hardly number them! Jesus dealt personally with a Roman centurion who had great faith (Matthew 8), and God’s Spirit drew a centurion to the Apostle Peter in Acts 10. Neither officer was told by God to "get out of the military" as a condition of serving God. These examples also show that God can and does work with people who are in the military. God has given human governments the right to fight wars for self-protection and as a means of justice. Scripture is clear in teaching that God still ordains government as the guardian of order and justice in society. In my spiritual thoughts, God still gives government the authority to punish evildoers, even by waging war, when necessary (Romans 13:1-4). God gave this power to governments because of His mercy. Otherwise, evil people would dominate. Without governments, that allow lawless people to dominate the world in a deadly fashion. According to Romans 13, it is sometimes necessary to enter war and should be at the last resort. As Christians, we believe in the sanctity of human life. And when we talk about war, that’s the central issue, isn’t it – concern for the loss of human life? The Bible is clear that human life is precious, because we were created in God’s image (Genesis 9:6). Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran theologian in Nazi Germany who was executed for opposing Hitler said 'The church knows nothing of a sacredness of war. The church that prays the "Our Father" asks God only for peace.' James 4:1-3 speaks of the origin of war. James speaks in the context of believers and how conflicts happen within the church body, but he uses the language of warring happening between people. It speaks of how war comes from the evil nature within all humans. Everyone is one between the conscience and the flesh. God has graciously given people a conscience that tells them the difference between right and wrong (Romans 2:15). The subject of civil government pervades both the OT and the NT. It is an aspect of God’s providence and a fact of biblical history. One basic theme of the Bible is that civil government is ordained by God. The Christian is faced with the fact that the NT is silent on the specific question, does Christian responsibility to obey the God-ordained government include taking the life of others, possibly even fellow believers, simply because those individuals are soldiers of another nation? There is no “proof text” which settles that question. There is no clear direct commandment from the bible that Christians are to avoid joining military. Christians are still bound personally by a higher priority established by a higher authority. By Grace of God has made each Christian a member of the Body of Christ. The responsibility to fellow believers is abundantly clear in the NT. 1. As a Christian, it is my responsibility to trust God. Some may feel that the noncombatant believer leaves to others the defense of the nation. While I would not deny the responsibility to participate in such defense as far as conscience allows, my views differs from fellow citizens. Christians should be as concerned to pray for the security of their nation as they are to guarantee its military defense. 2. It is my responsibility to serve my government as far as conscience and my commitment to Scripture allows. As a Christian, I am not to go out of the world (1 Cor 5:9–10) though I am “not of the world” (John 17:15–18). Rather I have been sent into the world. I will pray and search for ways to serve my country without conflicting my beliefs. 3. As a Christian, it is my responsibility to serve my fellow citizens. Serving my fellow citizens and my government may well involve going into life-threatening situations knowing that I will not be bearing arms. I do not have to use weapons but I can serve the military to help in need. My service may involve medical support, work in an office, be a mechanic, engineering or any kind of non-combat related service or at least serve as a chaplain. There are ways you can serve your country as citizens. Many of Christians I know are in the military and serving in non-combative situations. Again, this is a spiritual issue for Christian believers. Whether we agree or not about the war or simply having a military, we should honor and respect our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who are serving for our country. If we don't do that, we are not loving Christians. There's probably no easy answers in this topic.