–– Paul Schlehlein
The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
Gun-ownership in the United States is the highest in the world, with a rate of 120 guns per 100 people. Yes, that’s more than one gun per person. Gun-ownership rates in Africa, however, are tiny (at least among non-criminals), with almost non-existent rates in countries like Malawi, Benin, Ethiopia, and Niger.
In South Africa and South Sudan, there are less than ten gun-owners per one-hundred people, even though (as of 2024), South Africa has the fifth-highest crime rate in the world.
South Africa is a very dangerous place to live. According to recent crime statistics from the South African Police Service, 453 homes are burgled every day in the country. This despite each home being clothed in a robe of steel burglar bars and shiny razor wire.
This raises the question: are Christians allowed to defend themselves? If Jesus said to turn the other cheek, may His followers use dogs, walls, and fists to protect their lives and property? If so, are weapons like guns and knives valid? Consider the following four principles.
Principles for Self-Defence
First, Scripture permits weapons for self-protection. As Jesus was sending His disciples into a world of hostility, He told them in Luke 22:36 to buy weapons of protection like a sword. He said they should even sell off personal possessions if they didn’t have the money to purchase their own blade of steel.
He was not speaking metaphorically, as though they should arm themselves spiritually for battle against demonic foes. Rather, the Saviour knew that the world is a dangerous place and therefore His followers should carry basic weapons to protect themselves.
Second, God has given humans the natural, holy impulse to preserve their own lives. This is a gift. Every person carries the innate instinct to paddle when drowning, eat when starving, sleep when tired, clothe themselves when cold, and step away from oncoming traffic. We call people insane who do otherwise, like the demon-possessed man in Luke 8 who wore no clothes (v. 27).
If this self-preserving impulse were absent, then Jesus’ command in Matthew 22:39 would make no sense: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Just as it’s commonplace to protect your own life, so we must safeguard others. If it’s virtuous for a mother to use a frying pan to ward off a pit bull on her child, and a bystander to use a knife against a thug stealing the bike of his neighbour, then it must be good for a man to use a gun or other weapon to protect his own life and property.
Third, the Scriptures not only allow but command men to skillfully protect women—especially husbands watching over their wives. Cowards run when women are attacked. A husband sins when he does nothing to protect his family from harm.
According to Ephesians 5:25, Jesus—the greatest husband—laid down his life for His bride. Men are Christ-like when they take the bullet, suffer the cold, and lay bloody on the floor so the womenfolk can escape. Jesus said in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” Parents should teach their sons not to look for a fight but should it come, to stand up to bullies and protect themselves. This may mean karate, boxing, and wrestling lessons for the younger ones and long trips to the gun range for the older ones.
Finally, escaping danger is often the best form of self-defense. Fighting is sometimes foolish. David ran from King Saul (1Sm. 19) and Elijah ran from Queen Jezebel (1Kgs. 17-19). Paul often eluded danger (e.g. Ac. 9:23-25), as did Jesus (Jn. 8:59). The great missionary John Paton often ran toward danger but then took a ship to escape the cannibals when the Lord provided a way to slip away from peril.
Common Objection
But what about Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:39 to turn the other cheek? Doesn’t this forbid self-defence? In this command to His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was teaching that people should not retaliate and hit back against those that insult them. Retaliation for crimes should be just and carried out by the law, not by vigilantes or for personal vendettas. Jesus isn’t forbidding government prosecution, just-war military campaigns, or defending oneself against attack.
Suppose Freddie is stuck in rush hour and the driver in front cuts him off and flips him the bird. These words of Jesus forbid him from teaching that jerk a lesson by ramming his bumper. But it doesn’t prohibit Freddie from unstrapping his Leatherman should a driver smash his window looking for a fight.
Sum
Wayne Grudem is right: “If using physical force in self-defense is morally right, then use of a legally permitted weapon in self-defense is also morally right, since a weapon can overcome great inequalities in size or strength.”
The overall demeanor of Christians should be that of peace (Mt. 5:9). We must love and pray for our enemies (Mt. 5:9), though all the while being willing to defend ourselves and others should the time come.