Warfare under the Command of the King of Kings

It has been a long time since I’ve made a new post to this blog! But, during the last year, my wife Judy and I have watched a number of war movies and have been deeply impressed with the futility of war, its horrible waste of human life and the deeply entrenched lies which compel so many young people to enlist for active duty in armed conflicts! When men seek to settle disputes by fighting and when national leaders “declare war” on other nations they are deceived by the utterly false notion that “might is right”! Nothing could be further from the truth! The “winning “of a war never means that the winning side was right! In reality, no nation ever “wins” a war for it is a losing proposition for all involved. The only ones which “win” in armed conflict are the corporations and the very wealthy which make huge profits by doing business with both sides of the conflict!

I have long been convinced that New Covenant believers have no right to take up arms. But I have been compelled in recent weeks to search out the scriptures again regarding this subject. Two concerns have loomed large in my thinking:
(1) The mindset of most Christians on the subject of warfare has been determined for far too long by principles of nationalism and patriotism rather than by what the Lord Jesus and the scriptures clearly teach.
(2) Current events in our world and the Bible’s clear teaching about end–times events both indicate that very difficult days are about to engulf us when all those who name the name of Christ and seek to live to please Him will be hated, despised and hunted down. Our response to those who hate us will be governed by what we truly believe, and woe be to us if what we believe about warfare has not been derived Biblical instructions to New Covenant people!

The following then are a few thoughts I’ve gleaned from scripture in recent weeks. I know that the things I write below will not “sit well” with many who think that “national defence” or “going to war to defend one’s homeland” are high ideals. So I welcome comments, challenges and questions from many who will disagree as well as from the tiny minority who may happen to share my convictions! I have been deeply encouraged in recent months by the expressed convictions of a number of young Christian men who have allowed the teachings of the Lord Jesus, rather than their cultural norms, to guide their thoughts relative to warfare.

The Lord Jesus, His forerunner John the Baptizer, and the apostles all spoke and taught concerning the kingdom of which the Lord Jesus is the King.

His kingdom is at cross purposes with all the kingdoms of this world.

So, as soldiers in His kingdom, our actions and responses must be consistent with His desires and not follow the pattern of kingdoms of this world!

Prohibitions upon soldiers in His kingdom which are contrary to military principles of kingdoms of this world:

(1) No hierarchy in leadership. (Our “Commander in Chief” was the first to humbly serve his “troops” and first to lay down His life for them!) So too, leaders among His troops will be recognized, not by positions of honour, but by humble service to and self-sacrifice for others.
Mark 10:42) But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. 43) But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: 44) And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. 45) For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
1 John 3:16) Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (Our allegiance will be tested by whether we yield to a commander who exercises authority over us or to the One who humbly gave Himself for us!)

(2) No violence to any man or false accusations against any.
Luke 3:14) And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. (Our true allegiance will be demonstrated by our response to this command. We cannot serve two masters. Any soldier on active duty in armed combat for his country would soon be court-martialled if he purposed to obey this command!)

(3) No destruction of men’s lives.
Luke 9:54) And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? 55) But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 6) For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. (The manner of spirit we are of will be demonstrated by our willingness or unwillingness to destroy the lives of others. We cannot serve two masters.)

(4) No fighting allowed, even to deliver our King from the hand of those who would kill him! (How much less is fighting permitted to deliver his servants, our brothers or sisters, from death at the hand of those who oppose us!)
John 18:36) Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. (A Chruistian’s willingness or unwillingness to fight to protect his own comrades from death will demonstrate which commander and which kingdom has his true allegiance. We cannot serve two masters.)

(5) No paying back evil for evil (no taking of vengeance). Romans 12:17) Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18) If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19) Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. (Every soldier of Jesus Christ will have his true allegiance tested by his response to this command. We cannot serve two masters.)

(6) No evil means may be used to seek victory over evil. Romans 12:21) Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. (Our true allegiance will be demonstrated by our response to this command. We cannot serve two masters.)

(7) None who are ministers of grace have any right to give offence resulting in the ministry being blamed. (All New Covenant believers are part of that ministry! IICorinthians 6:1) We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2) (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) 3) Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: 4) But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 5) In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; 6) By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, 7) By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8) By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; 9) As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; 10) As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. (Our true allegiance will be demonstrated by our response to these instructions. We cannot serve two masters.)

(8) No fighting against flesh and blood and no warfare using physical weapons! II Corinthians 10:3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6) And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Ephesians 6:10) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
(We will have our true allegiance demonstrated by the kind of armour we take up and by the kind of enemies we fight. We cannot serve two masters.)

(9) No entanglement with affairs of this life for soldiers of the King! II Timothy 2:3) Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4) No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (Our true allegiance will be demonstrated by our “entanglements” in life! Who are we determined to please? With whom or with what are we willing to be entangled, entwined or mixed up? )

(10) No surrender to fleshly lusts, which war against the soul and purposing to glorify God by good works! 1 Peter 2:11) Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12) Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. (Our true allegiance will be demonstrated by the desires to which we surrender and by the works which we do.)

Thomas Mann wrote, “War is only the cowardly escape from the problems of peace.”

The apostle James wrote, “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 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. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

Thus we see that the “problems of peace” are the following responsibilities which men of peace must be courageous enough to bear:
(1)The responsibility to be unselfish,(ye lust, ye kill, ye desire to have)
(2)The responsibility to be dependent upon God and to let our requests be made known to Him, (Ye have not because ye ask not.) and
(3)The responsibility to be submissive to His will, rather than demanding our own. (Ye ask amiss that ye may consume it upon your lusts.)

The greatest victory that was ever won, which destroyed the greatest adversary, openly spoiled his principalities and powers and brought the greatest deliverance to the greatest number was accomplished on a lonely hill by the sacrifice of one humble and unselfish man who was dependent upon His God and submissive to His will!

But whenever we will not obey our King (that humble, unselfish, dependent and submissive man) and will not accept the “problems of peace”, i.e…
- the responsibility to demonstrate unselfishness toward our fellow men,
- the responsibility to demonstrate dependence upon our Creator, and
- the responsibility to demonstrate submissiveness to His
revealed will….

-we will make our escape to earthly battlefields…
- to defend our own supposed “rights”…
- by destroying men’s lives …
- as we take up carnal weapons against flesh and blood!

In response to the above, feel free to make comments below or contact me personally at bwood4d@gmail.com

The New Covenant Radically Different from the Old

Years before I'd ever given the subject of "covenants" any serious thought, Judy and I went to the West Indies with all good intentions of being "New Testament Church Planters". In my mind if one established churches after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, one was establishing New Testament (Covenant) churches!! I was to learn years later how wrong I was!

In recent years I've come to realize that 90% of what we taught believers in Dominica to do was patterned NOT after the New Covenant but rather after the Old!!

Under the Old Covenant (established by God with Israel at Sinai) all of life was divided into two categories: (1) Holy things and (2) Common things.....
-there was a Holy building (the tabernacle or temple) where Israelites were to offer all their sacrifices and offerings and common buildings (their homes and all other buildings),
- there was a Holy ministry with special credentials (the sons of Levi between the ages of 20 and 50) and the common people,
-there was a Holy priesthood with special credentials (the sons of Aaron) and the common people,
- there were Holy clothes (worn by the priests and Levites in the tabernacle/temple) and common clothes worn by common people and by the Levites and priests when not serving in the tabernacle/temple,
- there were Holy foods eaten only by the priests and their families and common foods eaten by the common people,
- there were clean animals which Israelites could eat and unclean animals which only Gentiles could eat,
- there were Holy days (sabbaths, feats and new moons etc) consecrated in special ways and common days,
- there were Holy tithes required to be given/used in special ways (i.e. for the support of the Holy priests and ministers) and common uses of resources with which the Lord blessed the people,
- there were Holy offerings for the building and maintenance of the Holy building and common uses of the people's resources for their own needs,
- there was one instance in all the O.T. where the Word of God was read from a pulpit of wood (when the people returning from captivity did not have the Word of God in their own hands Nehemiah 8:4) and other times when the common people had the scriptures and were to read and talk of them with their children throughout the day,
- there was a school of the prophets where young men were trained in prophetic ministry and there were prophets whom God personally called and equipped apart from any school.

Can you begin to see how the majority of things we taught the Dominican believers to do were patterned after the Old Covenant and not the New? We taught them the OC dichotomy between the Holy and the Common, between the sacred and the secular! But the beauty of NC life and ministry is that, for the child of God, the common is made holy! There are no longer to be any such divisions in our lives or ministries!

- We taught the saints in Dominica to meet in a special building (we called it "the church"!) But according to the New Covenant, saved people themselves are the church and such people in the early centuries met most often in their own homes! (Acts 2:2,46; 5:4; 8:3; 12:12; 16:40; 20:20; 28:30; Romans 16:5; I Cor.16:19; Col.4:15; Philemon1:2)

- We taught them that the church must be lead by a special credentialled class of ministers called the "clergy" who were distinguished from the common people, the "laity" by special titles, by special clothes, by special documents/certificates/letters, by special responsibilities and by a special means of support! But such a distinction is absolutely foreign to New Covenant scriptures. All New Covenant believers ARE God's kleros (clergy, inheritance, heritage appointed lot I Peter 5:3), all are gifted and to be equipped for ministry (I Peter 4:10,11; Ephesians 4:11,12), and all are ordained to bear fruit that remains (John 15:16)!

- We taught them that "clergy men" must wear special clothes when ministering "in church" and that the laity should wear special clothes (not their common clothes) when they "went to church"! But such a teaching is absolutely foreign to the new Covenant scriptures!

-We taught them, that there were special Holy days for "going to church" and ordinary days for doing their own business! But the New Covenant scriptures make no such distinction between "the sacred" and "the secular"! Rather, the New Covenant scriptures teach us that NC saints are called to live holy lives 24/7 (I Peter 1:14,15)!!

- We taught them that there were Holy foods (little pieces of bread or crackers and little cups of grape juice) which were to be eaten and drunk only on special holy days, in the Holy building when they were administered to them, by the Holy ministers) and that these Holy foods were clearly distinct from the ordinary food which they ate in their own homes! But the New Covenant scriptures never separate remembering the Lord from the eating of daily meals in ordinary dwellings (Acts 2:42,46; 20:7-11; 28:35)!

- We taught them the necessity of bringing their "tithes and offerings" for the support of the Holy ministers and the maintenance of the Holy building but that the rest of their resources could be used for their own ordinary needs! But the New Covenant scriptures teach that we are stewards of all that has been entrusted to us and we must give account of our stewardship of 100% for the total is the Lord's (II Cor.8 and 9)!

-We established a Bible school for the training of young people who wanted to go "into the ministry" but that those who wanted to train for other occupations should seek out other ordinary schools. New Covenant believers were equipped and discipled by older saints in the course of ordinary daily life among the saints.

- But more than anything else, we taught them two or three times every week that "pulpit ministry" or "the sermon" was the central and most important component of "doing church" when the saints gathered together! But such ministry is absolutely foreign to the New Covenant scriptures! In fact, I have yet to find even one instance in the New Covenant scriptures of divine truth being communicated to saved people by means of a "sermon" or monologue lecture! We have been falsely conditioned to think of a "homily" as a monologue sermon delivered by a pastor from a pulpit to a congregation and that "homiletics" is the art of sermon preparation and delivery, but such could not be further from the truth! If we simply go to the Bible, we learn that the Greek word HOMILEO always designates a conversation among a number of people! (Luke 24:14,15; Acts 20:11 and 24:26)

When the impact of the radical differences between OC and NC life and ministry dawned upon my heart and mind, I was astounded to realize that while I had believed we were establishing NC assemblies we had actually been gathering the Lord's NC people under the bondage of OC teachings and practices whereas He desired that they live in the liberty of New Covenant ministry! (See the contrasts as they are shown in Galatians 4:21-5:2 and in II Corinthians 3)

Only in the last 9 years have we personally enjoyed living and ministering in the context of New Covenant relationships where all believers are appreciated at priests, ministers and God`s ordained clergy, where we realize that all of life is to be lived in holiness, where we practically realize that as believers we ARE the church where ever we go, that all Christians are called to full time ministry and that, for us, there is no distinction between things "sacred" and things "secular"! We enjoy simply meeting with other believers in each others' homes, remembering the Lord as we eat our meals and ministering one to another as the Lord desires saints to do whenever they assemble together i.e. "provoking or stirring one another up to love and good works and exhorting one another" (Hebrews 10:24,25).

We encourage all believers to remain no longer under the bondage of Old Covenant principles where the "holy" is separate from the "common" and the "sacred" is separate from the "secular" in the lives of God's people, but to live in the glorious realization that for us the common has been made holy by the One who established His New Covenant with us (Hebrews 8:10-13)!

Challenged by Covenants!

I was born to and raised by parents who were Baptists. But in my mid-twenties, as I studied the scriptures, the Lord lead us out of Baptist circles and associations and eventually lead us into association with brethren assemblies. Continual study of the Bible and comparison of my practices with the scriptures were again used of the Lord to lead us out of brethren assemblies (when I was 41). It was then that the Lord gave Judy and me a deep longing to visit a number of congregations (of different denominations) with which we had never been closely associated before.

At this point in our journey, we purposed to visit congregations where various homeschooling friends of ours were members. We purposed to visit each one for at least 6 weeks in order to get a "feel" for what each congregation believed and practiced. The majority of the congregations we visited over the next 3 years or so belonged to a variety of "Reformed" denominations.

As strange as it may seem, the greatest impression that was made on my mind as we attended services, listened to sermons, read literature and got to know people in these Reformed congregations was this......during the first 41 years of my life I could not remember hearing any teaching at all on the subject of covenants in scripture, but in Reformed circles I was hearing about covenants all the time! The covenants that were most commonly referred to by Reformed speakers and writers were "the covenant of works" and "the covenant of grace".

At that point in my life, I knew little about covenants and would have been hard pressed to even give a definition of the word! I knew that a covenant was "something like a contract" but that was the extent of my knowledge of the subject! Thus I became curious to learn more and to find out exactly what the Bible had to say about covenants.

As I began looking up and studying all the references to "covenants" in scripture, I was amazed to realize just how much the Bible had to say about them! Although I could not find either “the covenant of works” or “the covenant of grace” anywhere in the Bible, I did learn that covenants were promises, as were oaths and vows. But covenants made by God are promises (or series of promises) which are signified by visible tokens which last as long as the covenants which they signify. Do you recall the very first covenant in the Bible? It was God's covenant with Noah and all flesh after the flood (Genesis 9). It was His promise never again to destroy the earth with a flood and it was signified by the token of the rain bow. We know that that covenant was an everlasting covenant because God said so (Gen.9:16) and also because the rainbow, the covenant token, is still with us!

Covenants were unnecessary when there was no sin affecting relationships and no curse marring relationships between creatures or their relationship with their Creator. But after God began bringing judgment upon the wickedness of men in the earth, He also began instituting covenants with men. These covenants would serve to progressively reveal God’s purposes and ways to man and ultimately remove the curse entirely. (Rev.22:3)

The Old Covenant and the New Covenant

Although there are at least 8 covenants which God has made, the two major covenants in the Bible are the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Unfortunately, Bible translators have used two different English words (testament and covenant) to designate one word in the original languages. But these two words are synonymous. Another unfortunate designation (one which is not supported in the scriptures themselves) is the designation of scriptures which were given prior to the Lord Jesus` incarnation as "The Old Testament" and the scriptures which were given after as "The New Testament".

But contrary to this common notion, the Old Testament or Old Covenant is not the 39 books of the Bible from Genesis to Malachi! Rather it is the covenant which God made with the nation of Israel at Sinai. Specifically, that covenant is the Ten Commandments! (Deut.4:13 and Hebrews chapter 8) This covenant was signified by the sprinkling of the blood of animal sacrifices (Exodus 24:4-8) and was brought to an end with the death of the Lord Jesus and the rending of the veil of the temple.

Contrary to popular belief, the New Testament or New Covenant is not the 27 books of the Bible from Matthew to Revelation but rather a series of 7 divine promises prophesied by Jeremiah, recorded again in Hebrews 8, dedicated by the blood of the Lord Jesus, Himself , and signified by the cup which the Lord Jesus commanded His disciples to drink in remembrance of Him. (Matt.26:27; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:19,20; I Cor.11:24-26)

So Matthew's Mark's, Luke's and John's gospel accounts up to the death of the Lord Jesus are about people who lived under the Old Covenant! New Covenant times commenced after the death of the Lord Jesus at Calvary!

While we and our ancestors have lived in New Covenant times since the Lord Jesus died at Calvary, it is a sad fact that most Christians today have memorized the Old Covenant but could not tell you what the New Covenant is! Sadder still is the awful truth that the vast majority of Christian gatherings/congregations, their “services” and “ministries”(even those which claim to be “New Testament Churches”) function NOT according to New Covenant principles but according to those of the Old Covenant!!!

I’ll go into more detail on these matters in the next post….