War and Self-Defense
God gave the sword to government and forbade private revenge, so we believe a Christian may serve his nation in arms and defend himself and those in his care, while we honor believers whose conscience will not let them, and no one may ever take up the sword for the Gospel.
The lesson walks through the topic one card at a time. The full study is the complete written article, with its sources.
Show from Romans 12 and 13 why private revenge is forbidden and the ruler's sword is not
Say what John, Jesus, and Peter said to soldiers, and how much those texts can prove
State the just war tradition from Augustine and Aquinas, and Anabaptist nonresistance in its best form
Read Matthew 5:38-42, Exodus 22:2-3, and Luke 22:36-38 honestly
Sort what is command from what is liberty, and care for those who carry what they did in war