Is It SinfulTo Be ASoldier?

David Padfield

especially those who are of Caesar’s house-hold” (Phil. 4:22). Who were these people?“Paul sends special greetings from the Chris-tian brothers who are of Caesar’s household.It is important to understand this phraserightly. It does not mean those who are ofCaesar’s kith and kin. Caesar’s householdwas the regular phrase for what we wouldcall the Imperial Civil Service; it had mem-bers all over the world. The palace officials,the secretaries, the people who had charge ofthe imperial revenues, those who were re-sponsible for the day-to-day administrationof the empire, all these were Caesar’s house-hold” (Barclay, The Letters To The Philippians,Colossians, and Thessalonians, pg. 87).

Those who claim it is sinful to work forthe government have a big problem with thisverse. The Ethiopian nobleman (Acts 8) isanother example of a Christian serving in hisgovernment.

CorneliusHave you ever heard someone claim the

lifestyle of a soldier is totally incompatiblewith that of a christian? It makes me wonderif they have ever read the book of Acts. Thefirst Gentile to obey the gospel was a Romansoldier named Cornelius, “a centurion ofwhat was called the Italian Regiment, a de-vout man and one who feared God with allhis household, who gave alms generously tothe people, and prayed to God always” (Acts10:1,2). Peter was sent to this man to tell himthe “words” he needed to hear in order to besaved (Acts 10:6, 22; 11:14). Read the tenthchapter of Acts. Do you see any “words”about Cornelius having to resign his militarycommission before he could be saved?

The Philippian JailerOne of the first men in Europe to obey the

gospel was the Philippian jailer (Acts 16).Though he served the Roman government

and carried a sword, Paul did not have himleave his occupation. The jailer was still onthe job after his conversion (Acts 16:35–36).

Paul Used Roman SoldiersWhen Paul found out forty men were

going to ambush him, he used over 470 Ro-man soldiers as bodyguards (Acts 23:12–23).Paul knew if those who sought his life triedto make good on their threats the soldierswould kill or imprison everyone of them.

Paul told Timothy not to “share in otherpeople’s sins” (1 Tim. 5:22). Friend, if it iswrong to be a soldier, it is wrong to use one.If you believe it is sinful to be a policeman,you are a hypocrite if you ever call for one toprotect you or your family. These are strongwords, but I offer no apology.

ConclusionI’ve had brethren try to counter these

New Testament examples by asking, “Canyou picture Christ wearing an army uniformand carrying an M-16?” To be honest, I dofind that hard to picture. But, by the sametoken, I cannot picture my Lord wearing ahard-hat or a football helmet. Does that makeit a sin to be coal miner or a football player?

I have never tried to persuade people tojoin the military. There are things associatedwith military life not conducive to godlyliving. But, I do not encourage men to workon off-shore oil wells for the same reason. Ifyour conscience will not allow you to join themilitary, then stay out. If you are in themilitary, then be honest in your dealingswith others and “be content with your wages”(Luke 3:14). ❏

“And He said to them, Rendertherefore to Caesar the things that areCaesar’s, and to God the things that

are God’s” (Matthew 22:15–21)

© 2001 David Padfieldwww.padfield.com

Is It Sinful To Be A Soldier?chosen to take it away when a crime is com-mitted, by the appointment of magistrates,and not by coming forth himself visibly toexecute the laws” (Barnes Notes, Vol. 4, p. 294).

Do Christians have the right to serve in thegovernment as a soldier or a policeman? Letus avoid hypothetical questions and situa-tions and answer the question by appealingto New Testament examples.

John And The SoldiersMultitudes came to hear John preaching

in the wilderness as he prepared men for thekingdom of God. John told the Pharisees andSadducees to “bear fruits worthy of repen-tance” (Matt. 3:8) and instructed the people tobe willing to share (Luke 3:10–11).

The tax collectors (“publicans” in the KingJames Version) came to be baptized by Johnand asked what they had to do. John did notinstruct these servants of Caesar to leave theirjobs, but to be honest in their collections.

Soldiers also inquired to see if they had tomeet any special requirements before theycould be baptized. John said, “Do not intimi-date anyone or accuse falsely, and be contentwith your wages” (Luke 3:14). Unfortunately,the King James Version translates the Greekverb diaseio with the phrase “do violence to noman.” This verb “literally means ‘shake vio-lently.’ In those days it was a technical, legalterm, meaning ‘extort money by violence’much like our current slang expression ‘shakedown’” (Earle, Word Meanings In The NewTestament, p. 58).

What a perfect time for John to tell thesesoldiers to leave the army; instead, he tellsthem to be honest and not grumble abouttheir wages. If it is a sin for one to be a soldier,John sure missed it!

Saints In Caesar’s HouseholdWhen Paul closed his letter to the Philip-

pians, he said, “All the saints greet you, but

a soldier or a policeman? I am amazed breth-ren can write articles on marriage and di-vorce proving God has one law for all man-kind. But, when these same brethren writeabout carnal warfare they appear to arguechristians are under a different law than non-christians. Consistency takes a back seat.

If it is sinful for a Christian to be a soldier,then it is sinful for anyone to serve in themilitary. If it is a sin for a christian to be apolice officer, then all police officers aredoomed to hell. Yet, God commands the gov-ernment to punish evildoers (1 Pet. 2:14). Thecivil government is “God’s minister, anavenger to execute wrath on him who prac-tices evil” (Rom. 13:4). I have trouble under-standing how some can teach the death pen-alty is commanded by God (and rightly so)and yet believe the man who carries out thesentence is damned by God for obeying thiscommand!

Christians have no right to seek personalvengeance (Rom. 12:19). God has said allvengeance belongs to Him (Rom. 12:19). How-ever, God has delegated “vengeance” to thecivil government (Rom. 13:4). Albert Barnessaid, “When a magistrate inflicts punishmenton the guilty, it is to be regarded as the act ofGod taking vengeance on him; and on thisprinciple alone is it right for a judge to con-demn a man to death. It is not because oneman has by nature the right over the life ofanother, or because society has any right col-lectively which it does not as individuals; butbecause God gave life, and because he has

Christians often find themselves in astruggle of conscience when they considertheir relationship to the civil government.The Lord commands us to “Render thereforeto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,” butwhat does this involve? We know we mustpay our taxes (Rom. 13:7), pray for our lead-ers (1 Tim. 2:1–4), and refrain from speakingevil of them (Titus 3:1–2).

In Romans 13:1 we are commanded toobey civil law. John MacArthur said, “I amamazed that in spite of the clarity of thiscommand, many people persist in disobey-ing it, not only in American society and cul-ture but in others as well. Jesus never taughtHis people to storm the Bastille, revolt againstthe king, kill unjust rulers, march on city hall,barricade an administration building on cam-pus, lead a sit-in at the president’s office,harass leaders, or violate the law” (The Chris-tian And Civil Government, p. 24).

We must obey all civil laws whether welike them or not. There is only one limitation:if the government commands us to act in waywhich God has prohibited, we must “obeyGod rather than men” (Acts 5:29). But what ifthe government goes to war? Can we fight forour government? Do we have the right todrop bombs on enemy targets? Do we everhave the right to be police officers?

Some brethren have posed these ques-tions in prejudicial terms. I have noticed sev-eral articles asking “Can a Christian kill forhis government?” This is not the issue. Theissue is this: does anyone have the right to be

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