More About Military Service

More About Military Service

The testimonies in Issue 6 of Skjulte Skatter regarding the saints’ attitude toward military service appear to have caused quite a commotion. No one, however, has given a clear rebuttal of what was written. This is, no doubt, because they have nothing of any substance with which to refute these testimonies. Even The Good Tidings, from which you would expect something more, has revealed its ignorance of this matter in its column “Day by Day.”

The fact is that within free assemblies people are working hand in hand with lawlessness. The boundaries of their liberty have stretched even into the flesh. People are inhaling socialism in the factories and shops where they work. From there they go to their religious meetings and pollute them with the same spirit. The police and military serve as a restraint for lawlessness. That is why there is such an effort to eliminate these powers, so that the Antichrist can more easily come to the fore. People within the free assemblies believe that they are working for God by pulling together in the same yoke as this antichrist spirit. They hate the cross. Therefore, God has given them over to a debased mind. We need truth in our days. People have allowed themselves to be deceived long enough by religious comedians who gratify their own flesh with the laughter and applause of their audience. Their anecdotes and stories are corrupt; we have heard them all too often. We need food that has salt in it. We need food we can live by. They are serving salt that has lost its savor, which is good for neither dirt nor fertilizer. That is why people are drifting around aimlessly like religious wrecks, without any goal or purpose for their faith. They have all “jumped” over into Romans 8 and have been “freed” from the law and the cross. They drift around in space like wandering stars and call the laws of the Spirit bondage. It would impair their “freedom” if they had to do their simple duty and comply with the laws of the land regarding military service. In the presence of the masses, they kiss the Bible to show how much they love it, and then, in direct contradiction to what the Bible teaches, they preach disobedience to the laws of the land. As far as I can see, Romans 13 says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves . . . . For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” [Emphasis added].

The same God who says that he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword also says that the authorities do not bear the sword in vain. We can be thankful that they do not bear the sword in vain. Otherwise, we would be plundered and chased out of house and home by covetous people who strive to gain freedom for their flesh. The police and military are the only forces restraining them from their lawless deeds. These people are afraid of the sword; it’s no wonder they rage against it. We have no misgivings whatsoever about acting as God’s servants when and where it becomes necessary, in obedience to the authorities.

The police bear the sword. Should we get rid of them too? It amazes me that people who preach to others can be so blind and shortsighted, undoubtedly because they forgot a long time ago that they were cleansed from their former sins. 2 Pet. 1:9.

People hate and judge their brothers, but they don’t take these sins very seriously, in spite of the fact that hating and judging are just as deadly as murder. People surround themselves with as many worldly luxuries and as much worldly splendor as possible, and they do not see anything wrong with that. At the same time, they dare to speak evil of things they have never understood, and probably never will.

In the Old Testament, it is written, “You shall not murder.” Ex. 20:13; Matt. 5:21 [Emphasis added]. Nevertheless, the Lord says to Saul, “Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” [Emphasis added]. Some people say, “Yes, but in the Old Testament they were allowed to murder.” No, they were not! The commandment said, “You shall not murder.” Nonetheless, the same God commanded them to destroy the Amalekites. Perhaps one of these people who publicly kisses the Bible, and who has so much confidence in his own authority, will explain this more clearly to me.

I believe that the free assemblies in Norway left long ago for Babylon. None of this makes sense to them; confusion has set in. They preach death but live in luxury. They preach contempt for worldly teaching, yet they push their children to succeed in the world.

Pack up these theories; they cannot bear the light. Keep shooting your arrows into the darkness if you want, but do not try to attack the light. You will not win.

When someone transgresses against us personally, we should turn the other cheek and take no revenge. But what does that have to do with war? We do not have a personal hatred for those we are fighting against. Am I not in just as much danger as my enemy? Or perhaps some people think that all the evil that takes place in peacetime is more of a blessing than war. The Lord has many means of punishing nations. Do not be so foolish as to assume you can take these means out of His hands.

Chastisement brings wisdom, and tribulation brings patience. Lawless freedom, however, makes people cast off restraint. Such unrestrained people need a straightjacket.

The truth makes us sound in faith, and the cross teaches us to be law-abiding. Even Christ, in obedience to the authorities, took up His cross and carried it to His crucifixion. All flesh must be subject to the authorities, and if someone defiled by socialistic thinking is infuriated by the use of force against the flesh, that does not negate God’s commandments.

If the authorities were to forbid us to preach Christ, that would be a completely different matter. In such a case, we must obey God rather than man. There was a brother who refused to serve in the military for religious reasons, but later his conscience bothered him about it, so he registered for duty. Some people return to the meetings after being in jail as military objectors, acting like martyrs and heroes for their noble deeds. It does not take a lot of light to recognize that many of them have been feeding their own honor and their own flesh.

These preachers are doing a good job, I must say. And they have already reaped much fruit from their labors, because it is apparent that in the free assemblies, it is considered very fashionable to refuse to serve in the military, just as it is considered fashionable within socialist circles. We understand the sources of their faith and their works.

“Come out from among them . . . do not touch what is unclean . . . .” 2 Cor. 6:17. “We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed.” Jer. 51:9. “The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting, they have remained in their strongholds; their might has failed. They became like women . . . .” Jer. 51:30.

That is what happens to Babylon’s mighty men. They end up hiding in their strongholds; they lose their power and become like women. Paul was rescued twice by soldiers. The masses wanted to kill him, but the soldiers carried him away. Acts 21:35. Two hundred warriors, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen saved Paul from forty men who had sworn they would not eat or drink until they had killed him. Acts 23:23.

These soldiers acted as the servants of God. We should thank God for what these warriors did. If they had all been military objectors, there are probably several of Paul’s letters that we would never have had.

I do not want to glorify war, but neither will I condemn the men who serve in the military. I believe that in eternity I will meet many among the fallen soldiers whose glory far outshines those who preached lawlessness and false liberty.