The previous article began to answer the question Can a Christian Serve in the US Military? by addressing the common pacifist criticisms of military service by Christians.  This article asks the more direct question:  Does the Bible actually support military service by Christians?

Men of God, and War

Despite the sometime pacifist assumptions placed upon Christian belief, many Biblical men of old and renown have been soldiers and still been faithful men of God — and nowhere was their military service questioned. Abraham, whom God selected to bless as the father of His chosen nation, was one of the earliest “generals” (Genesis 14:14-15). Moses and Joshua both led the Israelites in countless battles. God Himself ordered the Israelites to battle, and commanded His own army, for that matter (2 Kings 6:17). David, a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), said that God “trained his hands for battle” (Psalm 18:34). David not only fought in war but also participated in some of the most brutal acts of slaughter recorded in the Bible (for example, when he arbitrarily killed every two lengths of the defeated Moabites (2 Samuel 8 )). In the military tradition of “praise the Lord and pass the ammunition,” Nehemiah “prayed to…God and posted a guard,” and told the leaders of Jerusalem to “remember the Lord…, and fight” (4:9, 14).

Thus, to claim all war is evil is to say not only that God enjoined Israel to sin but that He did so himself, which is inconsistent with the very character of God (James 1:13) (Harrison).

Biblical References to War and the Military

There are countless other military references in the Bible. Some speak of military service neutrally, neither condemning it nor advocating it; others are full of praise for military conquest. Proverbs, hailed as the book of wisdom, contains advice for military preparation — “for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers” (24:6). In Judges, a town was cursed for not participating in war in support of Israel (5:23). In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews didn’t have enough time to fully list the heroes of faith who “conquered kingdoms” and “became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies” (11:32-34). While trying to teach the crowds about counting the cost of following Him, Jesus used a warfare example without passing judgment on the subjects of His story:

Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace (Luke 14:31, 32).

Three individual soldiers are specifically mentioned in the New Testament, all members of the Roman army; nowhere is their profession criticized, nor are they directed to leave the service. First, at the foot of the cross one soldier acknowledged the crucified Christ as God (Matthew 27:54). The second asked Jesus to heal his servant, and even told Jesus to simply “say the word,” because he was unworthy to have Jesus come to his house (8:5-13). Jesus was “astonished,” and said He had not seen so great a faith in all of Israel — but He didn’t direct the soldier to abandon the military (v10). The third and most famous New Testament soldier was Cornelius, a God-fearing Roman centurion. Not only did an angel of God appear to him and acknowledge his faithfulness, but he was also used as an object lesson for Peter resulting in the expansion of Christ’s message to the Gentiles. Neither the angel nor Peter commanded Cornelius to leave the military, nor was it a part of the important lesson taught.

Paul was not judgmental when he used an example of military service (2 Timothy 2:4), and he also described his friends as “good soldiers” (Philemon 2:25). When John the Baptist told those who approached him to “bear fruit” or be thrown into the fire, soldiers asked what they should do; he told them not to extort money or falsely accuse people, but to be content with their pay — he didn’t take the perfect opportunity to tell them to quit (Luke 3:14). Paul spent years with soldiers in his travels to and imprisonment in Rome. In none of these cases were the soldiers encouraged to leave their profession. On the contrary, in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul says that “each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him” (7:20). (It is interesting to note that while no one in the Bible directed soldiers to forsake their profession, Jesus did tell one man to abandon all his worldly possessions (Matthew 19:21); many people advocate following the former, which is not in the Bible, while few advocate the latter that is!)

The Bible, War, and the State

The New Testament says the state is created to maintain justice and is thus granted the right of force (Romans 13:4, 1 Peter 2:13, 14). John Calvin, one of the most prolific contributors to the modern Protestant church, agreed governments have been given the authority to use force to protect their national interests just as they can rightfully protect their citizens from criminals (Boettner 46). Both a military and a police force are necessary to ensure the security of the nation. American police and the American military differ only in geography and lethality; to say the military violates Christian ethics is to say the same for the police.

Even those trained to fight wars do not desire them; crusade is no more correct than capitulation. The military exists because of war; war does not exist because of the military. To assert the latter is equivalent to saying that crime exists because of the police (Harrison). Some accept the need for a military but not the need for aggressive actions: instead they believe the military should only be used for defense. While that desire is admirable, it displays naivety about military strategy. There is no progress in defense; just as a football team needs its offensive line to march down the field and score, the military will need to execute offensively to end a conflict. “Defensive” military action may be best executed in offense. Once the conflict begins often only the decisive defeat of the enemy will bring a secure and lasting conclusion; offense will be required to achieve a peaceful end. This also means that war must be fought in the place it presents itself; whether it is defending US borders, protecting citizens abroad, or asserting justice to protect the innocent, the conflict must be joined where it occurs.

The Impact of War on Christianity

The military profession has actually helped spread the cause of Christ. Throughout history, members of faith within the military have been responsible for the transmission of Christianity around the globe. Paul’s interaction with the Roman centurions undoubtedly led to the spread of faith throughout the Roman Empire, which at the time was the greater part of the known world. The US military itself has probably been one of the greatest missionary causes in history, from the earliest parts of the 1700s to the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

For those trying to understand the relationship between God, the military, and war, there is one important fact to remember. God does not change — the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17). Nowhere does God claim that He desires war, death, and destruction, but there are many places where He acknowledges the necessity of it. The same God who directed human armies and commanded a superhuman one spoke of loving mankind and desiring peace. Nowhere does God command a Christian to avoid or leave the military, nor does He demand he allow himself to be walked upon. A Christian is to act in love and peace as much as possible, but when the opposition will not accept it, God does not say that a Christian must let evil, injustice, or brutality prevail. Because this is a fallen world, wars will never cease. So long as wars are sure to come, there will be a need for a military. One day Jesus will return in glory; until that day, Christians must live as best they can in this present world.

This is a portion of the book Christian Fighter Pilot is not an Oxymoron.

Originally from Is “Military Chrisitan an Oxymoron?”

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Notes:

Driver, John. How Christians Made Peace with War. Herald Press, Scottdale, PA, 1988.

Boettner, Loraine. The Christian Attitude Toward War. Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, New Jersey 1985. Though in some parts a treatise against communism, this book contains interesting research on the Christian and war from Biblical, historical, and philosophical perspectives.

Harrison, William K. Jr. Lt Gen, US Army, ret. May a Christian Serve in the Military? OCF of the USA. The pamphlet is undated. LtGen Harrison passed away in 1987.

A Christian Perspective on War. Grace Chapel, as published on the OCF website, 13 April 2003.