Christians Must Fight Terrorism of All Types Through Faith and Diligence

In one week, we saw two different types of terrorism. A mad man attacked Planned Parenthood and a radicalized couple attacked coworkers in San Bernardino. These have dominated the news and highlight a desperate need among Christians. Yes, it’s time to fight, but we must let the Bible guide us through this fight.

While it is still unclear whether or not Robert Lewis Dear professed to be a Christian, his actions were definitely not indicative. That won’t be the narrative from the political left who will associate his actions with hatred being espoused by anti-abortion groups, but that’s to be expected. We cannot waiver on this. Regardless of how radical your pro-life views may be, we must condemn Dear’s actions and not try to look for a “silver lining” behind him. An eye for an eye does not apply in a Christian belief system that follows the example of Yeshua and the tenets of the Bible.

The other terrorists, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, represent a different challenge for Christians. This time, the challenge is with the righteous indignation that we feel regarding the spread of support for the Islamic State. This can easily be manifested into hatred for all Muslims. We cannot allow this to be the case.

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;Matthew 5:43-44 (KJV)

The Islamic State and other radical Islamic organizations are at war with Christians and Jews. The gut reaction from Christians will be to fight back, but unless we’re in the Middle East where the enemy has been manifested as an army that we can attack, we cannot allow our anger to turn into violence. This can be frustrating to anyone who wants to see justice, who feels the need to strike back at a people that wants to see us persecuted or killed, but we must rein in our anger and focus it in other directions.

Those directions are faith and diligence.

Fighting with Faith

There is nothing more important than to follow the teachings of the Bible, the example of Yeshua, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As individuals, it is our primary duty to continually grow our faith. Over time, this personal faith translates into actions that can allow us to be used as beacons for others.

This is when it becomes to important to steel our thoughts within the context of faith to allow us to face any situation. For some, it will be as an example to our friends and family. For others, we will be called to spread this faith and act as the only example of a Bible that many will ever witness. Then, there are those who will be tried in horrific ways. They will asked to either denounce their faith and live or maintain their faith and die. It’s becoming clear that no place on earth, including America, is safe from the evils that are designed to test the faith of Christians through extreme tribulation.

Now is not the time to hate, if ever there was a time. We must be the examples. That doesn’t mean that we have to be passive while others harm us, but it is not our place to lash out and try to exact a form of justice by condemning all Muslims, atheists, or other religions. We are at war, but we cannot answer the hate that is being sent towards us with equal measures of hate. Instead, we have to act in the love that is only possible through true faith.

This is challenging for many of us. Sometimes, the most passionate Christians have a hard time sitting back and not expressing the anger that fills us when events like San Bernardino or Planned Parenthood happen. Many of us in America have a natural desire to strike back, to lash out, and to express our anger in the form of physical or mental retribution.

That cannot happen. It must not.

Fighting with Diligence

Just because it isn’t our calling to exact vengeance upon representatives of those who would harm us, that doesn’t mean that we are to sit back and let the persecution escalate. Through diligence, we can fight back by doing everything we can to stop the next attack from happening.

American society has been hammered by a wave of political correctness that prevents many people from acting. As I wrote on another site, it’s possible the political correctness played a role in allowing the San Bernardino attack to happen.

It is our duty to support the government and law enforcement. Whether we agree politically with the US government or not, we must support them with our actions. That means that must “render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” That means we must obey the law of the land as long as it does not go against the law of God. That means that we must keep our eyes open and defend ourselves by calling evil out for what it truly is even if that’s not the politically correct thing to do.

Christian diligence is sadly waning in American society. We have embraced a collective unity rather than continuing our fight for the faith. The return of diligence must happen or we are lost as a country. We must pray. We must learn. We must keep our eyes and ears open for the dangers that the adversary will put in front us.

Regardless of whether it’s a supposed Christian planning to do harm or a radicalized Muslim preparing to attack, it’s our duty to express our faith when appropriate and to call for help when danger is perceived. It’s escalating. The last thing we need to embrace is fear.

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