My last two columns which stated that my line in the sand has been drawn and I will NOT register or surrender my firearms, even if that makes me a lawbreaker (in the sight of government), have generated multiplied thousands of reader responses. And while the vast majority of these responses expressed complete agreement, there were several responses from professing Christians telling me that I was in violation of Holy Scripture for making such a stand.
As one might expect, some of my brethren argued the erroneous “obey-the-government-no-matter-what” interpretation of Romans 13. For the sake of the many new readers of this column, let me point out that my son, constitutional Christian attorney Timothy Baldwin, and I have co-written a pivotal book dealing with this fallacious interpretation of Romans 13 in a book entitled “Romans 13: The True Meaning of Submission.” This book takes the entire Word of God to show that nowhere does the Bible teach (including in Romans 13) that Christians should submit to unlawful government. In fact, just the opposite is taught: Christians often have a duty to RESIST unlawful government.
But perhaps the verse of Scripture that my slightly confused brethren quoted most in their attempt to rebuke me was Matthew 26:52, “Then said Jesus unto him [Simon Peter], Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” (KJV) This, they said, proves that Christians have no right to keep and bear arms if the government said it was illegal to do so. However, with all due respect, this interpretation is opposed to the overwhelming evidence of Scripture to the contrary.
h/t Tom R
Outstanding piece. The one discrepancy between his interpretation and mine was on Luke 22:38, where “two swords are enough”. He takes that simply to mean that “ok you understand”. But I take it as a guideline on what percentage of the population should be armed and disciplined to maintain the health of His body; His church. If it were just the 11 disciples present, then 2/11 is just over 20%; but if there were 20 people present, which seems reasonable, then that works out to 10%. Thus, similar to the tithe, there is a percentage which must be given in order to purify the whole lot -- in this case, “given” means dedicating their time and money, as well as accepting the risks which go with being an armed watchman, to maintain the necessary defense… in other words, a sacrifice of love and dedication to protect the church and community.
LT