Chapter 15 - Conscientious Objector
"You really deserve this. I consider this a greater honour than being president." These where the words of the then US President Harry S. Truman as he congratulated Corporal Desmond Thomas Doss during a ceremony to give medals of honour to soldiers who had participated in World War 2. Desmond Doss was a soldier in the US Army who served as a combat medic and refused to kill an enemy soldier or carry a weapon into combat because of his personal beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist. His only weapons were his Bible and his faith in God. His refusal to carry a gun caused a lot of trouble among his fellow soldiers. He was intimidated, insulted, assigned extra hard duties, and declared mentally unfit for the Army. An attempt was even made to court-martial him for refusing to carry a gun.
While others were destroying lives, Desmond was saving lives. Whenever he was called onto the battlefield, he didn’t consider his safety. He repeatedly ran into the heat of battle to help wounded soldiers and bring them to safety. People like Doss are known as conscientious objectors. These are individuals who exercise the right to refuse to perform military service on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. They object (disagree) to something which is against their conscience (moral sense of right and wrong).
Such people are not the “yes man” type who just agree with their superiors even if an order given goes against their conscience. If the instruction given contradicts their religious beliefs they will object to that command. This principle is necessary for everyone who professes to worship the true God. There are many circumstances where one has to choose between listening to what God says and what man says. This is an easy task when men give you orders that are in line what God requires from you but a lot of challenges arise when you are given orders which oppose what God says. If met with such a dilemma, how must we handle it? Let us consider what the Bible has to say.
God’s children called to obedience to men’s laws (but…)
As children of God, we are supposed to abide by the laws which are set by men. The Bible requires us to be subject to the governing authorities because rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil (read Romans 13:1-3).
“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men” 1 Peter 2:13-15
“Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work” Titus 3:1
The preceding scriptures from 1st Peter and Titus call us to be obedient to the laws made by earthly authorities. Not only are we to obey the governing authorities of a nation but even our superiors at our workplaces and various institutions. Ephesians 6:5 says “Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ”.
Our religion is not one which promotes disobedience to authorities. Be that as it may, we are only supposed to obey higher powers as long as their commands do not go against the commands of the Most High God. The moment men require us to do that which goes against the word of God, then in that case we must choose to follow the Word of God.
Military orders contrary to God’s orders
As King Saul returned from the battle against the Philistines were David had killed Goliath, some women sang a song which displeased the king. In the song, the women gave credit to David for killing ten thousands and to King Saul thousands. This made the king feel jealous and didn’t take it lightly. Instead of correcting the singers, he started to hate David who didn't compose this song (read 1 Samuel 18:6-9). Saul wanted David dead, twice he threw a spear intending to nail him to the wall but David escaped (read 1 Samuel 18:11). On 1 Samuel 19:1, Saul made it clear to all his servants that David should be killed. David became a fugitive as he was now always fleeing from the wrath of this king.
On 1 Samuel 21:1-9 David came to Ahimelech the priest of the Lord and didn't reveal that he was running away from Saul but said the king had sent him on a secret mission. On this background, David asked for bread from the priest and was given holy bread and also the sword of Goliath.
All this happened in the eyes of Doeg (one of Saul’s servants) who later reported this matter to his master (King Saul). On hearing this, Saul called for Ahimelech and other priests and asked them a few questions relating to the help they had given David. The king then gave orders to the guards who were with him that they should summarily execute Ahimelech and all the priests of the Lord for helping out David (1 Samuel 22:9-23).
The guards faced a dilemma, whether to follow the King's orders and kill the priests or to obey the law of God which forbids the murder of these innocent people.
King Saul had become so ruthless, he had even attempted to kill his son Jonathan after he had tried to convince him that David had done nothing wrong deserving death (1 Samuel 20:32-33). Saul was ready to kill David and anyone who stood in his way faced his wrath. But the presidential guards made a bold decision by refusing to kill the priests. In as much as these guards where under Saul, they knew that they had a higher authority who was God. Though having ‘masters’ on this earth, we have a higher Master in Heaven whose commands take precedence over commands of the masters of this earth. They could have been killed by Saul for refusing to take orders, but it was a risk they were willing to take. When the king realised that these guards were not willing to follow his commands, he turned to Doeg and told him to kill the priests and he obeyed this instruction. Let those who do not fear God be the ones to do commands which are against the word of God.
Civil laws with regards to worship
In Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar made a statue of gold and commanded everyone to fall and worship it. This is a King who is forcing people to worship a particular god in a particular way and doesn’t give his subjects the right of religious liberty to choose their own God. This command was so serious that its violation didn’t carry just a warning or fine or jail term but a death penalty in the furnace of fire (Daniel 3).
Among the people who were supposed to follow this law were three Hebrews by the names of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. This trio were worshippers of the true God Jehovah Who in His law does not allow His people to have any other gods besides Him nor to bow down to any image (read Exodus 20:3-5). At that time certain Chaldeans came forward and made a report to the King that there were three Jews who were not worshipping the golden image which the king had set up. These Hebrews were brought before the king and were given another chance to worship the image. There was a dilemma, whether to bow down to the image and be set free or not to bow down and be thrown into the fire so that they burn to death.
It was either they had to listen to the King and disobey Jehovah in the process or they listen to their God and disobey Nebuchadnezzar.
These three could have just made a compromise, they could have agreed to kneel down to the image but worship their own God in their hearts while they are bowing. They could have just pretended to bow down to the image when in fact they are tying their sandal laces. Or out of fear of death they could have bowed down to the image and worshipped it, then at home confess their sins to the true God and ask for forgiveness. They had several options which could please the king so that they don’t get thrown in the fire. But all these options would not glorify God.
Despite facing death, the Hebrew trio was ready to go into the fire and die than to preserve their lives by violating God’s law, so they made a bold choice and told the king; "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." (Daniel 3:16-18).
On hearing this Nebuchadnezzar was so full of fury and commanded that the furnace be made seven times hotter than the usual heat. He gave orders that the three be thrown into the furnace. The fire was so great that it killed the mighty men who took up the three into the fire but miraculously the three Hebrews did not die in the fire, nor did they suffer any burns, in fact, they didn't even have a smell of fire on them for God protected them.
We are there to obey the laws of our political leaders, but if they are to make legislation which violates the worship of our true God and causes us to worship other gods, then we are left with no option but to disregard that particular law of men and obey the law of God.
Religious orders contrary to the will of God
Peter and John were arrested because they preached the resurrection of the dead through Jesus. They were kept in custody overnight and the following day the rulers and Jewish leaders came together and commanded the two Apostles not to preach or teach at all in the name of Jesus. These two Apostles responded and said, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge”. (Acts 4:1-22). That was a dilemma, should the Apostles listen to the Jewish leaders and stop preaching in the name of Jesus or should they listen to God who is giving them the gospel to preach? Remember these Jews had in their own opinion ‘succeeded’ in killing Jesus, they could do the same to these Apostles and kill them also.
Jesus said on Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell”. These human beings who give orders which are contrary to the word of God can only kill the body but cannot kill the soul, so Jesus is telling us not to be afraid of them. We must fear God who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Anchored on such exhortations of Jesus, the Apostles continued to preach the gospel. They were brought again before the Sanhedrin on the same charges as before and Peter and the other apostles told the religious leaders that they (the apostles) ought to obey God rather than men and continued with the gospel (Acts 5:27-29).
Even today some religious leaders give commands or doctrines which go against scripture. As followers of Christ we are not to obey any of those unscriptural commands, whenever there is a clash between what religious leaders say and what the Bible says, we are to follow the word of God.
Whatever the case, what must you do
In this spiritual warfare that is raging on, there will come a time when you will be required to take orders from people, orders which wage against the word of God. What must you do in such a case? Should you just follow the order so that you maintain your relations with these people or you should reject them and compromise your standing with people? In short, the Bible instructs us to listen to what God says and not what man says whenever there is a conflict between the two.
It is not an easy path to follow and it needs courage. Christianity is not for the lily-livered who cannot stand for what they believe in.
Christianity requires us to be bold in the Lord and stand for the truth. Commit much time to prayer and seek for that courage to resist any orders which cause you to sin against God. The Holy Spirit will strengthen you to walk in the path of obedience. When you object to the commands of men which contradict the word of God let your speech be seasoned with grace. The way you speak can end up offending the other person and in the end cause more trouble for you. Take a lesson from the 3 Hebrews, in their speech they maintained respect for Nebuchadnezzar as a king, they kept referring to him with the title king, they didn’t insult him by giving him a derogatory title, nevertheless, they did not give in to his demands which were against the law of God.
So the next time when your boss asks you to work on the Sabbath day, or forge some documents, or lie to a third party, or do something which is not in line with the word of God, speak to him/her in a befitting manner which suits a person in authority but maintain your position that you will not do it. Whenever someone in power gives you orders to break the law of God, tell them what you believe in and why you cannot follow their orders. Politely do this, don't raise your voice but raise your facts.
God will fight for you (even not)
When the three Hebrew boys refused to obey King Nebuchadnezzar's command to worship his golden image, this decision attracted a penalty of being cast into the fiery furnace. Such decisions of resisting commands which are contrary to God's word usually attract some form of punishment. However, no matter how big the penalty might be, we need not fear it but obey the word of God, because God Himself can deliver us from that punishment.
Isaiah 54:17(a) says “No weapon formed against you shall prosper…” Weapons indeed can be formed to punish you for not obeying what man has said but the success of those weapons can be hindered and their failure is guaranteed by God. Just as He delivered the three Hebrews from the fire, He can also deliver you from whatever punishment men have designed for you. Just as He sent an angel to shut the mouths of lions that they may not harm Daniel, He can send His angels to protect you.
Whenever you find yourself in circumstances which force you to choose whether to listen to God or men, take it as an opportunity for God to be glorified by your choice. Yes, it might be persecution, but see it as a chance for you to witness about Christ by the choice you will make. When the three Hebrews made a choice to serve God and they didn't suffer any harm from the fire, Nebuchadnezzar was drawn to glorify the true God by this. The king blessed the true God because of this (Daniel 3:28). If these men had agreed to bow down to the image, their choice would not have led to God being glorified. So make a choice which causes the name of God to be praised by the mouths of unbelievers.
God will fight for you, but let me be quick to say sometimes God will allow you to suffer a loss of that job, loss of that promotion, loss of that income, loss of that relationship, you might be imprisoned for not following the dictates of men or even die. If it comes to that, we need to focus on the bigger picture, yes it seems like you have suffered a loss but if you are faithful to Christ you will gain eternal life in the process. Let us not count the losses of such decisions but let us consider what we are gaining by deciding to follow the word of God and disregarding the word of men.
On Matthew 16:25 Jesus said, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” If we try to save our lives by disobeying God, we will lose eternal life, but if we lose our lives for the sake of Jesus we will obtain eternal life. So make a wise choice, whether to disobey God and live for a couple of decades in this present life or to obey God and obtain eternal life in