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Could You Kill Someone Who's Persecuting You?

Image courtesy of evangelicaloutpost.com


It’s no secret now that in Mosul Iraq there are Christians being persecuted for their Christian faith.

And while prayers of peace, comfort, and freedom for our fellow brothers and sisters is being sent from all corners of the world, there are those Christians and non-

Christians alike that are saying they would take-up arms or do whatever it takes to protect their families and their Christian beliefs.

For many non-Christians to respond like that is a no-brainer.

But for a Christian…

Our faith is everything

If we are believers in Christ, our most sacred treasure, and one of our most important messages that we evoke, is our faith in God.

But when it comes to God, faith is a big word. It’s a covenant between God and all His people whereby when we extol our abiding faith in Him, in return we receive His wonderful merit, His never-ending love, and His all-consuming grace.

A covenant is an agreement; a contract between parties. In this case, the new covenant for Christians believing in Christ as their redeemer is that they are not bound by the laws of the Old Testament.

Rather, God’s covenant allows all believers to walk with faith in His love, grace and mercy. We do have to walk wise only without fear or without looking over our shoulders.

There is no better verse in the bible that conveys this promise of peace than Matthew 5:3-10 “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are those who thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 5 finishes with this last promise: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.”

In the end we all long for God’s love and our reward in heaven

No matter what your religion, if you believe in God you’ll want to receive and bask in his non-judgmental love in the present, in addition to receiving your reward in heaven as promised by God.

Our fellow Christians are being persecuted by an Islamic terrorist group known as Isis. These terrorist insurgents believe in Allah who, according to Islamic, is the same God that Christians and Jews worship.

It only makes sense that if we’re all supposedly worshiping the same God then we all want his love and promises.

But no matter the religion, those who believe in God must obey His commandments, one of which is “Thou shalt not kill”.

As evident by all the taking of innocent lives across the globe though, many so-called, "religious" groups believe these commandments don’t apply to them.

In other words, we believers live under God’s grace and they still live under law.

What a terrible mistake indeed!

Either way, these terrorist groups believe Christians and Jews are groups of evil-doers whose beliefs do not coincide with theirs and this is what gives them the “religious right to kill and persecute us."  These terrorists kill and will continue to kill non-Christians as well.

Even though they claim to worship the same God we do.

But could you kill one of them?

I know for many it’s a hard thought to bring to mind, but I ask for a reason.

You see, since the latest eruption in violence between Hamas and Israel and the 

Islamic terrorist group Isis’ persecution of Christians, there are Christians who are suggesting Christians need to take-up arms in order to protect themselves.

One article went as far as to suggest Christians and Jews pony-up money to fund an army to fight the “next holy war."

Some Christians also stated they would kill anyone who tried to harm them, their families or if they were facing persecution.

All this talk of taking another’s life despite God's commandment: “Thou shalt not kill.”

To me this commandment says it all, we are not to kill…period!

I’d like to think in my heart-of-hearts that I could stand firm in my faith if confronted with what our brothers and sisters are, but I’m not the one being persecuted nor am I having my family and friends killed.

How about you, Christian, could you take another’s life?

God makes it clear what the answer is.  Whether or not we could obey when seeing our family and fellow Christians being killed is something only He knows and is a situation I pray I never have to face.

God Bless!
Dana

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