Should America Be At War?
by Rev. Paul M. Reiner
Sr. Pastor
(This article is taken from a message preached at the Salina Bible Church on Sunday March 23, 2003. It was posted to this site on Tuesday March 24th. At the time of the posting American military troops are about 50 miles outside of Baghdad. It is hoped that by the time you are reading this the war will be concluded.)
Over the past months, you have undoubtedly heard many people of notoriety expressing their opinions on whether the United States should be at war with Iraq. From movie stars to politicians (sometimes it is very hard to tell the difference) to the common man in the street, everyone has an opinion and is wanting to share it. Those who are both for and against the war have based their opinions on various different beliefs and suppositions. In the end, though, the only legitimate answer to the question is whether it is the will of God for America to be at war with Iraq, now. To answer that question, it will b e necessary to ask and answer 3 other questions, and then I believe the answer to our primary question will become clear.
The first of the three questions that must be asked is: Why does war exist? Anthropologists and sociologists declare that war exists for a number of reasons- economic, political, religious, lack of education, etc. Butthese are only symptoms of the cause, not the root cause of war. There is only one root cause for war, and that is man is evil by nature. In a day and age where messages of self-esteem and self-worth dominate the mentality of most people, the idea of man being naturally evil is not popular. But while not being popular, it is nonetheless biblical. In the original creation of God, man was created in the image and likeness of the Creator. That likeness included an undefiled holiness. However, it was not too long until man exercised his will against God, sinned, and became a sinner. With a corrupted nature, man was only capable of transmitting sin to the following generations. Notice what Genesis 5:3 says about the nature of Seth:
“And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:”
In that Adam was a sinner, it was only possible for him to pro-create a sinful son. Before too long, sinful man filled the earth. And sinful man did what sinners do naturally: they sinned.
“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)
Not only did evil thought and actions fill the minds of men continuously, but it filled the minds of all men:
“And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” (Genesis 6:12)
The corruption was so great that God wiped out the earth with a flood and all men perished except 8, Noah and his family, who found grace from God. The world was repopulated, but unfortunately man was still naturally sinful, even "good" men, like David, who wrote:
“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalms 51:5)
Some might argue that babies are born without sin and that they learn to sin as they imitate their parents and the world around them. David dispels that argument in Psalm 58:3 where he states:
“The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” (Psalms 58:3)
There are thousands of books in bookstores today on how to teach your children everything. But I have never seen a book on teaching your children to lie, and yet, I have never seen a child who does not know how to lie. How can this be except they come by it naturally.
As we move to the New Testament, the nature of man does not change. Look what Jesus says about man in Matthew 7:11-
“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:11)
The Apostle Paul, in his theological treatise on the doctrine of salvation, summarizes the teaching of Scripture with these words:
“10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known:” (Romans 3:10-17)
| War exists because man is naturally evil |
A second reason for the existence of war is that the world is satanically deceived. Man is capable, by himself, of inciting war, but Satan is a great instigator. Satan delights in deceiving man into believing lies that man might take the life of other men. The Lord, Jesus, makes this point very clear when He addressed the Pharisees:
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
An example of Satan's deception can be found in the Old Testament-
“And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.” (1 Chronicles 21:1)
Satan's standing against Israel can be explained in understanding the numbering by David. The passage reveals that David numbered his troops. The only reason anyone would number their troops is that they are facing a military threat. We understand then, that Satan had instigated the armies of the nations surrounding Israel, and they were coming to war against David.
Some will say that was just Old Testament stuff and that Satan is incapable of doing the same today. In response to that assertion we only need to look to the prophetic future to see if there is any change in the nature or behavior of Satan. We find that there is not. In a scene which will transpire in the middle of the tribulation period, John declares:
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:9)
“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.” (Revelation 12:13)
“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Revelation 12:17)
The woman, in these verses is a representation of the nation of Israel and the son she brings forth is the Lord Jesus. Those who Satan persecutes are those who come to faith in Jesus Christ during the tribulation. After the tribulation is over, Satan is bound and cast in to a bottomless pit for 1000 years while Jesus reigns on earth. At the end of the 1000 years Satan is loosed and allowed to once again roam the earth. Will that 1000 years of captivity make any changes in the nature or behavior of Satan? Scripture says:
“7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle:the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.” (Revelation 20:7-8)
Throughout all of history, both that which is past, and that which is yet to come, Satan deceives and provokes men to take life in war.
| War exists because man is naturally evil and Satan deceives man into warring |
A third reason for the existence of war is that man is often unwilling to allow God to be the determiner and provider of what man needs. The New Testament writer, James makes it very clear in his epistle:
“1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.” (James 4:1-2)
From practically the beginning of time man has listened to the lie of Satan that man should have what God has forbidden. It was so in the Garden with Adam and Eve and it is still so today. Man believes, at Satan's suggestion, that he knows better than God what man needs, and if God is not giving it to man, then it is the necessity of man to take it for himself. In other words, if you have what I want, and God will not supply it for me in a "reasonable way" then I MUST use force to take it from you.
| War exists because man is naturally evil and Satan deceives man into warring for the things that man wants and God will not provide |
From what is given above, it would appear that since war is a consequence of sin entering into the world, then it must be evil also. However, simply because evil men use war for evil purposes, war does not need to be intrinsically evil. On the contrary, Scripture states that war can be good. We find that righteous men went to war and fought with the commendation of God. Various examples could be given from the Old Testament but a passage in the New Testament makes a great summation:
“32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” (Hebrews 11:32-34)
Notice that these men became valiant in fighting and turned away armies all with the commendation of God (Hebrews 11:39). Not only did righteous men fight, but in various places in Scripture we read that God commanded these men to fight. Before the children of Israel entered into the promised land God instructed Moses,
“51 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; 52 Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:” (Numbers 33:51-52)
The only way to "drive out" the inhabitants of the land was for the Israelites to go to war with them. The book of Joshua records the battles that Israel fought and the victory that God gave to them for their obedience.
Even more compelling is that God, Himself, fought in battles. As Israel stood at the Red Sea, and with the Egyptian army following closely on their heels to overtake then and to destroy them, Moses said,
“The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:14)
Once again some may protest that these examples are from the Old Testament and God does not command nor does He fight today. Again we turn to the prophetic future and we find differently. At the very end of the tribulation, at the battle of Armageddon, Jesus, will return and for the purpose of warfare.
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” (Revelation 19:11)
| It is clear that while evil men can use war for evil purposes, it can however, be used to righteously accomplish the will of God |
This brings us to the third question which must be answered in order to determine whether America should be at war with Iraq. The question is: What are the conditions that make war necessary? I believe that there are two primary qualifications for war to be in the will of God. The first is when the lives of innocent men, women and children are in jeopardy. There is in the Old Testament a principle of equitable justice. Punishment for evil doing is to be equal to the consequences of the evil. It is stated in Deuteronmy 19:
“16 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; 17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; 18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; 19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. 20 And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. 21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” (Deuteronomy 19:16-21)
Some might argue that Jesus repealed that principle in Matthew 5. For a refutation of that argument see the article War & Peace .
A second condition that will determine when war is necessary is when evil men will not abide by moral law. The Apostle Paul gave the principle in Romans 13:14, where he wrote:
“1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” (Romans 13:1-4)
The word "powers" in these verse is a translation of the Greek word exousia (exousia) which is also translated "authority". The word describes one who has been invested with authority to exercise control over others, such as a national government or local civil authority. Notice that the one in authority does not wield the economic sanction or diplomatic process but a sword. The sword is the instrument of a soldier and when applied to a nation, this verse clearly teaches that there are times when a nation should war against another nation that is not complying to moral international law.
When these two principles are applied to the situation in Iraq, I believe it becomes apparent that war is justified. First, Saddam Hussein has taken the lives of innocent people. Whether ties to Al Quida and the attack on the Twin Towers can be confirmed or not, Hussein has murdered many of his own people with chemical and biological weapons. Many people in his own country have been executed, tortured and raped for crimes they did not commit, or that were not worthy of that degree of punishment (torture and rape are not just punishments for any crime). His violation of the principle of equitable justice puts him the place where he deserves the "justice" meted out to his countrymen.
Secondly, there has been resolution after resolution, sanction after sanction and Hussein still refuses to comply with U.N. mandates. Some argue that if U.N. inspectors were given more time, they would have discovered all the illegal weapons and forced Hussein to comply with the resolutions without war. To believe this is frankly the same as believing that the moon is made of cheese. I recently made a trip to visit family in Waukegan, IL. To get there from my house, it is necessary to travel through Chicago. To go through Chicago, I take the Dan Ryan Expressway- which is a misnomer for there is nothing express about it. The speed limit is posted at 55mph. Unfortunately, when we reached Chicago, it was the beginning of the rush hour and we averaged about 5mph on the "expressway" because of all the traffic congestion. What was interesting is that when we finally reached the end of the expressway, the traffic dissipated somewhat and we resumed a good speed. In fact, (please don't tell anyone) we were able to travel at about 65mph, 10 miles above the posted speed limit (shhhhhhhh). And all the time that I was traveling at this speed, I was being passed by those who were going faster. Why were we all in such a hurry? Simple, because we all wanted something that God was willing to give us- a fast trip through Chicago, and consequently we were making up for lost time. Secondly, we all believed that we could travel at those speeds without consequence. Even though the sign said "Speed Limit 55mph" we all believed that the law would not bring any consequence to us. Even if the city of Chicago had posted more speed limit signs, none of us would have slowed down. But, put one car with flashing red lights on its top where all could see, and brake lights would abound, at least as long as the policeman could be seen. But remove the presence of "power" and all would resume their unlawful rate of travel. Saddam Hussein will not listen to moral law, so it is necessary that we police him by war.
Some would say that it is not America's place to be the world's police. There is a significant problem with this idea. The Scripture is clear that God so loved the WORLD, not just Christians or America. And it is always necessary for righteous people to stand for righteousness and against evil. While the argument can NOT be made that America is a Christian nation (although certainly founded upon Christian ideals) it nonetheless can and must act righteously. Even if all other nations in the world refuse to act righteously, there is no permissible reason why America should likewise refuse to do so.
Another argument against the war is that it might lead to increased terrorist attacks and a diminishing of appreciation for the U.S. around the world, especially in Islamic countries. But the issue is not what might happen by other countries if we go to war, but what might happen by God if we do not do that which is right by Him. James said, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17). If going to war against Saddam Hussein is in the will of God, and I am convinced that it is, then the greatest catastrophe would come to us only if we refuse to go, rather than from any terrorist that might attack us if we do.