As rumblings of war in Eastern Europe arise, some cheer for it, others ignore it. Some are frightened, others fevered with blood-lust. What is your Christian duty in a time of looming war? Put simply, it’s to keep doing what you’re to do at all times: glorify God & enjoy Him forever.
As we’re fond of saying: “Worship is warfare.” It doesn’t matter to us, the Church militant, if it’s a time of peace or war, we’re called to wage holy war against sin, the devil, and the world. We fight with songs, and water, and bread, and wine. The sword we swing is the Word. The centrality of worship roots our allegiance firmly to the Word.
Unless we’re anchored in the reality of our union with Christ, we’ll be swept along with the various sinful reactions to this latest war. Worship of Christ doesn’t produce apathy towards the conflicts of this world, it sharpens our discernment as to whether or not a war is just, or if our nation is justified in joining a particular side.
Acknowledging Christ’s sovereignty over all nations, by faithfully worshipping Him according to Scripture with fellow saints, equips us to stand firm in the day of trouble. Worshipping the Christ who is seated there, at the Father’s right hand, fortifies us here in our earthly troubles.
Sinners want us to rush along in their conspiracy to shed-blood. This is one of the tell-tale signs Solomon gives us of foolish men (Pro. 1:10-12). Sinners are also selfish cowards, who want to save their own skin (Pro. 22:13, Num. 13:32-33). Christians, regardless of the season, regardless of the news, worship the Risen Christ. This makes us bold in battle, stubborn in our determination to fight only for righteous causes, and fervent in prayer that the swords might be bent into plows.
We long for the hastening of the day which the hymn-writer described so well, the day when “They shall hang the trumpet in the hall, and study war no more.” Our nation has not acknowledged Christ as its head, and so we’ve lost our head. We’ve both waged unjust wars, and also fled like cowards from just wars. The church has shirked her duty to proclaim the Gospel Word in the public square, and so we’ve allowed evil men to lead us. Our failure stems from not to worshipping the Father in spirit and in truth. He promises that His blessing rests on those who keep His Word, but He opposes those who break it. May the Lord grant that we in the church return to faith-filled obedience in our lives, our homes, our business, our churches, and our towns; and so, bring about a great revival of justice and peace in our land. For, we will not recognize a just cause if we do not first see that Christ’s sacrifice for sin is the only way that justice can be established either with God in heaven or between men here on earth.