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NASB | Leviticus 26:6 'I shall also grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down with no one making you tremble. I shall also eliminate harmful beasts from the land, and no sword will pass through your land. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Leviticus 26:6 'I will also grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down and there will be no one to make you afraid. I will also eliminate harmful animals from the land, and no sword will pass through your land. |
Subject: Should Christians practice nonresistance |
Bible Note: Dear Brian, Hold on there, pardner! I am not responsible for the woes of all society before God. I have a civic responsibility to uphold the law of the land, and I have a right to protect myself from those who wish to deprive me of my freedom and my life. The land which you are blessed to be living in has laws that can be abused, but for he most part are the best laws available in this complicated, confusing age. You have linked practically every social woe to the death penalty, and that is just plain foolishness. A great deal of the lack of value in human life comes from the lack of faith in God. Those who disregard God's basic laws forfeit all the benefit and protection by them. God is merciful, but society cannot mimic God in this arena. (but they sure are trying!) I live according to the timeless laws of God first, not according to the ever-fickle mores of faddish society. All these complicated things you mention here are not as important as you might think, and I am certain that God is not as concerned about them as you seem to think. The heart and the attitude of mankind toward God is of much more importance. Not one of our mistakes can change God's plan, and not one of His will be stolen from Him by our 'unfair' practices. Serving God is very different from 'social work,' because society today is anti-social and rebellious toward God. A utopian, social state only leads people farther from God, not closer. In fact, all of the things you bring up are a *result* of humanistic thinking and endless human 'causes.' Peace upon you, my friend! Thes are my personal observations and opinions. I am not a 'vigilante' waiting for an opportunity to unleash God's wrath on earth. If I was drafted and given a gun, I would be praying that I would never have to use it! But if it was my country fighting another country, and my family and friends were depending on me, I would shoulder that weapon and that responsibility, and ask God to guide my bullets. In much the same way, the battle against violence and crime are the same thing. In my humble, but fervent opinion. In Jesus' name, charis |