Biblical Worldview Foundations

In Defense of Violence

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Biblical Worldview

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2015-12-27

Synopsis: John Weaver argues that Scripture distinguishes between condemned violence (unjust, oppressive acts, often by those in authority) and commended violence (righteous defense of life, family, and property in obedience to God). Using Jeremiah 22 and many other passages, he shows that God commands judgment and justice, and that failing to act when violence is required brings a curse. He applies this to personal and societal defense, urging believers to cultivate a biblical combat mentality.

[John Weaver] I want you to open your Bible today, if you would, please, to Jeremiah, chapter 22, and I'm going to be. Probably quoting a lot of scriptures, there's some that I want you to turn to, but the message today is simply titled In Defense of Violence or Defensive Violence, and I think you'll understand as we get into the scripture. So notice, Jeremiah, chapter 22, beginning with verse one.

[John Weaver] Thus said the Lord, go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word and say, hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sits upon the throne of David down my servants and my people that enter into these gates. Thus said the Lord, execute your judgment and righteousness and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor and do no wrong. Do no violence to the stranger The fatherless nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. For if you do this thing, indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots on horses, he and his servants and his people.

[John Weaver] I want to call your attention, particularly in verse three. And remember, this verse is addressed primarily to the king, to those who are doing ruling and have power. He says, and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow. Neither shed innocent blood in this place. We are strangers to violence. We have not been brought up in violence. We've not lived in or around violence.

[John Weaver] In fact, the truth of the matter is most of us have absolutely no intent and no desire to do harm. to anyone. We've also been taught that all violence is inherently wrong, and therefore we kind of shun it like the plague. In all probability, most Christians could not even give a good definition of violence, or at least not a good definition of biblical violence. One of the requirements that God gives in Jeremiah chapter 22 is to do no violence.

[John Weaver] I want you to note, if you would please, particularly in verse three again, instead of reading all four verses, but look in verse three. Thus said the Lord, and he's talking to the king, remember, thus said the Lord, execute your judgment and righteousness and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor. And do no wrong. Do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither should innocent blood In this place, so obviously in this context, violence can be done not only to the stranger, but to the fatherless and the widow. Now, if it is wrong to do violence to a stranger. How much more wicked and worse would it be to do violence to a brother? Jeremiah, in this passage, further links violence to the failure to do judgment and justice.

[John Weaver] Because the heart of these individuals happen to be filled with greed and covetousness. Look, if you would, down to verse 13. Here's a good illustration. Warned him that built this house by unrighteousness and his chambers by wrong, that useth his neighbor's service without wages and giveth him not for his work. That said, I will build me a wide house and large chambers and cutting him out windows.

[John Weaver] And it is sealed with cedar and painted with vermilion. Shalt thou reign because our closest thyself in cedar did not thy father eat and drink and do judgment and justice. And then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy, that it was well with him was not this to know me, said the Lord. But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness and for to shed innocent blood and for oppression and for violence to do it. Isn't that interesting? God asked, Shalt thou reign simply because you're rich and well off and you have power and you have authority? And he said, was not, did not your father do judgment and justice? And then it was well with him. And then he asked, was not this to know me? Well, actually, verses 15 and 16 would be the opposite of doing violence. Therefore, to do judgment and justice, to do that which is righteous and holy. Would be the opposite of doing violence.

[John Weaver] The very first mention of the word violence is found in Genesis chapter six and verse 11. That verse says this, the earth also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence. In hermeneutics, which is the art or the science of Bible interpretation, there is a principle known as the law of first mention. The very first time a word is mentioned in the Bible and the very first time. It is known to mention, but how it is used. In that mention. is usually the way the word is going to be used throughout scripture, unless the context dictates otherwise. When you look at Genesis six and verse 11, the Hebrew word that is found there and most often throughout the Old Testament is the Hebrew word commas, which literally means to be cruel, to be unjust, to be unrighteous, to be false, to oppress and to be violent.

[John Weaver] Interestingly, most Christians have never considered. Oppression and injustice and fraudulence as violence. I want you to stop and pause and think about what I've just said. Because injustice and a lack of judgment is a specific form of violence, it is vile and wicked. And it is directed primarily against God and his law and then secondarily at his people. So violence, then, is something that should cause us to cry out to God. The Bible says in Psalm 89 and verse 14, judgment and judgment are the habitation of thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face. Now, listen to this. Judgment and justice are the habitation of thy throne. And then when you get to Proverbs 21 in verse three, the Bible says to do justice and judgment is more acceptable unto the Lord than sacrifice. Now, if justice and judgment are the habitation of God's throne. And if justice and judgment are more acceptable unto the Lord than sacrifice, would that not therefore mean that injustice, unrighteousness, And fraud, not only are violence, but they are particularly a form of violence against God and his law.

[John Weaver] So it's something that we should cry out about. Habakkuk in Habakkuk one in verse two said, Oh, Lord, how long shall I cry and I will not hear even cry out of the violence. So Habakkuk was crying out against violence. I want you to stop and think about violence. Proverbs 17 and verse 15 says this, listen carefully, he that justify the wicked. And he that condemns the just, even they both are an abomination to the Lord. Now, here's my question. Would you have a judge that condemns the just? Or a judge that justifies the wicked Is that not violence? Of course it is. It's violence to God and his law and his people. Now, I only have two points this morning. I want you to see, first of all, violence condemned. And then secondly, violence commended, so violence condemned, violence is most often condemned in scripture.

[John Weaver] It is usually that which is wicked, violent, hurtful toward those who are innocent and instead deserve kindness and respect such as the widow and the orphan and the stranger that's been mentioned in our text. Usually, you're going to find that violent individuals are individuals who happen to be in positions of power and authority. They are the violent men. In fact, David was a very great warrior. But even violent men terrified David. Let me show you. I want you to hold Jeremiah 22, but turn in your Bibles very quickly to Psalm 18. Psalm 18. And notice, if you would please, verse 48, then we'll go to Psalm 140. Notice if you would. Psalm 18. And then Psalm 140. In Psalm 18, beginning there with verse 48, we read this. Listen carefully. Psalm 18, verse 48.

[John Weaver] He delivered me from mine enemies. Yea, thou has lifted me up above those that rise up against me. Thou has delivered me from the violent man. Hmm. Thou has delivered me from the violent man. Let me ask you a question. Who would be the violent man in David's life? Well, look in your Bible to Psalm 140. Psalm 140, you have to remember now that David was a man of war, and yet he is saying now has delivered me from the violent man. Notice Psalm 140. And let's begin reading there with verse one, because again, David is praying and he says this. Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man. Preserve me from the violent man.

[John Weaver] Which imagined mischief in their heart, continually they gathered together for war. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent adders poison is under their lips. Keep me a word from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from the violent man who have purposed to overthrow my goings. Wow. Now, David is praying to be preserved from the violent man. And then he said this violent man is purposed to overthrow his goings.

[John Weaver] May I ask you a question? Who was it that was continually chasing David and trying to kill him? King Saul. There are other violent men mentioned in David's life. Doeg the Edomite was one of them. But it was Saul in his position of authority and power that was seeking his overthrow. Violent men not only imagine mischiefs or iniquities in their hearts, they're always ready to commit violence in order to secure their ends. They lie, they deceive, and they seek to overthrow the righteous. In Proverbs 16 and verse 29, the Bible says, a violent man enticed his neighbor and leaded him in a way that is not good. So a violent man is not necessarily someone who comes out swinging all the time. He's someone who can be very seductive. So a violent man entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good. Violence is promulgated in the assemblies of the violent. And they have no respect for God or man, if you look in your Bibles to Psalm 86 and verse 14.

[John Weaver] And, you know, this thought just came to me as I was driving here this morning. Psalm 86 and verse 14, David says, Oh God, the proud are risen against me and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul and have not set thee before them. The assemblies of violent men. So violent men assemble together. I did not look up the word assemblies. I wonder if there's a parallel and we could read it, the courts of violent men. Have sought after my soul and have not set thee before them. Because obviously an assembly means they're getting together somehow, some way.

[John Weaver] And so far we've seen from scripture, usually violence is from those in positions of authority. There's a good illustration of this in Luke, chapter 18, verses two through five. You remember there, our Lord talks about the unjust judge. He says there was in a city a judge which feared not God, nor regarded man. And there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him saying, Avenge me, my adversary.

[John Weaver] And he would not for a while. But afterward, he said to himself, I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. Now, notice here was a man. Who was an unjust judge? He had a duty. He had a responsibility to execute judgment and justice. And yet he refused to do so. And finally, that which prompted him to finally avenge this little woman.

[John Weaver] Well, she just kept on until she wore him out. She wouldn't give up. But he had the responsibility, unhappily, We have many authorities like this unjust judge. They do not know to do right. They will not do right. And they store violence for themselves and for others. There's an interesting verse in Amos chapter three in verse 10, where the word of God says this, listen, for they know not to do right, saith the Lord, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces. in their palaces, so their kings or their judges or their men of importance with power and authority. And so God says they know not to do what is right. So likewise, today we have judges and rulers and bureaucrats that have no idea. Of that which is right and just and lawful or even merciful. They vainly and foolishly believe that they are the law themselves. They vainly and foolishly believe that they are the distributors of justice. No matter.

[John Weaver] Or regardless of how they function. Such. Are violent men. I want you to look in your Bibles, the first Samuel, chapter 12, first Samuel, chapter 12. And let's begin reading there with verse one. I want you to see what Samuel says. First Samuel, chapter 12, beginning there with verse one. You remember, the children of Israel have committed a sin in that they have asked for a man to rule over them instead of God. They wanted a man to be king when God was their king. So when you get to first Samuel, chapter 12 and verse one, and Samuel said unto all Israel, behold, I have hearkened unto your voice and all that you said unto me. And I made a king over you. And now, behold, the king walketh before you and I am old and gray headed and behold, my sons are with you and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Now, look what he says. Behold, here I am.

[John Weaver] Witness against me before the Lord and before his anointed, whose ox have I taken or whose ass have I taken or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith, and I will restore it you? And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken all of any man's hand.

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is when Samuel is asking them to testify against him, he says, Whom have I defrauded? And interestingly, the word there, defrauded, simply means To press upon, to oppress, to violate, to defraud, to do violence, to get deceitfully, to do wrong, and to extort. So Samuel said, which of you can point at anything that I've ever done to abuse my office or to abuse my authority?

[John Weaver] It's kind of like our Lord said in John 8, verse 36, I think it is. Which of you convinced me of sin? In other words, who can point to anything that I've ever really done that is wrong? Now, I know Samuel was a sinner, but Samuel said, I've never, ever really defrauded anyone. I've not done violence. So Samuel was one who did not abuse his office or his authority. He was not violent. Nehemiah was another individual that took his office and authority with great regard to God. Notice what he said in Nehemiah chapter 5 verse 15. Let me just read. By the way, when you read through the book of Nehemiah and you read about the Tershahfa, most people say, what in the world is the Tershahfa? It's just the word for governor is all it means. And so here's what Nehemiah said. Nehemiah 5 verse 15. But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people.

[John Weaver] and had taken of them bread and wine beside forty shekels of silver, yea, even their servants bear rule over the people, but so did not I because of the fear of God." So he said, these former governors, they demanded food and they demanded wine and they demanded forty shekels of silver, but so did not I for the fear of God. Yea, he said, even their servants bore rule over the people.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you something, folks, please understand this. It is only the fear of God that will keep a man honest and keep him in line and keep him humble. If there is no fear of God. Then you have something like this, and I'm quoting, I want you to listen carefully. Harnett County, North Carolina. Sheriff's deputies kicked a man's door down at 3.30 a.m. this past Sunday and killed him after he told them that they could not search his home without a search warrant. After John Livingston, 33, shut his door in the deputy's faces with his demand for a warrant, his roommate says police kicked in the door, got on top of him, started slinging him around and beat him.

[John Weaver] Then they sprayed mace in his face and began to tase the unarmed father of three, who was described as a hardworking, very loving family man and talented carpenter, who actually built the deck on the small home the deputies were invading. When Livingston attempted to remove the taser from the hands of the officer who was shocking him, The deputies executed him, claiming he got a hold of their weapon. Tasers were said to be non-lethal, yet the cops evidently feared for their lives that the mere prospect of one of their victims could maybe possibly turn it on them. As it turns out, the deputies were looking for a man who no longer lived in that house.

[John Weaver] The Harnett County Sheriff's Department is stonewalling on the case, and it failed to release the names of the deputies involved in the killing. No doubt after routine investigation, the state goons will exonerate themselves. Obviously, some believe that disrespecting imagined authority deserves a death penalty. You talk about an abuse of office, an abuse of authority. Let me point out again, let me emphasize this. Violent men And violence normally stems from those in positions of power and authority.

[John Weaver] I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter three, Luke, chapter three. John the Baptist has been preaching. And certain groups. Have come to John after he demanded that they repent. And they're asking him what they must do in order to demonstrate. That repentance is genuinely in their lives. So if you look in. Luke, chapter three. And I want you to note that John gives different answers. to different groups because their sins were different.

[John Weaver] For instance, verse 10, and the people asked him saying, what shall we do then? That is, what shall we do in light of what you've been preaching to demonstrate that we're really repentant? And he answered and said to them, he that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none, and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. So the prevailing sin then of the people in John's day was one of greediness and covetousness. Verse 12, then came also publicans to be baptized and said to them, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, exact no more than that which has appointed you, because the prevailing sin of the publicans was that of theft. They were thieves. Watch verse 14. And the soldiers likewise demanded to him, saying, what shall we do?

[John Weaver] And he said unto them, do vilest to no man, neither accuse any falsely and be content. with your wages. Isn't that amazing? Do violence to no man. That didn't tell the publicans to do violence to no man. Didn't tell the people to do violence to no man. He told those who had some power and authority to do violence to no man. Neither falsely accuse anyone and to be content with their wages. The Greek word for violence here literally means to agitate, to terrify, to cause alarm, to cause to tremble, and to extort from, and to be violent. So here are these soldiers then who could most readily abuse their office, their power and their authority by doing violence. And he says, do no violence.

[John Weaver] Interestingly, when you look through the scripture. And you talk about violent men, you have to understand that oftentimes they're the men in positions of power and authority. OK. But secondly today, I want to deal with violence commended. Violence commended. Now listen carefully. We normally use the word violence to simply mean to do physical harm. So if Marshall's standing here and I just walk up to him and draw back my fist and hit him upside the head and knock him down, maybe knock him out. Fine. I'm about to say that's violence. And it would be violence. By the way.

[John Weaver] I saw, I liked it. I saw, someone sent me a little thing on the internet. There was a middle-aged woman, kind of broad, bent over, kissing a child on a motorcycle. And this was in Afghanistan or Iraq or Iran, one of those countries. And a man walked by and grabbed her rear end and started to walk off. She spun around and hit him upside the head, knocked him into a table. Then he fell and hit the floor.

[John Weaver] He was out for two hours. I thought, I bet he won't do that anymore. I thought, now that's justice, that's good, that's great. When we think about violence, that's what we tend to think about. And you know, the interesting thing is this, in the day's language, in the day's understanding, all violence is wrong. And we've been taught that as children, that even fighting is wrong. You have to understand something, folks, according to humanism, Fighting is wrong simply because it is a form of violence.

[John Weaver] And what you and I must do is this. We must distinguish between a biblical violence, which I'm going to show you a little bit later is not really violence at all, although we would call it that. We must distinguish between a biblical violence and an unbiblical violence. So I can say it like this. There is a fighting that is condemned in scripture. And there's a fighting that is commended in scripture, that which is commended is that which is holy, just, righteous and good. That which is condemned is that which is wicked and vile and contrary to God's law. So I can probably show you the difference between the two by asking a number of questions. For instance, my first question would be this, is God holy, just and true? What's the answer? Of course. Well, let me give you Scripture.

[John Weaver] Deuteronomy 32 and verse 4. He is the rock. His work is perfect. All His ways are judgment. A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He. So we know that God is just, holy, and righteous. All of His ways are judgment, the Bible says.

[John Weaver] Now, Let's just take the humanist position for a moment. Let's just assume that all violence of any stripe, shade, form or fashion is wicked, wrong and vile. OK, let's just assume that just momentarily. Now, since we know that God is just and holy and righteous and we're going to assume that all violence is wicked, vile and evil. I have some questions to ask you. If all violence is wicked, vile and evil, how could God righteously and justly destroy the antediluvians, that is, the old world with a flood? If all violence is wicked and vile, how could God righteously and justly send fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain? Now, I don't know about you, but to me, A flood that wipes out a huge number of people and animals and fire and brimstone burning people to death and destroying property.

[John Weaver] That's pretty violent in my eyes. Now, you've got to remember that the scripture declares God is just and holy and righteous. So if God is holy, just and righteous and all violence is wrong, how could God send the flood? How could God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? Let me ask you again, if all violence is wicked and evil, how could God raise up judges to defend his people? If you look in your Bibles, turn there to the book of Judges very quickly. The book of Judges, let's look in Judges, chapter two. Joshua, Judges, notice if you would, Judges, chapter two, and look at verse 16. Judges, chapter two. And verse 16. Notice what the scripture says. Judges to verse 16, the Bible says, nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those that spoil them. Well, now, when God raised up a judge, what did the judge do? He fought. He fought. Look, if you would, verse 18. Judges 2, verse 18, And when the Lord raised them up judges, and the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge, for repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

[John Weaver] Now, wait a minute. God not only raised up judges to fight for his people, but now the Bible says the Lord was with those judges. He was helping them to fight. So if all violence is wicked and wrong, how could God have raised up those judges? And how could God have helped them? Well, here's another question. Let's look in Judges chapter 3. If all violence is wicked and wrong and vile, how could God leave certain pagan people in the land just to teach his people war. Wow, Judges 3 verse 1, Now these are the nations which the Lord left to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan.

[John Weaver] That is, they weren't fighting with Joshua. And Caleb, no, no, no, they weren't fighting there. These were their descendants who knew nothing about that, only that the generation of the children of Israel might know to teach them war. At the least, such as before knew nothing thereof, namely the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians, the Hivites that dwelt in Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon and to the entering the Hema. So God said, I've left all these pagans here in the land to teach my people how to fight. They didn't know how to fight, so I left some so they could practice. Wow. Now, if all violence is wrong, how in the world could God do that? And you have to remember that God is holy, just and right. If all violence is wrong and wicked, how could God have righteously and justly taught David to fight? You have to remember that David was a mighty warrior. You remember how they sang, Saul has killed his thousands and David his tens of thousands?

[John Weaver] And what did David say in Psalm 144, verse 1? Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war and my fingers to fight. David was a shepherd. He was not raised as a soldier. You remember what Saul said to him as he was about to go out to face Goliath? What did he say? You can't fight this man. He's been a man of war from his youth.

[John Weaver] And you're just a kid. I don't know if you remember what I preached on that or not. But David was probably somewhere between 15 to 17 years of age. When he killed Goliath. How did David? Learn to fight so well? Well, he answered it, God taught His hands to fight and His fingers to war.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm still asking questions. You have to remember that God is holy, just, and good. If all violence is wrong, how could God righteously and justly defend Jerusalem and His people? You know, in Isaiah 38 and verse 6, God says this to King Hezekiah. And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city." In fact, he said that five times. Do you know how God defended Jerusalem and his people?

[John Weaver] By slaying 185,000 Syrians. Now, all violence is wicked, vile, and wrong. How could God justly and righteously slay 185,000 Assyrians? You can read about it in Isaiah 37, verses 35 and 36. Here's another thought, if all violence is wicked and evil, how could God righteously and justly demand the deaths of all the Canaanites? You remember when God brought Israel out of Egypt, he put a sword in their hands and he said, I want you to kill all of them. And when you read Joshua 10 and verse 40, here's what the scripture says. So Joshua smote all the country of the hills and of the south and of the vale and of the springs and all their kings, he left none remaining. He utterly destroyed all that breathed As the Lord God of Israel commanded. So it's God who sentenced these people to death. It was God who put the sword in the hands of Joshua and the people and said, slay them all. I hope you're beginning to see that not all violence is condemned in Scripture.

[John Weaver] By the way. Let me ask you this question. If all violence is wicked, wrong and vile, have you ever asked yourself this question? How will God judge and punish the wicked? I don't know, but I would tend to think that that would be pretty violent. In fact, let me show you something. Look in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 18. Revelation 18. Then we'll go to chapter 19. Revelation 18, verse 21. Look what the Scripture says. Revelation 18, verse 21.

[John Weaver] And a mighty angel took up a stone, like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, as shall be found no more at all. With violence. God's doing something with violence. Look in chapter 19. Verse one, after these things, I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying hallelujah, salvation, glory and honor and power in the Lord our God for true and righteous or his judgments for you judge the great whore who did commit who did corrupt the earth with their fornication, have avenged the

[John Weaver] blood of his servants at her hand. And again, they said hallelujah. And her smoke rose up forever and ever. Yeah. Seems to me like there's some violence used somewhere by God, and you have to remember that God is holy, just and true.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make a statement. I want you to think about this. It is wicked and wrong. To teach your children. Not to fight. It is true that you cannot teach your children to be cruel, unjust, and unrighteous bullies. That is wrong. That is condemned. But what has happened, if you've taken notice lately, is we have sired a generation of spineless, gutless, lily-livered sissies. We have to understand, and our children and our spouses must understand, that it is biblical to defend one's life. It is biblical to defend one's family. It is biblical to defend one's property.

[John Weaver] This is why God raised up judges in Israel. This is why God gave us the sixth commandment. Thou shalt not kill. The positive is, thou shalt preserve life. We have the duty and we have the obligation and we have the responsibility to preserve our lives and the lives of others. I just ran across a book this week and I ordered it. Perhaps you might want to order it as well. I have not read the book.

[John Weaver] I don't even have it yet. But I did read the reviews and I did look at the index. The title of the book is Team Honey Badger. Raising fearless kids in a cowardly world by Paul Markle. And I'm anxiously looking forward to reading the book, Team Honey Badger, raising fearless kids in a cowardly world. We have been commanded to fight in the preservation of life, liberty and property. And we have to learn to fight, if necessary, listen to me, to preserve even the Kingdom of God. You say, what? Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah chapter 4. Nehemiah chapter 4. And let me say something before I read this. When I read this passage of Nehemiah chapter 4 beginning with verse 11, you have to remember that Nehemiah was defending He was not attacking. We're not conquistadors. We don't go out like the Islamic with swords and say convert or die. No. Watch. Nehemiah chapter 4, beginning there with verse 11.

[John Weaver] And our adversaries said they shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them and slay them and cause the work to cease. So they were planning a surprise attack. And it came to pass that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, from all places which you shall return unto us, they will be upon you. Lord, you can't stop them. You can't win. Watch verse 13. Therefore said I am the Lord places behind the wall and on the higher places.

[John Weaver] I even set the people after their families with their swords and their spears and their bows. And I looked and rose up and said unto the people and to the rulers and the rest of the people, be not ye afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and terrible and fight for your brethren and your sons and your daughters and your wives and your houses. And it came to pass when our enemies heard that it was known unto us and God had brought their counsel to know that we returned all of us to the wall. everyone into his work, and it came to pass from that time forth that half my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spear and the shields and the bows and the hammer guns, and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. And they which builded on the wall, and they that bear burdens, with those that laid it, every one with one of his hands worrowed in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon."

[John Weaver] What was Nehemiah doing? He was defending. He said, they want to defend. They want to attack the work of God and stop it. They want to slay all of us. We will defend ourselves. We will defend our lives. We will defend our work. So if weapons are used in attacking us, we defend with weapons. If words are used in attacking us, we defend with words. If we are attacked legally, then we defend ourselves lawfully by whatever means are necessary. But we fight.

[John Weaver] Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. The violence that is commended in Scripture is not really violence in that sense of that which is condemned, because that which is condemned is unjust, ungodly and unrighteous. Rather, the violence that is commended in Scripture is that which is done in submission to and obedience to God. And it's not rebellion to God, it is obedience, it is that which God demands.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. I want you to turn to First Kings, Chapter 20. First Kings, Chapter 20. Watch carefully. In first Kings chapter 20. There is a war between Israel and Syria. And King Ahab is on the throne, he's a wicked. Pervert. In fact, he's the wickedest man in the northern kingdom. But yet God had told him, look, I'm going to let you. Defeat the Syrians. And I've appointed the Syrians for destruction. Ben-Hadad was king of Syria. So God now has appointed Ben-Hadad and his armies to destruction. And God wants Ben-Hadad slain. Ahab not only refuses to slay Ben-Hadad, he even calls him his brother.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to listen to me, listen to this statement, you're going to hear me say it two or three times. Violence is not always the answer. But when it is the answer, it's the only answer. OK, so watch this first Kings 20 and let's begin there with. Let's let's let's begin reading with verse 31. This is Ben-Hadad's servants. And his servants said unto him, Behold, now we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins and ropes upon our heads and go out to the king of Israel.

[John Weaver] Peradventure, he will save thy life. So they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads and came to the king of Israel and said, Thy servant, Ben-Hadad, saith, and I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? He is my brother. Now the men did diligently observe whether anything would come from him, and did hastily catch it, and they said, Thy brother Ben-Hadad.

[John Weaver] And he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-Hadad came forth to him, and caused him to come up into the chariot. And Ben-Hadad said unto him, The cities which my father took from my father I will restore, and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So I made a covenant with him and send him away. And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbor in the word of the Lord, Watch, smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him and slew him. Then he found another man and said, smite me, I pray thee, and the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.

[John Weaver] So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. As the king passed by, he cried unto the king and said, Thy servant went out in the midst of the battle, and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man unto me and said, Keep this man, if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a tallow and a silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said of him, So shall thy judgment be, thou hast decided it thyself. And he hastened and took the ashes from his face. And the king of Israel discerned that he was one of the prophets. And he said of him, Thus saith the Lord, because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction. Therefore, thy life shall be for his life, and thy people shall be for his people. Wow.

[John Weaver] I want you to know something. One man died. Simply because he refused to be physically violent, when God demanded he be physically violent. And now when Ahab allows Ben-Hadad and his service to escape, God says, thy life for his life. And your people for his people. That is why I said violence is not always the answer. But when it is the answer, it's the only answer. I want you to look in Jeremiah chapter 48. Jeremiah 48. Notice, if you would please, verses one through three. God is demanding the destruction of Moab. Jeremiah 48. Notice, if you would please, verse one. Against Moab, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, woe unto Nebo, for it is spoiled.

[John Weaver] Kiretham is confounded and taken. Misgab is confounded and is made. There shall be no more praise of Moab and Heshmon. They have devised evil against it. Come and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also, thou shalt be cut down, O madmen. The sword shall pursue thee. A voice of crying shall be from Horeneum, spoiling and great destruction. Moab is spoiled. Her little ones have caused the cry to be heard, so Moab is to be destroyed now.

[John Weaver] I want you to listen carefully when God sends his army against his enemies. He demands obedience. And I'm talking about physical violence. I told you when violence. I told you violence is not always the answer, but when it is, the answer is the only answer. And God has demanded violence against Moab.

[John Weaver] Now, look what he says in verse 10. God says, Cursed be the man that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully. That's fighting. And cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. What did God say? When violence is demanded. It's the only answer. And you bring yourself under the curse of God when you refuse to obey God.

[John Weaver] Now, we're talking about violence very quickly. You remember, there was a man by the name of Cicero who was fleeing from Barack. And he went to JL's tent. And he said, give me some water, and she brought him forth milk. The Bible says in a lordly manner. And he was tired and he laid down, she covered him. He said, if any man asked if a man is here, say no. Fine. He went to sleep. What did she do? She took a tent peg and a hammer.

[John Weaver] And came and drove it through his temple while he was asleep. And then cut off his head.

[John Weaver] Now, my question is, Would you consider that violent? And yet she did it in obedience to God. And when Barack got there, she said, come see the man that you're seeking. Here he is, he fell at the hands of a woman. Because Barack refused. To fight without Deborah. How about this passage in 1 Samuel chapter 15? Don't turn there. But you remember how God sent King Saul on a mission to destroy all the Amalekites? And he spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites?

[John Weaver] I want to just read this to you. Samuel reproaches Saul for disobeying God. Then said Samuel, bring ye hither to me Agag, the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came among him delicately. And Agag said, surely the bitterness of death is past. I just seen pressing up there saying, you know, they're not going to kill me. And Samuel said, as thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. He hewed him and he cut him up. He didn't just kill him. He cut him in pieces. And the Bible says, before the Lord in Gilgal. And if you will check the phrase, that phrase actually means as unto the Lord and in the presence of the Lord. So what Samuel was doing to Agag was exactly that which God wanted done to Agag. He did it as unto the Lord.

[John Weaver] So there is a time to be biblically violent. When you have to fight physical violence. You must fight it with violence. Let me give you an illustration. I do not know if the Paris attack. Was real. Or a false flag. Or a real false flag. But I'm going to read to you an article. And I want you to think about this. The title of the article is this, Pure Evil.

[John Weaver] ISIS gutted wounded victims at French Concert Hall as they lay dying on the floor. They slit their stomachs and watched them die. ISIS gunmen used knives to torture their mortally wounded victims by slitting their stomachs as they lay on the floor. An eyewitness also hid in a cellar for three hours as the armed murderers rampage through the packed theater in Paris, said she knew people were being tortured because she could hear their screams. Marisha Payne from Birchshire told the Daily Mail, we knew people were being tortured in the theater because we heard people screaming, but they were not being shot. And these were singular screams. When we escaped, the man trapped on the level where it happened said to us that the terrorists were stabbing people in the stomach. We were told they were throwing explosives at the people.

[John Weaver] It was a horrendous ordeal. So here's my question. If you were there. And we're watching that scenario. Would you just fold your hands and say, well, I'll pray for those poor people. Or would you have defended their lives? What if it had been your wife? Or your husband? Or your child on the floor? Would it have made any difference to you? Think about that. Violence is not always the answer. But when it is the answer, it's the only answer. We must defend life.

[John Weaver] We are never ever to be unbiblically violent. But there is a biblical violence. And when it is demanded, we do not shrink from the task because it is done in obedience to the sixth commandment, thou shalt preserve life. Alice and I have some friends that now live in various places. At one time, they were raised in Washington State. I've so enjoyed this family. It was a family of 11 boys and one girl, 12 kids. If I ever want a good laugh, I just listen to their escapades and things that they have done and the trouble they've gotten into all of their lives. But I was talking to them one day.

[John Weaver] And two of the brothers said, look, here's what Daddy told us, and they feared their father, I can assure you. Their father said, boys, let me tell you something. If you ever start a fight. I'll whip you. But if you ever get in a fight and lose it, I'll whip you. And what was he saying? I want you to think about this. If you start a fight, I'll whip you. In other words, you're being if you start a fight, you're being a bully. You're being unjust. You're being unkind. You're being disrespectful. You deserve punishment. If you ever get in a fight and lose it. That means you didn't start it. And you lose it because you didn't fight hard enough and long enough. I'll whip you. In other words, he's saying this, if you have to fight, you fight to win. I'm sure that daddy understood their exceptions. It'd be hard for me to fight and win if I'm fighting five or six different men at one time with their hands. I understand that. And so he understood that.

[John Weaver] But the point I'm trying to make is this. If you have to fight. You fight to win. You don't give up. You don't give out. Just make up your mind. that you will have a combat mentality. And there is a biblical principle, you must preserve life, you must preserve your life as well as the lives of others. So in defense of violence, yes, there's a time to be righteously. Justly. Wholly biblically violent.

[John Weaver] Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to you this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. We thank you, Heavenly Father, that you are the one true and the holy God and that thou art the sovereign God on the throne. And besides thee, there is absolutely none other. There is one God and one law. Therefore, one obedience is demanded. Help us, Lord, to love thee and deliver thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we ask and pray. Amen.

[John Weaver] suite 705 PMB 175 Savannah Georgia 31406 or give us a call at 912-925-0995. You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com

In Defense of Violence

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	122161332455
Subject	Biblical Worldview
Course	Biblical Worldview Foundations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2015-12-27
Dictation Name
Book	Book 066: Biblical Worldview Foundations — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	73

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Text: Jeremiah 22:1-5

Weaver introduces the sermon, reading Jeremiah 22:1-5, emphasizing the command to execute judgment and righteousness and to do no violence to the stranger, fatherless, and widow.

I want you to open your Bible today, if you would, please, to Jeremiah, chapter 22, and I'm going to be probably quoting a lot of scriptures. There's some that I want you to turn to, but the message today is simply titled "In Defense of Violence" or "Defensive Violence,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 22:1-5

" and I think you'll understand as we get into the scripture. So notice, Jeremiah, chapter 22, beginning with verse one. Thus saith the Lord, Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates. Thus saith the Lord, Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.

Defining Biblical Violence

Most Christians lack a biblical definition of violence. The first mention in Genesis 6:11 uses the Hebrew word 'chamas,' meaning cruelty, injustice, oppression, and fraud. Injustice is a form of violence against God and His law.

In fact, the truth of the matter is most of us have absolutely no intent and no desire to do harm to anyone. We've also been taught that all violence is inherently wrong, and therefore we kind of shun it like the plague. In all probability, most Christians could not even give a good definition of violence, or at least not a good definition of biblical violence. One of the requirements that God gives in Jeremiah chapter 22 is to do no violence. I want you to note, if you would please, particularly in verse three again, instead of reading all four verses, but look in verse three. Thus saith the Lord, and he's talking to the king, remember, "Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place." So obviously in this context, violence can be done not only to the stranger, but to the fatherless and the widow. Now, if it is wrong to do violence to a stranger, how much more wicked and worse would it be to do violence to a brother? Jeremiah, in this passage, further links violence to the failure to do judgment and justice.

Because the heart of these individuals happen to be filled with greed and covetousness. Look, if you would, down to verse 13. Here's a good illustration. "Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; that saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord. But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it." Isn't that interesting? God asked, "Shalt thou reign simply because you're rich and well off and you have power and you have authority?" And he said, "Was not, did not your father do judgment and justice? And then it was well with him." And then he asked, "Was not this to know me?" Well, actually, verses 15 and 16 would be the opposite of doing violence. Therefore, to do judgment and justice, to do that which is righteous and holy, would be the opposite of doing violence.

The very first mention of the word violence is found in Genesis chapter six and verse 11. That verse says this,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 6:11

"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence."

In hermeneutics, which is the art or the science of Bible interpretation, there is a principle known as the law of first mention. The very first time a word is mentioned in the Bible, and the very first time it is known to mention, but how it is used in that mention is usually the way the word is going to be used throughout scripture, unless the context dictates otherwise. When you look at Genesis six and verse 11, the Hebrew word that is found there and most often throughout the Old Testament is the Hebrew word chamas, which literally means to be cruel, to be unjust, to be unrighteous, to be false, to oppress, and to be violent.

Interestingly, most Christians have never considered oppression and injustice and fraudulence as violence. I want you to stop and pause and think about what I've just said. Because injustice and a lack of judgment is a specific form of violence, it is vile and wicked. And it is directed primarily against God and his law and then secondarily at his people. So violence, then, is something that should cause us to cry out to God. The Bible says in Psalm 89 and verse 14,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 89:14

"Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face."

Now, listen to this. Judgment and justice are the habitation of thy throne. And then when you get to Proverbs 21 in verse three, the Bible says, "To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." Now, if justice and judgment are the habitation of God's throne, and if justice and judgment are more acceptable unto the Lord than sacrifice, would that not therefore mean that injustice, unrighteousness, and fraud, not only are violence, but they are particularly a form of violence against God and his law?

Violence Condemned: The Violent Man in Scripture

Violence is most often condemned in Scripture, typically perpetrated by those in power. David prayed for deliverance from violent men like Saul. Violent men entice, deceive, and assemble against the righteous.

It is usually that which is wicked, violent, hurtful toward those who are innocent and instead deserve kindness and respect such as the widow and the orphan and the stranger that's been mentioned in our text. Usually, you're going to find that violent individuals are individuals who happen to be in positions of power and authority. They are the violent men. In fact, David was a very great warrior. But even violent men terrified David. Let me show you. I want you to hold Jeremiah 22, but turn in your Bibles very quickly to Psalm 18. Psalm 18. And notice, if you would please, verse 48, then we'll go to Psalm 140. Notice if you would. Psalm 18. And then Psalm 140. In Psalm 18, beginning there with verse 48, we read this. Listen carefully. Psalm 18, verse 48.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:48

"He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man."

Hmm.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:48

"Thou hast delivered me from the violent man."

Let me ask you a question. Who would be the violent man in David's life? Well, look in your Bible to Psalm 140. Psalm 140, you have to remember now that David was a man of war, and yet he is saying now has delivered me from the violent man. Notice Psalm 140. And let's begin reading there with verse one, because again, David is praying and he says this.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:48

"Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;

which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings." Wow. Now, David is praying to be preserved from the violent man. And then he said this violent man is purposed to overthrow his goings. May I ask you a question? Who was it that was continually chasing David and trying to kill him? King Saul. There are other violent men mentioned in David's life. Doeg the Edomite was one of them. But it was Saul in his position of authority and power that was seeking his overthrow. Violent men not only imagine mischiefs or iniquities in their hearts, they're always ready to commit violence in order to secure their ends. They lie, they deceive, and they seek to overthrow the righteous. In Proverbs 16 and verse 29, the Bible says, "A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 16:29

" So a violent man is not necessarily someone who comes out swinging all the time. He's someone who can be very seductive. So a violent man entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good. Violence is promulgated in the assemblies of the violent. And they have no respect for God or man, if you look in your Bibles to Psalm 86 and verse 14.

And, you know, this thought just came to me as I was driving here this morning. Psalm 86 and verse 14, David says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 86:14

"O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them."

The assemblies of violent men. So violent men assemble together. I did not look up the word assemblies. I wonder if there's a parallel and we could read it, the courts of violent men. Have sought after my soul and have not set thee before them. Because obviously an assembly means they're getting together somehow, some way.

Examples of Unjust Authority and Violence

The unjust judge in Luke 18, the rulers in Amos 3:10, and modern examples like the Harnett County shooting illustrate how authorities abuse power. Samuel and Nehemiah are contrasted as those who feared God and did not defraud or oppress.

And so far we've seen from scripture, usually violence is from those in positions of authority. There's a good illustration of this in Luke, chapter 18, verses two through five. You remember there, our Lord talks about the unjust judge. He says, "There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me." Now, notice here was a man who was an unjust judge. He had a duty. He had a responsibility to execute judgment and justice. And yet he refused to do so. And finally, that which prompted him to finally avenge this little woman.

Well, she just kept on until she wore him out. She wouldn't give up. But he had the responsibility, unhappily, we have many authorities like this unjust judge. They do not know to do right. They will not do right. And they store violence for themselves and for others. There's an interesting verse in Amos chapter three in verse 10, where the word of God says this, listen,

Scripture Reading — Amos 3:10

"For they know not to do right, saith the Lord, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces."

In their palaces, so their kings or their judges or their men of importance with power and authority. And so God says they know not to do what is right. So likewise, today we have judges and rulers and bureaucrats that have no idea of that which is right and just and lawful or even merciful. They vainly and foolishly believe that they are the law themselves. They vainly and foolishly believe that they are the distributors of justice. No matter.

Or regardless of how they function. Such are violent men. I want you to look in your Bibles, the first Samuel, chapter 12, first Samuel, chapter 12. And let's begin reading there with verse one. I want you to see what Samuel says. First Samuel, chapter 12, beginning there with verse one. You remember, the children of Israel have committed a sin in that they have asked for a man to rule over them instead of God. They wanted a man to be king when God was their king. So when you get to first Samuel, chapter 12 and verse one,

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 12:1-4

"And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day."

Now, look what he says. "Behold, here I am:

witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand." Now, the interesting thing is when Samuel is asking them to testify against him, he says, "Whom have I defrauded?" And interestingly, the word there, defrauded, simply means to press upon, to oppress, to violate, to defraud, to do violence, to get deceitfully, to do wrong, and to extort. So Samuel said, which of you can point at anything that I've ever done to abuse my office or to abuse my authority?

It's kind of like our Lord said in John 8, verse 46, I think it is. "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" In other words, who can point to anything that I've ever really done that is wrong? Now, I know Samuel was a sinner, but Samuel said, I've never, ever really defrauded anyone. I've not done violence. So Samuel was one who did not abuse his office or his authority. He was not violent. Nehemiah was another individual that took his office and authority with great regard to God. Notice what he said in Nehemiah chapter 5 verse 15. Let me just read. By the way, when you read through the book of Nehemiah and you read about the Tirshatha, most people say, what in the world is the Tirshatha? It's just the word for governor is all it means. And so here's what Nehemiah said. Nehemiah 5 verse 15. "But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people,

and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God." So he said, these former governors, they demanded food and they demanded wine and they demanded forty shekels of silver, but so did not I for the fear of God. Yea, he said, even their servants bore rule over the people. Let me tell you something, folks, please understand this. It is only the fear of God that will keep a man honest and keep him in line and keep him humble. If there is no fear of God, then you have something like this, and I'm quoting, I want you to listen carefully. Harnett County, North Carolina. Sheriff's deputies kicked a man's door down at 3:30 a.m. this past Sunday and killed him after he told them that they could not search his home without a search warrant. After John Livingston, 33, shut his door in the deputy's faces with his demand for a warrant, his roommate says police kicked in the door, got on top of him, started slinging him around and beat him.

Then they sprayed mace in his face and began to tase the unarmed father of three, who was described as a hardworking, very loving family man and talented carpenter, who actually built the deck on the small home the deputies were invading. When Livingston attempted to remove the taser from the hands of the officer who was shocking him, the deputies executed him, claiming he got a hold of their weapon. Tasers were said to be non-lethal, yet the cops evidently feared for their lives that the mere prospect of one of their victims could maybe possibly turn it on them. As it turns out, the deputies were looking for a man who no longer lived in that house. The Harnett County Sheriff's Department is stonewalling on the case, and it failed to release the names of the deputies involved in the killing. No doubt after routine investigation, the state goons will exonerate themselves. Obviously, some believe that disrespecting imagined authority deserves a death penalty. You talk about an abuse of office, an abuse of authority. Let me point out again, let me emphasize this. Violent men and violence normally stems from those in positions of power and authority.

John the Baptist's Instruction to Soldiers

In Luke 3:14, John tells soldiers to 'do violence to no man,' indicating that those with power are most tempted to abuse it. The Greek word means to agitate, terrify, or extort.

I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter three, Luke, chapter three. John the Baptist has been preaching. And certain groups have come to John after he demanded that they repent. And they're asking him what they must do in order to demonstrate that repentance is genuinely in their lives. So if you look in Luke, chapter three, and I want you to note that John gives different answers to different groups because their sins were different. For instance, verse 10,

Scripture Reading — Luke 3:10-14

"And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?"

That is, what shall we do in light of what you've been preaching to demonstrate that we're really repentant?

Scripture Reading — Luke 3:10-14

"He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise."

So the prevailing sin then of the people in John's day was one of greediness and covetousness. Verse 12,

Scripture Reading — Luke 3:10-14

"Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you."

Because the prevailing sin of the publicans was that of theft. They were thieves. Watch verse 14.

Scripture Reading — Luke 3:10-14

"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." Isn't that amazing? Do violence to no man. He didn't tell the publicans to do violence to no man. Didn't tell the people to do violence to no man. He told those who had some power and authority to do violence to no man. Neither falsely accuse anyone and to be content with their wages. The Greek word for violence here literally means to agitate, to terrify, to cause alarm, to cause to tremble, and to extort from, and to be violent. So here are these soldiers then who could most readily abuse their office, their power and their authority by doing violence. And he says, do no violence.

Interestingly, when you look through the scripture and you talk about violent men, you have to understand that oftentimes they're the men in positions of power and authority. OK. But secondly today, I want to deal with violence commended. Violence commended. Now listen carefully. We normally use the word violence to simply mean to do physical harm. So if Marshall's standing here and I just walk up to him and draw back my fist and hit him upside the head and knock him down, maybe knock him out. Fine. I'm about to say that's violence. And it would be violence. By the way.

Violence Commended: God's Righteous Acts

If all violence is wrong, how could God justly send the flood, destroy Sodom, raise up judges, teach Israel war, teach David to fight, defend Jerusalem by slaying 185,000 Assyrians, or command the destruction of the Canaanites? These acts show that not all violence is condemned.

I saw, I liked it. I saw, someone sent me a little thing on the internet. There was a middle-aged woman, kind of broad, bent over, kissing a child on a motorcycle. And this was in Afghanistan or Iraq or Iran, one of those countries. And a man walked by and grabbed her rear end and started to walk off. She spun around and hit him upside the head, knocked him into a table. Then he fell and hit the floor.

He was out for two hours. I thought, I bet he won't do that anymore. I thought, now that's justice, that's good, that's great. When we think about violence, that's what we tend to think about. And you know, the interesting thing is this, in the day's language, in the day's understanding, all violence is wrong. And we've been taught that as children, that even fighting is wrong. You have to understand something, folks, according to humanism, fighting is wrong simply because it is a form of violence.

And what you and I must do is this. We must distinguish between a biblical violence, which I'm going to show you a little bit later is not really violence at all, although we would call it that. We must distinguish between a biblical violence and an unbiblical violence. So I can say it like this. There is a fighting that is condemned in scripture. And there's a fighting that is commended in scripture, that which is commended is that which is holy, just, righteous and good. That which is condemned is that which is wicked and vile and contrary to God's law. So I can probably show you the difference between the two by asking a number of questions. For instance, my first question would be this, is God holy, just and true? What's the answer? Of course. Well, let me give you Scripture.

Deuteronomy 32 and verse 4. "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." So we know that God is just, holy, and righteous. All of His ways are judgment, the Bible says. Now, let's just take the humanist position for a moment. Let's just assume that all violence of any stripe, shade, form or fashion is wicked, wrong and vile. OK, let's just assume that just momentarily. Now, since we know that God is just and holy and righteous and we're going to assume that all violence is wicked, vile and evil. I have some questions to ask you. If all violence is wicked, vile and evil, how could God righteously and justly destroy the antediluvians, that is, the old world with a flood? If all violence is wicked and vile, how could God righteously and justly send fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain? Now, I don't know about you, but to me, a flood that wipes out a huge number of people and animals and fire and brimstone burning people to death and destroying property.

That's pretty violent in my eyes. Now, you've got to remember that the scripture declares God is just and holy and righteous. So if God is holy, just and righteous and all violence is wrong, how could God send the flood? How could God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? Let me ask you again, if all violence is wicked and evil, how could God raise up judges to defend his people? If you look in your Bibles, turn there to the book of Judges very quickly. The book of Judges, let's look in Judges, chapter two. Joshua, Judges, notice if you would, Judges, chapter two, and look at verse 16. Judges, chapter two. And verse 16. Notice what the scripture says. Judges 2 verse 16, the Bible says, "Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them." Well, now, when God raised up a judge, what did the judge do? He fought. He fought. Look, if you would, verse 18. Judges 2, verse 18, "And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them."

Scripture Reading — Judges 2:16, 18

Now, wait a minute. God not only raised up judges to fight for his people, but now the Bible says the Lord was with those judges. He was helping them to fight. So if all violence is wicked and wrong, how could God have raised up those judges? And how could God have helped them? Well, here's another question. Let's look in Judges chapter 3. If all violence is wicked and wrong and vile, how could God leave certain pagan people in the land just to teach his people war. Wow, Judges 3 verse 1, "Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof; Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath." So God said, I've left all these pagans here in the land to teach my people how to fight. They didn't know how to fight, so I left some so they could practice. Wow. Now, if all violence is wrong, how in the world could God do that? And you have to remember that God is holy, just and right. If all violence is wrong and wicked, how could God have righteously and justly taught David to fight? You have to remember that David was a mighty warrior. You remember how they sang, "Saul has killed his thousands and David his tens of thousands?"

And what did David say in Psalm 144, verse 1?

Scripture Reading — Psalm 144:1

"Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight."

David was a shepherd. He was not raised as a soldier. You remember what Saul said to him as he was about to go out to face Goliath? What did he say? "You can't fight this man. He's been a man of war from his youth."

And you're just a kid. I don't know if you remember what I preached on that or not. But David was probably somewhere between 15 to 17 years of age when he killed Goliath. How did David learn to fight so well? Well, he answered it, God taught His hands to fight and His fingers to war.

Now, I'm still asking questions. You have to remember that God is holy, just, and good. If all violence is wrong, how could God righteously and justly defend Jerusalem and His people? You know, in Isaiah 38 and verse 6, God says this to King Hezekiah. "And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city." In fact, he said that five times. Do you know how God defended Jerusalem and his people? By slaying 185,000 Assyrians. Now, all violence is wicked, vile, and wrong. How could God justly and righteously slay 185,000 Assyrians? You can read about it in Isaiah 37, verses 35 and 36. Here's another thought, if all violence is wicked and evil, how could God righteously and justly demand the deaths of all the Canaanites? You remember when God brought Israel out of Egypt, he put a sword in their hands and he said, I want you to kill all of them. And when you read Joshua 10 and verse 40, here's what the scripture says. "So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded." So it's God who sentenced these people to death. It was God who put the sword in the hands of Joshua and the people and said, slay them all. I hope you're beginning to see that not all violence is condemned in Scripture.

Biblical Defense of Life, Family, and Property

It is biblical to defend one's life, family, and property. Nehemiah 4 shows the people building with one hand and holding a weapon with the other. We must fight to preserve the Kingdom of God, using appropriate means.

This is why God raised up judges in Israel. This is why God gave us the sixth commandment. Thou shalt not kill. The positive is, thou shalt preserve life. We have the duty and we have the obligation and we have the responsibility to preserve our lives and the lives of others. I just ran across a book this week and I ordered it. Perhaps you might want to order it as well. I have not read the book.

I don't even have it yet. But I did read the reviews and I did look at the index. The title of the book is "Team Honey Badger: Raising Fearless Kids in a Cowardly World" by Paul Markle. And I'm anxiously looking forward to reading the book, "Team Honey Badger: Raising Fearless Kids in a Cowardly World." We have been commanded to fight in the preservation of life, liberty and property. And we have to learn to fight, if necessary, listen to me, to preserve even the Kingdom of God. You say, what? Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah chapter 4. Nehemiah chapter 4. And let me say something before I read this. When I read this passage of Nehemiah chapter 4 beginning with verse 11, you have to remember that Nehemiah was defending. He was not attacking. We're not conquistadors. We don't go out like the Islamics with swords and say convert or die. No. Watch. Nehemiah chapter 4, beginning there with verse 11.

"And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease." So they were planning a surprise attack. "And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you." Lord, you can't stop them. You can't win. Watch verse 13. "Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon."

What was Nehemiah doing? He was defending. He said, they want to defend. They want to attack the work of God and stop it. They want to slay all of us. We will defend ourselves. We will defend our lives. We will defend our work. So if weapons are used in attacking us, we defend with weapons. If words are used in attacking us, we defend with words. If we are attacked legally, then we defend ourselves lawfully by whatever means are necessary. But we fight.

Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. The violence that is commended in Scripture is not really violence in that sense of that which is condemned, because that which is condemned is unjust, ungodly and unrighteous. Rather, the violence that is commended in Scripture is that which is done in submission to and obedience to God. And it's not rebellion to God, it is obedience, it is that which God demands.

Obedience to God's Command for Violence

In 1 Kings 20, a prophet is killed by a lion for refusing to strike another, and Ahab is condemned for sparing Ben-Hadad. Jeremiah 48:10 curses those who keep back their sword from blood. Violence is not always the answer, but when it is, it is the only answer.

Now, let me show you. I want you to turn to First Kings, Chapter 20. First Kings, Chapter 20. Watch carefully. In first Kings chapter 20, there is a war between Israel and Syria. And King Ahab is on the throne, he's a wicked pervert. In fact, he's the wickedest man in the northern kingdom. But yet God had told him, look, I'm going to let you defeat the Syrians. And I've appointed the Syrians for destruction. Ben-Hadad was king of Syria. So God now has appointed Ben-Hadad and his armies to destruction. And God wants Ben-Hadad slain. Ahab not only refuses to slay Ben-Hadad, he even calls him his brother.

Now, I want you to listen to me, listen to this statement, you're going to hear me say it two or three times. Violence is not always the answer. But when it is the answer, it's the only answer. OK, so watch this first Kings 20 and let's begin there with. Let's let's let's begin reading with verse 31. This is Ben-Hadad's servants. "And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel:

peradventure he will save thy life. So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Benhadad. And he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. And Benhadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away. And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.

So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it. And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people." Wow.

I want you to know something. One man died simply because he refused to be physically violent, when God demanded he be physically violent. And now when Ahab allows Ben-Hadad and his service to escape, God says, thy life for his life. And your people for his people. That is why I said violence is not always the answer. But when it is the answer, it's the only answer. I want you to look in Jeremiah chapter 48. Jeremiah 48. Notice, if you would please, verses one through three. God is demanding the destruction of Moab. Jeremiah 48. Notice, if you would please, verse one. "Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled:

Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed. There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction. Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard." So Moab is to be destroyed now. I want you to listen carefully when God sends his army against his enemies. He demands obedience. And I'm talking about physical violence. I told you when violence. I told you violence is not always the answer, but when it is, the answer is the only answer. And God has demanded violence against Moab.

Now, look what he says in verse 10. God says, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully." That's fighting. "And cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood." What did God say? When violence is demanded, it's the only answer. And you bring yourself under the curse of God when you refuse to obey God.

Now, we're talking about violence very quickly. You remember, there was a man by the name of Sisera who was fleeing from Barak. And he went to Jael's tent. And he said, give me some water, and she brought him forth milk. The Bible says in a lordly manner. And he was tired and he laid down, she covered him. He said, if any man ask if a man is here, say no. Fine. He went to sleep. What did she do? She took a tent peg and a hammer.

Illustrations and Application

Jael killing Sisera, Samuel hewing Agag, and the Paris attack illustrate righteous violence. A father's rule—'If you start a fight, I'll whip you; if you lose a fight, I'll whip you'—teaches a combat mentality to preserve life.

And came and drove it through his temple while he was asleep. And then cut off his head. Now, my question is, would you consider that violent? And yet she did it in obedience to God. And when Barak got there, she said, come see the man that you're seeking. Here he is, he fell at the hands of a woman. Because Barak refused to fight without Deborah. How about this passage in 1 Samuel chapter 15? Don't turn there. But you remember how God sent King Saul on a mission to destroy all the Amalekites? And he spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites?

I want to just read this to you. Samuel reproaches Saul for disobeying God. "Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past." I just seen pressing up there saying, you know, they're not going to kill me. "And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal." He hewed him and he cut him up. He didn't just kill him. He cut him in pieces. And the Bible says, before the Lord in Gilgal. And if you will check the phrase, that phrase actually means as unto the Lord and in the presence of the Lord. So what Samuel was doing to Agag was exactly that which God wanted done to Agag. He did it as unto the Lord.

So there is a time to be biblically violent. When you have to fight physical violence, you must fight it with violence. Let me give you an illustration. I do not know if the Paris attack was real or a false flag or a real false flag. But I'm going to read to you an article. And I want you to think about this. The title of the article is this, "Pure Evil."

"ISIS gutted wounded victims at French Concert Hall as they lay dying on the floor. They slit their stomachs and watched them die. ISIS gunmen used knives to torture their mortally wounded victims by slitting their stomachs as they lay on the floor. An eyewitness also hid in a cellar for three hours as the armed murderers rampaged through the packed theater in Paris, said she knew people were being tortured because she could hear their screams. Marisha Payne from Berkshire told the Daily Mail, 'We knew people were being tortured in the theater because we heard people screaming, but they were not being shot. And these were singular screams. When we escaped, the man trapped on the level where it happened said to us that the terrorists were stabbing people in the stomach. We were told they were throwing explosives at the people.'

It was a horrendous ordeal. So here's my question. If you were there and were watching that scenario, would you just fold your hands and say, well, I'll pray for those poor people? Or would you have defended their lives? What if it had been your wife? Or your husband? Or your child on the floor? Would it have made any difference to you? Think about that. Violence is not always the answer. But when it is the answer, it's the only answer. We must defend life.

We are never ever to be unbiblically violent. But there is a biblical violence. And when it is demanded, we do not shrink from the task because it is done in obedience to the sixth commandment, thou shalt preserve life. Alice and I have some friends that now live in various places. At one time, they were raised in Washington State. I've so enjoyed this family. It was a family of 11 boys and one girl, 12 kids. If I ever want a good laugh, I just listen to their escapades and things that they have done and the trouble they've gotten into all of their lives. But I was talking to them one day.

And two of the brothers said, look, here's what Daddy told us, and they feared their father, I can assure you. Their father said, boys, let me tell you something. If you ever start a fight, I'll whip you. But if you ever get in a fight and lose it, I'll whip you. And what was he saying? I want you to think about this. If you start a fight, I'll whip you. In other words, you're being if you start a fight, you're being a bully. You're being unjust. You're being unkind. You're being disrespectful. You deserve punishment. If you ever get in a fight and lose it, that means you didn't start it. And you lose it because you didn't fight hard enough and long enough. I'll whip you. In other words, he's saying this, if you have to fight, you fight to win. I'm sure that daddy understood their exceptions. It'd be hard for me to fight and win if I'm fighting five or six different men at one time with their hands. I understand that. And so he understood that.

But the point I'm trying to make is this. If you have to fight, you fight to win. You don't give up. You don't give out. Just make up your mind that you will have a combat mentality. And there is a biblical principle, you must preserve life, you must preserve your life as well as the lives of others. So in defense of violence, yes, there's a time to be righteously, justly, wholly, biblically violent.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Biblical Definition of Violence

Summary: Violence in Scripture is not merely physical harm but includes injustice, oppression, and fraud, especially by those in authority.

Evidence: The Hebrew word 'chamas' in Genesis 6:11 means cruelty, injustice, unrighteousness, falsehood, oppression. Injustice is a specific form of violence against God and His law.

Violence Condemned vs. Violence Commended

Summary: Scripture condemns unjust, oppressive violence but commends righteous violence done in obedience to God for defense and judgment.

Evidence: David prayed for deliverance from violent men (Psalm 18:48; 140:1), yet God taught David to fight (Psalm 144:1) and raised up judges to deliver Israel (Judges 2:16).

Abuse of Authority as Violence

Summary: Those in positions of power are most prone to violence through oppression, fraud, and failure to execute justice.

Evidence: The unjust judge (Luke 18), rulers storing violence (Amos 3:10), and modern police abuse illustrate this. Samuel and Nehemiah are positive examples.

Obedience to God's Command for Physical Violence

Summary: When God commands violence, refusal brings a curse. Examples include the prophet slain by a lion (1 Kings 20) and the curse on those withholding the sword (Jeremiah 48:10).

Evidence: 1 Kings 20:35-43 shows a man killed for not striking a prophet; Ahab condemned for sparing Ben-Hadad. Jeremiah 48:10 curses those who keep back their sword from blood.

Defense of Life, Family, and Property

Summary: Believers have a duty to preserve life, as implied by the sixth commandment, and to defend their families and property with appropriate force.

Evidence: Nehemiah 4 shows the people armed while building. The sixth commandment implies preserving life. The father's rule teaches fighting to win when necessary.

The Fear of God as Restraint

Summary: Only the fear of God keeps a person honest and humble in authority, preventing abuse and violence.

Evidence: Nehemiah 5:15 says former governors took from the people, 'but so did not I, because of the fear of God.'

Key Arguments

Injustice is a form of violence

Summary: Oppression, fraud, and failure to execute judgment are violence against God and His law, not just physical harm.

Evidence: Genesis 6:11 uses 'chamas' for corruption and violence. Proverbs 17:15 says justifying the wicked or condemning the just is an abomination.

Violent men are often in authority

Summary: Scripture consistently portrays violent men as those with power who abuse it, like Saul, the unjust judge, and rulers who store violence.

Evidence: David prayed for deliverance from violent men (Psalm 140:1-4). Amos 3:10 says they 'store up violence and robbery in their palaces.'

God's righteous acts involve violence

Summary: If all violence were wrong, God could not have justly sent the flood, destroyed Sodom, or commanded the destruction of the Canaanites.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 32:4 says God is just. Yet He destroyed the old world (Genesis 6-7), Sodom (Genesis 19), and commanded Canaanite destruction (Joshua 10:40).

God commands physical violence in certain contexts

Summary: Scripture records God demanding physical violence, and refusal to obey brings severe consequences.

Evidence: 1 Kings 20:35-36 shows a lion killing a man for not striking a prophet. Jeremiah 48:10 curses those who keep back their sword from blood.

Defensive violence is biblically mandated

Summary: Believers must defend life, family, and property, as seen in Nehemiah's example and the sixth commandment's implication to preserve life.

Evidence: Nehemiah 4:13-18 shows armed defense while building. The sixth commandment implies preserving life.

Violence is not always the answer, but when it is, it is the only answer

Summary: There is a time for righteous violence, and failing to act when required is disobedience.

Evidence: The Paris attack illustration and the father's rule about fighting to win emphasize the necessity of defensive violence.

Scripture References

Jeremiah 22:1-5

Context: Opening text commanding the king to execute judgment and righteousness, deliver the spoiled, and do no violence to the stranger, fatherless, or widow.

Jeremiah 22:13-17

Context: Illustration of violence linked to greed, covetousness, and failure to do judgment and justice; knowing God is to do justice.

Genesis 6:11

Context: First mention of violence; the earth was corrupt and filled with violence. Hebrew word 'chamas' means cruelty, injustice, oppression.

Psalm 89:14

Context: Justice and judgment are the habitation of God's throne.

Proverbs 21:3

Context: To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

Habakkuk 1:2

Context: Habakkuk cried out to God about violence.

Proverbs 17:15

Context: He that justifies the wicked and condemns the just is an abomination to the Lord; this is violence.

Psalm 18:48

Context: David says God delivered him from the violent man.

Psalm 140:1-4

Context: David prays for deliverance from the evil and violent man who imagines mischief and seeks to overthrow him.

Proverbs 16:29

Context: A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good.

Psalm 86:14

Context: Assemblies of violent men seek after David's soul and do not set God before them.

Luke 18:2-5

Context: The unjust judge who feared not God nor man, illustrating authority's failure to execute justice.

Amos 3:10

Context: They know not to do right, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.

1 Samuel 12:1-4

Context: Samuel asks if he has defrauded or oppressed anyone; defrauding means to do violence.

Nehemiah 5:15

Context: Nehemiah did not take from the people like former governors because of the fear of God.

Luke 3:10-14

Context: John the Baptist tells soldiers to do violence to no man, neither accuse falsely, and be content with wages.

Deuteronomy 32:4

Context: God is the Rock, His work is perfect, all His ways are judgment, a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right.

Judges 2:16, 18

Context: The Lord raised up judges to deliver Israel from spoilers; the Lord was with the judge.

Judges 3:1-3

Context: God left nations to teach Israel war, those who had not known war.

Psalm 144:1

Context: Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight.

Historical References

Harnett County, North Carolina, police shooting of John Livingston

Context: Deputies kicked down a door without a warrant, beat and tased an unarmed man, then killed him. Used as an example of abuse of authority and violence by those in power.

Paris terrorist attack (2015)

Context: ISIS gunmen tortured and killed victims at a concert hall. Used to illustrate the necessity of defensive violence to protect innocent life.

Important Quotes

Violence is not always the answer. But when it is the answer, it's the only answer.

Significance: Central thesis of the sermon, emphasizing that there are times when righteous violence is commanded and necessary.

It is wicked and wrong to teach your children not to fight.

Significance: Provocative statement urging parents to teach biblical defense rather than pacifism.

We have been commanded to fight in the preservation of life, liberty and property.

Significance: Summarizes the biblical mandate for defensive violence.

It is only the fear of God that will keep a man honest and keep him in line and keep him humble.

Significance: Highlights the root cause of unjust violence: lack of fear of God.

Discussion Questions

How does the biblical definition of violence (including injustice and oppression) challenge our modern understanding?

Context: Weaver argues that most Christians cannot define biblical violence and that injustice is a form of violence.

In what ways do those in authority today commit violence through injustice or failure to execute judgment?

Context: Examples given include the unjust judge, rulers storing violence, and modern police abuse.

How do we reconcile God's commands for destruction in the Old Testament with His character as just and holy?

Context: Weaver asks how God could righteously send the flood, destroy Sodom, or command Canaanite destruction if all violence is wrong.

What are the limits of defensive violence? When is it biblically required, and when might it be sinful?

Context: The sermon emphasizes defense of life, family, and property but warns against unbiblical violence.

How should Christians respond to the command 'do violence to no man' in Luke 3:14 in light of the call to defend?

Context: John the Baptist told soldiers not to abuse their authority, yet Scripture also commands defense.

What does it mean to have a 'combat mentality' as a Christian, and how can we cultivate it without becoming bullies?

Context: The father's rule about fighting illustrates the balance between not starting fights and fighting to win when necessary.

Applications

Learn the biblical definition of violence

Summary: Study Scripture to understand that violence includes injustice, oppression, and fraud, not just physical harm.

Evidence: Genesis 6:11 and the Hebrew word 'chamas' show violence as cruelty and injustice.

Fear God to avoid abusing authority

Summary: Cultivate the fear of God to remain honest and humble in any position of power or influence.

Evidence: Nehemiah 5:15 shows that fear of God restrained him from oppressing the people.

Teach children to defend righteously

Summary: Instruct children that it is wrong to be a bully but right to defend themselves and others, fighting to win if necessary.

Evidence: The father's rule: 'If you start a fight, I'll whip you; if you lose a fight, I'll whip you.'

Be prepared to defend life and family

Summary: Recognize the duty to preserve life as implied by the sixth commandment, and be willing to use appropriate force in defense.

Evidence: Nehemiah 4 shows armed defense; the sixth commandment implies preserving life.

Obey God's command for righteous violence when required

Summary: When God's Word or providence demands defensive violence, do not shrink back, lest you bring a curse upon yourself.

Evidence: Jeremiah 48:10 curses those who keep back their sword from blood; 1 Kings 20 shows consequences of disobedience.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T19:29:30Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:25:49Z

Clean Transcript

In Defense of Violence

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I want you to open your Bible today, if you would, please, to Jeremiah, chapter 22, and I'm going to be probably quoting a lot of scriptures. There's some that I want you to turn to, but the message today is simply titled "In Defense of Violence" or "Defensive Violence," and I think you'll understand as we get into the scripture. So notice, Jeremiah, chapter 22, beginning with verse one.
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Thus saith the Lord, Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates. Thus saith the Lord, Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
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I want to call your attention, particularly in verse three. And remember, this verse is addressed primarily to the king, to those who are doing ruling and have power. He says, "and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow. Neither shed innocent blood in this place." We are strangers to violence. We have not been brought up in violence. We've not lived in or around violence.
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In fact, the truth of the matter is most of us have absolutely no intent and no desire to do harm to anyone. We've also been taught that all violence is inherently wrong, and therefore we kind of shun it like the plague. In all probability, most Christians could not even give a good definition of violence, or at least not a good definition of biblical violence. One of the requirements that God gives in Jeremiah chapter 22 is to do no violence.
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I want you to note, if you would please, particularly in verse three again, instead of reading all four verses, but look in verse three. Thus saith the Lord, and he's talking to the king, remember, "Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place." So obviously in this context, violence can be done not only to the stranger, but to the fatherless and the widow. Now, if it is wrong to do violence to a stranger, how much more wicked and worse would it be to do violence to a brother? Jeremiah, in this passage, further links violence to the failure to do judgment and justice.
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Because the heart of these individuals happen to be filled with greed and covetousness. Look, if you would, down to verse 13. Here's a good illustration. "Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; that saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows;
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and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord. But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it." Isn't that interesting? God asked, "Shalt thou reign simply because you're rich and well off and you have power and you have authority?" And he said, "Was not, did not your father do judgment and justice? And then it was well with him." And then he asked, "Was not this to know me?" Well, actually, verses 15 and 16 would be the opposite of doing violence. Therefore, to do judgment and justice, to do that which is righteous and holy, would be the opposite of doing violence.
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The very first mention of the word violence is found in Genesis chapter six and verse 11. That verse says this, "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence." In hermeneutics, which is the art or the science of Bible interpretation, there is a principle known as the law of first mention. The very first time a word is mentioned in the Bible, and the very first time it is known to mention, but how it is used in that mention is usually the way the word is going to be used throughout scripture, unless the context dictates otherwise. When you look at Genesis six and verse 11, the Hebrew word that is found there and most often throughout the Old Testament is the Hebrew word chamas, which literally means to be cruel, to be unjust, to be unrighteous, to be false, to oppress, and to be violent.
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Interestingly, most Christians have never considered oppression and injustice and fraudulence as violence. I want you to stop and pause and think about what I've just said. Because injustice and a lack of judgment is a specific form of violence, it is vile and wicked. And it is directed primarily against God and his law and then secondarily at his people. So violence, then, is something that should cause us to cry out to God. The Bible says in Psalm 89 and verse 14, "Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face." Now, listen to this. Judgment and justice are the habitation of thy throne. And then when you get to Proverbs 21 in verse three, the Bible says, "To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." Now, if justice and judgment are the habitation of God's throne, and if justice and judgment are more acceptable unto the Lord than sacrifice, would that not therefore mean that injustice, unrighteousness, and fraud, not only are violence, but they are particularly a form of violence against God and his law?
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So it's something that we should cry out about. Habakkuk in Habakkuk one in verse two said, "O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence." So Habakkuk was crying out against violence. I want you to stop and think about violence. Proverbs 17 and verse 15 says this, listen carefully, "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord." Now, here's my question. Would you have a judge that condemns the just? Or a judge that justifies the wicked? Is that not violence? Of course it is. It's violence to God and his law and his people. Now, I only have two points this morning. I want you to see, first of all, violence condemned. And then secondly, violence commended. So violence condemned, violence is most often condemned in scripture.
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It is usually that which is wicked, violent, hurtful toward those who are innocent and instead deserve kindness and respect such as the widow and the orphan and the stranger that's been mentioned in our text. Usually, you're going to find that violent individuals are individuals who happen to be in positions of power and authority. They are the violent men. In fact, David was a very great warrior. But even violent men terrified David. Let me show you. I want you to hold Jeremiah 22, but turn in your Bibles very quickly to Psalm 18. Psalm 18. And notice, if you would please, verse 48, then we'll go to Psalm 140. Notice if you would. Psalm 18. And then Psalm 140. In Psalm 18, beginning there with verse 48, we read this. Listen carefully. Psalm 18, verse 48.
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"He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man." Hmm. "Thou hast delivered me from the violent man." Let me ask you a question. Who would be the violent man in David's life? Well, look in your Bible to Psalm 140. Psalm 140, you have to remember now that David was a man of war, and yet he is saying now has delivered me from the violent man. Notice Psalm 140. And let's begin reading there with verse one, because again, David is praying and he says this. "Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;
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which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings." Wow. Now, David is praying to be preserved from the violent man. And then he said this violent man is purposed to overthrow his goings.
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May I ask you a question? Who was it that was continually chasing David and trying to kill him? King Saul. There are other violent men mentioned in David's life. Doeg the Edomite was one of them. But it was Saul in his position of authority and power that was seeking his overthrow. Violent men not only imagine mischiefs or iniquities in their hearts, they're always ready to commit violence in order to secure their ends. They lie, they deceive, and they seek to overthrow the righteous. In Proverbs 16 and verse 29, the Bible says, "A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good." So a violent man is not necessarily someone who comes out swinging all the time. He's someone who can be very seductive. So a violent man entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good. Violence is promulgated in the assemblies of the violent. And they have no respect for God or man, if you look in your Bibles to Psalm 86 and verse 14.
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And, you know, this thought just came to me as I was driving here this morning. Psalm 86 and verse 14, David says, "O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them." The assemblies of violent men. So violent men assemble together. I did not look up the word assemblies. I wonder if there's a parallel and we could read it, the courts of violent men. Have sought after my soul and have not set thee before them. Because obviously an assembly means they're getting together somehow, some way.
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And so far we've seen from scripture, usually violence is from those in positions of authority. There's a good illustration of this in Luke, chapter 18, verses two through five. You remember there, our Lord talks about the unjust judge. He says, "There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
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And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me." Now, notice here was a man who was an unjust judge. He had a duty. He had a responsibility to execute judgment and justice. And yet he refused to do so. And finally, that which prompted him to finally avenge this little woman.
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Well, she just kept on until she wore him out. She wouldn't give up. But he had the responsibility, unhappily, we have many authorities like this unjust judge. They do not know to do right. They will not do right. And they store violence for themselves and for others. There's an interesting verse in Amos chapter three in verse 10, where the word of God says this, listen, "For they know not to do right, saith the Lord, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces." In their palaces, so their kings or their judges or their men of importance with power and authority. And so God says they know not to do what is right. So likewise, today we have judges and rulers and bureaucrats that have no idea of that which is right and just and lawful or even merciful. They vainly and foolishly believe that they are the law themselves. They vainly and foolishly believe that they are the distributors of justice. No matter.
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Or regardless of how they function. Such are violent men. I want you to look in your Bibles, the first Samuel, chapter 12, first Samuel, chapter 12. And let's begin reading there with verse one. I want you to see what Samuel says. First Samuel, chapter 12, beginning there with verse one. You remember, the children of Israel have committed a sin in that they have asked for a man to rule over them instead of God. They wanted a man to be king when God was their king. So when you get to first Samuel, chapter 12 and verse one, "And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day." Now, look what he says. "Behold, here I am:
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witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand."
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Now, the interesting thing is when Samuel is asking them to testify against him, he says, "Whom have I defrauded?" And interestingly, the word there, defrauded, simply means to press upon, to oppress, to violate, to defraud, to do violence, to get deceitfully, to do wrong, and to extort. So Samuel said, which of you can point at anything that I've ever done to abuse my office or to abuse my authority?
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It's kind of like our Lord said in John 8, verse 46, I think it is. "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" In other words, who can point to anything that I've ever really done that is wrong? Now, I know Samuel was a sinner, but Samuel said, I've never, ever really defrauded anyone. I've not done violence. So Samuel was one who did not abuse his office or his authority. He was not violent. Nehemiah was another individual that took his office and authority with great regard to God. Notice what he said in Nehemiah chapter 5 verse 15. Let me just read. By the way, when you read through the book of Nehemiah and you read about the Tirshatha, most people say, what in the world is the Tirshatha? It's just the word for governor is all it means. And so here's what Nehemiah said. Nehemiah 5 verse 15. "But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people,
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and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God." So he said, these former governors, they demanded food and they demanded wine and they demanded forty shekels of silver, but so did not I for the fear of God. Yea, he said, even their servants bore rule over the people.
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Let me tell you something, folks, please understand this. It is only the fear of God that will keep a man honest and keep him in line and keep him humble. If there is no fear of God, then you have something like this, and I'm quoting, I want you to listen carefully. Harnett County, North Carolina. Sheriff's deputies kicked a man's door down at 3:30 a.m. this past Sunday and killed him after he told them that they could not search his home without a search warrant. After John Livingston, 33, shut his door in the deputy's faces with his demand for a warrant, his roommate says police kicked in the door, got on top of him, started slinging him around and beat him.
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Then they sprayed mace in his face and began to tase the unarmed father of three, who was described as a hardworking, very loving family man and talented carpenter, who actually built the deck on the small home the deputies were invading. When Livingston attempted to remove the taser from the hands of the officer who was shocking him, the deputies executed him, claiming he got a hold of their weapon. Tasers were said to be non-lethal, yet the cops evidently feared for their lives that the mere prospect of one of their victims could maybe possibly turn it on them. As it turns out, the deputies were looking for a man who no longer lived in that house.
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The Harnett County Sheriff's Department is stonewalling on the case, and it failed to release the names of the deputies involved in the killing. No doubt after routine investigation, the state goons will exonerate themselves. Obviously, some believe that disrespecting imagined authority deserves a death penalty. You talk about an abuse of office, an abuse of authority. Let me point out again, let me emphasize this. Violent men and violence normally stems from those in positions of power and authority.
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I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter three, Luke, chapter three. John the Baptist has been preaching. And certain groups have come to John after he demanded that they repent. And they're asking him what they must do in order to demonstrate that repentance is genuinely in their lives. So if you look in Luke, chapter three, and I want you to note that John gives different answers to different groups because their sins were different.
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For instance, verse 10, "And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?" That is, what shall we do in light of what you've been preaching to demonstrate that we're really repentant? "He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise." So the prevailing sin then of the people in John's day was one of greediness and covetousness. Verse 12, "Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you." Because the prevailing sin of the publicans was that of theft. They were thieves. Watch verse 14. "And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do?
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And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages." Isn't that amazing? Do violence to no man. He didn't tell the publicans to do violence to no man. Didn't tell the people to do violence to no man. He told those who had some power and authority to do violence to no man. Neither falsely accuse anyone and to be content with their wages. The Greek word for violence here literally means to agitate, to terrify, to cause alarm, to cause to tremble, and to extort from, and to be violent. So here are these soldiers then who could most readily abuse their office, their power and their authority by doing violence. And he says, do no violence.
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Interestingly, when you look through the scripture and you talk about violent men, you have to understand that oftentimes they're the men in positions of power and authority. OK. But secondly today, I want to deal with violence commended. Violence commended. Now listen carefully. We normally use the word violence to simply mean to do physical harm. So if Marshall's standing here and I just walk up to him and draw back my fist and hit him upside the head and knock him down, maybe knock him out. Fine. I'm about to say that's violence. And it would be violence. By the way.
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I saw, I liked it. I saw, someone sent me a little thing on the internet. There was a middle-aged woman, kind of broad, bent over, kissing a child on a motorcycle. And this was in Afghanistan or Iraq or Iran, one of those countries. And a man walked by and grabbed her rear end and started to walk off. She spun around and hit him upside the head, knocked him into a table. Then he fell and hit the floor.
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He was out for two hours. I thought, I bet he won't do that anymore. I thought, now that's justice, that's good, that's great. When we think about violence, that's what we tend to think about. And you know, the interesting thing is this, in the day's language, in the day's understanding, all violence is wrong. And we've been taught that as children, that even fighting is wrong. You have to understand something, folks, according to humanism, fighting is wrong simply because it is a form of violence.
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And what you and I must do is this. We must distinguish between a biblical violence, which I'm going to show you a little bit later is not really violence at all, although we would call it that. We must distinguish between a biblical violence and an unbiblical violence. So I can say it like this. There is a fighting that is condemned in scripture. And there's a fighting that is commended in scripture, that which is commended is that which is holy, just, righteous and good. That which is condemned is that which is wicked and vile and contrary to God's law. So I can probably show you the difference between the two by asking a number of questions. For instance, my first question would be this, is God holy, just and true? What's the answer? Of course. Well, let me give you Scripture.
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Deuteronomy 32 and verse 4. "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." So we know that God is just, holy, and righteous. All of His ways are judgment, the Bible says.
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Now, let's just take the humanist position for a moment. Let's just assume that all violence of any stripe, shade, form or fashion is wicked, wrong and vile. OK, let's just assume that just momentarily. Now, since we know that God is just and holy and righteous and we're going to assume that all violence is wicked, vile and evil. I have some questions to ask you. If all violence is wicked, vile and evil, how could God righteously and justly destroy the antediluvians, that is, the old world with a flood? If all violence is wicked and vile, how could God righteously and justly send fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain? Now, I don't know about you, but to me, a flood that wipes out a huge number of people and animals and fire and brimstone burning people to death and destroying property.
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That's pretty violent in my eyes. Now, you've got to remember that the scripture declares God is just and holy and righteous. So if God is holy, just and righteous and all violence is wrong, how could God send the flood? How could God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? Let me ask you again, if all violence is wicked and evil, how could God raise up judges to defend his people? If you look in your Bibles, turn there to the book of Judges very quickly. The book of Judges, let's look in Judges, chapter two. Joshua, Judges, notice if you would, Judges, chapter two, and look at verse 16. Judges, chapter two. And verse 16. Notice what the scripture says. Judges 2 verse 16, the Bible says, "Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them." Well, now, when God raised up a judge, what did the judge do? He fought. He fought. Look, if you would, verse 18. Judges 2, verse 18, "And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them."
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Now, wait a minute. God not only raised up judges to fight for his people, but now the Bible says the Lord was with those judges. He was helping them to fight. So if all violence is wicked and wrong, how could God have raised up those judges? And how could God have helped them? Well, here's another question. Let's look in Judges chapter 3. If all violence is wicked and wrong and vile, how could God leave certain pagan people in the land just to teach his people war. Wow, Judges 3 verse 1, "Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
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only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof; Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath." So God said, I've left all these pagans here in the land to teach my people how to fight. They didn't know how to fight, so I left some so they could practice. Wow. Now, if all violence is wrong, how in the world could God do that? And you have to remember that God is holy, just and right. If all violence is wrong and wicked, how could God have righteously and justly taught David to fight? You have to remember that David was a mighty warrior. You remember how they sang, "Saul has killed his thousands and David his tens of thousands?"
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And what did David say in Psalm 144, verse 1? "Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight." David was a shepherd. He was not raised as a soldier. You remember what Saul said to him as he was about to go out to face Goliath? What did he say? "You can't fight this man. He's been a man of war from his youth."
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And you're just a kid. I don't know if you remember what I preached on that or not. But David was probably somewhere between 15 to 17 years of age when he killed Goliath. How did David learn to fight so well? Well, he answered it, God taught His hands to fight and His fingers to war.
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Now, I'm still asking questions. You have to remember that God is holy, just, and good. If all violence is wrong, how could God righteously and justly defend Jerusalem and His people? You know, in Isaiah 38 and verse 6, God says this to King Hezekiah. "And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city." In fact, he said that five times. Do you know how God defended Jerusalem and his people?
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By slaying 185,000 Assyrians. Now, all violence is wicked, vile, and wrong. How could God justly and righteously slay 185,000 Assyrians? You can read about it in Isaiah 37, verses 35 and 36. Here's another thought, if all violence is wicked and evil, how could God righteously and justly demand the deaths of all the Canaanites? You remember when God brought Israel out of Egypt, he put a sword in their hands and he said, I want you to kill all of them. And when you read Joshua 10 and verse 40, here's what the scripture says. "So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded." So it's God who sentenced these people to death. It was God who put the sword in the hands of Joshua and the people and said, slay them all. I hope you're beginning to see that not all violence is condemned in Scripture.
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By the way. Let me ask you this question. If all violence is wicked, wrong and vile, have you ever asked yourself this question? How will God judge and punish the wicked? I don't know, but I would tend to think that that would be pretty violent. In fact, let me show you something. Look in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 18. Revelation 18. Then we'll go to chapter 19. Revelation 18, verse 21. Look what the Scripture says. Revelation 18, verse 21.
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"And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." With violence. God's doing something with violence. Look in chapter 19. Verse one, "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the
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blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever." Yeah. Seems to me like there's some violence used somewhere by God, and you have to remember that God is holy, just and true.
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Now, let me make a statement. I want you to think about this. It is wicked and wrong to teach your children not to fight. It is true that you cannot teach your children to be cruel, unjust, and unrighteous bullies. That is wrong. That is condemned. But what has happened, if you've taken notice lately, is we have sired a generation of spineless, gutless, lily-livered sissies. We have to understand, and our children and our spouses must understand, that it is biblical to defend one's life. It is biblical to defend one's family. It is biblical to defend one's property.
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This is why God raised up judges in Israel. This is why God gave us the sixth commandment. Thou shalt not kill. The positive is, thou shalt preserve life. We have the duty and we have the obligation and we have the responsibility to preserve our lives and the lives of others. I just ran across a book this week and I ordered it. Perhaps you might want to order it as well. I have not read the book.
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I don't even have it yet. But I did read the reviews and I did look at the index. The title of the book is "Team Honey Badger: Raising Fearless Kids in a Cowardly World" by Paul Markle. And I'm anxiously looking forward to reading the book, "Team Honey Badger: Raising Fearless Kids in a Cowardly World." We have been commanded to fight in the preservation of life, liberty and property. And we have to learn to fight, if necessary, listen to me, to preserve even the Kingdom of God. You say, what? Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah chapter 4. Nehemiah chapter 4. And let me say something before I read this. When I read this passage of Nehemiah chapter 4 beginning with verse 11, you have to remember that Nehemiah was defending. He was not attacking. We're not conquistadors. We don't go out like the Islamics with swords and say convert or die. No. Watch. Nehemiah chapter 4, beginning there with verse 11.
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"And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease." So they were planning a surprise attack. "And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you." Lord, you can't stop them. You can't win. Watch verse 13. "Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places,
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I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon."
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What was Nehemiah doing? He was defending. He said, they want to defend. They want to attack the work of God and stop it. They want to slay all of us. We will defend ourselves. We will defend our lives. We will defend our work. So if weapons are used in attacking us, we defend with weapons. If words are used in attacking us, we defend with words. If we are attacked legally, then we defend ourselves lawfully by whatever means are necessary. But we fight.
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Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. The violence that is commended in Scripture is not really violence in that sense of that which is condemned, because that which is condemned is unjust, ungodly and unrighteous. Rather, the violence that is commended in Scripture is that which is done in submission to and obedience to God. And it's not rebellion to God, it is obedience, it is that which God demands.
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Now, let me show you. I want you to turn to First Kings, Chapter 20. First Kings, Chapter 20. Watch carefully. In first Kings chapter 20, there is a war between Israel and Syria. And King Ahab is on the throne, he's a wicked pervert. In fact, he's the wickedest man in the northern kingdom. But yet God had told him, look, I'm going to let you defeat the Syrians. And I've appointed the Syrians for destruction. Ben-Hadad was king of Syria. So God now has appointed Ben-Hadad and his armies to destruction. And God wants Ben-Hadad slain. Ahab not only refuses to slay Ben-Hadad, he even calls him his brother.
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Now, I want you to listen to me, listen to this statement, you're going to hear me say it two or three times. Violence is not always the answer. But when it is the answer, it's the only answer. OK, so watch this first Kings 20 and let's begin there with. Let's let's let's begin reading with verse 31. This is Ben-Hadad's servants. "And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel:
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peradventure he will save thy life. So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Benhadad.
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And he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. And Benhadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away. And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.
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So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it. And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people." Wow.
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I want you to know something. One man died simply because he refused to be physically violent, when God demanded he be physically violent. And now when Ahab allows Ben-Hadad and his service to escape, God says, thy life for his life. And your people for his people. That is why I said violence is not always the answer. But when it is the answer, it's the only answer. I want you to look in Jeremiah chapter 48. Jeremiah 48. Notice, if you would please, verses one through three. God is demanding the destruction of Moab. Jeremiah 48. Notice, if you would please, verse one. "Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled:
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Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed. There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction. Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard." So Moab is to be destroyed now.
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I want you to listen carefully when God sends his army against his enemies. He demands obedience. And I'm talking about physical violence. I told you when violence. I told you violence is not always the answer, but when it is, the answer is the only answer. And God has demanded violence against Moab.
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Now, look what he says in verse 10. God says, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully." That's fighting. "And cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood." What did God say? When violence is demanded, it's the only answer. And you bring yourself under the curse of God when you refuse to obey God.
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Now, we're talking about violence very quickly. You remember, there was a man by the name of Sisera who was fleeing from Barak. And he went to Jael's tent. And he said, give me some water, and she brought him forth milk. The Bible says in a lordly manner. And he was tired and he laid down, she covered him. He said, if any man ask if a man is here, say no. Fine. He went to sleep. What did she do? She took a tent peg and a hammer.
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And came and drove it through his temple while he was asleep. And then cut off his head.
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Now, my question is, would you consider that violent? And yet she did it in obedience to God. And when Barak got there, she said, come see the man that you're seeking. Here he is, he fell at the hands of a woman. Because Barak refused to fight without Deborah. How about this passage in 1 Samuel chapter 15? Don't turn there. But you remember how God sent King Saul on a mission to destroy all the Amalekites? And he spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites?
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I want to just read this to you. Samuel reproaches Saul for disobeying God. "Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past." I just seen pressing up there saying, you know, they're not going to kill me. "And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal." He hewed him and he cut him up. He didn't just kill him. He cut him in pieces. And the Bible says, before the Lord in Gilgal. And if you will check the phrase, that phrase actually means as unto the Lord and in the presence of the Lord. So what Samuel was doing to Agag was exactly that which God wanted done to Agag. He did it as unto the Lord.
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So there is a time to be biblically violent. When you have to fight physical violence, you must fight it with violence. Let me give you an illustration. I do not know if the Paris attack was real or a false flag or a real false flag. But I'm going to read to you an article. And I want you to think about this. The title of the article is this, "Pure Evil."
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"ISIS gutted wounded victims at French Concert Hall as they lay dying on the floor. They slit their stomachs and watched them die. ISIS gunmen used knives to torture their mortally wounded victims by slitting their stomachs as they lay on the floor. An eyewitness also hid in a cellar for three hours as the armed murderers rampaged through the packed theater in Paris, said she knew people were being tortured because she could hear their screams. Marisha Payne from Berkshire told the Daily Mail, 'We knew people were being tortured in the theater because we heard people screaming, but they were not being shot. And these were singular screams. When we escaped, the man trapped on the level where it happened said to us that the terrorists were stabbing people in the stomach. We were told they were throwing explosives at the people.'
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It was a horrendous ordeal. So here's my question. If you were there and were watching that scenario, would you just fold your hands and say, well, I'll pray for those poor people? Or would you have defended their lives? What if it had been your wife? Or your husband? Or your child on the floor? Would it have made any difference to you? Think about that. Violence is not always the answer. But when it is the answer, it's the only answer. We must defend life.
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We are never ever to be unbiblically violent. But there is a biblical violence. And when it is demanded, we do not shrink from the task because it is done in obedience to the sixth commandment, thou shalt preserve life. Alice and I have some friends that now live in various places. At one time, they were raised in Washington State. I've so enjoyed this family. It was a family of 11 boys and one girl, 12 kids. If I ever want a good laugh, I just listen to their escapades and things that they have done and the trouble they've gotten into all of their lives. But I was talking to them one day.
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And two of the brothers said, look, here's what Daddy told us, and they feared their father, I can assure you. Their father said, boys, let me tell you something. If you ever start a fight, I'll whip you. But if you ever get in a fight and lose it, I'll whip you. And what was he saying? I want you to think about this. If you start a fight, I'll whip you. In other words, you're being if you start a fight, you're being a bully. You're being unjust. You're being unkind. You're being disrespectful. You deserve punishment. If you ever get in a fight and lose it, that means you didn't start it. And you lose it because you didn't fight hard enough and long enough. I'll whip you. In other words, he's saying this, if you have to fight, you fight to win. I'm sure that daddy understood their exceptions. It'd be hard for me to fight and win if I'm fighting five or six different men at one time with their hands. I understand that. And so he understood that.
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But the point I'm trying to make is this. If you have to fight, you fight to win. You don't give up. You don't give out. Just make up your mind that you will have a combat mentality. And there is a biblical principle, you must preserve life, you must preserve your life as well as the lives of others. So in defense of violence, yes, there's a time to be righteously, justly, wholly, biblically violent.
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Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to you this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. We thank you, Heavenly Father, that you are the one true and the holy God and that thou art the sovereign God on the throne. And besides thee, there is absolutely none other. There is one God and one law. Therefore, one obedience is demanded. Help us, Lord, to love thee and deliver thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we ask and pray. Amen.
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Suite 705 PMB 175 Savannah Georgia 31406 or give us a call at 912-925-0995. You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T19:29:30Z

In Defense of Violence

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver argues that Scripture distinguishes between condemned violence (unjust, oppressive acts, often by those in authority) and commended violence (righteous defense of life, family, and property in obedience to God). Using Jeremiah 22 and many other passages, he shows that God commands judgment and justice, and that failing to act when violence is required brings a curse. He applies this to personal and societal defense, urging believers to cultivate a biblical combat mentality.

Introduction and Text: Jeremiah 22:1-5

Weaver introduces the sermon, reading Jeremiah 22:1-5, emphasizing the command to execute judgment and righteousness and to do no violence to the stranger, fatherless, and widow.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 22:1-5

" and I think you'll understand as we get into the scripture. So notice, Jeremiah, chapter 22, beginning with verse one. Thus saith the Lord, Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates. Thus saith the Lord, Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.

Defining Biblical Violence

The very first mention of the word violence is found in Genesis chapter six and verse 11. That verse says this,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 6:11

"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 89:14

"Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face."

Violence Condemned: The Violent Man in Scripture

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:48

"He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man."

Hmm.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:48

"Thou hast delivered me from the violent man."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:48

"Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 16:29

" So a violent man is not necessarily someone who comes out swinging all the time. He's someone who can be very seductive. So a violent man entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good. Violence is promulgated in the assemblies of the violent. And they have no respect for God or man, if you look in your Bibles to Psalm 86 and verse 14.

And, you know, this thought just came to me as I was driving here this morning. Psalm 86 and verse 14, David says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 86:14

"O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them."

Examples of Unjust Authority and Violence

Scripture Reading — Amos 3:10

"For they know not to do right, saith the Lord, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces."

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 12:1-4

"And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day."

Now, look what he says. "Behold, here I am:

John the Baptist's Instruction to Soldiers

In Luke 3:14, John tells soldiers to 'do violence to no man,' indicating that those with power are most tempted to abuse it. The Greek word means to agitate, terrify, or extort.

Scripture Reading — Luke 3:10-14

"And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?"

That is, what shall we do in light of what you've been preaching to demonstrate that we're really repentant?

Scripture Reading — Luke 3:10-14

"He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise."

So the prevailing sin then of the people in John's day was one of greediness and covetousness. Verse 12,

Scripture Reading — Luke 3:10-14

"Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you."

Because the prevailing sin of the publicans was that of theft. They were thieves. Watch verse 14.

Scripture Reading — Luke 3:10-14

"And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do?

Violence Commended: God's Righteous Acts

Scripture Reading — Judges 2:16, 18

Now, wait a minute. God not only raised up judges to fight for his people, but now the Bible says the Lord was with those judges. He was helping them to fight. So if all violence is wicked and wrong, how could God have raised up those judges? And how could God have helped them? Well, here's another question. Let's look in Judges chapter 3. If all violence is wicked and wrong and vile, how could God leave certain pagan people in the land just to teach his people war. Wow, Judges 3 verse 1, "Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

And what did David say in Psalm 144, verse 1?

Scripture Reading — Psalm 144:1

"Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight."

Biblical Defense of Life, Family, and Property

Obedience to God's Command for Violence

Illustrations and Application

In Defense of Violence

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	122161332455
Subject	Biblical Worldview
Course	Biblical Worldview Foundations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2015-12-27
Dictation Name
Book	Book 066: Biblical Worldview Foundations — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	73

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Text: Jeremiah 22:1-5: Weaver introduces the sermon, reading Jeremiah 22:1-5, emphasizing the command to execute judgment and righteousness and to do no violence to the stranger, fatherless, and widow.
Defining Biblical Violence: Most Christians lack a biblical definition of violence. The first mention in Genesis 6:11 uses the Hebrew word 'chamas,' meaning cruelty, injustice, oppression, and fraud. Injustice is a form of violence against God and His law.
Violence Condemned: The Violent Man in Scripture: Violence is most often condemned in Scripture, typically perpetrated by those in power. David prayed for deliverance from violent men like Saul. Violent men entice, deceive, and assemble against the righteous.
Examples of Unjust Authority and Violence: The unjust judge in Luke 18, the rulers in Amos 3:10, and modern examples like the Harnett County shooting illustrate how authorities abuse power. Samuel and Nehemiah are contrasted as those who feared God and did not defraud or oppress.
John the Baptist's Instruction to Soldiers: In Luke 3:14, John tells soldiers to 'do violence to no man,' indicating that those with power are most tempted to abuse it. The Greek word means to agitate, terrify, or extort.
Violence Commended: God's Righteous Acts: If all violence is wrong, how could God justly send the flood, destroy Sodom, raise up judges, teach Israel war, teach David to fight, defend Jerusalem by slaying 185,000 Assyrians, or command the destruction of the Canaanites? These acts show that not all violence is condemned.
Biblical Defense of Life, Family, and Property: It is biblical to defend one's life, family, and property. Nehemiah 4 shows the people building with one hand and holding a weapon with the other. We must fight to preserve the Kingdom of God, using appropriate means.
Obedience to God's Command for Violence: In 1 Kings 20, a prophet is killed by a lion for refusing to strike another, and Ahab is condemned for sparing Ben-Hadad. Jeremiah 48:10 curses those who keep back their sword from blood. Violence is not always the answer, but when it is, it is the only answer.
Illustrations and Application: Jael killing Sisera, Samuel hewing Agag, and the Paris attack illustrate righteous violence. A father's rule—'If you start a fight, I'll whip you; if you lose a fight, I'll whip you'—teaches a combat mentality to preserve life.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Injustice is a form of violence

Oppression, fraud, and failure to execute judgment are violence against God and His law, not just physical harm.

Genesis 6:11 uses 'chamas' for corruption and violence. Proverbs 17:15 says justifying the wicked or condemning the just is an abomination.

Violent men are often in authority

Scripture consistently portrays violent men as those with power who abuse it, like Saul, the unjust judge, and rulers who store violence.

David prayed for deliverance from violent men (Psalm 140:1-4). Amos 3:10 says they 'store up violence and robbery in their palaces.'

God's righteous acts involve violence

If all violence were wrong, God could not have justly sent the flood, destroyed Sodom, or commanded the destruction of the Canaanites.

Deuteronomy 32:4 says God is just. Yet He destroyed the old world (Genesis 6-7), Sodom (Genesis 19), and commanded Canaanite destruction (Joshua 10:40).

God commands physical violence in certain contexts

Scripture records God demanding physical violence, and refusal to obey brings severe consequences.

1 Kings 20:35-36 shows a lion killing a man for not striking a prophet. Jeremiah 48:10 curses those who keep back their sword from blood.

Defensive violence is biblically mandated

Believers must defend life, family, and property, as seen in Nehemiah's example and the sixth commandment's implication to preserve life.

Nehemiah 4:13-18 shows armed defense while building. The sixth commandment implies preserving life.

Violence is not always the answer, but when it is, it is the only answer

There is a time for righteous violence, and failing to act when required is disobedience.

The Paris attack illustration and the father's rule about fighting to win emphasize the necessity of defensive violence.

Scripture References

Jeremiah 22:1-5: Opening text commanding the king to execute judgment and righteousness, deliver the spoiled, and do no violence to the stranger, fatherless, or widow.
Jeremiah 22:13-17: Illustration of violence linked to greed, covetousness, and failure to do judgment and justice; knowing God is to do justice.
Genesis 6:11: First mention of violence; the earth was corrupt and filled with violence. Hebrew word 'chamas' means cruelty, injustice, oppression.
Psalm 89:14: Justice and judgment are the habitation of God's throne.
Proverbs 21:3: To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Habakkuk 1:2: Habakkuk cried out to God about violence.
Proverbs 17:15: He that justifies the wicked and condemns the just is an abomination to the Lord; this is violence.
Psalm 18:48: David says God delivered him from the violent man.
Psalm 140:1-4: David prays for deliverance from the evil and violent man who imagines mischief and seeks to overthrow him.
Proverbs 16:29: A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good.
Psalm 86:14: Assemblies of violent men seek after David's soul and do not set God before them.
Luke 18:2-5: The unjust judge who feared not God nor man, illustrating authority's failure to execute justice.
Amos 3:10: They know not to do right, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
1 Samuel 12:1-4: Samuel asks if he has defrauded or oppressed anyone; defrauding means to do violence.
Nehemiah 5:15: Nehemiah did not take from the people like former governors because of the fear of God.
Luke 3:10-14: John the Baptist tells soldiers to do violence to no man, neither accuse falsely, and be content with wages.
Deuteronomy 32:4: God is the Rock, His work is perfect, all His ways are judgment, a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right.
Judges 2:16, 18: The Lord raised up judges to deliver Israel from spoilers; the Lord was with the judge.
Judges 3:1-3: God left nations to teach Israel war, those who had not known war.
Psalm 144:1: Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight.

Historical References

Harnett County, North Carolina, police shooting of John Livingston: Deputies kicked down a door without a warrant, beat and tased an unarmed man, then killed him. Used as an example of abuse of authority and violence by those in power.
Paris terrorist attack (2015): ISIS gunmen tortured and killed victims at a concert hall. Used to illustrate the necessity of defensive violence to protect innocent life.

Important Quotes

Violence is not always the answer. But when it is the answer, it's the only answer.

Central thesis of the sermon, emphasizing that there are times when righteous violence is commanded and necessary.

It is wicked and wrong to teach your children not to fight.

Provocative statement urging parents to teach biblical defense rather than pacifism.

We have been commanded to fight in the preservation of life, liberty and property.

Summarizes the biblical mandate for defensive violence.

It is only the fear of God that will keep a man honest and keep him in line and keep him humble.

Highlights the root cause of unjust violence: lack of fear of God.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the biblical definition of violence (including injustice and oppression) challenge our modern understanding?

[Context]

Weaver argues that most Christians cannot define biblical violence and that injustice is a form of violence.

[Question]

In what ways do those in authority today commit violence through injustice or failure to execute judgment?

[Context]

Examples given include the unjust judge, rulers storing violence, and modern police abuse.

[Question]

How do we reconcile God's commands for destruction in the Old Testament with His character as just and holy?

[Context]

Weaver asks how God could righteously send the flood, destroy Sodom, or command Canaanite destruction if all violence is wrong.

[Question]

What are the limits of defensive violence? When is it biblically required, and when might it be sinful?

[Context]

The sermon emphasizes defense of life, family, and property but warns against unbiblical violence.

[Question]

How should Christians respond to the command 'do violence to no man' in Luke 3:14 in light of the call to defend?

[Context]

John the Baptist told soldiers not to abuse their authority, yet Scripture also commands defense.

[Question]

What does it mean to have a 'combat mentality' as a Christian, and how can we cultivate it without becoming bullies?

[Context]

The father's rule about fighting illustrates the balance between not starting fights and fighting to win when necessary.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:25:49Z