Seeking Justice and Practicing Self-Defense

How do you respond when people mistreat you?

What's your general way of responding?

Well, you know, the answer really depends on how we're mistreated.

As I'm going to point out as we go through this message this morning,

we live or we have been going through over the past several weeks now

Romans chapter 12.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

We've been studying that chapter of Scripture.

We've learned how God wants us to live in a right relationship with Him

and how He wants us to live in relationship with other people.

When we got to Romans chapter 12 verses 14 through 21,

Romans 12:14–21

we found that we are expected, called by God,

to do everything that we can to live peacefully with people.

Do everything that we can to avoid conflict, if possible.

I want you to note some examples.

We'll look at them quickly.

This is from Romans 12.

Bless those who persecute you.

Bless and do not curse them.

Repay no one evil for evil,

but give thought to do what is honorable or right in the sight of all.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Where in the world would Paul get something like that?

Well, he learned it from Jesus.

That's what Jesus taught.

As we looked at last week in Matthew chapter 5, verses 38 through 42.

Matthew 5:38–42

I want us to look at it quickly.

What Jesus said.

You have heard that it was said,

an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.

But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek,

turn to him the other also.

If anyone would sue you and take your tunic, your shirt,

let him have your cloak, your overcoat as well.

If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

Give to the one who begs from you,

and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Next week, we're going to look at Matthew chapter 5,

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 43, where Jesus told us to love our enemies.

Now, in light of all this,

in light of what we've just read,

we need to be thinking,

is God telling us we've got to give up

on the idea of justice in this world?

Is Paul and Jesus telling us

that a Christian could not serve in the military,

could not be a law enforcement officer,

are these verses,

are they actually saying

that we could never defend our families or ourself?

Well, the answer to all three questions is no.

That's not what's being said.

Christians may and we should seek justice.

We can and should defend our families

and even our own lives

when they're threatened under certain circumstances.

Christians may certainly serve in the military

or be law enforcement officers.

God not only allows,

but He expects us,

as we live in this world,

as Christians,

as faithful Christians,

He expects us to seek justice,

to protect our families,

even our own lives,

just make sure we do it in appropriate ways.

That's what we're going to be looking at

as we go through this message.

But first,

I want to do a little quick reminder from last week.

First of all,

God prohibits us from seeking revenge

or retaliating against our enemies.

If you weren't here last week,

I'd encourage you to go online

and listen to that message.

God prohibits us from seeking revenge

or retaliating against our enemies.

God expects us to treat people better

than they treat us.

And what He wants us to do

is learn to exercise restraint.

Don't just have a mindset,

whatever somebody does to me,

I'm going to do it back.

I'm going to do it worse.

I'm not going to get mad.

I'm going to get even,

as I said last week.

That's not how we are called to live as Christians

in our relationships with other people,

even our enemies.

That doesn't mean we've got to let the bad guys win.

That doesn't mean they're going to win

because they won't.

Paul stressed

that God will make sure

that the bad guys don't win.

That justice will prevail.

But what we've got to do

is learn to trust Him.

We've got to learn to trust

that God's going to make things right.

That's what Paul talks about

in Romans 12, verse 19.

Romans 12:19

He says,

Beloved, never avenge yourselves,

but leave it to the wrath of God.

For it is written,

Vengeance is mine,

I will repay,

says the Lord.

Here's what we need to understand.

There's a lot of bad in this world.

There's a lot of evil people in this world.

There's a lot of people who will hurt you,

who will hurt your family,

who will hurt this country,

who will hurt people.

And the idea is not

God's telling His people,

well, you don't worry about it.

Just let it go.

It'll be all right.

No.

Scripture's telling us,

among other things,

we need to learn to trust God

that He will make things right.

He will avenge His people.

We can trust Him.

And Paul said,

elaborated on this

in writing to the Thessalonians,

that church,

as they went through persecution,

going through a lot of mistreatment.

I want you to look at how he said to respond.

We looked at this a few weeks ago,

2 Thessalonians 1,

but I want us to look at it again,

what God is going to do.

He says,

God is just.

He will pay back trouble

to those who trouble you

and give relief to you

who are troubled

and to us as well.

This will happen

when the Lord Jesus

is revealed from heaven

in blazing fire

with His powerful angels.

He will punish those

who do not know God

and do not obey

the gospel of our Lord.

They will be punished

with everlasting destruction

and shut out

from the presence of the Lord

and from the glory of His might

on the day He comes

to be glorified

in His holy people

and to be marveled at

among all those

who have believed.

This includes you

because you believed

our testimony to you.

Does that sound like

Paul is thinking,

well, God's just going to let things go

and so should we.

Not at all.

Paul is assuring us

we can trust God

to make things right,

to settle scores,

to do what needs to be done

in the lives of evil people

who cause harm

to God's people

or to just people in general.

Paul personally trusted God

to do that

when someone harmed him

and what he was trying to do

in his ministry.

I want you to look at

2 Timothy chapter 4.

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

Look at it.

Listen to it.

Alexander the coppersmith

did me great harm.

The Lord will repay him

according to his deeds.

Beware of him yourself

for he strongly opposed

our message.

Paul doesn't sound like

a pacifist, does he?

Whoever this guy was,

Alexander the coppersmith,

he did Paul harm.

He interfered in what Paul was doing

and trying to preach

and teach the gospel.

Paul's mentality was,

yeah, I can't get revenge.

I'm not going to retaliate.

But I am going to trust God.

The Lord will repay him

according to his deeds.

And Paul took this guy

and his

trouble making seriously

and told Timothy

who he's writing to,

you watch out for him too.

See, Paul's not saying,

oh, I'll just let it go.

He said, this is a bad guy.

God's going to get him.

And Timothy,

you watch out for him.

Don't let him

cause trouble for you

if you can help it.

But he will if he can.

That's what Paul's saying to him.

Now this doesn't mean that,

doesn't mean that Paul didn't

pray for his salvation.

But at the same time,

Paul didn't have this

unrealistic understanding

of life and evil

and evil people.

He knew that people could be evil.

He knew that he was done wrong.

And he knew that

somewhere along the line,

God would settle the score.

God would make it right.

But in the meantime,

he warned Timothy,

his associate.

He warned him

about this guy.

He's a troublemaker.

Every New Testament writer

warns us

that Christians will experience

persecution in this world.

We have been blessed

in our country,

throughout the history

of our country,

where we have been able

to live out our faith,

attend, worship,

live like we want to live

as Christians,

and not be persecuted.

We've had the privilege,

historically,

of even having laws

that protect

all of these rights,

all of these privileges

to worship

and live out

the Christian life.

But in the big picture

of the history of the church,

most Christians

experience persecution.

Most Christians

suffer

for the mere fact

that they believe in Jesus

and seek to live

a Christian life.

We're warned

that's going to happen.

We're warned

to expect that.

But we're not supposed

to retaliate

or seek revenge

when it happens to us.

Instead,

we need to trust God

to deal with our enemies.

We have to trust God

to deal with our enemies

in His way

and at His time.

But one of the ways

that God works

to right wrongs

and bring about justice

in this world

is through human government.

That's the second thing

we're going to look at.

God provides

for our protection

through governmental authority.

Paul writes

in Romans chapter 13

Romans 13 · chapter mention

about this.

God has assigned

government

the responsibility

of providing justice

in our society.

Rewarding right

and punishing wrong behavior.

I want you to look with me

at verses 3 and 4

of Romans 13.

It's on the screen.

He says,

For rulers are not

a terror

to good conduct

but to bad.

Would you have no fear

of the one

who is in authority?

Then do what is good

and you will receive

His approval.

For He is God's servant

for your good.

But if you do wrong

be afraid

for He does not

bear the sword

in vain.

For He is the servant

of God

and avenger

who carries out

God's wrath

on the wrongdoer.

Paul is telling us here

that governmental authorities

are God's servants

to the world

to ensure that justice

take place.

Right now,

think about it this way.

our elected leaders,

judges,

law enforcement officers.

They are unconsciously

and imperfectly

serving God's purpose

of administering justice.

Right now,

for our benefit.

Paul is emphasizing

the authority

of government here

to punish lawbreakers.

even to the point

of administering

deadly force,

including the death penalty

when needed.

I want you to note

in verse 4

the phrase,

bear the sword.

For He does not

bear the sword

in vain.

When Paul says

that the government

is authorized

to bear the sword,

he means that

the government

has been given

authority by God

to use the sword

for the purpose

that people used

swords for

in the first century,

which was to put

people to death,

which was to

protect themselves.

This would apply

to the government

having authority

to wage war,

to carry out

capital punishment,

and to use

lethal force

when necessary

in enforcing laws.

Our government

has the God-given

right and authority

to wage war

against terrorism.

Our government

has the God-given

authority

to be engaged

in the fight

against ISIS

right now.

If you read

the front page

of this week's

newsletter,

I put an article

in there by

Russell Moore

from the Ethics

and Religious

Liberty Commission

of the Southern

Baptist Convention.

He talks about

how there is

no contradiction

for us praying

for our enemies

that they might

come to know Christ,

but also

when they're acting

as our enemies,

like ISIS is,

for example.

It's not wrong

to kill them,

to inflict

major force

firepower

to take them out,

to destroy

their lives

if possible.

That is God's

way

of enabling

civilization

to

experience

the most peace,

for justice

to prevail,

for properly

authorized

force

to be

inflicted

on evil

doers

of whatever

strife.

Paul

emphasized

that God

intends for

government

to be his

instrument

of justice

to make

things right

in this world.

Now I want to

reiterate,

we are not

to seek vengeance

for personal

offenses.

Look again,

verse 19,

beloved,

never avenge

yourselves,

but leave it

to the wrath

of God,

for it is

written,

vengeance

is mine,

I will

repay,

says the

Lord.

Instead,

as a general

rule,

we are to

look to the

government

to provide

police

and a

court system

in order

to do this.

Look at

verse 4,

for he is

the servant

of God,

that is,

he's embodying

government,

personifying

government here

as he writes,

for he is the

servant of God,

an avenger

who carries

out God's

wrath on

the wrongdoer.

This is the

general way

that we're

supposed to

seek justice

in the world.

The police

and judges

are called

by God,

put in place

by God

to be the

good guys

of society

who enforce

laws,

who

administrate

justice.

Therefore,

it's not only

acceptable,

but it's

ideal for

Christians to

fill these

roles.

It's good

when a

Christian serves

as a police

officer,

when they're

in the

military,

when they're

serving in

some way

in our

court and

legal system.

They're the

best ones to

administer God's

justice.

And we need to

respect everyone

who serves in

these roles,

everyone who

serves in

these offices,

by virtue of

what they're

doing,

God's agent,

God's servant.

We should

respect the

office.

We should

respect them.

We as a

society,

and especially

here in our

country,

we need to

hold all

governmental

officials to

a high

standard.

We need to

hold them

accountable.

We need to

have the

expectation that

they're going

to do what

they do in a

fair and

impartial kind

of way.

That's the

only way you

can have

justice,

isn't it?

But no

matter how

many law

enforcement

officers we

have, they

can't be

everywhere.

So sometimes

we, as

private citizens,

sometimes we're

faced with

situations where

our lives or

our health is

threatened.

Our families

are threatened,

and there's no

time to call the

police.

what are we

to do then as

Christians?

That's the third

point.

God allows us to

protect ourselves

and others we

are responsible

for or have an

opportunity to

protect.

We are not to

be pacifists in

this world who

just sort of stand

by and whatever

happens to us

happens to us.

It is not wrong.

It is not sinful.

It is not contrary

to Scripture for us

to defend

ourselves and

look to the

resources God

gives, provides

to defend us.

First, we can

look to God to

help us to

defend ourselves.

Jesus promised

this kind of

help to His

disciples when

they experienced

persecution.

Look at it in

Luke chapter 11.

Luke 11 · chapter mention

Jesus said,

And when they

bring you before

the synagogues

and the rulers

and the authorities,

do not be anxious

about how you

should defend

yourself or what

you should say

for the Holy

Spirit will teach

you in that very

hour what you

ought to say.

Jesus is talking

about here religious

persecution.

He's talking about

when His disciples

are brought up

before the courts,

before the magistrates,

before whoever,

because they're

preaching and teaching

about Him.

And we read that

in the book of Acts.

And Jesus is saying

when that happens,

you can defend

yourself and you

can depend upon the

Spirit of God

who lives within

you to equip you

to know how to

defend yourself

in those kind of

situations.

Number two,

we can use the

legal system

to defend ourselves.

Paul did this

on several occasions.

As you read about

his life and ministry

in the book of Acts,

you'll find

there are times

when the situation

was such

that he exerted

his rights

as a Roman citizen

to avoid

punishment,

to avoid being

beaten,

to avoid death

even.

You see it on the

screen, Acts chapter

Acts 16 · chapter mention

16 and Acts chapter

Acts 25 · chapter mention

25.

In Acts chapter 16,

Acts 16 · chapter mention

Paul was improperly

imprisoned.

He was a Roman

citizen.

And to make a long

story short,

Paul required

the citizens

of that country,

the officials,

the magistrates,

it says,

the magistrates

of Philippi

who had improperly

imprisoned him,

when they heard

about it,

they were going to

just let him go

and hope he'd just

go off quietly.

Paul said,

no,

they've got to come

and let me out.

He made a big

deal about it,

big to do about it

because he was a

Roman citizen

and they had violated

his rights.

And then in Acts

Acts 25 · chapter mention

chapter 25,

Paul's life is being

threatened.

If he stays where

he is,

he's probably going

to be assassinated.

There's a plot

to assassinate him.

The only way

that he sees

to get out of that

is to appeal

to Caesar

as a Roman citizen

and he does that.

That enables him

to be protected

and taken to Rome

where he'll stand trial

before Caesar himself.

We can use

the legal system

to defend ourselves.

That's not wrong.

That's not

not trusting God.

use the system

to demand justice,

to protect yourself

and your family,

your home.

We have biblical precedent

to do that.

Number three,

we can use lethal weapons

to defend ourselves.

Peter did

and so did

some of the other disciples.

Look with me

at Luke chapter 22

Luke 22:35

verse 35 and 6.

Jesus said to them,

when I sent you out

with no money bag

or knapsack

or sandals,

did you lack anything?

They said,

nothing.

Prior to the end,

near the end

of Jesus' ministry,

he sent his disciples

out to preach

and teach

and they were

so well received

at that time,

people took care of them.

people provide them

with a place to stay,

food to eat.

But now,

public opinion

has turned.

Jesus is about

to be arrested

and crucified.

It's a different world.

And so look

what he says.

He said to them,

but now,

let the one

who has

a money bag

take it

and likewise

a knapsack.

Let the one

who has no sword

sell his cloak

and buy one.

There's a lot

of controversy

among New Testament

scholars over

was Jesus

literally talking

about telling

his disciples

to go out

and buy a sword

or is he just

using that

as just sort

of a figure

of speech

to prepare

yourself

for coming

opposition.

The truth is,

it doesn't matter.

Look at what

Jesus said.

He used

a money bag,

a knapsack,

and a sword

in positive

ways

to describe

how they

needed to

prepare themselves

for the future

and how people

were going to

persecute them

and oppose them.

Jesus had no

problem using

that sword

along those

other items

in a positive

way.

Peter not only

kept the sword

on his side,

but Peter

used his sword

on one occasion.

Look at it.

And when those

who were around

him saw

what would

follow,

they said,

Lord,

shall we

strike with

the sword?

And one

of them

struck the

servant

of the

high priest

and cut

off his

right ear.

That was

Peter.

Other

gospels

tell that

same story.

They tell

more details.

That was

Peter.

But Peter

was wrong

to do that.

Peter

should not

have used

his sword

like that

on that

occasion.

Jesus

rebuked

him.

Jesus

restored

that

man's

ear.

See,

it was

God's

plan.

This

was the

time

when Jesus

was going

to be

arrested,

when he

was going

to be

condemned

and executed.

This

was God's

plan for

when Jesus

would die

on the

cross

in order

to save

us,

provide for

our salvation.

And so

it was not

going to be

stopped.

But the

point I

want to

make is,

I want you

to listen

to this.

Jesus did

not prohibit

his disciples

from carrying

swords.

And the

only reason

people would

carry the

sword was

for self-defense.

See, the

disciples were

with Jesus

for three

years.

He taught

them about

all the

things they

need to be

and do

as his

followers,

but he

never taught

them you

can't carry

a sword.

He never

taught them

to be

pacifists.

He never

taught them

they couldn't

be armed.

In today's

terms, he

would not

have prohibited

them from

having a

concealed

weapons

permit.

They didn't

need one

back then.

They carried

for self-defense.

Jesus never

said a word.

He even

spoke about

swords in a

positive way.

I really

believe that

what Jesus

and Paul

taught about

loving our

enemies and

overcoming evil

with good

was usually

directed at

people who

were persecuting

Christians.

They weren't

describing how

to deal with

evil people

who were out

to kill,

rape,

rob,

or terrorize

whoever crossed

their path.

Theologian

John Frame,

very respected

theologian,

writes a lot

about ethics.

He points out

this distinction.

Look at what

he says.

He says,

what Jesus

prohibits in

Matthew 5,

38-42,

is not

self-defense,

but vengeance.

Jesus was

talking about

our response

to an insult,

a lawsuit,

forced labor,

and a request

for a loan.

If someone

seeks to kill

you or a

family member

and there's no

help available,

it is right

for you to

ward off

the attack

by force

if necessary.

Individuals

may sometimes

fight or

even kill

to preserve

a life,

but they

should not

use more

force than

is necessary

in a given

situation.

Two other

respected theologians,

Norman Geisler

and J.P.

Moreland.

Geisler has

written a lot

about ethics

as well.

They're more

forceful in

emphasizing the

importance,

even the

necessity

of Christians

sometimes

using force

to stop

evil.

Look at what

they say.

To prevent

murder

when one

could have

prevented it

is morally

wrong.

To allow

a rape

when one

could have

hindered it

is an

evil.

To watch

an act

of cruelty

to children

without trying

to intervene

is morally

inexcusable.

In brief,

not resisting

evil is an

evil of

omission.

And an

evil of

omission can

be just as

evil as an

evil of

commission.

Any man

who refuses

to protect

his wife

and children

against a

violent

intruder

fails them

morally.

We,

as Christians,

we have

the moral

obligation

to oppose

evil

that we

can't

oppose,

intervene,

help

someone,

prevent the

act from

taking place.

We have a

moral

responsibility

to do

that.

If that

includes

using

lethal

force,

then so

be it.

You know,

today,

one of the

ways our

government

has chosen

to protect

us as

citizens

in addition

to law

enforcement

is to

allow

citizens

to own

and carry

guns.

Now,

I want to be

real fair

here.

Every Christian

does not agree

with this,

but a

logical

application

of what

Paul says

in Romans

Romans 13:1–4

chapter 13

verses 1

through 4

is that

owning and

carrying

guns

is a

morally

and legally

acceptable

option

for

Christians.

I've

always

believed

that.

I have

always

practiced

that

my

entire

life.

Now,

I know

accidents

happen.

Guns are

dangerous.

So are

automobiles.

So are

drugs.

So are

knives.

You've

got to be

very,

very,

very careful

if you own

a gun,

if you carry

a gun.

You don't get

second chances

a lot of

times when

accidents

happen with

them.

That is a

fact.

The fact

that some

people use

guns to

commit sinful

acts does

not mean that

guns are the

problem in

this country.

The problem

in this country

is sin.

the problem

in this

country is

that sinful

people do

sinful

things.

The truth

is since

the beginning

of humanity

people have

been killing

one another

with and

without weapons.

From a

biblical

perspective,

the ownership

of guns for

protection,

that's your

option.

That's a

personal choice

you can make.

do what you

think is

right for

you.

Act on

conviction.

If you

think you

shouldn't have

a gun as a

Christian,

then you

shouldn't have

one.

You're not

acting in

faith.

If you

violate your

conscience on

that, that

in itself is

an act of

sin, James

tells us.

But I also

want you to

understand there

is absolutely

nothing unspiritual

or sinful

about owning

a gun

and if

necessary,

using it.

That should

be under

very few

extreme

circumstances.

But gun

or no gun,

it is morally

right to defend

other people,

to defend

yourself against

the actions of

evil people,

to refuse

to intervene

against a

would-be

murderer,

rapist,

or other

violent

attacker is

a morally

evil act

of omission.

I'll just be

real honest

with you,

I can't

understand a

pacifist who

would not

intervene to

save or

protect the

life of one

of his

loved ones.

To me,

it is contrary

to the way

God made us

as human

beings.

We are

called by

God to

be peaceful

people.

To not

have this

attitude,

I don't

take nothing

off nobody.

That's wrong.

We're

called by

God to

not be

vengeful,

to not

retaliate,

to not

always be

trying to

pay somebody

back.

Our goal

needs to

be that

we avoid

violence

when possible.

That we

try to find

ways to

overcome evil

with good.

That is our

calling as

Christians.

That's what I

want you to

remember as we

leave here today.

If we're going to

be known for

just one thing,

we don't need to

be known for

the guns we

have and the

way we conceal

them and all

that kind of

stuff.

We're going to

be known for

one thing.

Jesus said we

need to be

known for our

love for one

another.

And we need to

learn to do the

loving thing.

And sometimes that

may be to protect

someone.

To resort to

lethal means to

protect someone.

one.

But that will be a

rare case and

never happen in

most of our

lives.

So let's learn to

act in love,

even loving our

enemies.

Let's pray

together.

Dear God,

show us now how

we should respond

to you and your

message this

morning.

Father, help us

all to

understand that

we're not to

be spiteful,

vengeful,

unforgiving

people.

But help us to

see, Father, that

you do hold

high justice in

what is right and

opposing evil.

Help us just to

be able to do it

the right way.

Help us to trust

you.

Help us to look

to government

authority in a

positive way and

use that, rely

upon that.

Help us, Father,

to pray that there

won't ever be a

time that we have

to use deadly

force.

in protecting

someone.

But dear God,

help us to not

be inactive,

passive in the

face of evil.

Help us to act

where we need to

act.

Help us not to be

guilty of that sin

of omission.

And just in an

attitude of prayer,

let's listen to the

Lord and respond to

Him.

I'd be happy to pray

with you here at the

front.

If you want to

come during this

time.

I'd be happy to

pray with you now.

Let's pray with you now.

Let's pray with you now.

Let's pray with you now.

Let's pray with you now.