Just wondering.

[Keturah 123]

On 2/19/2023 at 11:54 PM, PrayerWife said:

I have many verses I could refer to and share with you if I was a male, but as a woman I will not do so.....I agree with "Marathoner" and he has shared from The Word with us, hasn't he? 

However I sense that you have a problem to accept that someone actually don't want to bear weapons, and that they find it to be unbiblical? 

 

 

 

What a lousy excuse for NOT backing up what you say.....  I say this, I am a woman....hear me roar out the words of God !

Preach it BROTHERS, this woman agrees !

[Keturah 123]

One of my heroes was a missionary by Nate saint. Him and several other missionaries were trying to witness to this very violent tribe, and they had landed on a sandbar near their village to try and make contact. The natives attacked them. The group had two guns with them, and under the law they would have been within their right to defend themselves, it would not have been a sin according to the Bible.

But, they chose not to, and just stood by and allowed the natives to kill them. The natives had never seen someone with a gun not shoot back, and this opened the door for the missionaries wives to go in and lead the entire tribe to Christ.

 

I read this account when I was a very young believer and it amazed me the call of God on folks lives to spread the gospel......what an amazing blessing !

@The_Patriot21

Edited February 24, 2023 by Keturah 123

[farouk]

22 hours ago, Marathoner said:

Indeed. The servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him (John 13:16). The Lord is our example in all things (1 Peter 2). Be imitators of Christ!

Also, the weapons of our warfare aren't carnal, but mighty in the Lord for the destruction of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10). Remembering that the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ is not of this world, we don't carry carnal weaponry which is the custom of this world. We walk in the Spirit instead. This is foolishness to the perishing for the flesh is demanding, blind, and opposed to the Spirit of the Lord. 

@Marathoner Reminds me also of Ephesians 6; the whole armor of God.........

[Marathoner]

55 minutes ago, farouk said:

@Marathoner Reminds me also of Ephesians 6; the whole armor of God.........

It does. There are matters which are not easily understood, let alone discussed with others in a manner where there's no danger of things being misconstrued, but that's not possible for us to avoid. We either remain silent or we speak, and this topic is one in which I was moved to write about. 

It's simple. I'm not the least bit afraid of being shot, stabbed, immolated, attacked, assaulted, or otherwise killed. Why, when I have already suffered a long, torturous, and nightmarish manner of dying? I've been starved, cast out, rejected, and left for dead. What's left to be afraid of? The Lord, and no one else. I live or die by His will alone.

So... whomever seeks to do such things to me, does so by His will. When they do, they shall honor me! To live is Christ, but to die is gain!  

[farouk]

Just now, Marathoner said:

It does. There are matters which are not easily understood, let alone discussed with others in a manner where there's no danger of things being misconstrued, but that's not possible for us to avoid. We either remain silent or we speak, and this topic is one in which I was moved to write about. 

It's simple. I'm not the least bit afraid of being shot, stabbed, immolated, attacked, assaulted, or otherwise killed. Why, when I have already suffered a long, torturous, and nightmarish manner of dying? I've been starved, cast out, rejected, and left for dead. What's left to be afraid of? The Lord, and no one else. I live or die by His will alone.

So... whomever seeks to do such things to me, does so by His will. When they do, they shall honor me! To live is Christ, but to die is gain!  

@Marathoner Reminds me also of 2 Timothy 2.3: "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

[Marathoner]

That testifies of how we aren't greater than our Master nor His apostles. All but one of the apostles were martyred... most are reasonably sure that John was not. We have no expectation that our walk with the Lord on this earth will be free from peril or tribulation. 

This is one of those places where I experience a disconnect with many brethren. The Lord calls upon us to deny ourselves daily, bearing a cross while we follow Him. Is this too much? Is it too hard that we are called upon to suffer, even to death? 

I say that Jesus Christ is worth it all and if it were possible to give Him more than my life, I would give it gladly many times over. I gave away my possessions  but the Lord had no need of them. I abandoned what I knew, but that was only what He expected of me. Ah, but when I gave the Son of God my life, which is truly all I had to give, this pleased Him greatly. 

The Lord calls us toward something more. 

[The_Patriot21]

16 minutes ago, Marathoner said:

That testifies of how we aren't greater than our Master nor His apostles. All but one of the apostles were martyred... most are reasonably sure that John was not. We have no expectation that our walk with the Lord on this earth will be free from peril or tribulation. 

This is one of those places where I experience a disconnect with many brethren. The Lord calls upon us to deny ourselves daily, bearing a cross while we follow Him. Is this too much? Is it too hard that we are called upon to suffer, even to death? 

I say that Jesus Christ is worth it all and if it were possible to give Him more than my life, I would give it gladly many times over. I gave away my possessions  but the Lord had no need of them. I abandoned what I knew, but that was only what He expected of me. Ah, but when I gave the Son of God my life, which is truly all I had to give, this pleased Him greatly. 

The Lord calls us toward something more. 

I don't disagree with anything you've said...but nothing you've said prohibits the ownership of weapons. 

Even Jesus on at least one occasion, used a weapon. 

You brought up he who lives by the sword dies by the sword, which I totally agree with. But that also, doesn't prohibit a Christian from owning a weapon, but it's more of a warning about what happens if you decide to misuse the weapon at hand.

But even there there's exceptions. King David was a very violent man. Killed many people in war, yet was described as a man after God's heart. Of course though, he still suffered consequences to that lifestyle in that God wouldn't let him build the temple.

Time and place for everything under the sun...each called to their own mission. While David fought many wars, fast forward to Daniel, who managed to do the Lord's work without ever touching a sword.

So if you don't feel led to own a weapon, that is fine. But, one shouldn't make claims like the Bible prohibits all christians from owning weapons, as that claim isn't backed up by scripture.

One could, and should say christians shouldn't seek violence. Even King David didn't just go pick a fight for the sake of picking a fight, all the fights he got into was at God's command and to protect Israel. He even refrained from killing a man who was trying to kill him (Saul) when he had an easy opportunity, even though doing so would have made his life so much easier.