Justice and Revenge
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”
Romans 12:14
Some Christians read verses like the one above and think that Christians are called to pacifism and to not practice self-defense. Jesus said, “Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matt 5:39)” But the Bible reveals that at times God’s people did go to war and furthermore, sometimes God directly sent them! So, we cannot say all war is evil unless we are willing to indict God. Later in Romans Paul reminded us that Government is God’s servant, “an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. (Rom 13:4)” In case we are wondering how he is to carry out God’s wrath, in that same verse Paul observed, “If you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.” A sword was a weapon of execution.
How do these two seemingly contradictory things work together? We need to understand that the apparent conflict is because we have conflated two distinct groups. Individually we have not been given the right to retaliate and bring justice against those who are persecuting us, rather we are to bless them and pray for them. (See Matt 5:10-12) However, lawful government is supposed to be God’s agent carrying out his justice and meeting out consequences for people’s crimes. So it is possible for the believer to both bless those who persecute them and pray that temporal justice will be done so the people face the righteous consequences for their sin and if they are unwilling to repent to stand before God for justice.
What about self-defense or protecting my family? Does this mean I must sit by when someone is assaulting me or people I am supposed to protect? First, let me clear up and often misinterpreted passage. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matt 5:39)” Jesus here is talking about a slap of insult or humiliation and not about being physically assaulted. Notice the slap is on the right cheek. Most people are right-handed (up to 90%). For a right-handed person to slap a person on the right cheek, he must slap that person with the back of his hand. If he punched a person with his right hand, it would be on the other person’s left cheek. Here, like in the earlier passage, Jesus was not thinking of a brutal assault but a humiliating insult because of your faith in Christ.
Government has not given you the right to retaliation or to execute justice for an insult, regardless of how humiliating it is. Government has given you the right to self-defense if someone is physically assaulting you or your loved ones. You have not broken the law by protecting yourself even if it is by means of a physical response. Your intent is to prevent harm and to preserve life. There are again examples when God’s people were attacked, and they were given the right to protect themselves and fight off the attacker. I do not believe you have sinned if you practice self-defense when you or others are being physically assaulted. It seems to me also that there are times when a government can rightly declare war to preserve justice and protect innocent lives although this does not mean that every war was started for a just cause.
Individually, the call is clear for the believer. When we are insulted, we are not to retaliate or allow bitterness to build up in our hearts. Instead, we are to pray for our persecutors and pray for them to repent and come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
