Christians & Firearms

The Moral Neutrality of Guns and the Question of Christian Ownership

Hello, and thank you for listening to the Testing the Spirits podcast. I've titled this episode, Christians and Firearms. A lot of people who approach the subject, they'll ask the question, is it okay?

Is it permissible for Christians to own guns? And let me just get that out of the way up front and say, yes, of course it's okay for Christians to own guns. A gun itself is a tool. A gun is not immoral.

It's not moral. A gun really is neutral. It's like a butcher's knife. It can be used for good. It can be used for evil, but whether or not it's good or bad, it's dependent on the person using it. What are they using it for?

Obviously, guns did not exist in Bible time, so we have to look to the scripture to find some principle or some ancient equivalent we're going to quote from Jesus in a moment. But even Christianity Today, that well-known Christian publication that's been around for so long, even Christianity Today, which is fairly moderate, if not left-leaning, even they argue that it's perfectly fine for followers of Christ to own firearms.

The main argument that they quote is the same passage that everyone looks to to kind of back up this idea. It's Luke chapter 22, where Jesus, speaking to his disciples, he instructs them about the supplies that they're going to need for the road.

In the Lord of glory, he tells his disciples, if you don't have a sword, go out and buy.

One.

Luke 22, starting in verse 36, Jesus says, but now he who has a money bag, let him take it and likewise a knapsack. And he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. So they said, verse 38, Lord, look, here are two swords.

And Jesus said to them, it is enough. So the sword was the ancient equivalent to a gun. Back then, guards and soldiers, they carried swords. Today, they carry guns. It's pretty simple to understand. And obviously we could go back into the old Testament and demonstrate that many of the great saints throughout the ages, they not only carried weapons, they used them in both military and self-defense situations.

Also consider Exodus 22, verse two, God's law says that if somebody breaks into your house in the middle of the night, if you strike them and they die, you're not guilty. Now if it's during the day, that's different.

But why is it that the law of God, the law of Moses says that if you were to strike someone, if they're breaking in in the middle of the night, if they die in the process, why are you not guilty? Because anyone who breaks into your house in the middle of the night, they're clearly looking to do harm.

So not only is it permissible to defend yourself and your family, it's actually virtuous to defend your family. Now if you don't want to defend yourself, that's your prerogative. But a man, especially a man, it is his job to defend his family.

Personally, I am as peaceful and law-abiding as anyone. And I own multiple rifles and handguns and I have a concealed carry permit and all of that makes my home safer. But of course there are reckless and irresponsible people and there's just evil people out there.

So when they have a gun, that puts others at risk. So the point is, it's not really about the gun. It's about the individual. If I were, just hypothetical situation, let's say I was in a restaurant with my family and a madman came in and started shooting the place up.

If I were carrying a concealed pistol at that moment, if I had a clear shot, I wouldn't hesitate to take it.

Why?

Because that evil man, he should die and not my own family. Who would say otherwise? Oh, I would rather save his life and he could just slaughter all these innocent people. I mean, this is common sense.

Again, it's not just permissible, it's virtuous. It's right to do good and a gun is simply a tool. Someone might say, you know, because there's people out there who have the misguided idea that the Bible teaches pacifism.

Listen, you can't read the Bible, certainly not the Old Testament. You can't read the Bible and say it teaches pacifism. I mean, that's crazy. But people say, well, how can, how could a Christian say that?

How could a pastor say that he would shoot someone? Well, listen, I hope and pray I am never in that situation. And even if I did shoot someone who was evil and was murder, I don't know, that still would probably affect you.

I mean, nobody wants to do this. If someone, and there are people out there, I'm sure, who are just looking for an excuse to use a firearm. Yeah, that's, there's something wrong there. But if we are defending the innocent, especially if a man is defending his own family, so how could a pastor say that?

Well, how could a Christian not say that? Consider for a moment, if someone is in that type of a situation where there's a violent criminal on the loose, he's shooting people, he's killing people, what's the instant reaction other than maybe run and hide?

What do people do? They call the police. Why do they call the police? Because the police have guns and the only way to stop the bad guy with a gun is to have a good guy with a gun. So the point is, if more responsible law abiding citizens carried guns, I think it would make society safer as opposed to these countries and places where guns are illegal.

And that's the way they would have it here. Some people, you know, people want to outlaw guns. Well, when a government wants to disarm its own citizens, that's not a good sign, my friends. So some places where even the police are not allowed to carry guns, that only ensures that it's only the criminals who will have the guns.

Because here's the thing about gun laws. Criminals don't obey the law. That's why they're criminals. So if a gun law is passed, the criminal is not going to listen to that law. The only people that follow the laws are the people you don't have to worry about in the first place.

So if anyone is kind of big on gun laws, I mean, the first solution is to enforce the laws that are already on the books and for the courts to stop letting violent criminals back out on the streets. I mean, that's the problem.

A guy like me or some Christian who has an AR -15 or a concealed carry permit, we're not.

The problem.

So I think common sense is really lacking. And that's mainly because the general public is fed really a bunch of propaganda. I mean, the people on CNN who talk about guns, I mean, they don't know what they're talking.

About.

They're clueless. They're just repeating a script written by people who want guns banned.

John Piper, Self-Defense, and the Duty to Protect One’s Family

Okay.

So there was one famous reformed pastor years ago. Some of you know who I'm referring to. There was one famous, well, it was John Piper. Some of you know who John Piper is. He got into some hot water years ago, where during an interview, he was asked about what he would do in a home invasion situation.

And he basically indicated that he wasn't sure whether or not he would defend his family. So if a man was breaking in and was going to harm or kill his wife, John Piper was asked, would you shoot the intruder?

And John Piper either said no, he wouldn't, or he wasn't sure whether or not. And it's like, well, you might allow your wife to be harmed or killed and you could.

Have stopped it.

And you wouldn't like, what's, what's the mindset is a lot of people reacted negatively against that. And I think rightfully so, but here was the argument that John Piper made. And I've heard this argument over the years.

Here's what some Christians will say. They'll say, well, if you shoot the intruder, or if you shoot the evil man, perpetrating the crime, the chances are, if you shoot him, he's going to hell. Now, your family, if you know that they're saved, if the evil man kills your family, hey, they're, they're going to heaven.

So you, you would rather your family go to heaven than you shooting the intruder and him going to hell. Listen, honestly, I have to say that's crazy. You're not thinking clearly if that's your attitude.

I totally disagree. I mean, if a person could stop a crime, if a person could save innocent lives and they choose not to, you're complicit. So yeah, I think that's absolutely crazy. First Timothy five verse eight says, but if anyone does not provide for his own and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

So if the apostle Paul said that about a man who would not provide for his family, how much worse for a man who refuses to protect his family. So this is why I own guns for self-defense, for home defense, but also for target shooting.

You know, it's a sport. I have my concealed carry permit, every gun that I buy, every gun that gets sold in gun shops. You know, here's the thing a lot of people don't realize, because again, there's a lot of misinformation, a lot of propaganda, a lot of lies from the mainstream media.

People who go into a gun shop and buy a gun, everyone gets a background check. So here's the thing about gun owners to buy a gun. You have to run that check. So, so gun owners end up being the most law abiding people you will ever meet, because if you have some long criminal history, you can't go into the store and buy the gun in the first place.

Politicians and uninformed, you know, progressives, they love to spread the myth that people can just walk into a gun store and just buy a AR -15 or a handgun like they're buying a candy bar or something, and that's a total lie.

Gun owners, especially Christian gun owners, are extremely responsible. And while I'm sure you can find an exception or two out there, the exception proves the rule. Most people who carry a concealed handgun or people who have a firearm for home or self-defense, most people who own guns, they don't want to use, they never want to have to shoot someone.

A critic might say, you know, chances are you'll never need it. So why even have it? Well, here's the mindset. I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. So the Old Testament saints carried weapons when soldiers, here's another argument, not only did Jesus tell his disciples go out and buy a sword, not only did the Old Testament saints have weapons, when the soldiers approached John the Baptist in Luke chapter 3, here are soldiers who are carrying weapons and they had to use them at times, you know, if need be.

John the Baptist told them certain things you have to do to be right with God. You need to do this. You need to do that. John the Baptist never said anything about laying down your arms. So this idea that the Bible teaches pacifism says no verse ever.

Okay, there is nothing in the scripture at all that I can think of that would even hint that a Christian should not own a gun. Now, Peter had a sword. Okay, the apostle Peter had a sword. Jesus told his disciples to go out and get a sword.

Let's consider one instance where Peter actually used his sword. You remember in the Gospel of John where Peter, when Jesus was being arrested, Peter pulls out a sword and he swings it at Malchus, the servant of the high priest, John 18, 10 and 11.

He cuts off his ear. Presumably, Peter was trying to inflict a fatal blow and Jesus admonished Peter and told him to put his sword away. And here's what Jesus said. He said, those who live by the sword shall die by the sword.

Matthew 26, 52. And there's different gospel accounts that tell this story. What was Jesus saying? That was not some cryptic statement where Jesus is teaching pacifism. Rather, Jesus is simply telling Peter, if you kill him, if you kill any of these men, they're going to put you to death.

After all, that was a capital crime. So if Peter murders one of the, you know, he might have in his mind, he wasn't trying to murder someone. It was self-defense. He was trying to protect his Lord. I think Peter was, you know, he was misguided.

We'll say that. But if Peter killed Malchus, Peter would have been executed. So that's what Jesus is saying. You know, those who live by the sword shall die by the sword. Peter, the sword is not the answer.

And it's true. As a pastor, I would never say, you know, guns are the answer. Well, guns can make your home safer. But no, guns are not the answer. Christians should not live by, man shall not live by bread alone, but by guns.

You know, no, it's man shall live by every word of God. So guns are permissible, but it's not the answer to everything, obviously. So there's people that get carried away. That's true. But what's the question we're answering?

Christians and firearms. Is it permissible for a Christian to own a firearm? Yes, obviously. And in certain circumstances, it's permissible to even use them for self-defense. So let me just address one more thing.

People who insist that guns are wrong or they say, try to claim that the Bible teaches pacifism, people who would make that argument, typically they would point to the words of Christ in Matthew 539, where he says, do not resist an evil person, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

So this is the teaching of Christ that everyone is familiar with. Turn the other cheek. And they'll say, see right there, Jesus was teaching pacifism. No, he's not. Not at all. First of all, we already saw the verses where Jesus went, he said, go out and buy a sword.

We already referenced all the Old Testament passages where Joshua and the children of Israel used swords and God told them to do it. A unique situation, maybe, but still, it's not pacifism. But here's the thing.

Turn the other cheek.

What's that about?

If somebody slaps you, that's an offense. They're not trying to harm you. They're not trying to kill you. Turn the other cheek really is just a way of saying, don't seek vengeance, because if somebody slaps you, they're trying to offend you.

Right.

And I did a whole sermon on this. It's titled An Eye for an Eye versus Turn the Other Cheek. So you can go on the Morris Corner Church YouTube channel and you can listen to that sermon. But basically, a slap, this is not a self-defense situation.

Okay.

So someone who is slapping you on the cheek, it's meant to be an offense. And if you slap them back, then the situation is just going to escalate. Jesus is saying, don't do that. Turn the other cheek.

But again, by no means is that teaching pacifism. By no means is that denying your right to practice self-defense, or especially it's not saying that you shouldn't defend your family. So if you have any questions or comments about this, you can leave a comment or email me.

I'd be happy to address anything that you might have to ask. So people will take verses out of context to try to teach other things. But can a Christian own firearms? Yes. So I hope this was helpful. Thanks for listening.

And until next time, may the Lord be with you and have a great day.