{"id":37634,"date":"2013-03-08T20:58:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-09T02:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=37634"},"modified":"2021-09-03T21:01:14","modified_gmt":"2021-09-04T02:01:14","slug":"if-the-government-took-away-guns-would-christians-have-to-give-their-guns-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-the-government-took-away-guns-would-christians-have-to-give-their-guns-up\/","title":{"rendered":"If the government took away guns, would Christians have to give their guns up?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

I have a question. In Romans 13:1-4 “Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. For government is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.”<\/p>\n

Suppose the government, for whatever reason, comes in and passes a law that does take guns away from Christian gun owners. Would the Christian have to give them up? Or can we resist? Do we value our rights over our obedience to God?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

Obedience to God always comes first. There is nothing I can recall in the Bible that requires a Christian to be armed. Therefore, though it is a right under the U.S. Constitution, it cannot be claimed that there is a right to bear arms under the Law of God.<\/p>\n

The Bible does indicate that a Christian can use weapons to defend themselves and others (See\u00a0A Bible and A Gun<\/a>\u00a0for references), but if a government disarms its citizens, such as England has done or the Philistines did to the Israelites (I Samuel 13:19-22), then the Christian adapts to the circumstances. We don’t need weapons to do God’s will.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: I have a question. In Romans 13:1-4 “Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[310],"class_list":["post-37634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-government"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1300,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-we-do-when-the-government-is-involved-in-our-child-rearing\/","url_meta":{"origin":37634,"position":0},"title":"What do we do when the government is involved in our child rearing?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What do we when outside government authorities are involved in our child raising? \u00a0 Answer: This becomes a difficult question to answer well because much depends on the reason the government has seen fit to interfere. The best that I can do is answer in general and hope that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7556,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-i-tell-you-about-a-way-to-get-married-without-government-involvement\/","url_meta":{"origin":37634,"position":1},"title":"Can I tell you about a way to get married without government involvement?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 19, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I noticed a guy wrote\u00a0a piece about marriage claiming he didn't need a piece of paper. He is right by all means; all you need is two witnesses and you can be married by American law. But if you do get a marriage license, you put your kids under\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45770,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-hold-us-responsible-when-we-pay-taxes-to-a-government-that-uses-the-money-for-sinful-purposes-such-as-funding-abortions\/","url_meta":{"origin":37634,"position":2},"title":"Does God hold us responsible when we pay taxes to a government that uses the money for sinful purposes, such as funding abortions?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I live in a State where Medicare covers abortions. Since our taxes pay for Medicare, will God hold us responsible for this? We are told in the Bible to pay taxes, but as citizens, we don't have control over how the money is spent. Thank you for your reply.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28900,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-for-a-church-to-be-incorporated\/","url_meta":{"origin":37634,"position":3},"title":"Is it wrong for a church to be incorporated?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 11, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If a\u00a0 Christian does not want to attend an incorporated church because he says it's wrong, is it right for him and his wife to worship alone on the Lord's day because he says an incorporated church is in sin, and he cannot find a church that is not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43558,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-a-government-execute-the-death-penalty-when-we-are-told-not-to-take-vengeance\/","url_meta":{"origin":37634,"position":4},"title":"How can a government execute the death penalty when we are told not to take vengeance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello Jeffrey, I have a question about the practice of capital punishment. I was having a discussion with my mom about the matter and we came to the understanding that capital punishment is not lawful in God's eyes. What confused me was in verse 4. It says \"he does\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28845,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-should-we-pray-for-a-corrupt-ruler\/","url_meta":{"origin":37634,"position":5},"title":"Why should we pray for a corrupt ruler?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Christians say that God's word says to pray for those in authority.\u00a0 What is the truth about praying for a leader who is against God's word?\u00a0 A leader who is a liar. Who makes fun of the Bible? Who is haughty and greedy. 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