Word for Word
by Pastor Duane Smith
We live in a very tumultuous world. There is no greater example of this than what is going on in the Middle East. Every day we are bombarded with images of horrific scenes that are scarcely imaginable. People have been imprisoned, beheaded, forced to flee for their lives, whole villages massacred, and the list could go on and on.
So how should Christians respond to all of this? In order to answer that question we need to identify who our enemy really is. According to the Bible our ultimate enemy is not ISIS or any of the other groups who are committing such heinous atrocities. Our real enemy is, and always has been, Satan. Here is what God has to say about it: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
Throughout history different groups have behaved in the same way. Whether it was the Nazis or the Inquisition or Communists or any other group down through time the only reason they did these things is because they were following, as Jesus said of the Pharisees, “their father the devil.”
This does not absolve these people of guilt. They, just like all of us, cannot blame Satan for their willful sin. They are responsible for following Satan and will ultimately be held to account for it.
In light of this, we get back to our original question. How should we respond to all of this?
For the Christians, our responsibility is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a world that is desperately in need of Him. We are to love our neighbor and minister to them in such a way that they will see Christ’s love through us. This means that we need to pray for those who are suffering persecution and seek what we can do to lessen their suffering. But what is our responsibility toward those who are causing the suffering? I must admit that often times my first thought is not what it should be. My cry is often for justice, and, while there isn’t anything inherently wrong with that desire, it falls short of what Christ would desire. As Christians, our primary goal should not be for the complete destruction of our enemies but rather that they would repent and turn to Christ as their Savior. Their hardness of heart should grieve us so greatly that it drives us to our knees to pray for their salvation. No one is outside of His ability to forgive.
But what about justice? Isn’t it right for us to want to see these atrocities stopped and men brought to account for their actions? It is the responsibility of governments to bring about justice on this earth. Romans 13:4 says “for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil.” It is the responsibility of government to hold evil people accountable for their actions. If necessary, fight wars to directly face evil and vanquish it. God has set up government for this purpose and it is not wrong for us to pray that they will be successful in this endeavor.
Our response, then, is determined by our responsibility before God. Government must do its God-ordained duty to stop evil and Christians must actively seek to mitigate the suffering of those in need while praying for the salvation of the perpetrators of evil.
May God give us all wisdom as we lovingly confront a world that is desperately in need of Him.
