Are they with us?

Waging war against our cultural and theological enemies is not what Christ taught us. Jesus taught his disciples principles of Christian nonaggression.

Calling down fire

James and John definitely didn’t get it. At one point, when a village of Samaritans refused to welcome Jesus, “…they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?’” (Luke 9:54) And of course, Jesus’ response to them was an immediate rebuke (9:55).

Instead of making an issue of the Samaritans’ lack of courtesy, Jesus merely found another village (9:56). Jesus did not push for unnecessary conflict. He sought to peacefully continue his earthly mission.

Sleeping dogs and cans of worms

John was also upset about a man who claimed the name of Jesus but refused to join their particular “in” group. Luke 9:49: “John responded, “’Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he does not follow us.’”

Jesus’ response was simple. Luke 9:50: “‘Don’t stop him,’ Jesus told him, ‘because whoever is not against you is for you.’”

Jesus is saying there is no reason to go out of your way to pick fights with people who claim the name of Jesus. There is nothing to be gained by aggressively pressuring people to come over to your side or to join your group. If they are leaving you alone, the best course of action is usually to leave them alone. Let sleeping dogs lie. Let cans of worms go unopened. Follow the path of Christian nonaggression.

Jesus contradicts himself?

Surprisingly, Jesus appears to contradict himself just a short time later. Luke 11:23: “Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me scatters.” In other words, Jesus does acknowledge that there are boundaries to the true church. Some people are truly followers of Christ, and some people are not. Anyone who does not draw close to Jesus and his true followers will end up falling away.

Now, in light of Luke 11:23, let’s look back at the previous examples. When Jesus bypassed the Samaritan village, he was wisely avoiding unnecessary conflict, but also, he was denying the people of that village the opportunity to believe in and gather with him. Furthermore, Jesus did not want his disciples to pick a fight with the man exorcising demons, but the man’s refusal to join the band of true disciples would ultimately doom him to scatter in the face of worldly pressure (see also Acts 19:13-17).

Limits and benefits of nonaggression

There are limits to nonaggression. It is not a solution to false teaching or to church unity. False teaching within our churches needs to be lovingly and gently confronted. And certainly, not fighting is not the same as being unified. North and South Korea don’t fight, but neither are they unified. In John 17, Jesus prays for a unity that goes far beyond nonaggression.

However, the path of theological nonaggression will help us avoid unnecessary conflict. We sidestep fruitless battles so we can focus on the mission Christ has given us. Instead of picking fights, we preach Christ, because in the end, those that do not gather with Christ will scatter.

Randall Curtis serves as the Rhode Island regional coordinator for the Baptist Convention of New England.