Faith First Media

This is chapter seventeen of the book A Theology of Peace by Matthew Elton, copyright 2010 Matthew Elton.

Click here to read the previous chapter: The Example of the Anabaptists.

A Return to Christian Nonviolence

About 1000 B.C., God promised King David that one of his descendants would inherit his throne forever. Then Daniel interpreted visions that revealed that this prophesied ruler would rule over the entire world. Isaiah, Zechariah, and other prophets also foretold the coming of this chosen one who would be both the Son of God and the Son of Man. Miraculously conceived by the virgin Mary, God’s plan for a Messiah became living flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus clearly understood that he was the chosen one who was destined to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth and rule from the throne of his ancestor David forever. His ministry was filled with teachings about the Kingdom of God, and even the demons he exorcised understood that his miracles were signs of the soon coming Kingdom. Jesus defeated death not by fighting against it, but by taking the guilt of all mankind upon himself to die as a holy sacrifice, making atonement for our sins, so that those who accept Jesus as Lord will not receive the punishment of death for their sins, but will instead receive eternal life in the Kingdom of God. By rising from the dead himself, Jesus proved that all who follow him will one day rise from the dead and enter eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

Upon his resurrection from the dead, the disciples fully expected Jesus to establish the Kingdom of God right then and there. After all, that was what Christ’s ministry was all about. But rather than taking the throne of David and freeing Israel from Roman military occupation, Jesus ascended into heaven where he waits for the appointed time of his return. He promised, however, that he would never leave or forsake his disciples, and although Jesus has ascended into heaven, he has not left us. Through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is alive in everyone who accepts him as Lord. The Holy Spirit was poured out to Jews and to Gentiles, to the poor and to the wealthy, to men and to women. For the first time, non-Jews were accepted as followers of Jesus without being required to keep the Law of Moses, which the teachings of Jesus changed and rendered obsolete. Then God revealed to the writer of Hebrews that not even the Jews need to continue to keep the Law of Moses, for the Kingdom events that had just occurred through Christ’s death, resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit had ushered in a new age - an interim period of time called the End Times, existing between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and the return of Jesus Christ which will soon occur in the future. With the coming of this new age came a new way of living that rendered obsolete the laws of vengeance taught by Moses. In light of the coming Kingdom of God and the soon coming final judgement that will restore perfect justice to the world, we are called to follow a new way of life that embodies and represents the Kingdom of God to the world. We are to live like Jesus until Jesus returns - not repaying evil for evil, but overcoming evil with good by loving everyone, including our enemies.

We don’t preach and practice nonviolence simply to be admitted into the Kingdom of God when it comes. We preach and practice nonviolence because nonviolence is a fundamental, inherent quality of the Kingdom itself. As Christians, we are called to be ambassadors for the coming Kingdom of God. Because the Kingdom of God is inherently peaceful (when the Kingdom of God is fulfilled, swords will be beaten into plowshares, and even the animal world will be peacefully transformed so that the lion will lie down next to the lamb rather than attacking it) it is impossible for us to adequately represent the Kingdom of God in our lives unless we are peaceful.

Similarly, we don’t love our enemies only because we are commanded to. We love our enemies because it is what Jesus did, and as Christians, we are called to represent Jesus to a dying world in need of the salvation that only he can provide. Because Christ’s teachings were radically nonviolent, and because Christ himself lived a peaceful life (even to the point of willingly dying on a cross instead of sending the thousands of angels who were at his command to fight back) it is impossible for us to adequately follow Jesus unless we too live peaceably. Jesus clearly understood that love is an inherent quality of God, and as the image of the Invisible God, Jesus embodied the love of God in every aspect of his life. Famous gospel verses such as John 3:16 tell us plainly that God loved mankind enough to sacrifice His own Son for the sake of mankind’s salvation, despite the fact that mankind had betrayed and rejected God. Jesus showed love to the sinners and outcasts of society, and through his unmeasurable love for the people of this unworthy world, Jesus willingly died to make atonement for our sins, saying, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13), and even going so far as the forgive the very soldiers who were crucifying him. If this is the kind of infinite love that God revealed to us through Jesus, then this is the love that we must live by if we are to truly be the followers of Jesus. As it says in 1 John 4:8, “anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

“You just need to look at what the gospel asks, and what war does. The gospel asks that we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the homeless, visit the prisoner, and perform works of mercy. War does all the opposite. It makes my neighbor hungry, thirsty, homeless, a prisoner, and sick. The gospel asks that we take up our cross. War asks that we lay the cross of suffering on others.”

--Dorothy Day

See also:

• The Oxymoron of "Just War"
• Pacifism: Following Christ's Example
• Conquering Evil by Doing Good
• A Theology of Peace: Introduction
• The Kingdom of God
• The Sermon on the Mount
• Turning the Other Cheek
• Giving the Coat Also
• Going the Extra Mile
• The Example of Christ
• The Example of the Apostles
• The Resurrection of Jesus
• The Holy Spirit
• The New Covenant
• The Kingdom Lifestyle
• The Testimony of Early Christians
• The Downfall of Nonviolent Theology Under Constantine

Have questions, comments, criticisms, or concerns?

Email the author at: matt@faithfirstmedia.com