The Winds Of War
Matthew 24:6
What a week it's been for all of us! This has been one of those rare
moments when time, which had been rolling smoothly along, suddenly came
to a total halt. Do you remember where you were when you heard the news?
It was early Tuesday morning about 9:30 A.M. and I was in school and
the Headmaster called me downand told me what had happened and we began
discussing how to inform the faculty and then inform students.
Everything since then is more or less a blur. I don't know how many hours
of TV I've watched in the last five days but it seems like that's all I've
done. It's been the same for most of us, I think. Most of us have lived
through Vietnam, Korea, the Gulf Warsome have lived through World War IIbut
most of us realize this is different In Vietnam, Korea, or Gulf War, and
even in World War II the war was always "over there."
War is always frightening, but this war could become something much worse.
It could lead us to Armageddon. When I called my children to see if they
were all O.K.I had one at Logan Airport and one at NASA not far from the
PentagonI remember them asking me "Dad is this the beginning of Armageddon.
I had not admit I didn't knowand I still don't know. When Peter writes I
Peter 4:7, "The end of all things is at hand." That verse seems
a lot more relevant today than it did just one week ago.
So now our nation is at war. Men and women have died; more will die before
it is over. Perhaps the worst is yet to come.
How should we feel about what we have seen and heard? What should our
response be? Most importantly, what does the Christian faith have to say
at a time like this? Is there anything in the Bible that will help us think
clearly about these terrorist attacks?
I would like to suggest that the Christian faith has a great deal to
say to us. For generations, Christians have struggled to reconcile their
faith with the terrible demands of war. What I have to say in this sermon
is not a final answer to that struggle.
I would like to suggest a few perspectives that may help you in the days
ahead. If they spark your thinking, or if they sound a bit contradictory,
so much the better.
I. War Is Sometimes In The Will Of God
I realize that to say that war may sometimes be in the will of God is
to jump into a firestorm of controversy. Such a view is not popular today.
In fact, there are those pastors who would say emphatically that war is
always a sin.
Let me say that I think my pastoral friends are partly right and partly
wrong. War is terrible in all its aspects and I would never want to be known
as someone who is "for" war. Wars come about because of the sinfulness
of men. Warfare comes from the fallen nature of man. Whenever nations go
to war, sin is always involved somewhere. There may be sins of pride and
oppression or there may be sins of brutality and naked aggression, but sin
is always part of the equation.
So, sin is always involved in warfare. That much seems clear.
But is going to war always and in every case sinful? I think not.
The God Of War
It is useful to remind ourselves that God often sent his people into
war in the Old Testament. In a number of passages you have direct, explicit
commands by God to his people to go to war against some neighboring nation
and to destroy them completely. Deuteronomy 7:1 lists seven nations the
Israelites were to destroy. Joshua 23:9-10 reports the results of those
military campaigns in unambiguous terms:
"The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations;
to this day, no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand,
because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised."
David made the same point after he defeated Goliath and called on the
Israelites to rise up and attack the Philistines-"The battle is the
Lord's." (I Samuel 17:47)
Again, not everything Israel did was right and they didn't win every
battle they fought. Sometimes God allowed their enemies to defeat them to
teach them spiritual lessons they couldn't learn any other way. At one point,
King David warned against over-reliance on military power: "Some trust
in chariots and some in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord
our God." (Psalm 20:7) Finally, we ought to note that the prophets
looked forward to a day when the nations would live in peace and warfare
would be a thing of the past.
But having said all of that, and as true as it all is, it still remains
that God again and again sent his people into battle. When they went to
war in those circumstances, they did so with his blessing. Therefore, it
comes as no surprise that one of God's names in the Old Testament is "The
Lord of Hosts," an explicitly military title.
New Testament
When we move into the New Testament, it is immediately apparent that
the atmosphere has changed completely. Gone are all calls for holy war against
the enemies of the people of God. In its place are calls for the followers
of Jesus to be peacemakers in the world. Instead of the "Lord of Hosts"
we now have the "God of all peace." With no national homeland
to defend, the followers of Jesus are sent to all the nations of the earth
as ministers of reconciliation.
Why such a great change in perspective? There are several answers to
that question, one of the most important being that the Old Testament is
all about the people of God and their establishment as a particular nation
at a particular point on the globe. Everything focuses on Israel. Not so
in the New Testament. ..the focus is on the New Israel which is the Church
of Jesus Christ.
Since the followers of Jesus are not a "nation" in the same
sense that Israel was a nation, but are called to live as "salt and
light" among all the nations, the old calls for a holy war simply do
not apply.
Does the new situation require us to conclude that while warfare might
have been justified in the Old Testament, it is now superseded by some higher
ethic in the New Testament? Like those expressed in the Sermon on the Mount?
We find very little explicit discussion of warfare in the New Testament.
It is helpful to note that it is nowhere suggested that a soldier should
seek to leave military service upon becoming a Christian. (Buehler, p. 496)
In fact, Jesus seems to suggest the opposite in Luke 3:14.
Furthermore, Romans 13:3-4 appears to endorse the possibility of legitimate
military activity in order to uphold righteousness or to restrain evil:
It is the job of government (even pagan, godless government) To reward
and protect those who do good. To restrain and punish those who do evil.
When men and women in authority reward righteousness and punish evil,
they are unconsciously serving God's purpose and therefore have become God's
servants. This is true without regard to their personal godliness or lack
of the same.
To "bear the sword" means to take swift action against wrongdoers.
It certainly implies that the government has a right to go to war in order
to protect the innocent or to restrain the spread of evil in the world.
In that light, let share some thoughts from Robert L. Dabney, a noted
Presbyterian theologian of the 19th century. During the Civil War, he served
as Chief of Staff to General T. J. "Stonewall" Jackson. After
the war, he taught theology and political economics for many years. These
are his words concerning the morality of war:
"Unprovoked war is the most monstrous secular crime that can be
committed: it is at once the greatest of evils, and includes the worst forms
of robbery and murder.
God has both permitted and instructed rulers, when thus unjustly assailed,
to retort those miseries upon the assailants who introduce them. The very
fact that all war is so terrific a scourge, and that aggressive war is such
an enormous crime, only makes it more clear that the injured parties are
entitled to their redress, and are justified in inflicting on the injurers
such chastisement as will compel their return to justice, even including
the death and ruin which they were preparing against their inoffensive neighbors."
(Systematic Theology, p. 403)
Let me summarize:
Not all wars are in the will of God. Some are; some aren't. But sometimes
war is clearly in the will of God. When it is, it is not sinful to go to
war. War is never good, but it is often inevitable and is sometimes the
right thing to do.
II. In A World At War, Christians Are Called To Be Peacemakers
Having said all of that, there is another side of the question. In a
world at war, Christians are called to be peacemakers. No matter what happens
in the world, the followers of Jesus Christ are called to be peacemakers.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus made his position perfectly clear: "Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God." (Matthew
5:9) In a world filled with war, the followers of Jesus are to be peacemakers.
The word Jesus used is very strong. His followers are not just to be peacelovers;
they are to be peacemakers. They are to do the hard things that make for
peace.
It is no coincidence that the founder of our faith was called the "Prince
of Peace." He is the ultimate peace-maker and those who bear his name
are to be as committed to peace as he was. When he came to the earth, his
entire mission was summed up in the phrase "Peace on earth, to men
of good will" and the goal of his death was to bring reconciliation
between God and man. Those who follow him are given the "the ministry
of reconciliation" and "the message of reconciliation."
We dare not downplay these truths or act as if they had little implication
for the current situation. Let me put the matter as plainly as I can: Those
who follow the Prince of Peace are to be people of peace.
That leads me to a new conclusion: War, though it is sometimes in the
will of God, is never the ultimate will of God. Some things are allowed
or permitted by God that do not reflect his ultimate will for the world.
War falls into that category. It is in the world because of the fall of
man. In the beginning, before the entrance of sin, there was no war. In
the end, when sin is at last removed, war will be gone forever. War has
meaning only in this "in-between" time.
In this fallen world, war is sometimes a tragic necessity. But even while
we trudge off to the battlefield, we ought to pray for peace and do everything
we can to see it come to pass. War is never the ultimate will of God. It
always reflects a failure somewhere in the world. War is not good, and anybody
who thinks otherwise is crazy. At the height of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln
said, "Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge
of war will speedily pass away."
What does it mean to be a peacemaker when your own country has gone to
war? What should I do and how should I react as a Christian when my country
goes to war for a just cause? Do we set aside the command to be a peacemaker
in such a case? Once again, the words of Jesus provide the answer: "You
have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor,' and hate your enemy.
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:43-44)
Being a peacemaker in the time of war means loving your enemy even while
you go to war against him. No doubt that sounds ridiculous, but I think
that is the exact application of the words of Jesus. Let me put it plainly:
-If we are glad that our nation has gone to war, we do not do well.
-If we rejoice that radical Islamic followers will be killed in the days
ahead, we do not do well.
-If we hate Osama Ben Laden, we do not do well.
-If we cheer for our troops as if this war were a basketball game, we
do not do well.
-If we believe that we are somehow superior to the Islamic people, we
do not do well.
-If we believe that an American life is worth more than an Islamic life,
we do not do well.
-If we applaud this war because we believe it fulfills Bible prophecy,
we do not do well.
-If we support this war because we're tired of seeing America kicked
around, we do not do well.
In short, if we are anything other than heartbroken over what this world
has come to, then we have missed entirely what Jesus was saying and we do
not do well. It is not the will of our Lord that men should kill other men
and if we are happy that the killing has begun, our hearts are far from
the heart of Jesus.
It's easy to feel bitter about Osama Ben Laden and to hate him for drawing
us into this war. But that will not help us nor will it shorten the war
in any way. Jesus said. "Pray for your enemies."
Let me offer four very particular prayer requests that we should offer
in the days, weeks and months ahead:
1. Pray for Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and people like Osama Ben Laden.
Ask God to work in their hearts and cause them to make decisions that will
lead to peace. Pray that somehow the gospel of Christ will break through
to them.
2. Pray for Afghanistan and the Islamic people. Ask God to spare them
from unnecessary suffering. Pray for the Christian believers in places like
Afghanistan and Iraq. Pray for the missionaries who work among the Islamic
people.
3. Pray for all the Arab nations. Ask God to open those nations to the
gospel.
4. Pray for our those working in the rescue and recovering efforts in
NYC and Washington D.C. Pray for our armed forces and the men and women
who serve in our armed forces. Ask God to protect them and to bring them
safely home.
III. In The Midst Of War, Remember That God Is In Control
It was late Tuesday night and the news from Washington and New York was
not good. We learned that the White House and Air Force One were targetand
that there were probably more cell groups operating still and that terrorist
attacks were probably not over. Do you remember how you felt when you heard
the news? It truly seemed as if we had come to the brink of Armageddon.
My son David asked, "Dad, what do you think? What does it all mean?"
Surely we have all asked that question many times in the last few days.
After all war has started and many people are scared to death.
Behind our fear is a question, one we hardly know how to put in words,
but it goes something like this: Does God know what he is doing? Is he still
in control? Psalm 46:1-2 says, "God is our refuge and strength, an
ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth
give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. Think of that.
"We will not fear." How can a man say that when the earth gives
way underneath him? How can he say that when the mountains fall into the
sea? Moreover, how can we say that when buildings are crashing, thousands
have died and our young men prepare to fly in darkness?
"We will not fear." But we are afraid. Who wouldn't be afraid
in a time like this? I will tell you the answer to that question. You will
not be afraid if God is your refuge and strength. Do you think God is up
in heaven saying, "Oh no, they hit World Trade Center." No. He
knew where those planes were going to hit before the terrorist had laid
a single plan. He knew what Osama Ben Laden was going to do before there
was a Osama Ben Laden. Nothing that has happened has surprised God. He knows
the beginning and the end.
Here is the key. David said in verse 2, "I will not be afraid even
though my world collapses around me." But verse 2 is true only if verse
1 is true. If God is your refuge and strength, you don't have anything to
worry about this morning. He is directing all thingseven using what is evilto
accomplish His will and all you have to do is trust him.
Wars And Rumors Of War
Jesus Christ had a word for times like these. It was the Wednesday before
he was crucified and he met with his disciples to prepare them for what
was to come. Under the shadow of the temple, he told them what the world
would be like after he was gone. In that message, which we call the Olivet
Discourse, he included these famous words: "You will hear of wars and
rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed." (Matthew 24:6)
J. B. Phillips translates it this way: "The time is coming when you
will hear the noise of battle near at hand and the news of battles far away;
see that you are not alarmed." That certainly describes this week,
doesn't it? "The news of battles near at handand the battles far away."
These words of Jesus are both a command and a promise. In fact, in the
Greek there are two commands- 1. See to it and 2. Be not alarmed. To be
alarmed actually means to scream with terror, to be so overcome with fear
that you lose your emotional balance. Jesus is saying that when we hear
the frightening news from the battle front, we must take special care that
we not lose our perspective. There will be wars and the headlines will scream
of America at War. We will hear of demonstrations in distant cities and
continued terrorist threats right here in America. We will go to the airport
and think that we've entered a battle zone. We will wonder if that strange-looking
fellow in front of us is carrying a bomb. Our children and grandchildren
will come home frightened and we will have no answers for their questions.
Our loved ones will go off to war and we will wonder if we will ever see
them again.
All these things will happen. They are part of the course of this age.
Wars and rumors of wars. It will only get worse in the days ahead.
But we have the word of Jesus-"See to it that you are not alarmed."
But who wouldn't be alarmed? Only those who know that God is in control.
It is exactly when the world seems to be self-destructing that our faith
shows itself to be real.
In his book The Last and Future World (pp. 132-139), James Montgomery
Boice tells a story about Donald Grey Barnhouse, a great Bible teacher of
the last generation. It was the late summer of 1939 and Dr. Barnhouse was
preaching in the British Isles. He had a week off between his meetings in
Scotland and his next series of meetings in Belfast, Ireland. He decided
to take those days to visit his family in Normandy, on the western coast
of France.
When he got to London, he made his way to the airport to catch a plane
for the short flight across the English Channel. As he passed through customs
a man asked his travel plans. When Dr. Barnhouse told him he planned to
be in Belfast that weekend, the man said, "Sir, if you plan to be in
Belfast, I strongly urge you not to go to France today." Dr. Barnhouse
thanked him for his advice and boarded the plane anyway.
The week in Normandy passed quickly. Monday . . . Tuesday . . . Wednesday
. . . Thursday. The talk was all of impending war with Germany. Diplomacy
had failed to stop Hitler and it seemed as if war was not far away. On Thursday
the word came that Dr. Barnhouse's flight was canceled and that if he wished
to return to England he must take a train to Paris, then take another train
to the coast, board a steamer and cross the channel by night. Immediately,
he decided to leave and so made his way to board the train for Paris.
As the train sped across the French countryside, the call for mobilization
was sounded. Church bells began to ring. War was almost here. At every little
village, the train stopped to pick up men going off to war. Dr. Barnhouse
watched as wives and children said goodbye to their husbands and fathers,
many of whom would never return home. It was a scene of heartbreaking sadness.
That night the Germans bombed Danzig and the Prime Minister announced
that if Hitler did not withdraw his troops by 11 AM on Sunday, England would
be at war with Germany.
Friday, September 1, 1939, was a typically beautiful British day. Dr.
Barnhouse had made it safely across the channel (on the last civilian steamer
to make the trip for many years) and now came to London to transfer to a
train heading for Scotland. Here he encountered more scenes of heartache.
This time it was children being sent out of London by their parents. Hundreds
of children milling around, parents weeping, a great sea of sadness as families
were torn apart, many for years, some forever. The war had already claimed
its first victims.
That night the train made it to Carlisle and they spent the night in
the station hotel. The next day Dr. Barnhouse traveled all day to reach
the coast of Scotland after dark. That night, when he was to have been in
Belfast for a dinner which was to begin the meetings, he stood at the edge
of the water and gazed at Ireland across the sea.
Many hours later, in the darkest part of the night, the captain of the
boat set sail. The little steamer docked at Larne on the Irish coast and
Dr. Barnhouse made his way by train to Belfast, finally arriving just after
3 a.m. A delegation was waiting for him, having assumed that he would make
every effort to come if he could. The men greeted him, loaded his bags and
took him to the hotel. It was now about 3:45 a.m. As they left him to get
some rest, one of the men said, "I hope you will have a good sermon.
It may well be the last that some of the men will hear."
Barnhouse stood alone in his room, weary from the long trip, wondering
what he should say when he stood in the pulpit in just a few hours. Suddenly
a thought came to his mind, he jotted down a few notes and then went to
bed. A few hours later he arose and prepared to go to church.
When he got there, the minister seemed glad that he didn't have to preach
that day. He shook hands with Dr. Barnhouse and said, "The church will
be full of lads who will never come back. I pray God will give you something
for them." As 11 a.m. approached, the service started and as it did
an elder handed a note to the pastor who handed it to Dr. Barnhouse. There
had been no reply from Hitler. England was at war with Germany.
When the time came for the sermon, Dr. Barnhouse began by telling them
how he had outlined his sermon in the hotel room that morning. He then told
the congregation that he had a text for them that was the most wonderful
text in all the Bible for such a day. The text was Matthew 24:6, "You
will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not frightened."
Then he recounted his long journey from Normandy to Belfast and all the
things he had seen along the way. At each point he stopped and interjected
the words of Jesus, "See that ye be not frightened." I would like
to do that this morning
You have seen and heard of collapsing building and thousands dying. And
Jesus says, "See to it that you are not frightened."
You have heard of plots to destroy the White House and Air Force One.
And Jesus says, "See to it that you are not frightened."
You have heard church bells pealing and seen candles lite for those who
have died. And Jesus says,"See to it that you are not frightened."
You have heard a call to arms from around the world. And Jesus says,
"See to it that you are not frightened."
You will see fathers and husbands going off to war. And Jesus says, "See
to it that you are not frightened."
You have heard of terrorist cells who are still plotting. And Jesus says,
"See to it that you are not frightened."
You may see great cities blacked out. And Jesus says, "See to it
that you are not frightened."
You may see our troubled economy become more unstable. And Jesus says,
"See to it that you are not frightened."
Thousands more may die. And Jesus says, "See to it that you are
not frightened."
You may be separated from your children and loved ones. And Jesus says,
"See to it that you are not frightened."
The world may be convulsed into the greatest war of history. And Jesus
says, "See to it that you are not frightened."
When he reached his climax, Dr. Barnhouse stopped and said, "These
are either the words of a madman or they are the words of the Son of God.
If Christ is not God, these are the most horrible words that could ever
be spoken. If Christ is not God, then he is a madman or something worse.
How could anyone say 'Be not afraid' in the face of the horrors of war?"
Then the answer came. But Christ is God and he is the Lord of history.
Not only that, he is the God of detailed circumstance. Nothing has happened
outside of God's good plan. Nothing ever leaves him bewildered or astonished.
Nothing ever catches him by surprise. Though men tear at each other like
wild beasts, though the world seem set to destroy itself, those who know
Jesus Christ have nothing to fear. If war comes, they know that the promises
of God are still true. Nothing-not even death itself-can separate them from
the love of God.
Though The Winds Blow
I wish I could tell you what is going to happen in the next few days
and weeks. But I do not know any more about this war than you do. It may
be short or it may last for many months or years. I am sure of thisthat
many people will die before it is over.
But whatever happens, we need not be afraid. If Christ is truly God-and
he is-then we have nothing to fear. He is the Lord of history. He holds
the leaders of the world in his hands. More importantly, he holds his people
in his hands.
With that confidence we may send our sons and daughters into military
service. They may go to some far corner of the globe and may even go into
combat. But we know that nothing can touch them that has not first passed
through the Father's hand. With that confidence we ourselves may face danger
and difficulties here at home. With that confidence we may go calmly into
the future. Even though the winds of war may blow hard against us, we know
that Jesus Christ is with us, and no matter what happens tomorrow, we are
safe in him.
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