God's priority is the salvation of souls. When a people-group blockades his plan, does he not have the right to remove them? He is the God who knows "the end from the beginning" (Isa. 46:10). He knows the hearts of men and protects his people by punishing the evil of their wicked neighbors. Is it not God's right to punish evil? Is it not appropriate for the one who tells us to hate that which is evil to punish that which is evil? Of course it is.
And--this is crucial--he uses governments to do so.
"Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by God... ...The authorities are sent by God to help you. But if you are doing something wrong, of course you should be afraid, for you will be punished. The authorities are established by God for that very purpose, to punish those who do wrong." (Romans 13:1,4)
Scripture elevates the role of government to a high place. Their position is a God-given assignment. Paul echoes this truth three times:
All governments have been placed in power by God.
The authorities are sent by God.
The authorities are established by God.
The noun Paul employs for "authorities" is diakonoi- the same word from which we translate deacon. Those in authority, the President, the soldiers, Secretary of Defense and so forth, are God's deacons and deaconesses--as ordained for their task as is any preacher or evangelist.
Their role is clear: protect and punish. Protect the innocent and punish evil. When the government perceives that her people are under threat, when negotiations have proven fruitless and olive branches have gone unacknowledged, when the leaders of a country are convinced that an attack against evil will preserve that which is good and protect those who are innocent--then, and only then, war is justifiable.
War is divinely delegated to government.
Somebody once asked Jean-Paul Sartre, the French philosopher, "Where was God when the Nazis were about to overrun Europe?" Sartre replied, "Where was man?" He seems to have been asking, 'Why did we delay?' What if we had acted sooner? And, once we did react, was the attack not justified? Was it not right to overthrow Hitler's attempt at genocide? Was justice not served in the liberation of the American slaves? Would we be better off if we had ignored the tactics of Mussolini or dismissed the attack of Japan in 1941?
Unpunished evil is, itself, evil.
But what of the teachings of Jesus? What about a passage like Luke 6:27-31:
"But if you are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other cheek. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give what you have to anyone who asks you for it; and when things are taken away from you, don't try to get them back. Do for others as you would like them to do for you."(Luke 6:27-31)
Have we stumbled upon an inconsistency? Do we find God calling for war one time and "cheek-turning" another? Is this a double standard? I don't think so. The government is called to turn the other cheek. We call this diplomacy, negotiation, and compromise. If such efforts prove fruitless, and if the leaders feel their constituency is under threat, they can then take steps to protect the innocent.
Consider this truth from a personal standpoint. If someone criticizes me, I am called to "turn the other cheek." I forgive. But what if they criticize my wife and daughters. What if they threaten them? What if a perpetrator tells me he is coming after my family? What do I do?
Simple, I protect the innocent. I take steps to insure their safety.
But, Max. aren't you called to love your enemies? Absolutely. And I will love him in jail.
Why? Because, to leave my family unprotected would be to abdicate my responsibility as family leader. It is a higher evil to let evil go unpunished than to punish those who would harm innocents.
