Can a Christian join the military? Should Christians participate in war? What role should Jesus’ teachings on nonviolence play in all this? If we are encouraged to carry the light of Jesus into all areas of society, would that include the military?
These questions take on special significance for me, as both a military veteran and a Christian in church ministry.
The goal of this article isn’t to push you toward a particular thought process or ideology; just turn on the evening news if you want that. Instead, this article aims to help you, the reader, develop critical thinking so that you, like me, may wrestle with the issue and come to a well-reasoned position.
Again, I am both a Christian and a military veteran. This article, along with the research that informed it, has made me think and even challenged my position on this issue. In our limited time together, I hope this article will resonate with you in a way that sparks a similar pause of prayerful reflection. In what follows, I’ll give what for me are the most persuasive reasons given for and against Christians joining the military.
Arguments for Why a Christian Shouldn’t Join the Military
One thing you should know about me is that I am a very black-and-white person. I prefer to know the rules and follow them. In fact, my wife often gets frustrated when I drive because I always drive at the speed limit. After studying this article’s issue in depth, I realized this is not a black-and-white issue. There is no easy yes or no, which is quite frustrating for someone like me who prefers black-and-white answers.
One reason this isn’t a black-or-white issue is that, as with many ethical issues, there are multiple factors that go into forming your position. In their book A Christian Debate about War, David Clough and Brian Stiltner argue that as an ethical issue within the church, the question of Christian military participation should be answered by consulting four sources (also known as the “Wesleyan Quadrilateral”): the Bible, Church tradition, reason, and experience.[1] Because of space, this article will mainly glean from Scripture and reason from Scripture. Even then, a definitive, black-and-white answer won’t emerge.
Before sharing what I consider the compelling reasons given for why Christians shouldn’t join the military, let’s first look at what is meant by “joining the military.” Some Christian pacifists (i.e., those who oppose war or violence on moral or religious grounds) refuse to participate in the military in any capacity, even in noncombatant roles. They see participation in any facet of military as aiding in violence. Other pacifists more narrowly opt out of combat roles but would be open to working, say, in an admin role, or chaplaincy, or even being a cook. Either type of pacifist might grant that military and war can be necessary for this-worldly governments, but they, by conviction, have levels at which their conscience will not allow them to participate.
“There is no easy yes or no, which is quite frustrating for someone like me who prefers black-and-white answers.”
Why be a pacifist? In my estimation, one of the most compelling reasons individuals might struggle with the idea of joining the military is due to Christ’s nonviolent stance. Although the late John MacArthur was not, to my knowledge, a pacifist, he adds wisdom to the conversation by saying,
“Ultimately, we become like what we worship. If we worship money, we become materialistic. If we worship power and prestige, we become cold and calloused. If we worship an idol, we become as spiritually dead and lifeless as a stone. On the other hand, if we worship Christ, we will be conformed to His image…If He is our ever-increasing preoccupation, then we are imperceptibly being transformed into His image by the Holy Spirit.”[2]
Extending this logic, if we are opening ourselves to committing violence, then can we really be pursuing Christ in that area of life? If our goal is to become more Christ-like, which is the meaning of the word Christian, then shouldn’t our goal be to live as close a life to that of Jesus’ earthly ministry?
There is a plethora of teachings to choose from regarding Jesus and nonviolence. One of the most compelling is the fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. The sermon that begins in Matthew 5 is Jesus’ first public sermon, aimed at reshaping the minds and hearts of those early adopters of the Christian faith. At the core of this “Sermon on the Mount” is the heart posture of those who follow Jesus. It is no longer enough to avoid adultery; even lust makes you guilty of the offense. It is no longer enough to avoid murder; we must reject irreconciliation and name-calling.
“There is a plethora of teachings to choose from regarding Jesus and nonviolence.”
In the latter portion of Matthew 5, Jesus responds to the issue of insult and violence with commands such as “turning the other cheek also” (Matthew 5:39) and “loving your enemy”—despite the surrounding cultural “wisdom” that we ought to hate and defeat them (see Matthew 5:43-44). From day one in the military, you are told that “your foundational job is to protect this country from foreign and domestic enemies.” Does this “foundational job” align with the teachings of Christ to “love your enemies” and “do not resist an evil person”? If not, then the answer seems clear, or at least a little clearer than before.
Moreover, Jesus’ teachings were backed by his commitment to nonviolence in practice. As I interviewed pacifist-leaning Christians as part of my research, their answers often pointed to Christ’s example. They responded that “Christ chose obedience and sacrifice on the cross instead of violence and retaliation,” and “Christ rebuked Peter for acting in violence by swinging his sword.”
These ideals of nonviolence and nonretaliation are fleshed out elsewhere in the New Testament by Jesus’ disciples. In Romans 12, Paul instructs those at the church in Rome to “live at peace with everyone” if possible (Romans 12:18, NIV), an exhortation that stands opposed to violence. In the same chapter, Paul tells the church to never repay evil with evil but rather to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21, NIV).
“These ideals of nonviolence and nonretaliation are fleshed out elsewhere in the New Testament by Jesus’ disciples.”
Interestingly, it is not just Christianity that champions nonviolence. Both Buddhism and Jainism place nonviolence (ahimsa in Sanskrit) as a top priority, in the interest of taking care of others and the environment. Avoiding conflict is seen as not only protecting your fellow man but also preventing the destruction of land, both of which are threatened in war. According to these Eastern worldviews, nonviolence plays a big role in ascending to a liberated afterlife, beyond the wheel of rebirths. Considering the role that nonviolence has in the ethics of multiple religions, it might be argued that nonviolence is part of the “moral law within” (Romans 2:14-15), and thus morally in-tuned people do well not to put themselves in a position where they must violate these deep ethical convictions.
While the pacifist position may seem compelling, we would do a disservice to the conversation if we failed to explore the other side. Is there a place for Christians in military service within the Christian scriptures?
Arguments for Why a Christian Can Join the Military
While there are compelling reasons given for why Christians should not participate in the military, there are also compelling reasons for why they can.
First, although Romans 12 speaks against revenge and personal violence, the very next chapter speaks to the legitimacy of the “governing authorities.” God has established government for the purpose of punishing wrongdoing so that people will be motivated to “do what is right” (Romans 13:3, NIV). Part of the role of governmental authorities is use of force as a deterrent for evildoers: “Rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4b, NIV). War can be seen as an extension of the use of force to bring punishment—especially if, as in Just War Theory, the war is in self-defense or protection of the vulnerable from harm.
Many governments misuse this power, sometimes becoming so corrupt that they enable evil and punish those who do what is right. It has been rightly said that Romans 13 needs to be balanced with Revelation 13—in which the “beasts” use force to persecute God’s people. Yet it remains the case that governmental authorities are set in place by God for good purposes—and this goes back at least as far as Genesis 9. After the Flood, God gave a decree that would prevent humans from the pervasive violence that had characterized them before the Flood: “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed” (Genesis 9:6a).
“War can be seen as an extension of the use of force to bring punishment—especially if, as in Just War Theory, the war is in self-defense or protection of the vulnerable from harm.”
Yet even if governmental authority, and its use of force, has God-given validity, does that mean that disciples of Jesus are able to participate in that use of force? 
Here is where we find a second reason given why Christians can participate in authority: Whenever Jesus or his disciples have opportunity to call military people to repentance in Scripture, we don’t see them telling anybody to leave active service. When a Roman centurion, a military leader with “soldiers underneath him” (Matthew 8:9), asks Jesus to heal his servant, Jesus instructs the centurion to “go and let it be done just as he had believed it would” (Matthew 8:13, NIV). If Jesus was anti-military, mightn’t Jesus have suggested that the centurion ought to repent and leave the military?
Even more pointedly, we see soldiers come to Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist in Luke 3, asking him what they should do to prepare for the coming Messiah. John is not shy about calling them to high ethical standards—but again, there is no call to leave the military. He tells them, “Don’t extort money and accuse people falsely, and be content with their pay” (Luke 3:14, NIV). If a true follower of Jesus can’t participate in the military, would John not have told these soldiers to give up their position within the military as part of their repentance?
“If a true follower of Jesus can’t participate in the military, would John not have told these soldiers to give up their position within the military as part of their repentance?”
We also meet the first Gentile convert to Christianity—and he’s a Roman centurion! The apostle Peter has plenty of opportunity to call Cornelius to repentance over his profession. Instead, Cornelius the centurion is described as “a righteous and God-fearing man” (Acts 10:22, NIV), and neither before nor after his baptism is there any hint that he needs to leave his military profession.
To review, we do find Scripture teaching the validity of governmental use of force, and we do not find Scripture calling military people to leave their profession as part of following Jesus. A third and final reason I find compelling for why Christians can join the military may sound subjective, given my experience as a veteran. But it’s this: The military needs the gospel too.
It’s been my experience that the Christian faith is not commonly practiced in the military. Looking at statistics is misleading because they will tell you that about 50% of the folks in the military claim to be Christian. But lives tell a different story. There are those who fill in the “Christian” circle on a questionnaire but fail to commit to Christ. Don’t let statistics fool you: the military is a place that desperately needs the gospel. During my active service in the United States Army, real followers of Jesus were few and far between. When real Christians serve in the military, we can win people to Christ who otherwise won’t know him. After all, these are times in which closeness to peril and death open some up to desiring to connect to God—and God uses Christians in the military to help make the connection.
Concluding Thoughts
My goal here has not been to change your mind, although you may have clicked on this article with that presumption. Instead, my purpose or goal was to challenge you to wrestle with your position on this subject, so that you can know where others are coming from and that you can articulate a thoughtful answer to the question.
One more thing: Wherever you land on the question of whether Christians can join the military, I encourage you to keep eyes open for opportunities to help those in your community who have served in the military. For more on how to help this often-suffering group in your community, I encourage you to explore more of my thoughts on the topic:
- A Suffering Group We’ve Largely Forgotten
- Some Ideas for Reaching Veterans through Your Church
- Dos and Don’ts in Reaching Veterans
[1] David Clough and Brian Siltner, Faith and Force: A Christian Debate (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2007), 45.
[2] John MacArthur, “The Glory of the New Covenant, Part 7,” sermon delivered on June 30, 1991, Grace to You, accessed January 7, 2025, https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/47-21/the-glory-of-the-new-covenant-part-7
