In Part or Full?
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| Moon over the Koolau's 2014 |
My ‘ohana fought under the
American flag in Guadalcanal, North Korea, and Vietnam. They served in the Army,
Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. During that time, “the draft” was law, and
conscientious objectors either found refuge in another country, or were thrown
in jail. Christians at that time claimed they could not break God’s
commandment, which is “Thou shalt not kill”. This is an “in part”
understanding.
God sanctioned war in the Old
Testament. The “full” part is that in the New Testament, God gave us a
covering: “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is
no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by
God” (Rom.
13: 1, 2). We can refuse to like our “governing authorities” which God has
placed over us; but we should not refuse to submit to them! As such, in times
of war, obedience to God’s authorities will cover us from God’s consequences!
However, Christians who
refuse to submit to “governing authorities” that “are appointed by God”, have
also refused to submit to God’s word. Thus, they are deceivers of themselves
(James 1:22). Over time, God will send strong delusion to these unbelieving
believers for preferring their own righteousness over the truth of God’s word
(2 Thess. 2:11; Isaiah 66:4).
By the way, when ungodly
governing authorities are in power, they do not stay in power forever.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. © 1982 by
Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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