But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
-You can’t love your enemies if your dead though…
Discussion
Is it loving your enemies to kill them? Why will all those taking the sword perish with the sword? Jesus says the greatest love involves a man laying down his own life.
Matthew 26:52: "Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."
John 15:12-14: "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."
-They will perish for taking life without cause.
-Yes, to lay down one’s life on behalf of preserving another is of the upmost love!
-killing and murder are two very different and distinct things
Plainly, the Bible distinguishes between a justified killing and murder, that is, unlawful (not legally justified) homicide in which the perpetrator intentionally kills another person. The penal codes of nations around the world have historically held a similar distinction. So what God forbids in the Ten Commandments is murder, specifically, not killing, in general.
Certainly under the Law of Moses. Didn't Christ raise the standard here along with other moral laws like lust being akin to adultery?
So is the moral law still applicable? Jesus just raised the bar. I say to if you have hate for a brother than you’ve already committed murder.
It you’re not making your case against self defense though
Jesus reiterated many of the commandments. The moral law is still applicable.
Mark 10:19-21: "Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me."
Perfect..so where do you actually stand on self defense as a Christian?
(from the end of the original post:)
It seems the final word was given when Jesus disarmed Peter:
Matthew 26:52: "Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."
This is perfectly in line with "love your enemies" in Matthew 5:44.
Tertullian understood Jesus disarming Peter to also be disarming all Christians. (He also thought by the same logic that Christians couldn't join the military even during peace time.)
Tertullian in Of Idolatry, Chapter 19:
"But how will a Christian man war, nay, how will he serve even in peace, without a sword, which the Lord has taken away? For albeit soldiers had come unto John, and had received the formula of their rule; albeit, likewise, a centurion had believed; still the Lord afterward, in disarming Peter, unbelted every soldier. No dress is lawful among us, if assigned to any unlawful action."
Acts 5:29 brother
- as helpful as tertulian is/was I don’t obey him
Where did Jesus command to use lethal force in self defense? How does that relate to turning the other cheek and not resisting evil and loving our enemies?
Acts 5:25-32: "Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him."