A God-given Obligation

For me, as a student of Scripture, I look to the Bible for guidance in this matter. I’ve had many friends who’ve said to me, “The only purpose of a handgun is to kill people. God doesn’t give you that right. Justice is God’s. Vengeance is God’s right alone.”

I’m very familiar with that line of argument. I myself used it until late 2006 (though I've struggled with this for years). I’ve been hunting for nearly a quarter century, and I have a locker full of hunting weapons. Handguns, on the other hand, I’ve never owned because I didn’t hunt with them...and as already confessed: I was afraid of them.

Then reality started to interfere with my preconceived notions. I had to measure: If I was absolutely forced to do it, could I take a life? But as I pondered it one day, the question reworded itself: Could I stand by and let someone take the life of my family? (Believe me, I know people who would boldly answer that with a resounding “yes!”) Is self-defense and vengeance the same thing, or is there a difference? I needed to know what God said about this.

What I am about to share with you will look much easier and concise than it was in my study. There has been and continues to be a ton of prayer and reading - many books and web sites, both pacifists and not - and a true desire to arrive at an answer that honors God. This has been no small project.

My learning covered several levels as it grew:

Level One.

The natural first stop was the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, specifically verse 13: “Thou shalt not kill.” I decided it was time to start with the basics and do a word-study to see if the translation was correct, and understand fully what the God-chosen words meant. What I learned is not commonly shared among many Christians, but it must be. The actual (and accurate!) translation is not “you shall not kill,” but “you shall not murder.” The Hebrew word used here applies only to the illegal killing of a human life - and unlike other verbs for the taking of human life, it’s never used in reference to administering justice, nor for killing in combat, nor for self-defense.

The notion that death might be part of "administering justice" caused me pause. There had to be a limit as to how that justice was administered, otherwise the world would be a Mogadishu-type free-for-all. That took me to the next level.

Level Two.

It's clear to me that God does not support vigilantes and free-for-alls. The words of Romans 12:19 rung in my memory:

Romans 12:19 - Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord.

Because God's principles don't contradict each other, it's apparent there’s some kind of differentiation when it comes to an event in which a human life is taken. The prohibition is against murder - the unjustified taking of human life - so if there is an unjustified taking of life, it naturally follows that there must also be a justified taking of human life.

The bottom line: the taking of a human life is not always murder. That piqued my interest (and scared me, too).

In the next chapter of Romans - something easily in view as I read the Romans 12 text - is the passage about the role of civil government:

Romans 13:1-4 - Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil.

The sword had one purpose: to administer death. There's no other use for a sword.

Now, I’m not allowed to take vengeance - that right belongs to God, and this passage tells us He has delegated that responsibility to the civil government. (I’m very cool with that, by the way!)

But what happens if I find myself with an intruder in my home? Does God just expect me to let my family be robbed and raped and traumatized and, perhaps, kidnapped or killed? How does that honor God? Am I to understand that I am not to defend even the people I love? Or is there a difference between self-defense and civil justice in God's eyes? That question took me to the third level.

Level Three.

1 Timothy 5:8 - But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

If I don't take care of my family by seeing to their needs - physical, emotional, spiritual, and relational - then I am worse than someone who rejects God? So, if my old logic of not decisively defending my family is true, how can I honestly claim I care for them, when I yield their safety to an intruder within the walls of own own home? That question led me back to the book of Exodus.

Exodus 22:2-3 - If the thief is caught while breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account. 3 But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his account.

It's obvious that, since verse 3 begins with "BUT, if the sun has risen" that verse 2 is referring to something that happens in the dark. So if someone has broken into my house in the dark and I cannot discern his motive for entering MY private property without MY permission - and there’s no question someone breaking into a house at night (the most likely time for people to be home) must be considered potentially homicidal - and he dies as a result of my acting to stop him and my protecting of my family, according to the text, it is not considered vengeance nor murder.

Then there’s that key distinction: If the sun is up - if it’s light and he can see me and I can see him (and later identify him to the authorities) - should my action take his life without extreme provocation, I am guilty of murder. Why that distinction? There’s an operative moral principle at work in Scripture: The protection of innocent life takes precedent over everything else - including property and the life of the burglar.

Okay, so what happens if I intentionally don't act in self-defense? What is that revealing about me? Back to Scripture...

Level Four.

Proverbs 25:26 - Like a muddied spring and a polluted well, so is a righteous person who gives in to a wicked person.

Again...

1 Timothy 5:8 - But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

While it’s not right for me to personally take out vengeance on a person, it is also not right for me to falter before someone intending to violate the sacred safety of my family and friends. I’m not to go looking for trouble, but if it finds me and threatens my loved ones, I am to act in their immediate self-defense until the threat - the crisis - passes, and then it becomes the domain of the civil authorities for further action. And if I don’t act, I’m worse than someone who rejects God completely.

Wow. I really had to rethink my position.

The next stop on my study journey... What did Jesus say about the idea of self-defense?

Letting God's Word Direct My Journey - in Context

As a pastor, my first and primary concern is that I live my life in a way that both honors my Lord, Jesus Christ, and is consistent with God's Word. My relationship with my Heavenly Father through Jesus is the most important thing in my life. The second most important thing in my life is my family. God has entrusted them to me and my care. A very close third, then, is the people around me, including my neighbors and my congregation.

A young Muslim attending our congregation was warned by cousins that if this person left Islam, they would execute an honor-killing. When I asked how this could be the case in the USA, this person assured me that it happens, and that family would just say this person had gone to study the Qur’an in the home country (while the truth would be buried in a field here in the Midwest).

Then, in the past year, an online ministry I volunteered for from Fall 1999 to Summer 2007 was expanding its outreach into hostile countries, and the occasional threat of physical violence against myself and my family came my way.

Now I was confronted with a decision.

As a Christian, I had to answer it in light of this passage:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT) - All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. 17 It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.

I’ve done that, and over the next weeks, as I get through my writing break, I’ll explain how I’ve arrived at where I am, and why I believe, biblically, that I have a spiritual and scriptural duty to defend my family and neighbors if the need arises.

I'm still here! :)

I've been breaking in a new staff member, pastoring, and preparing for a 30 day writing break out-of-the-office beginning August 1.

I have several things I'll be posting over the month of August as I finish them up.