What Does The Bible Say About Self Defense?

Is it permissible to defend oneself? Is the Bible silent on this subject?

An Eye for an Eye

The law states “an eye for an eye” but it doesn’t necessarily mean it literally. It is a way of describing a judicial system that was established by God for Israel to govern and rule the people. The idea is that the punishment should fit the crime and not go beyond what the law allows or any less. When retribution or restitution was needed, it was to be equal to the extent of the loss or the crime. Most settlements at that time were of a monetary value but when the law required stiffer penalties for more serious crimes, the penalty could be more severe. Jesus would often remind the Jews of the Old Testament laws by saying “You have heard that it was said” as He does in Matthew 5:38 but it is to contrast the laws in light of the new covenant so Jesus compares the Old with the New by saying, “You have heard that it was said ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, ‘Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.’” Was Jesus saying that we can’t resist evil? That we must never defend ourselves?

Turning the Cheek?

In the previous paragraph Jesus said that we should “not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matt 5:38) but this doesn’t say we can’t defend ourselves. The context of Matthew five is the Old verses the New and that the New is a better way because it is a better covenant. If we were not to resist evil then wouldn’t we have to stop locking our doors at night, not protect our identity, get rid of the police, not worry about leaving our purse or wallet somewhere, or leave your keys in the car. Context is king and in this case, Jesus is not really telling us not to defend ourselves but when we are insulted, just turn the other cheek or just accept it. You don’t turn the other cheek so that it can be slapped too. That is not what Jesus means at all. Earlier in this chapter, Jesus said “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt 5:44) but never insinuated that we’re to give our possessions away to our enemies and those who persecute us. To turn the other cheek is to not respond in kind when you are insulted for Christ’s sake.

The difference in Christianity

In Christianity, instead of killing those who don’t believe (like some religions doo), we pray for them and instead of getting revenge, we trust God and leave that to Him. We pray for those who persecute us and we love our enemies. People are not forced to believe; they are free to believe More people die for their Christian faith than all other belief systems combined so Jesus knew that we’d be hated, despised, ridiculed, and some would be martyred. We don’t deny Jesus; we do deny forced conversion. We pray for our enemies, not kill them. We love those who hate us, not try to exterminate them. Christians have the right to defend themselves and their families. The Bible teaches defending others, by force if necessary (Rom 13), but also defending ourselves. Sometimes a nation goes to war in a defensive effort and that war is defending or saving lives. Not all wars are “just wars” but in many cases, they are necessary to prevent some from coming into power to the hurt of many.

Conclusion

I hope you will never have to defend yourself or your family from harm but it is perfectly legal and biblical to do so. Turning the other cheek doesn’t mean turning over your protection. We have every right to privacy and protection of our life and those of our family members. We can only hope that it never comes to that.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.