You will see them, many of them, marching together in many towns and cities across our nation. Some will be quite frail, and walk with difficulty; perhaps they had to travel in an open vehicle. But they are proud nevertheless and so they march in orderly style. With their chests covered by the medals and reminders of past wars, you couldn’t mistake what they have done.

And there were the younger ones. Those who are wearing uniforms now, whether it be of the army, the navy, the air force, the police – right down to the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides.

Who could forget it’s ANZAC Day? ANZAC, a word made up of the first letters of Australian & New Zealand Army Corps. It was war which brought these two nations together. And what war made of us is remembered on ANZAC Day.

But let’s shift our eyes now to quite a different scene. It’s outside an alleged military communications base. From thousands of kilometres, and even from foreign countries, protesters have come to vent their public displeasure that this place is being used for the world-wide security of the major world power.

What a contrast that scene is with the marches on April 25! They are not neatly dressed at all. They violently tear down the security fence and charge on the centre. For publicity they take off all their clothes, apparently to show what war really does to us. They hurl abuse at any semblance of authority.

Though, much as their appearance and action may repeal us, haven’t you asked, is it ever right to fight?

We know of war too well. Some of us have experienced it personally. And the rest of us are grimly reminded each night on the television news, and each day in the papers, just how bad it is. Even right now, there are as many armed struggles across the face of this earth as there has ever been before at one time! Despite their disgusting behaviour, perhaps those protesters have a point. Is it ever right to fight?

It’s a question that doesn’t only affect the nations of the world. It comes right the way down into the school playground and around the dinner table. But it is an issue the Lord helps us with – very clearly!

It is Right to Fight – in Self-defence⤒🔗

The picture has often been painted that we as Christians should be a bunch of passive dummies. The bit in Matthew 5, about turning the other cheek and all that, has often been thrown against us. It’s a passage pacifist Christians use. And later on we’ll consider where that passage fits in.

But first of all, God has made us who we are. And God Himself has given us what we have. This is what we read in Proverbs chapter 22:28: “Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers.”

So, there’s a set property with a set position. The Lord says it even stronger in Proverbs 23 verse 10:

Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their defender is strong; he will take up their case against you.

Believers see already how complicated this is. There are always the powerful and selfish who stop at nothing to trample on top of others and what belongs to them, in order to get to the top. We’ve seen enough megalomaniacs like Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, and Suddam Hussein, to realise this is happening.

Our children have them in your neighbourhood, too. They are called bullies­ those insecure, forceful people who get their satisfaction from picking on someone else!

You don’t have to simply accept it when they start taking what is yours, and even start hurting you. Stand up to them. Be ready to tell on them!

Now, that might sound a bit harsh. You might even have friends who say you can’t ever tell on anyone. In some countries it’s almost a tradition not to pimp or dob on anyone, as they call it.

But when you do let someone in authority know, you’re actually fighting a very worldly sin. Because if you don’t tell, it only helps evil people. They use it to keep others under their control.

This is shown most vividly by our Lord Jesus Himself, that Man whom the pacifists quote and point to so often as their supreme example! Yet, what did He do upon entering the temple courts just a few days before His death? He used violence to throw out the merchants who were desecrating God’s House. And He did this in self-defence!

How could that be, we wonder? It is because the position and property of the LORD God was at stake! And it was God who defended Himself, as Jesus hurled those tables and their products across the floor.

It’s this aspect of self-defence that helps explain the difficulty we can have with the Old Testament Israelites. They seem to go through the countryside with impunity, brutally killing and looting all in their way.

But what was it they were doing? Weren’t they reclaiming their land – the “Promised Land”–which God had first pledged to their forefather, Abraham? Deuteronomy 6:10-12 says,

When the LORD brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you – a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you didn’t plant – then when you are satisfied, be careful that you don’t forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Of course it was all of grace – but it was a gift nevertheless! It was their possession from God. They were taking back their own inheritance.

That also explains the rather harsh language of Psalm 137. For the Psalmist is speaking about those who took the Israelites away from the land of promise. Babylon was a nation that led God’s people away. Though the LORD may have used them as His way to punish the Israelites, they were still responsible for the evil they did. So the harshness of the psalm is simply a plea for God to restore His people.

That means you can do a self-defence course. But let that martial art be your master, and let it intimidate another or take you away from your faith – that’s wrong! As the Israelites learnt when the helpless ones in their society were oppressed and abused.

It is Right to Fight – in the Defence of Another←⤒🔗

And here we come to another aspect in this whole subject. For when someone else through weakness or ignorance cannot defend their own, then you’re called to do it for them. The weak ones we have just been reminded about.

The law of the LORD to His people spelt out exactly the concern there should be for those helpless ones. And when the people left the ways of the LORD, guess who became oppressed and abused?

Isaiah expressed the anger of God at one of those times in the first chapter of his prophecy. In verse 17 he cried out, “Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”

Compassion has always been a distinctive mark of Christians. Of all the religions of the world, we are the most involved in reaching out to the poor and oppressed.

That’s not giving ourselves a pat on the back. It’s simply living out the life of Christ in His Body. When Jesus promised He would be with us until the end, He meant it – with His Spirit working in our lives. And as the Old Testament church when it was faithful showed a shadow of what this great love would be in Jesus, we now are empowered to take it into this world.

Indeed, the way of Christ has already made a great difference to the world. A good example is the ‘Just War’ tradition. This states that it can only be right to fight when the cause is righteous. In the words of John Stott,

It must be defensive, not aggressive. Its objectives must be to secure justice or remedy injustice, to protect the innocent or champion human rights. It must be taken as a last resort only, after all attempts at negotiation and reconciliation have been exhausted, and then only after a formal declaration (following an ultimatum) by a legitimate authority, not by groups or individuals. Moreover, the intention must be as righteous as the cause. Just causes are not served by unjust motives. So there must be no hatred, no animosity, no thirst for revenge.p84, “Issues Facing Christians Today”

Try transferring that to the boy you see being bullied, or your employee suffering at the hands of a fellow worker, or someone else being harassed. It might seem a complicated process, but it’s not. Picture it. You see what appears to be a clear act of someone being put down or hurt – or both! You could react straight-away. You could let what you feel at that one particular time judge a whole situation. That’s what eleven tribes of Israel did in Judges chapter 20. But hold on! Let’s find out why those people are there. Gain some background knowledge on them. Why are we in a rush? It’s the Lord’s time, isn’t it?

It is right to fight in the defence of another, but only if his defence is being genuinely threatened. The Christian isn’t chasing after those who cry “wolf” just to get attention.

However, as well as being concerned for the “weak”, we are also to show concern for the ignorant. And here we take up that much thrown-about passage from Matthew 5 – that well-used part about “turning the other cheek”. The usual impression we have there is of a passive action. You let it happen to you. But that view has often led to Christians and the Church being ripped off by professional leeches who suck what they can out of believers. They know they can get away with it! They abuse the Church because they’re aware of what the Bible says.

In the situation of Matthew 5, though, the Lord is speaking of those who treat you harshly as those not knowing the Gospel. For instance, the Romans could press those who were not Roman citizens to carry equipment for a mile. What a witness you were to them when you went that much further! That’s given freely! That’s real sacrifice! And that’s in Christ’s defence! Your active concern for the Romans led you to take the time to think how to show them something of your Saviour and Lord. Revenge has been put right out of the picture.

As has any idea that you just have to put up with it. Because you are looking out for their good! Indeed, in all those instances we read from Matthew 5, the verses 38 till 48, the believer is fighting for his Lord!

Do you see it? These are practical ways to struggle for their souls! You want to keep them from ultimate harm, for the glory of the Lord. Just as you defend yourself, because you have His work to do! I know, it’s a strange thing to say. But haven’t we, of all people, come to know that our only worth is in Christ?

Now, compare that with a man of the world who sang and demonstrated all about peace in the 1960’s. John Lennon took his concern across Europe with his so-called ‘Bagism,’ where he and Yoko Ono would stage press conferences in hotel beds to speak for peace. “Give peace a chance” was one of his hits of that time. A song that epitomised his public concern. This same man, though, hated his former song-writing partner and fellow-Beatle, Paul McCartney, with a vengeance. He even sang about him, “those freaks was right when they said you was dead; the one mistake you made was in your head.”

It is Right to Fight – for the Offence of the Lord←⤒🔗

The world makes a lot of noise about having no more wars on the outside, yet inside its sinful nature stays exactly the same. This is its hypocrisy. It’s because of this utterly rotten world that God tells us it is right to fight in self-defence and in the defence of another. But to really look beyond all this we need to know that it is right to fight – for the offence of the Lord.

This is the offence that is about taking the initiative, not as in being offended, because right throughout our fighting for the right things we know we will win in Christ Jesus the Great King! The new world is coming! Already now we are preparing the way. Even in our daily lives – at work, at school, at home, at play – we are building up toward the second coming of the Prince of Peace. That’s why we pray. We’re talking to the Lord now because we want so much for Him to take over everything as soon as possible. The vision of Revelation 21 is what we’re anticipating!

And we have encouraging little glimpses of how it will be. At those times, His Spirit stirs within us His special work. Christ is King! He is ever so busy reigning – right now! In thousands of thousands of human temples – each one a soul saved by grace­ the Lord is living.

The picture of being a soldier for the Lord comes up several times in Scripture. Why do you think Paul describes the armour of the Christian soldier in the way he does in Ephesians 6? Isn’t so that all those things which make up the soldier can go into battle for the Lord? Everything that God gives us glorifies Him. The way He shows us in His Word is the plan for our attack.

Again, John Stott is helpful. He says,

I cannot see that Christian people should remain isolated from public life; they should rather be involved in it, knowing that in doing so they are ministers of God just as much as pastors ... There’s nothing abnormal about Christians serving in the police force or the prison service, as politicians or magistrates or city councillors. For Christians worship a God who is just and are therefore committed to the quest for justice. The Christian community shouldn’t stand aloof from the secular community, but seek to penetrate it for Christ.

In a society which has left her Christian foundations and has become multi-religious, as well as multi-cultural, to live with Jesus makes us stand out that much more. For the offence of the Lord, we will be greatly offended!

So let’s listen to what Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2:3-4. “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs ­ he wants to please his commanding officer.”

Live the life of love! Hate only compounds because sin abounds! Although the Cold War may be over, there’s a whole new enemy now in the Islamic world. To live by His grace puts everything for us in a completely different perspective! Despite the traumas and tragedies of this present time, we’re working for the world to come.

Is that the motivation of your heart? It is most right to fight – for the offence of the Lord!

In fact, to love anything else in your life is to hate! Yes – you heard me right! Unless you can honestly say that you’re claiming every moment for the Prince of Peace, your soul is at war with Him. That’s a battle you can’t win! And if you’re a Christian, you know that is a fight which isn’t right. So, by His grace, you’ll change.

But, perhaps, you are one who hasn’t been touched by His love deep down? Your heart actually wants to go its own selfish way. Please – there’s a better way! There’s a path, through a narrow gate, that leads to a wonderful new world. A world where there will be no more war.

And there’s been a God-man who has gone through this difficult way before us. He has given us glowing descriptions of what it will be like. Most of all, He calls us to believe in Him. Trust Jesus! Turn over to Him all that hatred which has kept you from His love­ the greatest of all loves! Repent and believe. Then you too can have true and everlasting peace within.