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It should be apparent to any child of God that the Devil has many lies to tell, and he really doesn’t care which one you believe, so long as you fall for one of his lies, and he can then use that to draw you away from ever really knowing the truth, and ever really serving the LORD God rightly and properly. If the Devil can render the believer’s witness and testimony suspect, or nullified, the he has accomplished much of his purpose. If he can get believers to buy into a lie about man’s nature, and thus teach and act counter to the actual working of God, then he has also accomplished as near as he can hope to accomplish in having a believable, willing, albeit ignorant accomplice in his work of subverting the true knowledge of the LORD and His working among men.

Thus, when statements are made like the following, which are contrary to the Scripture, we can know that the Devil is hard at work subverting the Scripture:

But Christianity is in a sad state. In the Church can be found some of the greatest supporters of the state, its leaders, its military, and its wars. Christians who are otherwise good, godly, disciples of Christ often turn into babbling idiots when it comes to the subjects of war, the military, and killing for the state. There is an unholy desire on the part of a great many Christians to legitimize killing in war. There persists the idea among too many Christians that mass killing in war is acceptable, but the killing of one’s neighbor violates the sixth commandment’s prohibition against killing. Christians who wouldn’t think of using the Lord’s name in vain blaspheme God when they make ridiculous statements like “God is pro-war.” Christians who try never to lie do so with boldness when they claim they are pro-life, but refuse to extend their pro-life sentiments to foreigners already out of the womb. . . “

“Christians who claim to have the mind of Christ show that they have lost their mind when they want the full force of government to protect a stem cell, but have no conscience about U.S. soldiers killing for the government.” ((Laurence M. Vance))

The great problem that exists among those who identify themselves as Christian, is not their glorification of war per se. Rather, it is the exact same problem that Christian pacifists and secular “peace activists” have:

They are bereft of the truth of the Scriptures concerning the nature of the LORD’s judgement and what war is really about.

The reason for this is perhaps traced directly back to the ugly nature of man, and what admitting that requires of each and every one of us. In this, Mr. Vance is no exception. Throughout his dissertation on the evils of war, he consistently failed to mention anything about the nature of man, and how that we cannot change that, anymore than a leopard can lose it spots. Like it or not, the Scripture is expressly clear about man’s nature and just how wicked and evil we really are. Moreover, Mr. Vance also failed to express anything about the dual nature of a Christian. In this, the Scripture is also clear that the born-again believer has the nature of Christ in the soul and the old nature of Adam in the flesh. Moreover, these two natures are continually at war one with the other.

Thus, when Mr. Vance declares:

“But Christianity is in a sad state. In the Church can be found some of the greatest supporters of the state, its leaders, its military, and its wars. Christians who are otherwise good, godly, disciples of Christ often turn into babbling idiots when it comes to the subjects of war, the military, and killing for the state.” ((ibid))

He rails against something that is part and parcel to the very nature of the flesh, and must be fought in the born-again child of God by feeding the soul through the word of God. However, his criticism of Christians in general in also misguided in that he draws no distinction about the legitimacy of government in Scripture, and that Christians are supposed to support civil government insofar as that government obeys the laws of God for government. The problem with most Christians is a lack of understanding about their role in civil society and the extent of their involvement in government. While it is nowhere near what some Christians engage in, it is also nowhere near what Laurence Vance is advocating. Thus, the truth is between the extremes advocated by Mr. Vance and those he chastises.

What then is that truth about war and a Christian’s view of war? Simply put, it is this:

War is the normal state of human affairs, and has been ever since Adam’s fall from innocence.

Thus, it is pointless to rail against war and think that somehow man can stop the wars that are engaged in by individuals and government. Moreover, a careful study of Scripture plainly reveals that war is one of the means of judgement used by the LORD God against those nations that exceed the bounds of conduct He has set. This will not change.

Sadly, I can only conclude that Laurence Vance is either entirely ignorant of the truth of Scripture (all the while touting his Theology degree and Christian credentials), or he is using Christianity as a cover for his real agenda, which has nothing to do with actual Christianity, and everything to do with promoting an ideology incompatible with the foundation of the United States.

If Mr. Vance really wanted to change the “war mentality” and serve Christ honestly, we would read and hear a whole lot more of the Gospel from him that what we do. Sadly, like the “Rev.” Jeremiah Wright, “Rev.” Jesse Jackson, “Rev.” Al Sharpton and the “Rev.” Michael “Snuffy” Pfleger, the Gospel is strangely absent. This tells the whole truth of what Laurence Vance is really all about — twisting the Scripture to fit his own agenda.

Twisted to Fit: Pt. V
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