1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:09,519 Greetings, this is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church 2 00:00:09,519 --> 00:00:15,060 with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. 3 00:00:15,500 --> 00:00:23,820 Today, how should Christians respond to Islam, in particular aggressive and militant Islam, 4 00:00:23,820 --> 00:00:30,660 in the wake of the Orlando shootings in which Omar Mateen, a second-generation Muslim who had 5 00:00:30,660 --> 00:00:39,100 pledged his allegiance to ISIS, that is the Islamic State in Syria, killed 49 and severely wounded 53 6 00:00:39,100 --> 00:00:46,000 at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando. Since then, thousands of Christians experience an inner 7 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:52,520 conflict to turn the other cheek and witness to the gospel and maybe another impulse to strike in 8 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,520 revenge or at least self-defense. Which is right? Which is wrong? Are they mutually exclusive? 9 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:01,740 You'd better think through these issues, dear Christian, and you'd better think through them 10 00:01:01,740 --> 00:01:08,579 clearly because we are going to be facing Islam as an increasingly militant force in our country 11 00:01:08,579 --> 00:01:15,819 for the foreseeable future. You will be facing these issues. Islamic terror events will multiply 12 00:01:15,819 --> 00:01:21,439 and Muslims will only feel emboldened by a passive and ignorant Christian majority. 13 00:01:21,439 --> 00:01:28,680 You will find no protection and relief from government corridors either. This administration 14 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:35,299 cannot protect us. This administration has worked closely, in fact, with the Muslim Brotherhood 15 00:01:35,299 --> 00:01:43,739 and Saudi Arabia to arm and assist ISIS in its conquests in Egypt. Remember the so-called Arab Spring 16 00:01:43,739 --> 00:01:51,840 when a radical Islamist overthrew President Hosni Mubarak's government in Egypt? They've also tried 17 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:58,140 to do the same in Libya, Iraq, and now Syria. Obama is living as if he is a radical Muslim, 18 00:01:58,379 --> 00:02:04,519 if he is not one in reality, and he has aided and abetted our enemies as they slaughter our brothers 19 00:02:04,519 --> 00:02:10,639 and sisters, crucifying them, burning them, cutting off their heads. This administration has supplied ISIS 20 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:17,719 with arms and military intelligence under the foolish illusion that ISIS is better than the 21 00:02:17,719 --> 00:02:24,319 dictators they replace. Now, even, our own troops are facing an enemy equipped with weapons that are 22 00:02:24,319 --> 00:02:31,340 the best the world has to offer. That is, our own weapons given to ISIS. What does that have to do 23 00:02:31,340 --> 00:02:35,879 with us, you might say? Let them kill themselves over there. It doesn't affect me here. Au contraire, 24 00:02:35,879 --> 00:02:42,639 dear listener, Omar Mateen, dedicated himself to ISIS before he went on his rampage. The existence of a 25 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:49,919 pure Islamic state, you must realize the effect of a pure Islamic state, now extant in the world, 26 00:02:50,300 --> 00:02:57,680 a growing new caliphate, is that to which every Muslim aspires. Read the Quran, read and understand 27 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:04,939 Islam. And the Obama-aided and abetted enemy of the United States of America, the Islamic state in Syria, 28 00:03:04,939 --> 00:03:12,060 is precisely that today. And it will continue, ISIS will. ISIS will continue to serve as a beacon and 29 00:03:12,060 --> 00:03:18,300 model for future shooters in America, which we have in increasing measure because Obama has also 30 00:03:18,300 --> 00:03:24,479 flooded our own borders with radical Muslims from Syria, the so-called refugees, the majority of whom 31 00:03:24,479 --> 00:03:30,199 are veterans of the failed coup in Syria to overthrow President Assad. An estimated 80 percent of these 32 00:03:30,199 --> 00:03:37,960 so-called refugees are precisely that, veterans of the failed military coup to overthrow President Assad. 33 00:03:38,620 --> 00:03:45,159 So, dear listener, dear Christian, gird up your loins as Gideon would exhort you. That's a biblical 34 00:03:45,159 --> 00:03:50,599 metaphor from an Old Testament judge to prepare for battle. And, dear listener, know how you should 35 00:03:50,599 --> 00:03:55,699 think and act now before all these things transpire because these things are no longer at your doorstep, 36 00:03:55,699 --> 00:04:03,479 but they're here. How should then the 21st century church in the West respond to Islam? Number one, 37 00:04:03,819 --> 00:04:11,840 we must respond with the truth of Christ. We must respond with the truth of Christ. Islam is not a 38 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:17,600 companion religion to Christianity. Islam is not one of the three great monotheistic religions of the 39 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:24,899 world. Islam and Christianity do not have shared truths to serve as common ground. Yahweh of the Bible 40 00:04:24,899 --> 00:04:29,860 and Allah of the Quran are not different names and different revelation of the same deity. 41 00:04:30,639 --> 00:04:36,959 This is all weak, sniveling drivel from teachers whose desire is to compromise and go along, to get 42 00:04:36,959 --> 00:04:41,420 along, even if it means giving away all of the essential truths of the biblical faith, even if it means 43 00:04:41,420 --> 00:04:48,899 giving away the store completely to Islam. Islam and Christianity are opposite, diametrically opposed 44 00:04:48,899 --> 00:04:57,860 religions 180 degrees in opposition to one another. For example, Yahweh Elohim is the alone, self-revealed 45 00:04:57,860 --> 00:05:04,740 God of the universe. As the Bible puts it in Isaiah, I am the Lord and there is no other. Besides me, 46 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:12,959 there is no God, unquote. Allah, however, is actually one of the 360 gods of the old polytheistic system of 47 00:05:12,959 --> 00:05:20,560 the Quraysh tribe on the Arabian Peninsula from which Muhammad derived. It was not until Muhammad 48 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:27,560 returned from exile in Medina back to Mecca and he cleared out the remaining 359 gods that had 49 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:33,399 remained from the shrine of the Kaaba stone that Allah was fully and finally established to be the only 50 00:05:33,399 --> 00:05:39,699 God of Islam. And of course, in the Quran, as Muhammad puts it, there is now no God but Allah. 51 00:05:39,699 --> 00:05:48,300 Also, the conceptions of Jesus are mutually exclusive in Islam and Christianity. Both books, the Bible 52 00:05:48,300 --> 00:05:55,540 and the Quran speak of Jesus, but they are mutually exclusive pictures of him. The Bible says there is 53 00:05:55,540 --> 00:06:00,699 salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be 54 00:06:00,699 --> 00:06:07,199 saved, unquote. John also says in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. 55 00:06:07,199 --> 00:06:13,899 This runs counter to Islam. And also then 1 Timothy chapter 2 says, for there is one God and there 56 00:06:13,899 --> 00:06:22,740 was one mediator between God and men, that is the man Christ Jesus, unquote. In the completely 180 degree 57 00:06:22,740 --> 00:06:29,220 different direction, the Quran teaches that Jesus is not divine, nor is he the son of God. Surah number 58 00:06:29,220 --> 00:06:34,300 9, for example, says, the Christians call Christ the son of God. Allah's curse be upon them. 59 00:06:35,420 --> 00:06:42,600 The Surah number 19, verse 34 also said, it is not befitting that he should beget a son, that is Allah. 60 00:06:43,439 --> 00:06:50,500 And then, of course, Muslims portray Jesus as just another one of the prophets like Muhammad in the 61 00:06:50,500 --> 00:06:57,180 line of other prophets like Moses and Elijah. Also, the means of the salvation in Islam and Christianity 62 00:06:57,180 --> 00:07:02,600 could not be more different. This is another reason we must bring the truth of Christ, because 63 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:08,100 the means of salvation in these respective religions, Christianity and Islam, could not be more different. 64 00:07:08,819 --> 00:07:14,160 The Bible tells us, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this even, that is the faith 65 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:20,100 with which we appropriate grace, is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, Paul says, not a result 66 00:07:20,100 --> 00:07:27,259 of works, so that no one may boast. We also know of Jesus, as Peter says, he himself, that is Christ 67 00:07:27,259 --> 00:07:34,639 himself, bore our sins in his body on the tree, that is the cross, that we might die to sin and live to 68 00:07:34,639 --> 00:07:41,699 righteousness, unquote. But in stark contrast to this grace, this abundant grace that God gives, Islam 69 00:07:41,699 --> 00:07:48,579 inculcates salvation by a man's own works, the highest work of which, of course, is jihad. 70 00:07:48,579 --> 00:07:55,259 Correct. Surah number five, verse nine says, to those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, that is good 71 00:07:55,259 --> 00:08:00,779 works, Allah has promised forgiveness and a great reward, unquote. And then, of course, the most famous 72 00:08:00,779 --> 00:08:08,420 Surah number three, verse 157, says this about jihad, if you are slain or die in the way of Allah, forgiveness 73 00:08:08,420 --> 00:08:14,800 and mercy from Allah are far better than all they could amass, unquote. So jihad becomes the highest and the 74 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:20,100 most guaranteed way of getting to paradise. And then Surah number four says, of Christ and his 75 00:08:20,100 --> 00:08:25,800 crucifixion, that they, that is the Jews, said in boast, we killed Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, the 76 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:31,839 messenger of Allah, but they killed him not, nor crucified him, unquote. So they deny the crucifixion, 77 00:08:31,899 --> 00:08:38,320 the resurrection, and the death of Jesus. Our pluralistic, tolerant, diverse apostles of compromise 78 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:44,100 will try to persuade you and the world that religious common ground can be found between 79 00:08:44,100 --> 00:08:50,320 the two religions. And therefore, we should be open to dialogue and compromise. All such advocates 80 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:57,379 are by definition care more about that compromise than they do the truth of Christ. We must hold forth 81 00:08:57,379 --> 00:09:04,039 the truth of Christ because in the end, only that truth will save. Even Jesus himself said in John 82 00:09:04,039 --> 00:09:11,059 chapter eight, if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the 83 00:09:11,059 --> 00:09:16,559 truth will set you free. That truth and its liberating effect is conditional. It is conditional 84 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:24,000 on abiding in Christ's word. So be fearless and determined, dear Christian, hold forth Christ's truth. 85 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:32,279 Only by articulating clear biblical truth will Islam be shown in sharp contrast for the false hate-filled 86 00:09:32,279 --> 00:09:38,179 religion that it is at heart. And this brings me then to my second point, the heart. With the love of 87 00:09:38,179 --> 00:09:45,259 Christ, we must meet Islam with the love of Christ. All of us must be loving ambassadors for Christ and 88 00:09:45,259 --> 00:09:50,559 his gospel. We are commissioned to be so now. Second Corinthians chapter five says this of us, 89 00:09:51,039 --> 00:09:56,940 all this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of 90 00:09:56,940 --> 00:10:03,980 reconciliation. That is in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses 91 00:10:03,980 --> 00:10:10,480 against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for 92 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:17,639 Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you and we implore all of you Muslims. 93 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:25,080 We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. Yes, dear listener, that is our job. Now we must 94 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:30,379 bring the love of Christ to the Muslim. We must remember that Muslims are what we once were, that 95 00:10:30,379 --> 00:10:36,580 is separated from Christ, lost and perishing without Christ. Paul says in Ephesians 2, remember that you 96 00:10:36,580 --> 00:10:42,519 were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to 97 00:10:42,519 --> 00:10:49,179 the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world, unquote. So even in the midst of their 98 00:10:49,179 --> 00:10:56,259 savage butchery, Muslims can be humbled to see the love of God. Romans 5 says, and Paul says, God shows 99 00:10:56,259 --> 00:11:03,460 his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That's grace, dear listener. We are 100 00:11:03,460 --> 00:11:09,659 obliged to show this grace in word and deed to all wherever and however possible. When we are persecuted 101 00:11:09,659 --> 00:11:15,399 and slain and reviled, we are to nevertheless love those who are our enemies. Jesus says, love your 102 00:11:15,399 --> 00:11:21,100 enemies and pray for those who persecute you. And there are ample opportunities to do this in the 103 00:11:21,100 --> 00:11:27,259 context of a religion that converts by the sword, a religion that forcibly humiliates those who submit 104 00:11:27,259 --> 00:11:34,259 to them, and a religion who sees love and doing good to an enemy as a weakness. That is Islam. So many of 105 00:11:34,259 --> 00:11:40,500 our brothers and sisters have followed Christ's example. However, in their deaths, who, as Peter says, 106 00:11:40,500 --> 00:11:46,379 when he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When Christ suffered, he did not threaten, but 107 00:11:46,379 --> 00:11:53,919 continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. Instead, our brothers in Christ have prayed 108 00:11:53,919 --> 00:11:58,700 with Christ, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. So in the proper time and context, 109 00:11:58,879 --> 00:12:04,379 this is important. In the proper time and context, I pray that I could respond in this same manner. But 110 00:12:04,379 --> 00:12:09,899 this response, which is often called the pietistic or Anabaptist response, after the tradition of 111 00:12:09,899 --> 00:12:15,399 nonviolence as the absolute and only way for a Christian to behave is not the only response for 112 00:12:15,399 --> 00:12:22,240 a Christian to Islam. This Anabaptist or pietistic response is not the only response for a Christian to 113 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:30,080 Islam. No, not in every circumstance. Because number three, the Christian must also respond to Islam 114 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:35,899 with appropriate personal self-defense. There are times indeed when the Christian must respond to Islam 115 00:12:35,899 --> 00:12:43,580 with appropriate personal self-defense. The pietistic response of nonviolence and pacifism is not an 116 00:12:43,580 --> 00:12:49,620 absolute response, only in certain contexts. Christians are very ignorant of their own biblical right to 117 00:12:49,620 --> 00:12:56,039 self-defense and bearing arms, dear listener. And this is because, very important, this is because of 118 00:12:56,039 --> 00:13:07,879 the general ignorance of covenant in the life of the Christian. Covenants are the great economies of 119 00:13:07,879 --> 00:13:13,779 God by which he deals with man. We know economies in the society of man and how they distribute goods 120 00:13:13,779 --> 00:13:19,620 and services, don't we? A feudal economy in which a lord ruled over a tract of land and had vassals labor 121 00:13:19,620 --> 00:13:24,460 under him with a series of princes and kings in ascending order over them. There's also a capitalist 122 00:13:24,460 --> 00:13:29,860 economy in which goods and services are distributed in an open, free market where each man is rewarded 123 00:13:29,860 --> 00:13:35,340 according to his own gifts, talents, and industry. And then, of course, there is also a socialist economy 124 00:13:35,340 --> 00:13:40,539 in which goods and services are distributed by the state, as Mark says, from each according to his 125 00:13:40,539 --> 00:13:47,120 abilities to each according to his need, unquote. Well then, God also has an economy by which he 126 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:53,039 distributes things like justice and love, mercy and wrath, blessing and curse, and punishment and peace. 127 00:13:53,039 --> 00:13:59,100 That economy by which he distributes these things is covenant. There is no other economy. For example, 128 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:05,039 dispensationalism is a false economy created in the recent past by teachers who are in grave error. 129 00:14:05,539 --> 00:14:11,559 The Bible gives us four great covenants by which God deals with man. Those four covenants are, 130 00:14:11,820 --> 00:14:18,740 number one, the covenant of creation. The covenant of creation. We see even in the structure of Genesis 1, 131 00:14:18,740 --> 00:14:25,039 the very shape of an ancient suzerain vassal covenant, with God being the suzerain and Adam 132 00:14:25,039 --> 00:14:30,159 and Eve and all their progeny being the vassals. There is also, secondly, the covenant of marriage. 133 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:35,779 This covenant is that established in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve providing the economy of 134 00:14:35,779 --> 00:14:41,019 interpersonal blessing between God and his creatures and their progeny. Thirdly, there is also 135 00:14:41,019 --> 00:14:46,600 the covenant of redemption, or it's often called the covenant of grace as well. This covenant of 136 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:53,120 redemption or grace is that covenant between God and his son and his church by which lost and fallen 137 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:59,500 man would be redeemed. In it, we find salvation by grace through faith in the life of the church, 138 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:05,600 the covenant of redemption or grace. Then the fourth great covenant that God has made with man is the 139 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:12,639 civil covenant. Very important to keep in mind. This is that covenant established in Genesis by which 140 00:15:12,639 --> 00:15:18,539 fallen man would govern temporal affairs amongst his fellow man, and that he would do it with justice 141 00:15:18,539 --> 00:15:26,159 and mercy. So, under these great covenants, four of them, all of man's actions can be determined 142 00:15:26,159 --> 00:15:32,480 in a godly fashion, depending upon the covenant under which they fall. So, with biblical wisdom, 143 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:39,259 we can know when and where a particular action falls and how we are to respond, therefore. This is the 144 00:15:39,259 --> 00:15:45,179 purpose of the wisdom literature, for example, to teach us when and where we are to execute a particular 145 00:15:45,179 --> 00:15:52,299 act. From Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verses 1 through 8, we read, for everything there is a season and a time 146 00:15:52,299 --> 00:15:59,240 for every matter under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up 147 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:05,159 what is planted, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up, 148 00:16:05,159 --> 00:16:11,980 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to cast away stones 149 00:16:11,980 --> 00:16:17,799 and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 150 00:16:18,419 --> 00:16:24,419 a time to seek and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away, a time to tear and a time 151 00:16:24,419 --> 00:16:31,580 to sow, a time to keep silence and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war 152 00:16:31,580 --> 00:16:38,419 and a time for peace. Unquote. Wisdom from Ecclesiastes chapter three. So as you can see, 153 00:16:38,539 --> 00:16:43,399 there is no absolute prescription for any particular behavior as the Anabaptist 154 00:16:43,399 --> 00:16:51,139 pacifistic school understands it. Rather, the man of biblical wisdom knows when the appropriate time 155 00:16:51,139 --> 00:16:57,299 to defend himself arises and when he should turn the other cheek when persecuted. There is a time 156 00:16:57,299 --> 00:17:02,620 for both of these actions and the key to understanding our right to self-defense or 157 00:17:02,620 --> 00:17:07,640 any other act for that matter. The key to understanding our right to self-defense is 158 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:14,180 understanding under which covenant we are acting then in true biblical wisdom. For example, 159 00:17:14,299 --> 00:17:19,680 the entire Sermon on the Mount is an explication and illustration of how the Christian behaves 160 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:25,220 under the covenant of redemption and grace. The entire Sermon on the Mount under the covenant of 161 00:17:25,220 --> 00:17:29,759 redemption and grace. This is, of course, where we find Jesus exhorting us to love your enemies. 162 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:33,839 When we are dealing with the salvation of souls and the presentation of the gospel, 163 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:38,519 this is how we are to behave. But when it comes to defending ourselves, our families, 164 00:17:38,599 --> 00:17:43,220 and our communities against robbers and murderers, predators, and Muslim aggressors, 165 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:48,400 we must understand that we are acting according to the civil covenant and its understanding. 166 00:17:48,559 --> 00:17:54,619 This is where the entire Second Amendment debate falls for the Christian, under the civil covenant. 167 00:17:55,220 --> 00:18:00,140 To respond with response is meant for the covenant of redemption or grace, things like turning the 168 00:18:00,140 --> 00:18:05,960 other cheek, loving the rapist, even as he's raping your wife. When the action demands a response 169 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:11,799 under the civil covenant, it's foolish. It's not only foolish, it's the opposite of wise, but it is very 170 00:18:11,799 --> 00:18:17,599 destructive too. If Christians had even a scintilla of understanding of the covenant structure of 171 00:18:17,599 --> 00:18:24,099 God's dealings with man, they would understand why our founding fathers saw the Second Amendment as a 172 00:18:24,099 --> 00:18:29,559 God-given right that cannot be taken away. And it is not a government-granted privilege that can be 173 00:18:29,559 --> 00:18:35,079 extended or withdrawn at the whim of a tyrant. The Christian must be prepared to meet the aggressive 174 00:18:35,079 --> 00:18:41,259 Muslim with force in order to defend himself, his family, and his community. The civil covenant demands 175 00:18:41,259 --> 00:18:46,000 it. To think that our police and government institutions will do this is utterly ludicrous and 176 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:51,079 foolish in the extreme. Please tell this to the communities of Orlando and San Bernardino 177 00:18:51,079 --> 00:18:59,160 recently, right? In the Bible, for example, we see a number of principles operative for self-defense 178 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:05,599 under the civil covenant. First of all, we see, number one, the civil covenant requires the protection 179 00:19:05,599 --> 00:19:11,579 of the vulnerable amongst us. The Bible is replete with the information that the civil covenant 180 00:19:11,579 --> 00:19:18,480 requires the protection of the vulnerable amongst us. Oh, I speak to men now. Men, our wives, children, 181 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:24,440 and elderly are those requiring protection. In addition to those classic groups mentioned by the 182 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:30,140 Bible, that is the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. The Bible tells us in Proverbs chapter 24, 183 00:19:30,539 --> 00:19:36,359 rescue those being led away to death. Hold back those staggering towards slaughter. If you say, 184 00:19:36,539 --> 00:19:40,880 we knew nothing of this, does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life 185 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:46,660 know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done? Oh, from Proverbs chapter 24. 186 00:19:47,380 --> 00:19:54,700 Secondly, the civil covenant also requires a citizen soldier. The civil covenant also requires a citizen 187 00:19:54,700 --> 00:20:00,279 soldier. Whenever Israel was threatened by an enemy, an external enemy like the Philistines, 188 00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:05,940 or perhaps an internal enemy like the rebellious tribe of Benjamin in the book of Judges, all of the 189 00:20:05,940 --> 00:20:11,980 men of Israel were called up in a citizen's militia. This principle, our founding fathers recognized, 190 00:20:12,359 --> 00:20:19,019 they ensconced it in the Second Amendment, which reads in part, a well-regulated militia being necessary 191 00:20:19,019 --> 00:20:25,420 to the security of a free state, right? The civil covenant requires a citizen soldier. Thirdly, as well, 192 00:20:25,420 --> 00:20:33,480 the civil covenant requires an armed citizenry. The Bible is very clear. The civil covenant requires an 193 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:43,779 armed citizenry. Ergo, the Second Amendment. When an enemy faced Israel, the shout went up. Even as 194 00:20:43,779 --> 00:20:49,619 David called, every man strapped on his sword. Every man was to be armed if the citizen militia was to be 195 00:20:49,619 --> 00:20:55,400 effective. This too is reflected in our constitution because of the need for a well-regulated 196 00:20:55,400 --> 00:21:00,559 militia. The Second Amendment says, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be 197 00:21:00,559 --> 00:21:05,140 infringed, unquote. And this doesn't mean that guns should be stored in armories for distribution in 198 00:21:05,140 --> 00:21:09,920 times of war and crisis, as the progressives maintain. No, this means that guns should be in 199 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:15,559 the possession of the average citizen for their own personal use and protection. The possession of arms 200 00:21:15,559 --> 00:21:21,400 in the ancient world was ubiquitous too. Every Israelite was expected to own one, not only for his 201 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:27,180 place in the citizen army, but also for his own protection of family and property and that of 202 00:21:27,180 --> 00:21:33,400 the property and life of his neighbor too. We have, for example, reflections in the rabbinical literature, 203 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:39,839 that is the Jewish Talmud, that by extension in Old Testament law, if a neighbor was expected to lift 204 00:21:39,839 --> 00:21:46,299 a fallen ox from a ditch, even though the neighbor was not there, well then, by extension, he must also 205 00:21:46,299 --> 00:21:51,619 seize by the sword the thief who was breaking into his neighbor's home, though the neighbor was not 206 00:21:51,619 --> 00:21:57,700 there. Oh, dear listener, how necessary it is for the Christian to understand God's economy of covenant 207 00:21:57,700 --> 00:22:04,019 if he is to meet the very real Islamic threat to our nation. Of the four great covenants under which 208 00:22:04,019 --> 00:22:10,240 can be subsumed our entire menu of choices for human behavior, those four great covenants, 209 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:16,180 the covenant of creation, the marriage covenant, the covenant of redemption or grace, and the civil 210 00:22:16,180 --> 00:22:22,799 covenant, our response to aggressive Islam falls under that of the civil covenant that regulates 211 00:22:22,799 --> 00:22:32,480 our defense of person, family, and community. To say, for example, I love you in Jesus and want to witness 212 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:38,299 to the gospel by letting you slaughter me, my wife, and my children, to say these kinds of things is not 213 00:22:38,299 --> 00:22:44,240 only egregiously foolish, that is the opposite of wise, but it is sinful, precisely because you 214 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:49,980 utterly fail to, as Proverbs says, rescue those being led away to death and holding back those 215 00:22:49,980 --> 00:22:54,480 staggering towards slaughter, when in fact you could have done something to save them, that is shoot the 216 00:22:54,480 --> 00:23:01,440 Muslim aggressor who would slay them in an act of terror on behalf of Allah in jihad. So wake up, 217 00:23:01,519 --> 00:23:06,660 O Christian, arm yourselves, train yourselves with arms, learn how to use them, and learn true 218 00:23:06,660 --> 00:23:13,299 biblical wisdom. For everything there is a season, as Ecclesiastes says, and a time for every matter 219 00:23:13,299 --> 00:23:19,099 under heaven, a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, a time to pluck up what is planted. 220 00:23:19,500 --> 00:23:25,660 There is a time to kill and a time to heal. There is a time to tear and a time to sow. There's a time 221 00:23:25,660 --> 00:23:30,960 to keep silence, a time to speak. This is a time to speak. There's a time to love and a time to hate. 222 00:23:31,319 --> 00:23:35,460 There's a time for war and there is a time for peace, a time for everything under heaven, 223 00:23:35,460 --> 00:23:42,680 dear listener. The time to do any of them as well demands biblical wisdom. A time to kill is not when 224 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:47,240 a woman is pregnant and about to abort her baby. That's a time to heal. A time to kill is when an 225 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:53,599 Islamic terrorist is about to bomb, stab, or shoot you, your family, or your community. And it requires 226 00:23:53,599 --> 00:23:58,619 biblical wisdom to know the difference. That is, under what covenant and its provisions does my 227 00:23:58,619 --> 00:24:05,480 proposed actions for. A time to love is not when a suicide bomber is charging into the local mall 228 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:10,920 and you have the ability to stop him with a sidearm, but instead you say, I love you in Jesus 229 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:15,740 and want to witness to the gospel by letting you blow up innocent men, women, and children. 230 00:24:16,500 --> 00:24:23,400 This is the pietistic, pacifistic school of Christian. No, this is not the time to love. It is a time to 231 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:29,980 hate, as Solomon puts it, by putting as many rounds into the suicide bomber as it takes to stop him at 232 00:24:29,980 --> 00:24:34,859 the door of the mall before he gets in to blow everything up. And it requires biblical wisdom 233 00:24:34,859 --> 00:24:41,019 to know the difference. That is, under what covenant and its provisions does my proposed actions fall? 234 00:24:41,740 --> 00:24:49,319 A time for war is not when a rogue president like Obama arms and advises ISIS to overthrow 235 00:24:49,319 --> 00:24:55,200 President Assad of Syria, which in its application of the Quran is manifold more barbaric and evil than 236 00:24:55,200 --> 00:25:01,619 Assad ever was. ISIS is. In fact, as we have seen, Obama's actions themselves are evil. They're not 237 00:25:01,619 --> 00:25:08,559 neutral or righteous by any stretch. A time for war is when we and our national interests are attacked, 238 00:25:08,700 --> 00:25:16,059 as they were on 9-11, by an evil Islamic regime in Afghanistan. And it requires biblical wisdom to know 239 00:25:16,059 --> 00:25:20,400 the difference. That is, under what covenant and its provisions does my proposed actions fall? 240 00:25:21,299 --> 00:25:27,779 So, therefore, when it comes to our response to Islam, especially aggressive Islam, when it becomes 241 00:25:27,779 --> 00:25:37,240 dangerous and warlike, we have articulated three of these six responses. We respond with the truth of 242 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:42,400 Christ, the love of Christ, and appropriate self-defense. Next week, we will treat it of the other 243 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:47,920 three necessary responses, and they are, we must respond with appropriate cultural and societal 244 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:54,059 self-defense. We must respond with the proven solutions of history, and we must respond with a 245 00:25:54,059 --> 00:26:00,880 sober, reasoned antidote to political correctness. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox 246 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:07,680 Presbyterian Church. New Geneva meets for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street, 247 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:15,359 on the corner of 4th and Boulevard in Idaho Falls. And you may call us for comment or information at 248 00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:28,039 523-0196. That's 523-0196. Or check out our websites, which are newgenevaopc.org and our brand new website 249 00:26:28,039 --> 00:26:36,160 where we have chronicled for you many past radio messages. And that website is omnispotestas.org. 250 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:49,960 Let me spell that for you. Omnisprotestas.org. O-M-N-I-S dash P-O-T-E-S-T-A-S dot org. Omnisprotestas.org.