A THEOLOGY FOR WARRIORS

CMDR Schwartzel, this one's for you and your sailors.

In Luke 3, John the Baptist is found preaching repentance because of coming Judgment. (by the way, REPENT is a time-honored, traditional Baptist greeting.)

The response of the crowd is; "What should we do then?" The Baptist tells them to share with those in need.

Then some tax collectors come to be baptized. "Teacher," they ask, "what should we do?"
John tells them, "don't collect any more than you are required to."

Finally, some soldiers have a question for John, "And what should we do?" they ask.
John replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay."

1: John's exhortation to the crowd is nothing more than we would expect.

2: John's word for the tax collectors and soldiers is NOTHING that the people of that day--and I believe our own day as well--would expect.

Many good people believed that tax collectors, as quisling, Roman puppets, had lost any hope of salvation. Yet here they are seeking baptism and, therefore, repenting. And John's word to them is NOT, go to H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks, or even to leave their evil profession. He simply tells them to do their job honestly.

John's response to soldiers is truly eye-opening. It makes no difference whether these were Roman soldiers or Jewish Temple police. John does not condemn their profession, either. In fact, he gives them the same word he gave the tax collectors. Do your job honestly, with integrity. Absent, I notice, is any prohibition against practicing the warrior's arts (that's intellectual talk for meting out violence and death)

So here's my point: In a fallen world it is part of God's economy for warriors of integrity to protect us from evil men.

Thus endeth the lesson.