“A
Biblical Look At Gun Control”
David M. Green
“Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.” (Luke 22:36)
Today, we want to look at what the Bible says about gun control. The first thing that will come to your mind is that the Word of God is silent on guns. This is true, but only because there were no guns in the time the Bible was written.
When the topic of gun control comes up, there are some who misinterpret the Bible to say that a good Christian would never own a gun. These people tell their followers that Jesus was a pacifist when it came to matters like this.
So what we want to do is look at the Bible’s viewpoint on other weapons to see what our Lord said about them. In our passage, he instructed His followers to sell their clothes to go buy a sword if they did not already have one. In His day, a sword was the best weapon money could buy.
“Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. 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?” (John 18:10-11)
Peter, when he realized what was happening to his Lord and Saviour, took his sword (which he obviously carried with him) and cut off the high priest’s ear. This took a lot of skill, showing us that he knew his weapon well. Christ did not condemn him for having the sword, He did not tell him to get rid of it, but He instructed him to put it back in his sheath.
“When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.” (Luke 11:21-22)
Christ illustrated the importance of being well armed here in this passage.
“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.” (Nehemiah 4:13-14)
The people of God defended themselves against their enemies.
“If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.” (Exodus 22:2)
Just two chapters past Exodus 20:13, we read this passage. If a thief is found “breaking up” – doing the things that thieves do, if he dies there will be no blood shed for his life.
Guns have become a modern day controversial debate. Many modern nations have enlisted gun control of some form or another. Here are some examples:
· In 1938, Adolf Hitler began confiscating guns from Germany's citizens, and from 1939-1945 the Nazis murdered 13 million Jews, gypsies and other groups of people.
America would do well to remember the following warnings:
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined or determined to commit crimes. Such laws only make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assassins; they serve to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." (Thomas Jefferson)
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe." (Noah Webster, 1787, Pamphlets on the Constitution of the US)
How, then, do we handle the problem of violent acts committed by people with guns?
“Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” (Genesis 9:6)
This passage tells us how to handle those who would use a gun (or any weapon) for murdering people. The death penalty is to be their punishment. Guns are neither good nor bad. Instead of gun control, we need people control.
A gun is only a tool. It is (of itself) neither good nor bad. In order for a human to be killed by a gun, another human must operate that gun. Murder will happen whether there are guns in this world or not. Murder does not come from guns, it comes from the human heart. America doesn’t need any more gun control; she needs harsher punishment to the murderer. If America would get right with God and follow His word, this country would be a much safer place for everyone.
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