We are living in a world dominated by sin, in which the strong oppress
the weak. We saw in Section 6.1 that human governments can be called ‘the
devil’ because they are organised around sinful human desires, the Biblical
‘devil’.
The repeated message of the Bible is that, in the short term,
sin and the seed of the serpent will appear to triumph whilst, after
temporary suffering in various ways, the seed of the woman will ultimately
be justified. For this reason the believer is continually commanded “not to
resist an evil person” (Mt. 5:39; Rom. 12:17; 1 Thes. 5:15; 1 Pet. 3:9).
We have seen that evil is allowed, and sometimes brought about, by God (Is.
45:7; Am. 3:6 cf. Study 6.1). Actively to resist evil by force therefore may
mean that we oppose God. For this reason Jesus commanded us not to
physically resist the forces of evil: “But whoever slaps you on your right
cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away
your tunic, let him have your cloak also” (Mt. 5:39,40). Christ is the
example in this: “I gave My back to those who struck Me ...” (Is. 50:6).
Christ’s words associate suing at law with the activities of a world which
is opposed to the believer. Doing this is a prime example of resisting evil,
and will not be done by anyone who has a firm faith in God’s promise that
“’Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19). “Do not
say, ‘I will recompense evil’; wait for the Lord, and He will save you”
(Prov. 20:22 cf. Dt. 32:35). For this reason Paul roundly rebuked the
Corinthians for taking others to law (1 Cor. 6:1-7).
In view of the
greatness of our hope, we should not be so concerned with the injustices of
the present life: “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to
law ... Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” (1 Cor.
6:1,2). Taking others to law for personal advantage should therefore be
unthinkable for the true believer. There is only one judge -- the Lord. We
are not therefore to set ourselves up as judges in the sense that He alone
is the judge of all the earth.
In order to suppress the forces of evil,
as well as (in some cases) to keep evil men in power, military and police
forces are used by human governments. These are institutionalised forms of
resisting evil, and therefore the true believer should have no part in them.
“All who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt. 26:52). This is
repeating a very early Divine principle: “Whoever sheds man’s blood
(purposefully), by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He
made man” (Gen. 9:6). Any wilful violence against our fellow man is
therefore violence against God, unless He has sanctioned it.
Under the
New Covenant, we have been told: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse
you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use
you and persecute you” (Mt. 5:44; Lk. 6:27). The armed forces and police
forces operate in direct contradiction to these principles and therefore the
true believer will not seek to be involved with them. Even if not directly
involved in committing violence, working within these organisations or
involvement in employment connected with them, is evidently inadvisable;
indeed, any employment which involves taking an oath of allegiance to such
an authority, robs us of our freedom of conscience to obey God’s commands.
Believers in Christ have therefore always been conscientious objectors to
military service, although always willing to take up alternative employment
in times of national crisis which will materially benefit their fellow
citizens.