Hebrews 12
11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
#guncontrol
It is understandably very hard for the world to look at Christian society and see us as having a Biblical right to bear arms because when the world sees us bearing arms, they do not see it from a perspective of exercising the righteousness of God but rather they see it from their own nature, where everything they do is centred around themselves. To them, there is no such thing as true religion because their indifference to the truth about the Lord Jesus, renders them insensitive to the transformation of the individual, who is purchased from the belligerent bloodline of fallen Adam and grafted to the body of Christ, whose delight is no more in pleasing self but in pleasing God. Such is Christian society! Let us take a look at an excerpt from the Old Testament concerning the godliness of bearing arms in building Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 4
12 When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,”
13 then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears and bows.
14 When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.”
15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.
16 From that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows and the breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah.
17 Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon.
18 As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me.
If we were to look at Gen1:28, 3:15 & Rom5:17, we understand that from the fall, the world has locked its horns with God’s Church (Mk13:13), and there can never be any fellowship/communion between the Church and the world because what pleases the world gives us a nauseating feeling in the pit of our stomach i.e. their joy is not ours to share in likeminded fellowship. Take a cue from the lions and the Maasai tribe in Kenya/Tanzania, the lions keep respectful distance from the Maasai and their cattle (property) out of fear of being killed. It is the same with the world, we have no desire to kill them but from their self-serving nature the world is given to anarchy/destruction, which is something we must protect ourselves and our livelihood from.
Luke 22
36 And Jesus said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.
When you take a look at all the Western nations, it is not very hard to notice from their flags (with a cross) that their culture especially concerning their morality and etiquettes has been shaped by the Gospel. Notice, how everybody wants to go and settle in the West but nobody wants to admit that the rather congenial environment one associates with the West is what has been afforded to them by the Gospel. Such a hypocritical disposition among immigrants is understandable, when you consider that the world has no capacity to find fault with itself because repentance leading to eternal life can only be accomplished in Jesus Christ.
Gal 3
8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”
…
14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
It is the Gospel that has made the West what it is (Ezek36:27-31/Jn3:3, 16). However today with all the religious backsliding, the West is losing its grip on the Moral Law as taught in the Gospel and their lives are now as bland as their food. They keep looking everywhere to find where the fault is while also trying to find meaning to life without realising that the fault lies with themselves owing to their backsliding from the Christian faith, which prospered them. Take a look at China, I don’t know how many of you know this but Gospel is spreading like wildfire in China, with corporates using the Bible to teach employees Biblical etiquettes so as to build loyalty and genuine employer-employee relationships. It is no wonder that China today is the world’s second largest economy after the US. For this very reason, I understand that the development of my country India too rests, not on how much business comes in but on how well it receives the Gospel because God exists and Jesus is the only eternal truth.
1Timothy 1 (Paul to Timothy)
8 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers
10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,
11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
When I hear all this “Surrender Your knife | Save a Life” in the UK and then “Gun Control” in the US, I am reminded of convicts in prison, where no metal objects are allowed, out of fear of one person killing the other. If you were to see society from such a view point, you would understand that the issue that needs to be dealt with here is not really the guns or the knives or even the ceiling fan for that matter, it is the depraved spiritual state of the people in their ignorance of God. I am not sure if you can perceive this according to all that is happening but these are tell-tale signs of society heading towards anarchy and gun control is only an excuse to divert our attention from what really needs to be done i.e. people getting back to establishing their lives in Christ. In all their backsliding people have turned slothful, concerned only about their own lives while having no qualm is shoving every other responsibility on God, such is their definition of faith… these who are unmoved by the fear of God. Outside Christ there is no life and so people find it cumbersome to even bear responsible stewardship over the world as coming from a godly conscience, a purpose we were given as human beings by God.
Isaiah 65
24 “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.
Yes, in His time there will be peace in the new heaven and the new earth, merited by not men but by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (Is 9:6) in accordance to the will of God the Father (Col 1:16-20) but until that time comes we ought to be on our toes, waiting on Him in obedience while staying on guard against scheming hypocrites (Mt25:8-12), all because Jesus is worth the effort we invest in the reconstruction of society unto the glory of God (Mt28:18-20).
Making known the Defeated Dragon 