The President and War
By Rev. D. Earl Cripe

 

It is not so hard to understand the position of secular authority in God’s scheme of things for a nation.  The Bible speaks with articulation, directness, and simplicity on the matter.  In Romans 13 we are told:

 

Rom 13:1 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.

Rom 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

Rom 13:3 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:

Rom 13:4 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.

Rom 13:5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

 

God has delivered the sword to society to be used in the punishment of evil doers and He means for them to do it.  They bear not the sword in vain.  In the first six chapters of Genesis it was demonstrated that the race cannot live in this world without God-appointed agencies to protect the innocent, punish the law breakers and evil doers, and uphold enough of a semblance of justice so that society does not break completely down until God’s program of redemption in this world is complete.  Then it will break down and God will destroy it.  In Matthew 24:37, Jesus said that this state of near lawlessness will be one of the sure signs that the end is at hand.  Man cannot live in this world without sanctions and those to enforce them.  Most knowledgeable Christian people know and accept that.

 The matter gets confusing when the question is asked: How can a man like President Bush, who is outspoken and unashamed in his confession of Christ as Savior and admits to praying every morning, be found in the position of leading the nation into war?  More properly asked, can a President, or any leader, be obedient to God and do such a thing?  

I need not tell you that this has been the bone of contention among Christians.  It is my observation that most Christians with whom I speak, whether pro or con, do not understand this matter and are not well founded in their conclusions.  This is not a Christian nation, we do not live under the Old Testament dispensation and it is not the responsibility or the permission of the Church to go to war to protect it.  On the other hand, we are temporary citizens of this world and, as Romans 13 tells us, we have the same civic and social obligations as others.  If a man is speeding and the patrolman pulls him over, he is guilty of the same infraction and he pays the same fine whether he is a believer or an unbeliever.  We are ordered to pay our taxes because it is with the tax money that the policemen, the firemen, the road and utilities construction and maintenance, and the administration of the governments upon which we all depend are funded.  We benefit from it and so we are required, not only by men, but by God, to do our part in paying for it.  This is the way God has set it up.

 A man can be a good Christian and still be a president who leads and nation into war.  He can do that because Jesus told him how and why he can do it.  “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s,” Jesus told those Pharisees who were trying to trap Him.  He did not tell them that religious men owe nothing to Caesar.  He told them to be careful to understand the difference between that which belongs to Caesar and that which belongs to God, and not to get the two confused.  Without question, the image of God is upon the life of the one who has come to Him in saving repentance and conversion.  We are to seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and put that ahead of all else.  If we took the letter of that, we would immediately be cornered in a dead end alley.  We would not be able to lay out a shirt or a dress on Saturday night to press it or otherwise prepare it for wearing on Sunday because that would be taking thought for what we are going to put on tomorrow.  We would not be able to save money or to plan for the future because the Bible says take no thought for tomorrow, saying, what am I going to eat, what am I going to drink and with what am I going to be clothed.  Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.  But of course, we do not take the letter which kills. We take the spirit which gives life.  It is alright to have a job, but we must never let the material needs of our lives become the most important concern so that our spiritual lives as God’s witness in this world are coerced by the fear of losing it.  Every good and precious gift comes down from above from the Father of Lights.  And so in our jobs, as in our schooling, our businesses and other things, God takes precedence over all. 

Even so, in all of these areas of life, there is something there that belongs to Caesar.  We owe respect and an honest day’s work to our employer.  Whatever the description of our job is, we are obliged, not just by men, but by God, to fulfill it.  We owe honor and respect to the policeman, the patrolman, the deputy, the mayor and so on.  If we choose to go on in our schooling, we have a God given obligation to study hard and get the best grades we can.  If our job is that of a law enforcement officer we owe it to Caesar to punish those who break the law.  That is not the work of the Church, but it is the work of a man who holds that job.  He can be a Christian who obeys God and commits his life to sanctified living but there is no conflict between that and doing a good job as a policeman.  In fact, he cannot be a good Christian and not be a good policeman if that is his chosen profession, because the punishment of evil doers is God’s program for the powers that be are ordained of God.  Man did not create these positions; God created them in the Genesis 9:5 and 6.  Law enforcement people are God’s servants ordained to do exactly that.  This area in the life of a Christian law enforcement officer belongs to Caesar. The same is true of Christian contractors, Christian farmers and Christian ditch diggers.  You have to abide by codes, by contract laws, but environmental laws and on and on.  You have to file contractor’s liens, you have to collect money using the tools of the legal system of this world.  These things are not done inside the church by biblical mandate of by spiritual gifts.  They are done in Caesar’s world with Caesar’s tools and rules.  God requires that of us, but none of it means that we are compromised in our Christian life and walk, or it certainly does not have to mean that.  ‘Rendering to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar’ is Jesus’ rule for us to live by while we are in this world. 

There are those in the Christian community who do not believe that Christians should hold certain jobs such as policemen.  There are many “Non-resistant” groups who do not believe that it is right for Christian men to go to war to protect the country (and of course you have to include Christian women in that now, in order to be politically correct). I have had Christian men of sincerity and conviction contend with me that it is wrong for a Christian to belong to a trade union.  Quite a number of Christian people do not think that good Christian people should hold government jobs such as school teaching in the public schools, since the philosophy of public education is anti-creation, anti-Bible, anti-absolutes and anti-God. These doctrinal positions are acknowledged, and honored in orthodox Christianity. The government regards religious traditions that teach their people against involvement in war and do not require them to do that.  The orthodox church also acknowledges the voracity and efficacy of other actions taken or not taken out of conviction.  If a man believes something to be wrong and he does it anyway because of pressures or the intimidation of peers, then he is condemned in the deed, said St Paul in Romans 14:14 and 24.  But there is a caveat here.  These are matters of doubtful disputations where what any given Christian should do is in doubt and it is up to him to make up his own mind what he should do and why.  In these doubtful disputations, it is not permitted that he one does not do the thing in question judges him wrong who does. Conversely, he who does the thing in question has no leaved from God or the Bible to, judges him wrong who does not chose to do it.  It is a matter of individual conscience where each man must make his choice based on his principles and be approved in the sight of God.  It is often not satisfactory to Christian people that two men can do the opposite thing in these doubtful matter and both of them be right in the sight of God, but that is what the 14^th chapter of Romans clearly teaches in this matter (of occurs this does not apply to things on which the Bible speaks clearly; things that are held by the orthodox church to be dogma and that are not subject to individual interpretation).  

This, then, gives the Christian Church the permission and the responsibility to honor the convictions of Christians who do things that we ourselves would not do and to pray for them in a positive way. 

 That applies to Christians who hold the job of policeman, contractor, farmer, teacher in the public school, construction worker in the trade union, and Christian students in secular colleges.  It also applies to Christian presidents.  Such a man (or his defenders) has no leave to try to convince the church that this is a Christian position.  It is not so. Being President of the United States is not a Christian vocation, it is a secular one; just like digging a ditch, driving a truck, or building a house.  And when a man takes on that job, there are certain things that belong to Caesar.  One of them is to protect the country and its citizens by force if necessary.  He is the chief law enforcement officer in this country and he bears not the sword in vain.  The secret is not to give to Caesar anything that belongs to God in the process of faithfully carrying out that job.  And that, my brethren, is a soul searching issue for all of us.