Scripture for Today, 10-14-19: God Approves Self Defense

​God’s View of Christian’s Self Defense
“Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. V19 Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”

 Psalm 82:4; 1 Corinthians 6:19
 
10-14-19, Is it right to employ lethal force to protect the life of yourself and others or is it right to take measures that might kill an attacker who is wrongfully threatening your life or the life of another? Yes, but self-defense is not:

• about taking vengeance
• about punishing criminals
• about wartime

Americans live in a country with approximately 250 million guns and approximately 300 million people. It’s estimated that law abiding citizens defend themselves using guns approximately one million to two million times a year and many millions have legal permit to carry a concealed handgun.
 
Based on God's word precepts; we have a Biblical obligation to preserve life. Our bodies belong to God we are His property and so we are not permitted to treat or destroy them as we please. Not only are we to take care of our bodies and the life contained; we have an obligation to preserve the body and life of others. [Ezekiel 33:6; Psalm 82:4] If you know danger is coming to others, and you deliberately fail to warn the others of the danger, you are guilty of harming the victims. This is not to say that you can make people heed your warning; but we are responsible if we do not warn them. If someone breaks into our home at night and we kill him, we are not held guilty of murder.  [Exodus 22:2-3]
 
When the Israelites were sent back from captivity to rebuild Jerusalem, they were rebuilding their lives with the sanction of the civil ruler, King Artaxerxes. This was not a wartime scenario; it was closer to a racial integration scenario where racists wanted to kill them. They were justified to defend themselves. [Nehemiah 4:8-9, 10-23] They carried their weapons with them, as many people legally carry weapons with them today, for the purpose of self-protection. [Nehemiah 4:17] Those who were rebuilding the Jerusalem wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon.
 
In the book of Esther we have a historical example arranged by Divine Providence when the Jews are under threat of racial violence. The civil authority, King Ahasuerus, granted them legal permission to use lethal force in self-defense. [Esther 8:11-12, 9:1-5] We see that given legal sanction to "protect their lives," they used the "sword." (Exther 8:5, 11)
 
Many may be thinking this is only relegated to Old Testament principles. Not so … the Lord Jesus told His apostles to buy a sword. [Luke 22:35-39] Jesus expected them to have swords and anticipated a time when those without swords would need to acquire them for protection. It is difficult to make absolute claims beyond these observations, but the observations themselves have significance. Namely, among those closest to Jesus, some carried personal weapons in His presence with His consent.  However, in ‘The Garden of Gethsemane’ [Luke 22:49-53; Matthew 26:51-56; John 18:10-11] Jesus is saying [paraphrase], "Though we have a right to employ our swords in defense of this unrighteous arrest, we are intentionally putting aside our lawful right, and I am allowing Myself to be taken without resistance."
 
Why Christ tells Peter to put up the sword: Christ is willingly laying down His life to save mankind of their sin. Although He had the right to use sword and angelic legions to deliver Himself from this unjust arrest (Luke 22:51, John 18:11) He did not. 

Possession of weapons and skills with weapons a good and useful thing when used as God has prescribed. We must beware of improperly resorting to the sword understanding the narrow limitations for when it is proper to employ lethal force. It is never to be in hatred, never in revenge, never in jealously.
 
Believers should be conscious that personal self-defense weapons are legitimatized by the Scriptures, just as the use of any other tool such as cooking, carpentry, electronics, plumbing, etc. Though heavenly beings do battle and render judgments with the sword, in the perfection pictured in both the garden of Eden [Genesis 3:22-24] and in the Heavenly city [Revelation 21:1-2, 3-8], all who honor and worship almighty God know our primary activities are fellowship with the Lord, other believers and living in peace.
 
God said, “If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman's hand."
Ezekiel 33:6
 
*Excerpted and adapted full original report here https://www.biblicalselfdefense.com/