"Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoplesunder me."
Psalms 144:1-2 NIV
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
1 Samuel 17:45-47 NIV
These are the words of David, the son of Jesse, the 2nd king of Israel. He wrote about physical battle with spiritual assumptions and implications, battle in the natural and the supernatural. He was a desendent of Judah, son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Abraham once rescued his family who had been kidnapped. He took "trained men" who worked for him and went against kings victoriously. A priest met him and blessed him as one blessed by God with victory and governing authority.
Self defense is about governing authority.
Abraham was the head of his house, of his clan, of his tribe, if you will. There weren't badges or police cars or sirens for this shepherd. There were kings and armies. There were heads of families. These were the governing authorities, which come from God and are appointed by God, as it is written in the 13th chapter of Romans,
"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer."
Peter gives a similar command in his first letter of scripture, and adds that governing authorities reward good and punish evil.
But again, let's examine the concept of governing authority, and apply this concept to self-defense, to the individual mandate to defend the body from criminality or an enemy.
Paul already established that God is the source of governing authority, and the Lord Jesus Himself said that God gave Him all authority in heaven and on earth. What are the boundaries of human authority? And how do these relate to self-defense?
When we think of "governing authority," or "law enforcement" as we would call it today, we take for granted their official establishment. We forget the old days, the "wild wild west," if you will, where there were outlaws a plenty, and the "sheriff" was a lone man with a star on his shirt, with maybe a few deputies, and a small jail cell. Who was this sheriff, really, and who were his deputies? (I'm using the "wild west" as an illustration. For those unfamiliar with westerns or this period in American history, stay with me, I'll make this plain.)
The police are just people, men and women trained and evaluated as law abiding and sane citizens. Their uniforms, badges, and guns have no power beyond our comprehension of their representation and divine origin. Before these uniforms and badges, there was still governing authority, or law enforcement, if you will. Families knew that those who sought to oppress or overtake them had to be resisted. INDIVIDUALS who traveled knew the same, which is why most avoided traveling alone.
In other words, it is assumed that our physical lives come from God, and that He alone possesses the right to take them. Yet He "shares" this right with humanity, in the name of governing authority, when there is a violent violation against the human life and human body, as it is written,
“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed;for in the image of God
has God made man." Genesis 9:6
Man, made in God's image, becomes God's representative: a governing authority, sometimes individually, sometimes collectively. In other words, God made me in His image and likeness, so to attack my body is an assault on the image of God.
Who was God speaking to after the flood? Eight "souls." Noah and his wife, his three sons and their wives. Now. Who would be shedding the blood of murderers? One of these eight. No badges, no guns, no police cars.
I think we get caught up in our day and age, and forget how they did it "back in the day." We forget the "old school."
In other words, justice came from mere men and women, authorized by God Himself. Self-defense is encompassed in this.
"Turning the other cheek," and "loving our enemies" never negates the governing authority of self-defense. When Jesus commanded to turn the other cheek, He spoke of a well understood personal insult of his day (and today as well.) The point is not to seek revenge or retaliation, but reconciliation. Now notice SOMETHING ELSE He taught and demonstrated. He told His disciples to confront those who sin against them, first alone, then with two witnesses, then before the church. If the sinner refused to repent, then there was to be separation, because the sinner refused to repent and refused reconciliation.
This would definitely include being struck on the cheek. In fact, when Jesus Himself was struck in His mock trial, He said, "If I've done wrong, tell me what I've done, otherwise, why did you strike me." He didn't just "take it."
Yet this is not dealing with someone trying to cause you grave bodily harm or death. It is merely a personal insult. One that is not to be allowed to continue.
We see Abraham defending and taking back his family when they were kidnapped. We see David and his mighty men doing the same when their wives and families were taken. These incidents are examples of self-defense....God backed self-defense at that.
Paul instructs the Ephesians to take up the "whole armor of God." If we can defend ourselve spiritually, why not physically? If spiritual armor is given by God Himself, why not physical? Does He care less about our bodies than our spirits? God forbid. This is heresy, the hatred of the body and elevation of the spirit over it. The resurrection shuts down this lie once and for all. God is for the body, and the body is for the Lord, according to Paul. It is indeed the very temple of the Holy Spirit. Those who attempt to destroy it will themselves be destroyed, according to Paul.
Of course, as Jesus said, "those who live by the sword will die by the sword." We are not to be lovers of violence, because God Himself hates violence, and blessed are the peace makers, those called children of God. Yet Jesus also said, "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." So though we do not live by bread alone, WE STILL NEED BREAD. We don 't live by or for bread alone, but we legitimately need it, and are told by Jesus to pray for it daily.
In the same way, though we are not to live by the sword or by bread, WE NEED BOTH, AND GOD GIVES BOTH. In Romans 13, the sword of the governing authority (our modern day gun, if you will) is given by God, and the authorities are known as God's avengers.
We usually don't have as much of a problem with police officers having guns. But what about citizens possessing weapons? Sure, God gives the sword to governing authorities, but does He give the sword to citizens? Because God says submit to the governing authorites, if the governing authorites allow citizens weapons, then God allows weapons to citizens. In Rome, citizens possessed swords. The apostles themselves had two swords, and Jesus said "it was enough." Now He didn't want Peter to defend Him with a sword, which leads us to an exception in self-defense.
It most be noted and thoroughly understood that Jesus EVADED death from the beginning of His ministry until His crucifixion. In fact, his first recorded sermon in Luke resulted in an attempt on His life. Note again, His evasion of death IS SELF-DEFENSE!! In fact, it is self-defense in its purest form. Many think of martial arts, weapons, and fighting when they think of self-defense. But in truth, awareness and avoidance of dangerous places and dangerous people is the essence of self-defense. Danger avoided is the truest skill. Avoiding a confrontation is wisdom and strength, as it is written, "It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. Proverbs 20:3"
Many "cool" martial arts proverbs communicate the same things Solomon said.
However, when it came time for Jesus to die for our sins, He refused to resist the Father's will. We see the same with Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, as well as the apostles when the governing authorities commanded them to cease preaching the gospel, and they disobeyed. They accepted the consequences of their civil disobedience, and did not resist death. In fact, based upon the context of Jesus' words, it may very well be that "turning the other cheek" primarily applied to governing authorities punishing civil disobedience. Nevertheless, even if turning the other cheek focused on personal offenses, the point remains: if a believer is commanded by governing authorities to stop preaching the gospel or making disciples, believers are to respectfully disobey, and accept the consequences without physical resistance.
YET UNDERSTAND THIS:
UNLESS ONE KNOWS IT IS GOD'S WILL FOR ONE TO SUFFER OR DIE, ONE SHOULD RESIST PHYSICAL AS WELL AS SPIRITUAL SUFFERING!
"For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God."
"Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”
"It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil." These are the words of the Apostle Peter, as he neared his own death for the cause of Christ.
If, and only if, it is God's will, suffer for doing good, for the name and fame of Christ.
Otherwise, EVADE DEATH!
Otherwise, resist death as an enemy!!
Otherwise, assume your GOVERNING AUTHORITY OVER YOUR BODY!!!
LIBERTY!!!
NOW THE LORD IS THE SPIRIT!! (NOT THE CRIMINAL.)
WHERE THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS, THERE IS LIBERTY.
IF YOU BELIEVE IN CHRIST, THE SPIRIT IS IN YOUR BODY.
THEREFORE, IN YOUR BODY DWELLS THE LORD OF LIBERTY!!
LIBERTY FOR YOUR BODY!!
LIBERTY FOR GOD'S GLORY!!
