God and The Military

Just wrote this article for our valormovement.com website.

When was the Military Established?

The military is a God-ordained institution. God established the government as a provision and protection for the earth. Until the time of Noah, God had been the One who issued judgment against evil on the earth. When Cain killed Abel, God judged Cain and would not allow man to harm him. Genesis 4:15 says, “Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.” 

When Noah stepped off the ark, God ordained a new method of administering justice… the government. In Genesis 9:6, God says, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.”  Man was to take the jobs of protection and punishment into his own hands. This is an awesome responsibility that requires those in leadership to do the right things.

God designed the government to administer His justice. The military is a government-designed institution that protects us from evil from outside our borders. The police protect us from evil from within our borders.

What is the Purpose of the Military?

The purpose of the military is to administer God’s justice. Romans 13:1-4 states,

“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.  For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.”

God designed the government to administer His justice. The military is a government-designed institution that protects us from evil from outside our borders. The police protect us from evil from within our borders. They are a blessing to those who do good because they protect them. To those who do evil, however, they are to administer God’s justice and to cause them great fear.

If God has entrusted to man the right to bring evil to justice, how important is it for those who have that authority to walk with God?

What is the Responsibility of the Military?

When God gave mankind the right to govern themselves, He gave them a great responsibility. They were not to take this responsibility lightly, but they were to walk in the ways of God. When the kings of Israel took the throne, they were to learn and obey the laws of God and fear the Lord. Deuteronomy 17:18-19 states,

“Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.  19 “It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes.”

If those in power use that power for selfish gain, then great peril comes on us all. Military men and women need to be selfless servants who understand that they ultimately answer to God for how they administer justice. If they are to be God’s ministers of justice, they need to know God and His ways.

The reason we need the military is because of evil men. Psalm 82:5 states,

“They do not know nor do they understand;
    They walk about in darkness;
    All the foundations of the earth are shaken.”

If evil men are permitted to go unchecked and unpunished, they will destroy the earth in which we live. The need for the military is as follows:

•    Government stands between man and man’s complete destruction.
•    People can never be un-governed.
•    People need accountability.

The responsibilities of persons in the military are:

•    Know God’s Word.
•    Administer justice and grace in accordance with God’s Word.
•    Proper view of self and God-given authority.

The soldier is to be a minister of God who administers God’s justice. Therefore it is very important for our military men and women to walk with God. God established the government to provide us with good things and to protect us from evil people. The government (including military) can be a tremendous blessing to a nation or the greatest curse.

The Most Important Thing for Military Men and Women is to Walk with God.

Military men and women need to consider their calling from God to administer His justice. They are a blessing to all those who do good and a terror to the evildoers. That responsibility is rooted in a relationship with God in which they know Him and His ways.

How do one begin a relationship with God? Just as the military sets men and women free from evil, God has set us free from evil. Ephesians 2:1-10 states,

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

God took what was evil in us and dealt with it on the cross. Jesus took our sin on himself and rescued us from spiritual death. If we put our faith in Christ and His death on the cross to take care of our sins, then He will save us and give us an eternal relationship with Him.

The very nature of the purpose of the military is rooted in the nature of God. He desires to rescue us from evil, sin, and death. If we walk with Him and allow Him to teach us, He will show us how to do the same for others.