In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said,
Matthew 5:43-45, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Christians are to be people of peace. There are many other references to peace in the Bible.

But what about war? Is there ever a time when it’s right to go to war? Are there times when we are to draw our weapons and fight?

YES, THERE IS A TIME FOR WAR.
Just as there are numerous references to peace in the Bible, there are numerous references to God-ordained war. You are familiar with today’s text, Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 8: “A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.”

HOW DOES GOD FEEL ABOUT WAR?
The trouble with some pacifists who hold up Jesus as their example is they have ignored the full revelation concerning Jesus pictured in the book of Revelation.

TEXT- Revelation 19:11-16, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

The Song of Victory in Exodus 15 Hails God as a God of War:
Exodus 15:2-3, “The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.”

(1) God strengthened individuals for war: Moses, Joshua and many of the Judges.
Many of the judges are held in high regard in Hebrews for their faith demonstrated in battle.
Hebrews 11:32-34, “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”

(2) God destroyed many armies before the Israelites:
I Chronicles 14:15, “And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee to smite the host of the Philistines.”

(3) God gives counsel to be wise in war:
Proverbs 20:18, “Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.”
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WAR AND MURDER.
They are two different Hebrew words.

(4) The Lord sometimes incited war.
Isaiah 13:4, “The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.”
Today as never before in recent history, America is facing the realities of our fallen world.
It is beamed into our living rooms every hour.
It is a constant reminder of the frailty of our flesh. (507 Americans dead in Iraq as of yesterday.)

When is there a justified time for war?

(1) A time for war is when freedom must be defended.
Throughout the book of Judges, God calls the Israelites to go to war against the Midianites and Philistines. Why? Because these nations were trying to conquer Israel. They were called to defend themselves.
The birth of our nation involved war. The freedom our ancestors deeply felt was theirs didn’t happen without a war.
President Bush has made it very clear that we are at war to defend freedom for ourselves and the world; from an incredibly vicious dictator who has killed thousands upon thousands of his own people for over 2 decades.

(2) A time for war is to defend innocent people.
Proverbs 21:15, “It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.”

Genesis 14:14-20, “And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. 15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. 17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale. 18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.”
There are times when war must be fought to defend the innocent. Real peace cannot happen without justice.

(3) A Time for War Is Designed To Stop The Spread Of Evil.
Here is the reason for Operation Iraqi Freedom. After the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, we declared war on all terrorists, everywhere.

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury  if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush. He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders.  The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return." It became very quiet in the room.  

Matthew records an event in the life of Jesus and his disciples that states one of the purposes of the Church, the Body of Christ.

Matt 16:13-19, “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

When Jesus told Peter that he would build his church upon this rock, he was pointing to the rock out of which flowed the headwaters of the Jordan River. When he said that the gates of hell would not prevail against it, he wasn’t speaking of a passive, do-nothing church. Walls and gates were built around cities to protect them. The ones who were prevailing were the ones who were on the offensive to capture the city. Jesus is telling the disciples, and us, that we are to be on the offensive against evil. Wherever evil is found, we, the church, are to be present doing all we can to stop it from advancing. In fact, we are to battering down the gates of hell.
 
One of the primary purposes of the church is to stop the spread of evil, even at the cost of human lives. If we do not stop the spread of evil, many innocent lives will be lost and the kingdom of God suffers.

There are three facts about human life.
(1) We live in a fallen world.
(2) Every person has sinned.
(3) Wherever there is sin, people hurt one another.
There must be laws to stop those who are evil. There must be law enforcement officers and peace-keepers to enforce these laws. If the laws and resolutions are not kept, then evil will continue to flourish. God gave us the Ten Commandments. Every law ever written is rooted in these commandments. President Bush admonished us in his State of the Union address last Tuesday to always say ‘thank you’ when we see a person in uniform.

Doesn’t the sixth commandment say, ‘Thou shalt not kill’?”
No. It says Thou shalt not commit murder. There is a difference between killing and murdering. Many times God commanded capital punishment for those who break the law. Unfortunately, sometimes capital punishment involves war.

Will we ever have permanent peace? Yes. Isaiah painted a beautiful picture of the peace we look forward to. The LORD will settle international disputes. All the nations will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. All wars will stop, and military training will come to an end (Isaiah 2:4 NLT).

Outside the United Nations building is a sculpture of a man hammering a sword into a plow. The story of the sculpture is amazing. The bronze sculpture was created by Soviet artist, Evgeny Buchetich and presented to the United Nations in December 1959 by the Government of the USSR. On the sculpture are these words from Isaiah 2:4. Consider the time in which the sculpture was made and who made it.

When the time is right, Jesus will come again. When he does, all war will end.
How should we respond during times of war?

(1) PRAY.
I Timothy 2:1-2, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

(2) TRUST GOD.
Psalm 27:1-3, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.”

(3) SEEK PEACE.
Romans 12:18, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”

(4) SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER.
Galatians 6:2, “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
Our military personnel need our support. Their families need our support.