The way we as Christians think through the wars of this world is interesting to me. There are a great many things to be said about the moral justification (or not) of actions taken by world leaders against other world leaders and nations. There are many things to be said about how some people conduct themselves in public forums and on world-stages. That is not my purpose, here. I want to take a moment and speak clearly to my fellow Americans, brothers and sisters in Christ, and attempt to reach across the aisle to the Muslim community. I want to start with an idea we may often lose sight of but that Christians and Muslims generally agree on.
God is sovereign.
Luke, a Greek historian and the writer of two New Testament books (Luke and Acts), in reference to the God of Abraham, wrote:
24“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;
25nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;
26and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
27that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ (Acts 17:24-28).
Luke was Greek and had come to believe in the God of Abraham like much of the Western World today. Though we disagree about His character, personality, and economy—Muslims also claim to believe in this God of Abraham. The confession of Scripture (here to mean the Bible containing only the 66 books and not the extras), is that God has sovereignty orchestrated each nation’s appointed time and boundaries for this purpose—that they would seek God. Luke quoted Paul as appealing to the Greeks using their poets to show that God, who is sovereign, succeeded even in getting heathen societies to think about Him by sovereignty dictating their times and boundaries.
In the same way, all the world’s events still cause the peoples and nations God has established to seek Him. There is no exception. Many times that means what people mean for evil, God means for good (cf. Genesis 50:20).
There is no war that I support. In the same way, there is no act of violence that I would condone. I do, however, recognize that in a fallen world, worldly people will be violent and oppressive, requiring necessary force. No matter what the motivations of worldly people are, whether riches, lands, the subjugation of others, or power on the world stage, I believe very strongly in God’s sovereignty. I believe very strongly in the promise of Romans 8:28— that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. I believe as people who love God, our response is different from those who merely use social media as a platform to complain about people.
If God is sovereign and decrees peoples and boundaries for the purpose of causing us to seek Him, and if He works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, there is a more transcendent way to think about these world events and all the nations involved.
The Iranian people could not have been oppressed by this terroristic regime for more than 40 years if God did not decree it. The US and Israel could not have gone against the IRGC with such force if God had not decreed it. It does not matter what the motivations of worldly people are, their selfishness, or their intentions whether justified or not. God is in charge, not Trump or Khomeini—God alone.
While we focus on what is material and mortal, God has a plan He is working together. I simply want to urge you to look higher than worldly events. There is a grander vision. Our war is not against flesh and blood, but powers and principalities in the heavenly places (cf. Ephesians 6:12). God is doing something. If we believe Scripture, He is doing something for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
I don’t know what the aftermath looks like. God alone knows. Take these moments to seek Him. Every nation exists in its current boundary because God decreed it for the purpose of causing the people in those nations to seek Him. This God does not need us to advance His territory. He owns it all already. This God does not need us to wage war against other nations to expand His regime. He is already Lord of all. He already decrees His will. He decreed that there would be Muslim nations. He decreed there would be a Western World. He decreed some nations would be secular, and others Christian. He is sovereign. He did this to draw all people to Himself, and we see that He does even if we disagree about who He is.
I believe the Koran describes a small god who needs people to kill unbelievers and overtake lands on their god’s behalf. I believe that is why Islam produces so many terroristic type people and entire regimes. I believe the events in the world today are going to ultimately draw people to Jesus, who came not to take as if He needed anything from us. Instead, He came to give life because God already has everything and does not need our silly little temples, churches, synagogues, or mosques. That truly is the most basic difference between Islam and Christianity. In Christianity, we believe God came to give what only He could. In Islam, you seem to believe that you must earn or take what you can get.
To the Muslim who has ears to hear and eyes to see and who is being called as a result of these world events, now is the time to repent and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ for your salvation and the salvation of the whole world.
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