Q&A: What are your views on pacifism?

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="129a11c3.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to the Heart4God Website!"><U><B><IMG SRC="4b55a500.png" border=0 width="90" height="80" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin"><U><B>Writings by Date</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id212.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin Organized "><U><B>Writings by Topic</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm"><U><B>Audio Files</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id690.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Videos"><U><B>Videos</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id323.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writings of Others"><U><B>Other Authors</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id324.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id339.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Questions and Answers"><U><B>Q&A</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id328.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Heart4God Email List"><U><B>Heart4God E-mail List</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com"><U><B>Parables Blog</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id306.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="File Downloads"><U><B><IMG SRC="2b264140.png" border=0 width="100" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <B>Q&A: What are your views on pacifism?</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="c2827160.png" border=0 width="807" height="22" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Dear R., </div> <bR> <div> Continuing on, I will answer your other questions. You wrote: </div> <bR> <div> Q3) What are your views on pacifism (I know that this is a key doctrine of the Anabaptists/Mennonites).</div> <bR> <div>  I am still sorting through my own beliefs on this matter, and I will share with you my observations so far. When John the Baptist encountered soldiers coming to him, we read, </div> <bR> <div> Luke 3:14<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages." </div> <bR> <div> I have noted here that John did not tell the soldiers to leave their occupation. He merely told them not to use their position to oppress others for personal gain. Yahshua also is never recorded to have condemned those who served as soldiers. What I see is this: In this world there are those who belong to the kingdom of God, and there are the kingdoms of this world. We have no doubt that the kingdom of God has been established by God and everything is subject to Him in this kingdom. At this point the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world are separate, yet they will not always remain in this state. </div> <bR> <div> Revelation 11:15<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever."</div> <bR> <div> We do not currently see these kingdoms joined, but that does not mean that the kingdoms of this world are without true authority from God. The Scripture tells us just the opposite: </div> <bR> <div> Romans 13:1-7</div> <div> 1 Every person is to 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 whoever 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 on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. </div> <bR> <div> The governments of this world do derive their authority from God, and as He does with all men, God is able to raise up those whom He desires, and bring down those whom He desires. We read where He raised up even those whom we consider ungodly in order to accomplish His will. </div> <bR> <div> Daniel 2:20-21<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> Daniel said, "Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings."</div> <bR> <div> The Scriptures testify that He raised up Pharaoh who was afflicting His chosen people. </div> <bR> <div> Romans 9:17</div> <div> For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth."</div> <bR> <div> He also raised up King Nebuchadnezzar who was used to destroy Jerusalem, </div> <bR> <div> Daniel 4:34-37<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> 34 "But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. 35 "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, "What have You done?' 36 "At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. 37 "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride." </div> <bR> <div> In Romans 13 above we read about these governments, "for it does not bear the sword for nothing". It is God that has given the sword to governments, and Paul goes on to call these governments "ministers of God". This does not mean that all they do is blessed by God, for they will have to give an account of how they discharged their ministry, and how they used the sword. In this I believe we can discern that military power is a lawful function of government given by God to the nations. We would be wrong to condemn military power in this age, and we would be wrong to condemn those who serve in these militaries. The day has not yet come when God will put away this authority, but it will come. </div> <bR> <div> Isaiah 2:4<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.</div> <bR> <div> Micah 4:3</div> <div> And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.</div> <bR> <div> We must always discern what age we are in that we might make righteous judgments concerning our particular time. At this time God has still given authority to the nations to wage war and to bear the sword and therefore military service is not to be condemned. </div> <bR> <div> Having said this, I will now look at another side of this matter. There have been those in the current church age who have erred grievously by seeking to merge the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world before the appointed time. Calvin did this when he set up a government in Switzerland and tried to establish the kingdom of God through the institutions of human government. This resulted in many abominations, including burning at the stake those true saints of God who disagreed with the doctrines of Calvin. The Catholic Church also has a long history of trying to mix the kingdom of God with the kingdoms of this world, and she has raised armies and she has the worst possible record of abominable violations for which she will be judged. No entity has so resisted the true kingdom of God more than the Catholic Church, and the blood of millions of saints is on her hands. </div> <bR> <div> Some to this day are still seeking to mix the kingdom of God with the kingdoms of men, but this is error. Recently I wrote, </div> <bR> <div> In this day where conflicts are raging throughout the world, some are even saying things that advocate the ushering in of the Kingdom of God through physical conflict. Some well known church leaders have made statements that have declared that God needs America, or Britain, or some other nations to stand up against the Satanic forces of this world and to bring forth the desire of God to establish a world ruled by justice, and righteousness. Such sentiments are encouraged by the image of President George W. Bush being a Christian man who is waging a war against evil. The original name he gave to his war on terrorism was "Ultimate Justice", and indeed, there are multitudes of saints who believe that the justice of the Kingdom of God will be established through force of arms as righteous people take a militant stand against the evil despots of the world. These have have forgotten the words of Christ: </div> <bR> <div> John 18:36-37</div> <div> Yahshua answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Yahshua answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."</div> <bR> <div> Yes, Yahshua is a King and He has a Kingdom, but His Kingdom is not of this world, nor will it be ushered in through the carnal means that the rulers of this world employ to establish their authority. Tanks and guns and bombs will not be the instruments used to establish the Kingdom of God.</div> <bR> <div> So we should not confuse the kingdom of God with the kingdoms of this world. We should not pick up the sword in the name of Christ and the church. </div> <bR> <div> II Corinthians 10:3-6<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. </div> <bR> <div> What should we conclude then when asked whether a Christian should join the military? I am mindful of Paul's words to Timothy: </div> <bR> <div> II Timothy 2:4<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. </div> <bR> <div> Paul here is speaking about saints in active service to Christ, those who are ministers. He tells them to avoid worldly entanglements for they have a higher service and calling. I personally believe it would be wrong for me to enter military service for God would have me to be free to serve him. However, I do not feel confident that God has placed this same restriction upon every saint. The Spirit may well lead some, even many, into military service. I see no justification to condemn such a one if they are fully persuaded in their spirit that this is the will of God for them. Yet I think some would do better to not choose this course. My advice would fall along the lines of Paul's advice to those who are considering being married. </div> <bR> <div> I Corinthians 7:26-28<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. </div> <bR> <div> Paul gives his opinion that one decision is better than another, but one has not sinned for choosing the other way. This is where I presently stand in my convictions on this matter of military service. I think that many saints would do better to not become entangled in this way with the kingdoms of this world, yet I do not say that they have sinned if they choose this path, unless the Spirit has given them specific prohibitions in this matter. This is the light I have been given at this time. </div> <bR> <div> May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days, </div> <bR> <div> Joseph </div> <bR> <div> E-mail: </div> <div> website: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Georgia" ><A HREF="http://heart4god.ws" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://heart4god.ws"><U><U>http://heart4god.ws</U></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>