Should Christians be pacifists?

Should Christians be pacifists? This is a pertinent question for a believer. It was Christ, after all, who commanded us to "turn the other cheek" (Mat 5:39), "love your neighbor" (Mark 12:31), and "love your enemies" (Mat 5:44). Some have taken this to the extremes, becoming pacifists. They eschew any forms of violence, whether that be wars or self-defense, even to the point of martyrdom. I, however, will take a different perspective.

Firstly, we should emulate Christ in how we treat one another on an interpersonal level. We are commanded to love our enemies, but that doesn't infer that we should let them do us harm. Many Christians have been martyred as a result of following Christ, and they will be held in high esteem by God, but it was never a commandment for us to be martyred. God put a survival instinct into every living creature for a reason. Even the most docile animal will fight back if it is cornered and threatened. Thus, I believe the use of self-defense with force is justifiable.

Self-defense can take on many different forms, with the taking of a life on the extreme end of the spectrum. Obviously, taking a life to protect oneself or to protect others is the absolute last resort and should be reserved when there is no other recourse. I would also distinguish between killing and murder. Murder always involves killing, but killing doesn't always involve murder. The difference is intent. Murder involves malice and ill will; self-defense does not. One violates the sixth commandment; the other does not. This will be more evident as we continue.

Christ's command to love your enemies is directed to the individual, but war between nations is a different matter altogether. In the Old Testament, God did not condemn war and often condoned it. He used the Israelites as a form of judgment against the Canaanites. In Judges 6, God used Gideon to fight the Midianites. He was with David when he went into battle, giving him great success. There are plenty of other examples that could be given.

This leads into the idea of just wars. This concept is often attributed to Saint Augustine, but the theological support for such a concept can be made from Scripture alone. By "just wars," I mean wars that are primarily defensive in nature, although it can sometimes be offensive to thwart evil. World War 2 is a prime example of a just war, as it was defensive in nature, and there was a clear distinction between good and evil. That kind of evil could only be stopped by force. It wasn't violence for violence's sake. It served a very specific purpose.

War was never God's plan for humanity, but this is the fallen world we find ourselves in. God understands that, which is why war is sometimes unavoidable if not necessary. In the Book of Ecclesiastes 3:8, Solomon affirms there is "a time for war and a time for peace." Even the angels war in the heavens. In Revelation 12:7-8, Michael the archangel and his angels are depicted fighting a war with the dragon and his fallen angels. So, clearly, God is not anti-war.

While it's true that God is love, He is also a judge. He creates, and He can destroy. Isaiah 45:7 says, "I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil; I, the Lord, do all these things." There are, in fact, different facets to His character, although some people only want to focus on one side.

Jesus also has different sides to His character. He first came as a sacrificial lamb to be crucified. It was a gentler, passive side of Jesus that most people are familiar with. Even then, He was certainly no pacifist when He overturned the money changers' tables and drove them out with a whip. There is, however, another side of Jesus that is often overlooked. When He returns, He doesn't return as a lamb but as a lion. He returns with the armies of heaven to strike down the nations and rule them with a rod of iron (Rev 19). The hem of His robe will be dipped in blood. Why is His robe dipped in blood? Because he had just come from destroying the Antichrist forces at Bozrah.

So, if we truly want to imitate Christ, then sometimes we need to be the lamb, and sometimes we need to be the lion. One day we will beat our swords into plowshares (Isa 2:4), but until Christ returns, it is sometimes necessary to beat our plowshares into swords and say, "I am a warrior" (Joel 3:10).