War in the Gulf: A Biblical Perspective, Part 2

Selected Scriptures

     As you know, last week I began a special series entitled The Biblical Perspective on the War in the Gulf, and I'm going to continue that series this morning.  And then, because so much has come to light through the pages of Scripture and in the events of what is occurring, I want to carry on that series beyond today.

     For today, just a very obvious reminder that psychologists, psychiatrists and counselors of all kinds are having currently a run on their services, because people are experiencing heightened fear and anxieties and confusion over the scary chaos that is occurring in the Middle East.  There is a certain frightening uncertainty about everything that has come in just the last few days, few weeks. 

     The course of the direction of the world seems to be changing dramatically.  In fact, just when we thought we were getting over the unnerving threat of Russian aggression, when we were finally over the issue of fearing that the Russians would drop a nuclear bomb on us, the worldwide collapse of Communism and perestroika in Russia made us believe that that particular threat was no longer in existence, and we were beginning to feel comfortable and rest, and enjoy maybe a little bit of safety and sanity, all of a sudden a new source of terror developed, and it feels like we might be on the brink of World War III, and, indeed, that is a real possibility.

     The chaos that is occurring now in the Middle East has certainly ripped up the comfort of many people, who have traded in their soap operas and sitcoms for some heavy doses of real death and destruction, and their false emotions for some real emotions.  The world seems to be so totally unpredictable, so utterly insecure, so very threatening. 

     We know that, as Christians, Jesus said that the kickoff signal for the end time would be wars and rumors of wars, nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and the Bible also is very clear that the final world war, the final massive holocaust, will occur in the Middle East.  It will be a massive war of the world that will end with Christ's return in glory to set up His kingdom.

     In fact, that war is called, in Revelation 16:14, the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.  It will be a war with many nations.  It will be a war fought on many fronts.  It will be a war fought by many men.  But it will be God's war.  It will be the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.

     And so the question comes before us, the fact that history has moved so rapidly to the Middle East, and the fact that war has broken out on such a massive scale and threatens to implicate and involve more and more nations all the time, are we really seeing the setup for the last war, the war of the end, the final battle?  Is it possible that this is the beginning of the end?

     Before we can answer that question properly, we need to understand a few other issues.  And so I'm endeavoring to unfold those issues to you which will lay a foundation for answering that very important question.  The first question that we asked last time was the question, why does war happen?  Why is there war at all, when man, so long on the earth and so sophisticated in his technology, psychology, sociology and theology, should've advanced beyond the point where he massacres one another?

     Why is there war?  We noted that there are basically three components in war.  One is evil aggression.  James 4 says, "You lust, you have not, so you make war."  The other is just protection.  Romans 13 says that the government bears a sword, and the sword is to protect the innocent and to punish the evil.  And so there are wars of protection and self-defense, wars which act to the benefit of society, when they are fought against an evil influence or an evil aggressor.

     And the third component we noted in war is divine judgment.  Since "the wages of sin is death," the New Testament says, and "the soul that sinneth, it shall die," the Old Testament says, God often uses war as His weapon to execute His judgment, to bring about death.

     And all of this complex of factors, evil aggression, just protection and divine judgment, work and operate in all wars, over which God is perfectly sovereign, almighty, powerful and in absolute control.  When we see in a war like the one we're watching now sin and lust and passion for self-glory and self-gratification and evil aggression lead to vicious attacks, we understand that that's the human heart at work.

     When we see the just protection and defense of the victim by those nations which still understand their God-appointed purpose, we say, well, that's God's design for government at work.  But in and through it all inexorably at work is the judgment of God, God bringing about death as judgment on sin.  And so war happens for those reasons.

     Secondly, and this is where we left off, we asked the question, can war be moral or just?  And I said to you last time, from the viewpoint of reason, the answer is yes.  From the viewpoint of sense, common sense, the answer is yes.  There must be built into human society the role of protector. 

     So we said there is a just war, and a just war could have this kind of definition.  It would have to have a just cause.  That means defense and protection.  It would have to have a just intent, peace and safety and freedom, not conquering and devastation and destruction.  It would have to be as a last resort, after all negotiation possibilities have been exhausted.

     It would have to have limited objectives, peace and safety, not the slaughter and massacre of the whole population.  And it would have to have limited means.  That is, its force would be limited to its objectives.

     And even the matter of reason tells us that there are times when a war is just, a war of defense and protection, a war that removes some kind of malignancy from human culture that threatens its very existence.  But, beyond that, beyond reason, let's go to Revelation, and I want to pick up that second point for a moment this morning and say, from the standpoint of the Scripture, does God, in the Bible, give governments the right to make war? 

     Does God, in the Bible, give governments the right to make war?  Or is the use of military force in restraining, resisting and even punishing violence entrusted to human government?  Does government have a right to move in and restrain and resist and punish violence?

     Now, the answer to that leads us to a very simple, direct, Biblical theology of war.  Let me give you several points.  Point number one, the Lord forbids murder.  The Lord allows war.  That's true in Scripture.  All throughout Scripture, from that old Hebrew command, "You shall not kill," God forbids murder, the Hebrew word ratsach.  God forbids that.

     But the Lord does allow war.  Milchama is the Hebrew word.  God does not forbid war.  God even said, Proverbs 20 and verse 18, "Prepare plans by consultation and make war by wise guidance."  God never says that about murder.  He doesn't say, "Plan your murders well."  But He does say, "Plan your wars well."

     In Proverbs 24:6, He says, "For by wise guidance, you will wage war, and in abundance of counselors, there is victory."  Again, God says, "If you're going to go to war, make sure that you carefully assess it."

     In the New Testament, Jesus followed up by saying, "A man doesn't go to war unless he counts the cost," the assumption being there that there are times and seasons when war is a fitting thing.  As Ecclesiastes 3:8 says, "there is a time for peace and there is a time for war."

     Go to Hebrews 11 for just a moment, and I'm going to be moving rapidly this morning.  You're going to need to hold on as we will cover many fascinating truths.  In Hebrews 11:32, here we have the heroes of faith.  Here we have the hall of fame of the Old Testament.  The people who were the most decorated, the most spiritually heroic are given us in Hebrews 11. 

     And I want you to notice verse 32.  As the writer of Hebrews exalts the heroes of the faith, he says, "Time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David."  And you will note that those individuals were engaged in wars and battles.  "And also of Samuel and the prophets," and then he says this about them, "who by faith conquered kingdoms."  That indicates war. 

     "Performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight."  Here you have a list of warriors, a list of soldiers, who are the great heroes of the faith.  God identified those who fought in wars as heroes, and so God, while forbidding murder and forbidding personal vengeance, does not forbid war.

     Second point, the Lord instituted the death sentence and gave its power to government.  God knows and has set into human society from the very beginning that man will be dangerous and must be controlled, and the ultimate weapon of control is death.  And there are times when men, to be controlled, must be killed.  And, also, in order to demonstrate the sanctity and the sacredness of human life, one who sheds blood must shed his blood.

     In Genesis 9, we find this principle initially given.  Verse 6, "Whoever sheds man's blood," Genesis 9:6, "by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man."  Man is so significant, as made in the image of God, that if you take a man's life, your life must be taken.  Your life must be taken. 

     Not to do that is a sin.  Not to avenge the death by a death is to go against the Word of God.  Look at Numbers 35:33 for a rather graphic illustration of this.  Numbers 35:33, "So you shall not pollute the land in which you are."  Now, how could they pollute their land?  "For blood pollutes the land." 

     What do you mean?  When people are killed in your land, their blood pollutes it.  "And no expiation or no covering, no cleansing can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it except by the blood of him who shed it."  Very clear.  Your land will be polluted by blood until you take the life of the one who shed that blood in the first place. 

     God instituted a death sentence and gave the power of its execution to government, not to an individual avenger, but to the government.  Many Old Testament texts show that God enjoined His people to take action against an evil aggressor.  Many Old Testament passages, you remember, show how God commanded Israel to act as an instrument of judgment on an evil nation. 

     Sometimes it was in defense, as that nation came against Israel.  But other times God just said, "Go and destroy that nation because they are a bloodthirsty people.  Not only that, they are against God, they are idolatrous, they are adulterous, they are a malignancy on human society.  They need to be removed." 

     And Israel very often acted as the weapon of God's judgment against other nations, to enact a judgment which they deserved even as the prior generation deserved the flood which drowned them all.  And so Israel was used by God often as the executioner of the godless wicked who polluted the earth and threatened the good.  That was a common Old Testament picture.  God even promised to lead them into battle as a man of war, He called Himself, and their commander in chief. 

     You say, "Yes, we know about that in the Old Testament."  We know there were wars and that God commanded them and that God used Israel as a weapon of judgment and so forth in the Old Testament.  But some would say that the New Testament changes all of that.  And all the people who are pacifists will come and say that the New Testament calls for a complete different attitude, and there is no allowance or tolerance for war of any kind in the New Testament.

     But the New Testament does not say that.  And so we need to understand that the principle that the Lord has designed a death sentence and given the power of execution to the government is true in the New as it was in the Old.  Let me show you that very clearly. 

     Look at Matthew, chapter 26, Matthew, chapter 26, and verse 52.  Jesus in the Garden here, the soldiers are coming to take Him captive.  Peter pulls out the sword to defend Him.  Peter is taking upon himself personal vengeance, and he is going to murder the first guy in line, who happens to be the servant of the high priest.  Peter tries to cut off his head, he ducks and loses his ear, as you know.

     In verse 52, Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its place."  Put your sword away, Peter.  "For all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword."  Jesus is affirming a principle.  If you take a life, you give your life.  He is upholding that Old Testament standard.

     The New Testament never, ever lessens the standard of capital punishment for one who takes a life.  Jesus said, "Peter, if you take a life, you will give your life."  That is a divine principle, ordained by God, and Jesus would uphold it, and He did uphold it.

     In Acts, would you look at chapter 25 for a moment?  Toward the end of the book of Acts, we find the Apostle Paul is a prisoner in a situation not unlike that of our Lord in terms of being a prisoner of the Romans.  And in chapter 25 of Acts, the Apostle Paul is pleading for a hearing before Caesar.  In verse 10, Paul said, "I'm standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried.  Try me in a court before Caesar.  I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know," he says to Festus.

     But notice verse 11.  "If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die."  What a statement.  If I have committed a crime that is worthy of death, then give me death.  I deserve it.  And here the Apostle Paul upholds the authority's right to execute him.  They have the power of death.  It has been given them by God.

     You say, "Well, that's capital punishment.  That's in an individual case."  War is, in a sense, capital punishment extended to the level of the crime.  The greater the crime, the broader the crime, the more far-reaching the crime, the greater the execution threat that government should bring to bear upon it.

     But the New Testament never, ever speaks against war and being a soldier, either.  Let me show you.  Go back to Luke 3, Luke chapter 3.  This is a fascinating look at John the Baptist, who came and preached repentance.  He preached for people to turn from their sins and prepare their hearts by faith in God for the coming of Messiah.

     And when he was preaching, it says that "people believed on him," and verse 7 says, "Many were going out to be baptized."  It was a baptism of ceremonial outward cleansing to speak of the fact that they were saying in their hearts, "We want to be clean and we want to receive the Messiah, we want to repent of our sins."  And so he was baptizing them.

     In verse 8, he says, "You need to bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance."  Now, you need to demonstrate the reality of your repentance in your life.  Now, we want to know how.  Go to verse 10.  "And the multitudes were questioning him, saying, 'Then what shall we do?'