"When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them; for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, and shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel! ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies; let not your hearts faint; fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He that goeth with you to fight for you against your enemies, to save you." (Ver. 1-4.)
How wonderful to think of the Lord as a Man of war! Think of His fighting against people! Some find it very hard to take in the idea--hard to understand how a benevolent Being could act in such a character. But the difficulty arises mainly from not distinguishing between the different dispensations. It was just as consistent with the character of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to fight against His enemies, as it is with the character of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive them. And inasmuch as it is the revealed character of God that furnishes the model on which His people are to be formed--the standard by which they are to act, it was quite as consistent for Israel to cut their enemies in pieces as it is for us to love them, pray for them, and do them good.
If this very simple principle were borne in mind, it would remove a quantity of misunderstanding, and save a vast amount of unintelligent discussion. No doubt it is thoroughly wrong for the Church of God to go to war. No one can read the New Testament with a mind free from bias and not see this. We are positively commanded to love our enemies, to do good to them that hate us, and to pray for them that despitefully use us. "Put up again thy sword into his place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." And again, in another gospel, "Then said Jesus unto Peter, 'Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?'" Again, our Lord says to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, _then would My servants fight_"--it would be perfectly consistent for them so to do;--"but _now_ is My kingdom not from hence"--and therefore it would be wholly out of character, utterly inconsistent, thoroughly wrong, for them to fight.
All this is so plain that we need only say, "How readest thou?" Our blessed Lord did not fight; He meekly and patiently submitted to all manner of abuse and ill-treatment, and in so doing, He left us an example, that we should follow His steps. If we only honestly ask ourselves the question, What would Jesus do? it would close all discussion on this point, as well as upon a thousand other points besides. There is really no use in reasoning--no need of it. If the words and ways of our blessed Lord, and the distinct teaching of His Spirit by His holy apostles, be not sufficient for our guidance, all discussion is utterly vain.
And if we be asked, What does the Holy Ghost teach on this great practical point? hear His precious, clear, and pointed words.--"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves; but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine; _I will repay_, saith the Lord.' Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Rom. xii.)
These are the lovely ethics of the Church of God, the principles of that heavenly kingdom to which all true Christians belong. Would they have suited Israel of old? Certainly not. Only conceive Joshua acting toward the Canaanites on the principles of Romans xii! It would have been as flagrant an inconsistency as for us to act on the principle of Deuteronomy xx. How is this? Simply because in Joshua's day God was executing judgment in righteousness, whereas now He is dealing in unqualified grace. This makes all the difference. The principle of divine action is the grand moral regulator for God's people in all ages. If this be seen, all difficulty is removed, all discussion definitively closed.