Concealed Carry – Concealed Gospel

Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher [a].

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With cheers and standing ovation, the President of Liberty University, the largest Christian University in the world, recently made this statement at a campus convocation service on how Christians should answer the threats of their enemies:

I’ve always thought, if more good people had concealed carry permits then we could end those Muslims before they walked in killing … Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here. (Dr. Jerry Falwell Jr., President of Liberty University) [b]

Of men like this it is written, “speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption” [c].

Instead, here is what Jesus says about my enemies:

1. “Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” [d]. (Wait, and allow my enemy to take advantage of my compassion?)
2. “If anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well” [e]. (Really, leaving me naked and ashamed?)
3. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” [f]. (Time out, unless. . . except. . .)

But what Jesus asks us to do is nothing that He did not do Himself. What He says about my enemies, He demonstrates with His own enemies:

1. “Then they spit in his face and struck him” [g].
2. “They divided his garments among them by casting lots” [h].
3. “They crucified Him. . . And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do'” [i].

Now if God’s most awesome work was accomplished through the weakness of His crucified Son, why do we think it strange that He would want to continue His work on earth through the weakness of the Christian? His strength is made perfect in weakness. And though we may have the right to use weapons to defend ourselves, there is no spiritual victory in this, but only our own physical self preservation. “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” [j]. In the words of an old hymn,

Not with swords’ loud clashing,
Nor roll of stirring drums;
With deeds of love and mercy
The heavenly kingdom comes.

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A lot of the confusion comes from our Americanized version of Christianity, in which we stumble over the Scriptural dichotomy of the roles of government and the roles of the Church.

Of the government, the Scripture tells us that the world’s most powerful are “the lowliest of men” [k], and it is to these that God gives the authority to punish evildoers, even punishment unto death [l].

Contrast this to the Lord Jesus when He came to the world. He was the weakest of men, “crucified in weakness” [m], but highly exalted by God because of His obedient work on the cross [n]. Jesus loves His enemies, the evildoers, even enough to die for them.

The writer of Hebrews, speaking to persecuted Christians says, “[look] to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross. . . Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” [o]. Jesus is the model for Christian living and Christian dying. He endured hostility against Himself, why shouldn’t we?

The writer of Hebrews also tells us, “Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life” [p]. These and many other faithful martyrs are those “of whom the world was not worthy” [q].

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I’m afraid that we Americanized Christians are being given a choice:

1. Conservative American rights and values
2. Christian discipleship

It should be becoming increasingly clear that these two masters present us with a conflict of interest. While the American side of us wants death and destruction to all enemies foreign and domestic, the Christian side of us wants to love and pray for our enemies. While the American side of us wants self-preservation, the Christian side of us wants self-sacrifice. While the American side of us wants to cling to our rights, the Christian side of us knows that Jesus asks us to give up our rights.

As we hear the political views of the gun control debate, I think we would do well to side only with the Suffering Servant, rather than the rights given to us by the country of our sojourn, or even a “peace” apart from the Prince of Peace. It is not a political side we are choosing, but a spiritual one.