War or Peace (An Alternative to what most churches believe)

International Christian Embassy Jerusalem | March 7, 2003 | Malcolm Hedding

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ICEJ SPECIAL COMMENTARY The following Bible teaching by ICEJ Executive Director Malcolm Hedding is addressed to Christians pondering how to approach the looming war in Iraq.

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WAR AND PEACE

We face very critical times. It has not escaped anyone's attention that meter-by-meter we are moving towards a possible conflict in this Middle East region. Within many churches there is mounting resistance to a war against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Churches then want to know the stand of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem on this all-important matter.

Our response is neither for war nor for peace. Interestingly, our response has to be a biblical one. It sounds good to say, "we are for peace and for love" because it seems so consistent with a biblical or Christian viewpoint. But certainly that is not the viewpoint of the Bible in its entirety. So how do we respond to these events and where should we be as a people in terms of our position on it?

One of the most profound passages of the Bible concerning conflict is found in Jeremiah chapter 18. In this context the prophet is threatening war against Israel by God Himself because of Israel's disobedience and rebellion against the revealed will of God. The principle, however, is what I wish to highlight. Notice how the Prophet speaks in Jeremiah 18:7 "The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to pluck up, to pull down and to destroy it, (this is God speaking!) If that nation, against whom I have spoken, turns from it's evil, I will relent of the disaster I thought to bring up upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build up and to plant it - if it does evil in my sight, so it does not obey my voice, so I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it."

Here we have God Himself threatening to dismantle nations in terms of their unrighteousness. The passage clearly gives us the criteria upon which God engages nations. In the Book of Joel we have another reminder of God's action in war. There are times when God calls for war. This is why as Christians we cannot address this matter simplistically. To say, we are on the side of peace is not Christian, and to say we are on the side of war is not Christian. The truth is that we are on the side of the sovereignty of God. That is Christian.

In Joel chapter 3 we find some remarkable words - they are a play on what we read in Isaiah chapter 2, where it talks about the last days, after the consummation of the age and the introduction of the millennial reign of the Messiah. In these verses the Bible teaches that nations will beat their swords into plowshares and into pruning hooks, and year-by-year they will ascend to Jerusalem to hear the word of the Lord. In the Book of Joel, the Prophet plays directly with what he has heard in terms of Isaiah's prophetic utterance. Notice what he says in Joel 3, especially verse 9: "Proclaim this among the nations, prepare for war! (God is speaking) Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, and let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears." (So he reverses the words of Isaiah.) "Let the weak say, I am strong..."

How many of you have ever sang that song? - "Let the weak say, I am strong." How we have rejoiced in it! Well, this was actually God telling nations to prepare their tanks and their missiles for war - it has nothing to do with you as a Christian, pushing out your breast saying: "I am strong in Jesus". It has everything to do with nations annihilating each other with weapons of mass destruction! I am sorry that I have to challenge the context of one of our favorite songs.

Joel continues, "Let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble and come all you nations and gather together, gather all around. Cause the mighty ones to go down there, Oh Lord!" It is a call to war; it is not a call to any kind of spirituality within the Christian church, though it is often quoted in this context. This, of course, is misguided.

Then there is the passage in Matthew, which Christians and even the world love to quote. According to Matthew chapter 5, where Jesus begins his preamble to The Decalogue known as the Beatitudes, we are to be peacemakers and will be blessed for doing so. Note verse 9: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." This is also often taken out of context. It is true that as Christians, we are concerned about peace, and we do recognize that the Bible calls upon us to pray for peace. There is no question about that, but this passage has little to do with the great issues relating to conflict between nations.

We know from the Book of First Timothy that the Word of God exhorts us to pray for peace. Why should there be peace in the world? Is it just because God wants nations to dwell safely and securely within guaranteed borders? Of course not! That is not the teaching of the Bible either. But you would think, if you listen to much of the rhetoric in the Christian world, that we should just pray for peace, and nations can live as they wish to live, and be what they want to be. But in fact it is not. Let's first read: "Therefore I exhort first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercession and thanks be made for all men. For kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (I Timothy 2:1-4)

So in fact, we are not just for peace. We are not "shalom at any cost" people. Yet the Church tries to walk in step with the world agenda for peace. Isn't that amazing?

So why do we want peace? As Christians, we want peace for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the reason why we pray for peace and for those in authority. We want stability and peace in every land, so far as it is possible in the sovereignty of God, because He knows more than we do, so that all men can be reached with the knowledge of the truth and be saved. Conflict in the land makes it impossible to preach when everybody is in their bunkers, ducking missiles. They are not going to come to a preaching service.

So again, the type of peace we look for is, first of all, that peace which brings reconciliation and peace between individual people. That is the context of Matthew 5. Living out your life according to a "born-again" ethic, where you are a peacemaker because you are a son of God. You reach out to those around you; you heal wounds; you bring back the lost, battered sheep. You overlook a multitude of transgressions, because what people do to you is not important. You live by your conscience, which should be pure and clean in the sight of God, so you can overlook a lot of things. If somebody says something about you, so what? You know that your conscience is clear and your heart is pure. So you can say, "I forgive you". That is what God did with us. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. So at that level it is quite a challenge for us, isn't it?

This is the context of Matthew 5; it is a "born again" ethic; a preamble to the Decalogue, whereby He is giving us a brief summary of what it means to love your neighbor as yourself, and God with all your strength and might and soul.

On the other hand, we differ when it comes to the issue of war and peace. Therefore, if you ask me whether the ICEJ is for war or for peace, I would say: "I don't know". I know that in the sovereignty of God there are times when He calls for war. I see that clearly in the Bible. I also know that nothing can happen in the world outside of God's sovereignty. And the more I wait and see what is happening and the more I see that this thing is inevitable, the more I have to say it must be in the sovereignty of God, otherwise it could not happen.

I lament war, just as the Word of God does. It is a regrettable, divine instrument of correction, and God Himself says that. He wants to build up a nation and not tear it down. But wickedness sometimes overflows and in areas of the world, even in places we would not consider to be wicked, we will yet see some amazing things. God will tear down even nations that we thought would possibly be the righteous ones, the good ones.

This is the world we live in. As a Christian, I pray for peace, even in Iraq. Why? So that there may be an opportunity for the proclamation of the Gospel. I also understand that if wickedness is so great that God in His sovereignty will tear the nation down, my trust and belief is that through it all, in the aftermath, the Gospel may be preached more freely. My value-system is completely different to that of the world and I commit myself to the biblical revelation on peace and war in this matter.

Therefore we as a ministry cannot take an extreme position - we are not just for peace in the nations. Nor are we just for war in the nations. It may appear confusing but in the end, our faith and trust is in a sovereign God. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof." (Psalm 24:1) Nothing can take place in the world without reference to the sovereignty of God.

In our days it appears that God is calling for a sword against Iraq. This is a fearful thing. We should be praying for the people of Iraq. Most important is the fact that they need to hear the wonderful message of Jesus. This is why we want peace there and so we should be praying in that way. This is also why it is so difficult to be simplistic about these matters.

At the more personal level, this also means that we should have peace in our hearts, because the Bible affirms that God is in control of all things. Therefore we have to ensure:

1. That we are living in the perfect will of God for our lives. This is the only and safest place to be. This does not mean that we live in an area that is outside of conflict. You can be in the most peaceful part of the world but, if you are outside of the will of God, you can be in a very dangerous place!

2. That we are in a perfect relationship with God. You cannot be perfect in character but you can and should be in a perfect relationship with Jesus. Relationship has to do with desire and not with performance. We should have a perfect desire to love God and walk in His ways. When we get this wrong in our lives then everything goes wrong, especially in the area of our one-to-one relationships. We are easily offended and polluted and sometimes we do not even know it or see it. We have no grace, no love, no compassion, and no ability to forgive a multitude of transgression.

As we enter a season that may well witness conflict in our region, let us realize that we have nothing to fear. Let us pray for Iraq, for the proclamation of the Gospel in that land and for the will of God to be done. If this type of peace is the fruit of war then it may just be that the God of Heaven is calling for spears and swords. May God help us to live as we should and may we, with fear and trembling, recognize that His judgment is always with repentance and salvation in mind!

Malcolm Hedding ICEJ Executive Director

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ICEJ NEWS SERVICE provides news and comment on Middle East affairs, compiled by journalists at the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. Feel free to publish/broadcast, with attribution.

Editor: David Parsons

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