REFUSING TO LEARN WAR
Part 1
Isaiah foretold of the coming Messiah. When the Messiah would come, He would judge among the nations and would smite the earth with the rod of His mouth (Isaiah 11:4). These statements reflect the kind of work that Jesus would do once He came to earth as both God and Man. When Jesus did walk the earth as both God and Man, He revealed that He did not come to send peace but a sword (Matthew 10:34).
How, then, do we understand these and similar statements from the Scriptures? Why not understand it in light of what the Scriptures reveal? Paul speaks about the armour of God that is worn by every soldier of the cross (Ephesians 6:13-18). In describing that armour, Paul states that the sword of the Spirit is the word of God (verse 17). When, therefore, the Messiah would smite the earth with the rod of his mouth it is equal to the sword of the Spirit. The Word of God, then, is the weapon that God would use to touch the hearts of men and, therefore, convert them (Acts 3:19). James shows us a wayward child of God. How did he get that way, because he erred from the truth (James 5:19).
An evangelist has a great work to do. He must spread the gospel of Christ to as many as he has the opportunity to teach. It is the Word of God that must be taught (II Timothy 4:2). The Word is to be used to reprove, rebuke and exhort. The passage in Isaiah declares that the Messiah would rebuke many people, not all. Why is that the case? All men will not receive the truth that is the weapon that God uses to affect the hearts of men. Those who do receive the truth cease their fighting with God and become His servants. They do, by their obedience to the will of Christ, purify their souls (I Peter 1:22)
How, then, does Jesus judge among the nations? It was God’s plan for this gospel, the truth that is the weapon of God, to go into all the world (Matthew 24:14). Shortly before Jerusalem fell in A.D. 70, the truth of God had gone into all the world (Colossians 1:23). Since the gospel went into all the known world prior to A.D. 70, then the knowledge of Jesus had gone into all nations. Those who accepted the truth by obeying it, submitted themselves to the will of Christ and, thereby, purified their souls through the truth. Those who refused would not be saved. In this sense, the Messiah judged the nations.
Jesus declared the importance of this action by saying that in the last day all men would be judged by His Words (John 12:48). That which is enjoined upon all who hear that Word is to search carefully to be sure that what they have heard is, indeed, the Word of God (Acts 17:11). There is always the danger of someone preaching “another gospel” (Galatians 1:8). Since God uses the truth to purify the hearts of men, any changing of that truth results in men accepting something that will condemn their souls.
The task that we all have as Christians, then, is to teach as many as we can the truth of God that sets men free (John 8:32). In this passage, Jesus shows man’s ability to know the truth. It is the knowledge of the truth that will set men free; however, what is implied in the statement about knowledge of the truth is action on man’s part to act on the knowledge. In the context of John 8, Jesus was speaking to Jews that believed on Him. Jesus, then, sets forth what that means. One must continue (action) in His Word if they are to be His disciples (John 8:31). Hence, James shows that it is the man who does the will of God who is happy or blessed (James 1:22).
As then the servant of the Lord, we call on all men to believe that Jesus was Who He claimed to be (John 8:32). Men should turn from sin through repentance (Luke 13:3). Faith in Jesus should lead one to confess the faith they have in Jesus (Romans 10:10, Acts 8:37). The soul can, then, be purified by contacting the blood of Christ in baptism (Acts 22:16). Cease warring against God.