Protecting the needy: Is there such a thing as righteous killing?

Mart de Haan from RBC Ministries wrote an interesting article about the Norwegian massacre last year. He highlighted the contrast between the self-claimed 'crusader' to resist the corrupting influences non-Christian cultures in his country with the truly God-led exodus out of Egypt into Israel, in which God showed himself impartial to culture or to man's plans.

This was my response:


Hi Mart,

Thank you for your thought-provoking article. I am a keen follower of Discover the Word and always appreciate your insights.

You have hit on a question which has been occupying my thoughts lately:

When must a Christian intervene in specific political matters?

Indeed, I do agree the Lord our God has a vision for the world greater than ours can ever be; the passage from Joshua 5 does illustrate how impartial (literally speaking) our Lord is with regards to our earthly politics and worldly agendas (also Acts 10:34-35); and Jesus’ death and resurrection was for all people, and we (and the entire earth and universe) will all be united under him at the end of days.

With the sermon on the mount in mind, especially “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39), how should we answer the question above?

Although I do not have any ultimate answers, my attempt to break down the question is in the following order:

1. Firstly, I believe the Holy Spirit has the power to reveal directly and personally to us the will of God on a moment-to-moment basis (John 14:26), and ultimately He should be our first port of call when prayerfully asking God his will in terms of when it is right to intervene or not. Admittedly, it is often difficult to become still enough to “hear the voice behind you” (Isaiah 30-21), but prayer and supplication is our first go-to to enjoy the privilege of direct relationship with God and to try to learn our Father’s wisdom and will.

2. Secondly, there is a mandate to serve the poor (Galatians 5:13-15), give to the poor (Luke 12:33-34, Luke 14:12-14, Matthew 5:42, Matthew 19:21, Matthew 25:31-46, Deuteronomy 15:7-11, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Acts 20:35), to protect the rights of the needy (Jeremiah 5:28, Proverbs 29:7) and to protect our neighbour from the hand of the oppressor (Jeremiah 22:3). This would seem to indicate there is a time to intervene in other people’s matters if it is to protect our neighbour. I suppose this serving, giving, and protecting should be completely indiscriminate of political or cultural factions.

3. Thirdly, what of protecting ourselves? Is there a time to put on an armor that is more than metaphorical (Ephesians 6:10-17) to defend ourselves, our families, our culture or our God? I have wondered whether the “turn the other cheek” mandate (Matthew 5:39) refers only to an insult (illustrated by slapping on the cheek) rather than an existential threat. If anyone could offer their insights into this, I’d be very grateful. The early phrase in Matthew 5:39 says “Do not resist the one who is evil” – does that mean we should practice absolute pacifism and lay down and die, as the Quakers would? Also, an outworking of love for one’s neighbour is to care for people that are not our own kin as much as our kin (Luke 14:12-14), but I do not think that necessarily means we should never protect or defend our own kin.

4. If protecting others is something Christians ought to do based on points 2 and 3, how far should we go? Although the Norwegian case is completely a case apart that is obviously abhorrent, is there ever a time to kill righteously in order to protect either our neighbour or our kin (I am talking here of defensive not avenging killing) (Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 in contrast to Leviticus 24:17-22)? Again, I think the Holy Spirit is our most direct guide, but what of the scriptural answer to this question? In Matthew 26:52-54, Jesus had Peter put his “sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword”, and emphasised the power of prayer. One of the commandments is “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13), but is the sense of the word ‘murder’ identical to or inclusive of all other forms of killing, in particular with regards to the motivation of the act (for example to protect)? The Bible is full of instances of God commanding his people to go to war against other nations (Numbers 31:3, Deuteronomy 7:1-26 etc) – I suppose this implies killing is righteous if commanded by God. And yet, those who are saved in Revelations “loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:7-11).

I lack absolute answers for many of these questions, but my conclusion would be that we should prayerfully ask God knowledge of his will, that we should understand God shows no partiality, that he wants us to love our neighbour in a self-sacrificing way, and that our plans are inherently smaller than His.

Psalm 108:12-13: Oh grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man! With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.