A Time To Kill - Ecclesiastes 3:1,3

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: . . . A time to kill, And time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up . . . . - Ecclesiastes 3:1,3


        When Satan is using a human agent to produce and inflict evil upon humanity, do we, as Christians, have a duty to stop that human agent if we can? And by what means? Certainly, we know  - “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” - James 5:16b. But do we not also bear a responsibility to use physical force to stop the evil? “A righteous man who falters before the wicked is like a murky spring and a polluted well.” - Proverbs 25:26.
    There are numerous examples of when we must respond to the call for action - active shooter situations, war, a violent felony (armed robbery, murder, rape) in progress, genocide, etc. These are instances when Scripture tells us without ambiguity that sitting by idly will draw judgment upon us. “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” - 1 Timothy 5:8.
    It is true that we should never, under any circumstances, seek vengeance for a wrongdoing, but to prevent or stop a violent evil from taking place Scripture is clear - “Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked.” - Psalm 82:4.
    During WWII, the Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer became part of a plot to kill Adolf Hitler. The decision was certainly one he made after wrestling with his Christian faith over the idea of killing another human being. Yet Bonhoeffer, who was executed for his role in the failed plot, spoke the truth with these words - “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” We are instructed by Scripture to fight with physical force when we encounter deliberate Satanic evil hiding behind a human face. “And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” - Nehemiah 4:14.
    There are many professing Christians who steadfastly refuse to entertain the idea of using violent physical defense in any case! I, for one, do not know what Bible they’ve been reading or if they have merely been very selective as to what they read in Scripture. And we all know what we have been taught about the whole counsel of God - “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” - Deuteronomy 4:2. And perish the idea that we should ignore the words of our Lord and Savior when He spoke to His disciples in the upper room the night before His crucifixion - “Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.” - Luke 22:36. Christ wasn’t suggesting that His disciples took the world by the sword; He was telling them that there would be times that required a swift and violent physical defense. Let us remember His words of warning and be ever watchful in this fallen world. Let us pray for the wisdom to know when we must raise our hands against the evil wrought by Satan through his human agents. And let us daily pray that God uses us as His human agents for His glory.