Reflections on the Two Kingdoms
On Military Service
Dear friends,
We started last week’s exploration of the Two Kingdoms with Romans 13:1-2, an admonition that we are to honor authorities in the left-hand kingdom unless they compel us to disobey God (Acts 5:29). This week, we’ll take a look at a sizable chunk of left-hand kingdom authority in the U.S.—the armed forces, and ask this question: “May Christians serve in the military?”
The answer may seem obvious, especially when about 60% of U.S. military personnel identify as Christian. But that’s an argument from statistics, not Scripture, and the scriptural argument hasn’t always been apparent in history. In fact, Martin Luther felt compelled to write a lengthy treatise entitled, “Can Soldiers Too Be Saved?”
The argument against Christian serving in the military is essentially this: Military personnel are called upon at times to kill opposing forces. The Bible says, “You shall not kill,” and we must obey God rather than men. Therefore, Christians ought not serve in the military.
The argument is simple, but it’s wrong. We need to add another consideration into our Two-Kingdom explorations: who is allowed to make exceptions to God’s law? God is—and only He. Does He make an exception in the matter of military service? Yes, He does.
Two more verses into Romans 13, we read, [Your governing authority] “is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain” (Rom. 13:4). There’s the exception: God gives rulers the authority to wield “the sword” and use force in their vocation of keeping peace and protecting their citizens.
Obviously, this does not mean that only the head of state himself can bear the sword: had only FDR stormed Utah Beach on June 6, 1944, I’m fairly sure that D-Day would not have gone so well. No, the ruler’s sword is the authority to form and command military forces to protect his citizens and lands from invasion, or to defend other nations under similar threat. Those who serve in the military are the sword given by God in Romans 13. Because of wickedness in the world, there is a necessary, God-given vocation of killing.
I probably don’t even need to say it, but this doesn’t mean indiscriminate killing: the soldier’s task is to curb evil by the destruction of opposing forces, not the wanton deaths of civilians. The UCMJ draws a distinction between necessary force in combat and unlawful killing, and prosecutes the latter. In our nation, at least, there are strict rules placed upon Caesar’s sword.
The Two-Kingdom doctrine is helpful for a Christian soldier. In the right-hand kingdom, he serves God by loving his neighbor, which includes defending his neighbor from harm, sometimes with lethal force. In the left-hand kingdom, he serves God by carrying out his orders to end hostilities by killing the enemy. Confusing the kingdoms causes trouble. If a soldier is confused on the two kingdoms, perhaps he kills enemies in battle, but he’s then convinced that he cannot be forgiven for breaking the 5th Commandment: in that case, his soul is lost to despair. Or perhaps as a battle begins, he refuses to kill because he doesn’t want to break the 5th commandment, and his inaction results in the death of his brothers in arms. Or perhaps he may come to regard God’s Word as irrelevant to his “real” life. On the other hand, the Christian soldier who understands the two kingdoms is prepared to fulfill his left-hand kingdom vocation of fighting, while still maintaining a good conscience before God.
Like battle plans, this explanation is neat and tidy until one encounters the enemy. A Christian soldier who has endured frontline firefights may well have trouble sorting through what was sin and what was duty in the heat of battle, and whether or not he fulfilled his callings in both kingdoms. As a soft, grateful civilian-type, I can’t imagine the range of thoughts and temptations that might occupy my mind in battle. There will be soldiers who act sinfully in the heat of battle and soldiers who unintentionally take the wrong life, and such who take their faith and calling seriously will struggle with the memories. And of course, there will be times when the rules of engagement are broken or an order may be illegal. War isn’t quite hell, but it’s not far from it. From casualties in the war on terror, we are well aware of the trauma inflicted on soldiers’ bodies and minds. We ought to be as concerned for their faith: before it was called PTSD, it was called “shell shock.” Before that, it was called “soul sickness” for a reason; and a healing soul will do much for an afflicted body and mind.
War is an ugly necessity to restrain evil: in Luther’s words, war is a plague, but it prevents far greater plagues from dominating the earth. When he answered the question, “Can soldiers be saved?” he called military service a noble calling that honors left-hand rulers and pleases God. When pacifist Christians of his time objected that they would refuse to fight and simply trust in God when the Islamic hordes invaded Germany, he responded that their plan was brilliant—if, that is, their objective was to die on the first day. He further castigated them for a lack of love for their neighbor by failing to join the defense. While Luther would always allow for conscientious objection (e.g., in case of an unjust war), he considered this pacifistic argument to be a violation of the 4th Commandment in the right-hand kingdom and utter folly in the left.
While Romans 13:1-4 carries the weight for the topic of Christians serving in the military, I offer one more tidbit from the New Testament. Early in the Gospel according to Luke, soldiers come to John the Baptist and ask, “What must we do to be saved?” John doesn’t tell them to leave the army. He tells them to be honorable soldiers (Luke 3:14), and of course to repent and believe in Jesus.
May Christians service in the military? Absolutely, and my thanks to those who do.
Enough for now.